I didn’t know if I would be able to blog about this topic when I was in the middle of dealing with it but now I think it’s safe to say we are out of our funk. We have completed a 180 from where we were in January and February. It’s easy to think it’s always sunshine and rainbows in kindergarten and first grade, but the reality is, we have some really great days and some realllllyyy tough days.
The months of January and February were tough because we were battling cabin fever. We had a snow day (or 2) almost every week. We had February vacation. We had Valentine’s Day, the 100th day and many other very “excitable” events in our classroom. I know this sounds like fun. What’s wrong with a bunch of snow days and a vacation?! But from the teacher’s shoes, snow days, vacations and holidays can sometimes be our worst nightmare. I paid for every single snow day we had. Disruptions in routines are the downfall of my classroom and all of these fun filled and unexpected events caused our class to unravel in the days we were together. Some days it felt like it was September again. My kids were forgetting our simple classroom rules like raising hands, saying please and thank you and walking in the hallway. They were forgetting how to be nice to each other. They were irritable. They were fighting with each other. They were driving each other bonkers!
So what is a teacher to do when her class is unraveling? Well, I’m not entirely sure if there is one answer for this. But here is what I had to do.
I took away everything fun. I KNOW. It seems heartless but all of my other behavior systems had failed me and I needed the shock factor to really get them to understand that I was serious and that we could not go on like we had been.
At the end of what I can only describe as our worst day all year, I took all of our toys out of the classroom as my kids sat and watched. I put garbage bags on all of our computers. I took away our “Scrap Monster” which is really just our recycling bin but the kids have free reign over it to make crafts. I needed them to understand that school is FUN and the things we do and have we are LUCKY to have and we don’t just get them because we are supposed to. We get them because we deserve and earn them! It was a sad day and I felt that inner conflict that all teachers are familiar with. Was I being too harsh? Was this going to work? Would they even care?
Great Post! As a first year teacher, I can learn a lot from this! I think we do have a tendency to blame ourselves but I like that you did reflect (as we should) to get back on track. I'll keep this in my back pocket. Luckily, I don't have to use it yet, that doesn't mean we haven't had our bad days. We always want to write about the good and this was refreshing and a great idea to hear!
Amber
SSSTeaching
Great post! I use a puzzle piece behavior system in my class everyday, I am a special education teacher. One of my kids loves the computer, but gets over stimulated when using it so he is only allowed to get it at the end of the day. Throughout the day he earns puzzle pieces and starts to build his computer puzzle. By the end of the day if he was able to make a complete picture he earns the computer. It works great for him. Good Job Teach!
Thank you so much for all your hard work and concern for the children your responsible for. I'm sorry you were having some bad days but so happy to see that you are teaching them to respect and love each other and that all the wonderful classrooms and technology they take for granted is a priviledge. Keep up the great work and God give you strength, patience and good health.
Wow! It is great to read about other teacher's tough days and how they conquer them!
I really like the puzzle piece idea. I teach special ed too, but in middle school – even so I think I could make this work!
I like the puzzle piece idea as well. These are some good ideas for getting behavior on track. I've had a lot of behavior issues this year.
Resource Room Rules
You're an amazing teacher! Don't ever forget that!!
All I can say is WOW! (An impressive wow, that is). I have looked over your entire blog and I feel like we have so much in common! From our management style to how we decorate our rooms! I will definitely be following you on here.