Behavior Calendars 2018-2019

It is almost that time! The new school year is coming up way too fast and we teachers need to get ahead of the game. Every year I use Behavior Calendars to communicate student behavior to both the student and the parent/family about daily behavior.

Each child has a calendar in their homework folder. At the end of every day I write a happy, uh-oh, or sad face on their calendar. This allows the student to know how their behavior was for the day and holds them accountable by having to share this calendar with their parents.

I do not like displaying behavior charts in the classroom because it has a negative effect on a child's attitude about behavior. Once they hit a sad face or a red card they often give up trying to improve their behavior for the rest of the day. Behavior calendars are not marked until the very end of the day and the student must keep trying to earn their happy face. In my opinion, you can ALWAYS earn it back!

I am sure many of you are thinking that this will take way too much time at the end of the day to complete. You are wrong if you think that! It takes at most 5 minutes and students are always eager to see what they get on their calendar. Isn't it worth it to spend 5 minutes a day so that the next day will be a little bit better? It is also a running record for you and can allow you to spot patterns in a child's behavior so that deeper conversations can go on and documentation can be provided to the parent.

You can also add special events to you calendar by following the editing instructions in the file. Book Fairs, Field Trips, Conferences can all be added to personalize your calendar!

I assure you, Behavior Calendars are the way to go. They are a life saver! Check them out!

Classroom Management is hard. Make it easier on yourself by helping your students self manage and keeping parents in the loop on a daily basis. It is so worth it!

Handwriting Freebie!

Here we are, at the end of the school year, and my kiddos have gotten lazy! They are writing fast and messy, with letters flying all over the page. It is time to slow down and remember how to form letters correctly and how to get them to use the lines appropriately. How can we do this with only 2 weeks left? Practice, Practice, Practice! You could even bribe them! I will be telling my kiddos that they will get a special prize if they can show me their best handwriting. And to do this I will keep track of it in their end of the year handwriting packet. Check it out:

Click here to get your handwriting freebie!

Updated Word Wall Words and New Lower Price!

I have updated my word wall words. I have added the IRLA 1G words to make sure my students have access to all words they are expected to learn. I find it funny when certain school say certain words are more important that others. Aren't all words important? I think so. Unfortunately, public school have to follow state guidelines and those guidelines follow one path, which may or may not make sense. I hope you can use the cards in your class. My kiddos love them and they are in constant use on my word wall.

To get the new lower price, please click here!

Be the Kool-Aid!

SALE! SALE! SALE!

All About Mom Survey

Mother's Day is almost here! And because moms are so amazing for everything they (we) do, I like to give them a gift that makes them laugh and makes the cry. In a good way!

The way to make mom laugh is by giving her the tried and true MOM SURVEY!!! Yes, letting Kinders write down how old their mom is, if she can cook, what she is good at, is a very good read for everyone. Especially mom. I have included a FREEBIE of my Mom Survey! Check it out:

So, how do I make mom cry? I have each child make a keychain with their thumbprint in it! More to come on that tomorrow!

Is your child going to bed at the right time?

I ran across this chart to give to parents at Kindergarten Round-Up! I have had so many conversations this year about when a Kinder (or any child) should go to bed each night. So, I thought I would share this with my Kinder Community so that we can understand that going to sleep earlier might not mean the child is actually sleeping enough (or too much!).

I have found that when I moved from Southern California to Oregon, I was NOT prepared for the extra long days in spring/summer or the extra long nights in fall/winter. My kids needed some serious adjustment. And, to be honest, so did I! I was used to putting them to bed at a certain time and have not always taken into account their ever increasing ages, nor their schedule. In California they woke up at 6am, but in Oregon it is 6:30-6:45am. Well, that means they can stay up a little later. And, let's be honest, this is my kids' dream come true!!