Throwback Thursday: Behavior, How Do You Manage?

Hi, friends! I am linking up with The First Grade Parade for Throwback Thursday. Today I thought I would share a post on classroom behavior management. 

**********Orignally Posted September 18, 2012***********

Hello, friends! My topic today will be about behavior management! I confess that over the years teaching, I used several different methods. The "pull a card" method was my first, a little old but it was effective. I also created a "Take Five" method that used popsicle sticks and miniature hand stickers: fun and when I was consistent, very effective! Isn't that always the secret? Consistency...

Anyhoo, today there are many more great ideas out there to manage the classroom and many focus on reinforcing positive behavior rather than just punishing negative behaviors. So, I began to do a little research and created a behavior pack that I think you will like! It is based on the vertical behavior clipchart that so many are using! I thought that I would make it cutesy so I went with an adorable owl theme! For serious! This is one my favorites out of the items I have ever created. Evah! What do you think?

This pack includes decorative signs to encourage good choices! It also has seven circles that can be printed on cardstock, laminated and attached to a vertical ribbon strand or board. The student's names are written on clothespins and all begin on the Ready to Learn circle. The student's can move up the circles to Star Student  by choosing good behaviors throughout the day. They can also move down the circles to allow students to track their behavior and make better choices. 

A cause and effect chart is also included to explain the consequences of moving down the chart. 

Notecards have been included that can be stapled to homework or included in their homework folders that will let the parent know their child's behavior and a record form is also included for you to notate a child's behavior throughout the week. This could be used for every child or perhaps just the children that you feel needs a record of behavior for parent conferences or meetings. (I am sure a face popped into your head as soon as I said that!)   ;)

You can take a gander at it by visiting my TPT store! Just click the link below. Happy Blogging!

How to Create Your Own Flap Books

Hello, friends! Today, I decided to share with you something that I am doing with my girlies to create opportunities of review as well as to give creative ways to learn new material. To do this, all you need is a box of plain manilla file folders! Let me show you an example:

This past week, my girls were learning about five categories of animals (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates.) So I decided to have them create an interactive chart of each group, their characteristics, and examples. Since there were five groups, I simply opened the file folder and cut the top cover into five equal sections. (Be sure to stop cutting at the fold!) That was all of the preparation required for us to get started.

Next, I handed each girl a folder. Now there are many ways you can do your titles (print them on your computer or buy cute packs) but I really wanted my girls to practice the spelling of each category. To do this, I handed them a pack of markers and gave them liberty to decorate their labels as they wanted they just had to ensure that each word was spelled correctly.

Lastly, the girls opened each flap to write the characteristics of each category and draw an example of an animal in that category. Here are a few examples of what my girls came up with: (I love the lizard and frog!)

A couple of notes

• It is easiest to lift one flap at a time to write in the information so you can ensure all of the information stays in its section.
• You might want to use crayons or test your markers before finishing the project.  Sharpies and some markers will bleed through the cover making it impossible to write on the back of the flap. Next time, I will have them use different markers so they can draw their example on the back of the flap to save space.

The best part of foldables is the fact that you can make these for any subject and any topic! If you have something that you want your child to remember, create a foldable that they can use to study to prepare for an exam or review.

So what do you do with the foldables when they are completed? We will be filing each foldable in our Knowledge Bank, a file box that will show what we have learned throughout the year. As they are manila folders, I use the little tab at the top to label the foldable. I can then file these by subject in our Knowledge Bank. They will have times throughout the semester to review what is on our Knowledge Bank and then take a review quiz on the information that is filed there. This will ensure that they are retaining the knowledge rather than learning it for a test before forgetting it.

So, next time you have some information that you want your kiddos to remember, grab a box of manila folders! Who knew that such a phenomenal tool was sitting in your supply closet? :) Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

I am a Guest Blogger on the Other Side of the World!

Technology and blogging consistently amaze me and today is no exception! I have been invited to guest blog for Brooke, a fellow blogger who lives in the lovely country of Australia! How amazing is that?!! You met Brooke during my Blogger Showcase and I love her blog! I am so excited to be a guest with her today.

I have written about something that is near and dear to my heart: MUSIC! In particular, the importance and ease of using music in the classroom!!  I hope you will head on over to her blog at Teachable Moments to check it out. :) Just click the link below:
Happy Blogging! ;)

Finish My Work? Today?

Hello, friends! Have you ever had a kiddo that looks at you with wonder when you say they must finish their work? As a public school teacher, I ALWAYS had at least one student who would forget that, "yes, we actually do schoolwork at school!"  Since I have started homeschooling my little ladies, I got to play a bit of tug of war with my middle child which would take FOREVER on an assignment because she would sneak books to read under the table or play with her pencil for eternity and a day! (What can be so fascinating about a pencil I will never know!)

Anyhoo, I thought I would share a technique to help those stragglers finish their work. I have also seen this used for children with disabilities that needed encouragement or for those that struggle with Attention Deficit. Maybe it can help you as well!

It is a classwork completion puzzle. This is what it looks like:

Here's how to use it! The black and white picture is laminated and taped to the student's desk. Small velcro circles are attached to the blue circles. You then cut up the colored picture square on the dotted lines. Laminate these pieces and put the other side of the velcro on the back of these pieces. The student can then earn the pieces throughout the day when they complete what you have specified. For instance, they could receive a piece for finishing Math, Reading, Writing, and Language. After they have earned all four pieces, they receive some type of reward (ie. computer time, extra play, games, your choice). At the end of the day, they turn in their pieces and begin again tomorrow. 

Would you like to try it? I have a classwork completion puzzle pack available here. You can download a girl puzzle and boy puzzle for free! I hope it is a help to you!

Also, if you haven't linked up with the "Wowzers, What a Winner!" Giveaway, just click the link below! Twenty-seven teacher resource creators have teamed up so that 5 winners can be chosen to enjoy educational resource goodies! The winner will be announced on Saturday! Best of luck!

 Have a fantastic day!

Angels Academy Pictures!! (Such as they are...)

(This is a blog hop by ihomeschoolnetwork! Since I was unable to post pics last week, I am doing two weeks together! I love, love, love checking out other homeschool pictures!) 

Okay, so I probably deserve the Mommy fail of the year. I cannot find my charger to my good camera. So, we have had to just settle for phone pictures for the first day of school. *sigh* Oh well, it will at least give you a glance into our day! The entire day was smooth and the girls actually begged to keep going but the teacher put her foot down for the first day of school. I know that there are going to be many days they will be PRAYING to stop! teheheehehe

The lessons were completed without pain and I am really pleased with the semester approach I am taking. You can read more about it here and here. Our days are not as long and laborious. The girls were up, dressed and finished with morning chores thirty minutes ahead of schedule. Family Bible time was fun. The hubby decided to read the story about the man from the Gaderene tombs.  My three year old Sunshine got this out of the story: "There were pigs and they died!" Hey, at least she was listening! That is a feat for my toddler.

Math, Language, and Writing were fun today and I am relishing the newness of it all. While I was balancing the 3rd and 6th grade teaching, I also had my Pre-K student to keep busy. WOW! We went from writing on the white board, building blocks, and coloring within 12 and half minutes. I confess she went to watch an *educational television show* while I taught Math to my older girls. Don't judge me! But, we were able to accomplish "sewing" to increase eye/hand coordination, numbers, and writing. For that I am proud!

So, without further ado, here are the beautiful students of Angels Academy! I am sorry for the grainy pics... *sigh*

Sunshine!

My Musician

My Writer

They have my heart completely! Here are a few pictures of our first day back to {home}school!

Here are pictures of our classroom! We are decorating with a western theme this year by the request of Angels Academy students. :)

Thanks for checking us out!

Have you seen our curriculum for this year? You can read more about that here and here! 

Check out other cool homeschooling families here!

Midnight Serenades and BTS Shopping!

*YAWN*

You will have to excuse me! I was up for quite a while last night as I was serenaded from my window. Oh, yes! Be jealous! My slumber was kindly interrupted by the beautiful singing of our cat. o.O Now, if you have never heard a cat sing, you would not know of the beauty of it's screams, shrieks, wails, song. I was just waiting for my daughter to come busting into my room terrified that her precious kitty was being torn apart, bit by bit by some menacing animal. Um, no dear, that is just the neighboring kitty. :D

Anyhoo, on a brighter note, we were able to go Back to School shopping yesterday. I always print out school supply lists for the girls and my father takes us all out to shop! Back to school shopping is a bit of a tradition since I was old enough to attend school. The girls had a wonderful time and it was all so precious to watch my little Sunshine (who will be in K-3 with Mommy this year) carry around her list, eagerly throwing things into the buggy. She has explained to everyone that she is having a Snow White school. ????  How is Mommy pulling that off? I guess we can count the princesses and name the colors of their dresses. LOL Gotta love homeschooling!

In further news, our classroom is now complete and looks like some rootin' tootin' fun! We are having a western theme this year and it turned out great. Our school books come in today and so I will be spending the weekend preparing schedules and organizing materials to prepare for..... wait for it..... OUR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL on MONDAY! Yeehaw! Round 'em up pardners, it is time to learn!

Olympic Dreams and Classroom Flashbacks...

So Olympic fever has taken over our house, especially of the gymnastics variety. There is a whole lot of toe pointing going on! My living room is used for the floor exercise, a footboard has been transformed into a beam, and my couch arms have become a vault! What is so surreal is that my sister and I would do the exact same thing. The USA women's gymnastics team is looking really strong this year! I am looking forward to a great competition.

On the school front, this week is going to be spent setting up our school room! Just as a flashback, I thought I would dig up our classroom picture from our first year of homeschool. Here it is!

This was for 3rd grade and Kindergarten. I now have a 6th grader and 3rd grader!!! O.o  Wow! So we now have bigger desks and another theme, you can see my new theme here! We also have a K-3 student added to the mix. ;) So this year will definitely be exciting. I will post pics of our new classroom when I get it finished. My goal is to be finished by Friday. We shall see...

Oh, and just as a bit of exciting personal news, I went back to the gym for the first time in about 2 months! I am hoping to get back into routine and get rid of some of this (ahem...) baby fat. Never mind that my baby turned three today.

Happy Blogging!

Celebrate The Little Things!

First comment! Taking joy in the little things this morning! Big thank you to Dana from "Fun in First Grade" for stopping by and dropping me a line! I felt the need to throw some confetti so I decided to enjoy some fireworks instead. ;)

I am up and armed with a cup of delicious coffee this morning. Last night was another one of those "mind running 90 miles an hour while my eyes feel like they are sandpaper" kind of nights. O_O  My thoughts were on writing journals to integrate Language Arts into Science and History. So, I have decided to sit down and write some guiding questions. Another thought I have had is to create story map worksheets for my girls to complete as they work through a fictional or non-fictional book. One of the toughest challenges in reading is to summarize a book for a book report or research report. These worksheets would guide them through the chapter, integrate language arts, and support them in summarizing as well as prediction. So, two new things for my TO DO list. I will be posting the story map worksheet when I finish so you can tell me what you think! :)

One big goal that I have for this year is to create a Unit on American History. I have done quite a bit of research on curriculum for American History for my homeschoolers and I have to admit I am not jumping up and down about any of them. I have so many ideas of what I would like to see my girls accomplish this year so I thought I would work to create my own. This would be more of a guided curriculum that could be used in homeschool or even by a classroom teacher. Can't wait to get going on it! Perhaps you know of a great curriculum or resource for American History that you could share? If so, comment below! I would love to hear about them.

I hope you all have a great day!