Monday, September 28, 2015

Family Tree Craft

We’re back with another craft from our friend Liam. Using handprints and footprints is the perfect way to get the babies in your daycare or childcare center involved in some cute crafting. This handprint tree is a great example of that!

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For this craft, start by cutting a tree trunk out of brown construction paper and apples out of red construction paper. You will want to cut enough apples to represent each student’s family.

You can then start creating your tree by gluing your trunk into place. Next, paint one of your student’s hands green and stamp it around the top of the trunk to create the look of full branches.

While you are waiting for the paint to dry, write the names of the student and their family members onto the apples. When dry, you can glue each apple into place.

For older students, allow them to cut out the stumps and apples by themselves or from tracings you have prepared for them. They can also add on the names for their family members!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Classroom Management – 5 Ideas for Managing Noise Levels

1. Catch A Bubble – My mom uses this with her preschool students and it works like a charm. She tells them to catch a bubble and they immediately fill their mouths with air. Students will tap their friends who haven't yet caught the memo and point at their mouths to let them know what’s going on. Next thing you know, the class is quiet and everyone has puffy cheeks.

2. Call and Response – The teacher starts by saying “1, 2, 3 eyes on me.” The students will then respond with “1, 2 eyes on you!” You can even come up with your own clever phrases to use. Try using your classes favorite song. The teacher will say or sing the beginning of the first line and students have to finish.

3. Match the Clap Pattern – The teacher will start by clapping a special pattern. When the teacher completes the pattern, the students must then repeat it back. This can go on for a few rounds until you have everyone’s attention.

4. Marble Jar – Place a Jar at the front of your classroom. When students exhibit good behavior, add a marble to the jar. When they behave poorly, remove a marble from their jar. When the jar is full, your class can celebrate by having a pizza or popcorn party! Having a visual in the front of the room is a great way to keep students thinking about good behavior.

5. Whisper Challenge – Start by whispering a direction to the students. For example, “Raise your hand if you can hear me.” Those that hear you will start the reaction by raising their hands. Continue to whisper different actions until you have everyone’s attention. You can even throw in a few rewards as you go such as “the first five people to raise their hand may go to the prize box.”

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Thursday, September 10, 2015

Classroom Management – Class Countdown

Add some fun to your class schedule by using silly countdowns and timers! These timers are perfect for letting students know their time is almost up on a test or assignment. This will give them a little bit of a heads up too so that they know they need to start wrapping things up.

Timers and countdowns are also great for noise control! When things get a little too rowdy, just put up one of your timers. If the students aren’t quiet by the time it reaches one, you can give them a consequence. This gives them time to correct themselves before being reprimanded. Plus, they will be excited to see which timer you picked.

Check back with us here for more classroom management ideas!

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Classroom Management – Quiet Critters

Looking for new ways to keep the volume in your classroom down? Check out these Quiet Critters! Quiet Critters only make an appearance when the room is quiet and the students are well behaved. If things get too loud or out of control, they get scared and need to return back home. You will want to have one for each student in the classroom. This way the students that are behaving can have one placed on their desk and the students who are not will change their act to earn their quiet critter too.

All you need to create your critters are heart shaped foam pieces, assorted wiggle eyes, and colorful pom poms. The foam heart acts as the base and looks like little feet. Simply glue the pom pom onto the heart and then add the eyes. We love that the critters pictured above have different eyes. It adds a little fun for the students when they see which one they earned. You can even have them create their own critters and ask them to pull them out when they are well behaved. Give this idea a try and let us know what you and your students think!