Two Hoots and A Holler

Hoot #1

 This year I wanted to focus on kindness and teach students how important it is.  I bought the book Bucket Filling from A to Z which is based off of the book How Full is Your Bucket? for Kids.  I have used this book as a read aloud to go along with our Alphabet Bootcamp.  We have been teaching a letter a day, and teaching a way to fill buckets that begins with that letter.  I have seen my students excel at sharing, using manners, and being kind to everyone. 

Over the summer, I read on a blog how a teacher used a "Giant Kerplunk" game to encourage her students in a positive way (can't remember the name to give that teacher credit...sorry!).  I decided use the same idea as a way to encourage students to be kind.  When a student is caught being kind, the student gets to pull a "kindness stick" from the Giant Kerplunk.  Eventually, all of the balls will fall.  When that happens, the class has earned a reward.  The reward maybe free centers one afternoon, an extra recess, lunch in the classroom, no shoes in class, or something that doesn't cost a dime, but the students will LOVE it.  

P.S.  My Giant Kerplunk came from a discount store and some of the pieces were missing....hence the duct tape!  It serves it's purpose though, and it is colorful too!  

These girls were caught by Jamie helping each other get to class one morning.
It was TOO sweet seeing my students smiling and helping one another first thing in the morning!
 

Hoot #2

Don't you just love that feeling when you see your students implementing something that you have taught them? I sure do! We have been working on the beginning stages of addition this week. The last two days, I decided that we would start our "student teachers". These are usually our helpers for the day. They get to come up and literally be the teacher. I do not do this on days that I am introducing a skill, of course, only when reviewing a skill. Everyone gets to be a student teacher several times throughout the year. The student teacher must do exactly like I do, including asking the other students questions. By doing this, we are meeting so many standards and the students have a blast learning!

This Week's Holler... 
This week's in holler goes out to Fiskar! Yes, that's right, the company that makes all of those student scissors. They get a big THANK YOU!! They donated enough scissors for every teacher to get what they needed for their classroom! We love our community!

Two Hoots and A Holler

Hoot #1

Teachers are known for their willingness to help others, so it was not surprise when we saw so many teachers reaching out to help fellow teachers in Texas!  Hurricane Harvey hit Texas relentlessly!  These teachers, students, and citizens need our help!  Our school has 2 former coworkers who teach in Texas.  They have not been able to get in their classrooms, so they are unsure about the amount of damage that was done.  We are sure teachers across the state lost tons of supplies that they spent their own hard working money on, and we encourage YOU to reach out and help! We recently read on Facebook that Sun, Sand, & Second Grade has a link to sign up to adopt a classroom.  We thought this was a great idea, and we wanted to share in hopes that many of you will adopt a classroom.  Click the picture below to sign up!

For more information go to  http://sunsandsecondgrade.blogspot.com/2017/08/adopt-texas-classroom-faq.html

Most importantly, continue to pray for the state of Texas and many others who have been effected by this devastating storm!  

 

Hoot #2

This year we began a new positive behavior strategy for the cafeteria.  We saw on Facebook one day over the summer (can't remember exactly who posted it) the idea of the "Golden Spatula".  We took this idea to our principal and cafeteria manager, and they thought it was a great idea to help enforce cafeteria expectations.  Each week a class from each grade is awarded the Golden Spatula!  In order to receive this award, classes must follow cafeteria expectations, have good manners, clean up after themselves, etc.  Our cafeteria staff decided the winning class each week.  Our kids look forward to who will win each week!

 

This Week's Holler...

 This week's holler goes out to Briana at Sun, Sand, & Second Grade!  She is a teacher in Florida.  She has taken on the responsibility, with the help of friends, to help teachers in Texas!  Her kindness and willingness to help others deserves this week's holler!!  Thank you Briana for this great idea and helping teachers across the nation unite for a good cause!