I am guessing by now, you have heard that we had a rough day all the way around on Friday. I have tried very hard to curb the non-stop talking in the classroom when transitioning from one subject to another. Due to our desk size (or lack there of) we can't store our books/art supplies in our desk. So, when needed, we have to get up and go get needed materials. This should take around 2 minutes. In our class, after 4 weeks, it is still taking 5-7. When you begin to add that up on a daily basis we are talking about losing over a half hour of academic instruction/practice time a day. Is that really what is best for kids in the long run? Absolutely not. I LOVE having the kids get up and stretch and move around for a minute or two while transitioning, but these kids LOVE to go find their friends, chat about their evening, lolygag around and otherwise. All of which are not acceptable during this time. We have talked till we are blue in the face about how lunch, recess, before and after school is social time. During school hours it is academic time. That is why they are here. So, to help drive this point home on Friday, each time they began to talk during an inappropriate time we went outside and ran to the fence and back. If they were still talking, we ran again. Does this waste academic time...absolutely. But, my hope is that they eventually get it and begin to encourage one another and themselves to save talking for a more appropriate time. I tell them I could just stop, talk about it, take money away, write it for you to talk about it at home on the blog, put our heads down and think about it, or a million other things I have tried, or I can make them run and think about how this isn't very fun. I gotta say, it took a lot of laps to the fence on Friday for them to get it. Some, more than others. And, honestly it is pretty hard to make most of the class run because one or two kids can't get it. And those one or two kids know who they are and so does the rest of the class. Eventually, just as in life, they will begin to feel the pressure of their peers and begin to follow the rules. I have used this strategy before after exhausting all other methods, and it has worked. It does make me out to be the "mean" teacher, but as one student brought to my attention at the end of the school day in their Reflective Learning Journal, they understand why I have to do this. He said, we have a lot to learn and not very much time to learn it in. Another child said that they like a quiet classroom and they are glad that I am making it that way even though they don't like to run. Many said thank you Ms. Erickson. Your child's educational success is at stake when a classroom is chaotic and noisy. As a parent myself, I see the value in taking two to three days to solve an issue that would ruin 180 days of my child's academic year. I expressed to your child that when they come home this weekend and tell you that Ms. Erickson was mean and made them run to make sure that they told you the entire story. I also told them that it is not just me they are being disrespectful to. They are also showing disrespect to themselves, their classmates, their school, and to you. As many of you wrote the code word not to long ago that said that you also talked to your child about this very issue. Bottom line is, this behavior will no longer be acceptable. We will fix this issue quickly, and it will be over soon. If anyone has another suggestion that I have not tried, please write it in the planner and I will definitely consider it. Along with that, please once again discuss this topic with your child. There is not one child in my class that is completely 100% free of this discussion. All of them are guilty of talking during transitions. However, I can say in that same breath, there are two or three that are very guilty of this behavior and need even more reminders. Thanks for your support on this. Hopefully, we don't have to run even one lap on Monday. :0) BELIEVE!
Next week starts our NWEA/MAP testing. This is a leveled test to help show us where your child is academically right now. It is so important for kids to just give it their best. We need true data in order to make sure your child is getting what they need at school. This test does just that. Kids may chew gum through the test on all three days (M-W). They need to bring their own gum, and one pack will do just fine. Please avoid the large pieces of Hubba Bubba that make a lot of noise while chewing. There is a surprising amount of research that says chewing gum while taking a standardized test helps kids. I have no idea how...but that is what has been tested and proven. Mints/lifesavors are also ok as long as the wrappers are off ahead of time. Please also have your child bring a PROTEIN snack on these days. Protein stays in the body the longest and provides energy to battle the stress of testing. Above all, please make sure your child gets plenty of sleep (at least 8-9 hours at this age), eats a protein filled breakfast (eggs, meat, peanut butter), and goes off to school know how very proud you are and how very much you love them. All we all expect is for them to do their best! :0)
Weekly reports came home on Friday. There are some missing assignments out there. Many of those said they were just left at home but done. I gave them this time for that, but from now on if it is not at school, they will get a new one to redo during their freetime. Until turned in, they have an F in the grade book. Missing assignments are the fastest way to kill a grade. If they need a new copy of something they know the procedure to get one and where I keep them in the classroom. Attached to the weekly grade report on the front this time was a character/behavior report. If you see an item checked it means they are struggling in this area. If nothing is checked then know that they are making really good choices at school and showing respect to all most of the time. YAY!!!! If your child has a missing assignment, I also attached the list of them on the back of the report.
The Heritage Recipe books came back from the print shop. Please enjoy them at home. Man, my mouth waters just thinking about making those again for my family! Awesome!!!!
Speaking of baking/making things. I will be making cupcakes tomorrow with my kiddos for both 4th grade classes. We are losing Miss. Emily to Pennsylvania along with her twin brother Cody in Mrs. Hankin's class. This is super, super sad news and I tried very hard to tell mom it was NOT allowed, but yet they still must leave us. We will miss them both!!! Please remind your child to make a card for them over the weekend to help them remember us! We will celebrate their new adventure at the end of the day. :0)
Many kids are bringing in box tops! AWESOME!!!! We now have a bucket in our classroom. Please send in any box tops you have on your food items. These often buy all of our playground equipment. They really do add up fast. Each time a child brings in some, I will pay them $50, regardless of how many they bring in. They just need to show me before they put them in the bucket. Thanks for doing this!!!!
In CC meeting, we concluded our Character Warrior lessons. Your child now knows about the shield they have over their hearts. It is filled with Caring, Trustworthiness, Responsibility, Citizenship, Fairness, and especially Respect. Every day we face many tough decisions that require us to use one of these skills. Now, all they have to do before making one is pull out their shield and think about the right choice, no matter how tough it is. How cool to always have a shield to guide/help us through whatever life throws at us. To tie it all together, we read a book called The Brave Knight, by Karen Kingsbury. Holy Moly, what a GREAT book for kids! If you are looking for a present for a child of any age, this is the book to buy. Ask your child about it. If they can tell you why the Knight from the West Village became the prince even though he lost every single contest the king put on, write the word KNIGHT in the planner for $20 at morning check in.
Now that we are done learning about the 5 cornerstones and 1 center stone of character we will begin to watch Rusty's regular show on schooltoolstv.com. I can't wait to see what lessons he has in store for us to learn and help us grow!
We have PE on Monday. Please remind kids to wear their tennis shoes.
Lastly, Ali was our star of the week this week. He had some amazing facts about his pretty famous clock making great, great, great grandfather. Talk about learning something about a kid that you never knew before. So, so cool! Thanks for sharing Ali!!!! We also played Stop Light Freeze Tag for our Friday Team Building Activity. Watch out for the people with the RED ball!!!! We had an extra bonus for our Fun Friday as well. Robby brought in his puppy for his Show and Tell Coupon he bought the first week of school. He was super cute and super fast!!!! Thanks for bringing him mom!!!!!!
Have a wonderful weekend!
