It seems like every day there is an endless stream of students reporting behaviors or incidents that happen in the classroom. On one hand, we want to help our students feel heard and validated so they know we are a safe person for them to talk to. On the other hand, we certainly don't want to feed into the tattle machine. It's a fine line to walk. So how do we handle tattling in our classrooms?
While not necessarily "un-schoolers", we ARE eclectic homeschoolers. And with that title comes ALL forms of learning...including a little bit of un-schooling or as I like to call it..."schooling at the speed of summer." Our official last day may have marked the end of assignments and schedules, but, it did not put a three-month halt to our learning. On the contrary, there is plenty o' schoolin' going on 'round here. It's just been slowed from a gallop to a trot. It's intentionally more leisurely. It's purposefully more gentle. Here's what our days look like during the sunshine months. Devotions For the summer, we pack away the Good Morning Board. Although we obviously still have breakfast and still get dressed, our morning routine is less planned than during the fall and winter. We do still make devotions a morning-time-MUST, however. The older three kids and I read from our individual Bibles and devotional books and then, we each take rotating turns reading a picture Bible story to the two youngest. Pleasure Reading In addition to our daily read-aloud for the month, my oldest three boys have to read out loud to me for at least 15 minutes each day. This not only gets them closer to their summer-reading-program goals, but it also maintains constant reading practice throughout the summer. My daughter, ever the book-a-holic, is rarely without a book in her hands. So, although I encourage her to read at least 15 minutes a day, it is really more of a obligatory request. As is our summer-time custom, we often allow all the kids to stay up past bedtime to read. The extra-long daylight makes it nearly impossible for them to fall asleep at the normal time anyway. So, the Hubs and I like to capitalize on the lengthier days by instituting the following late night reading rules. You have to be in bed at the normal time...8:00 at our house. You may read books, look at picture books (for those too young to read), or listen to audio books...for one hour. If you get out of bed for any reason other than an emergency, you forfeit your reading time and have to go right to bed. An extra late bedtime AND a whole hour of uninterrupted reading time! A win-win for everyone. Summer Science Project Since we spend six months of our traditional school year buried by snow, it is difficult for us to pursue any biological themes for science...at least the ones that are shaded in GREEN. For this reason, we have always chosen one particular element of nature to study during the summer months. As with any delight-directed learning, I left this year's science project choice up to the kids. After some brainstorming and a quick family vote, they decided that this summer we'd focus our science efforts on WEATHER. A couple of times each week will find us reading great weather-themed living literature books conducting weather-related experiments recording the temperature and cloud patterns of the day on a calendar using weather instruments and tools Who knows? We may even end our study by making a celebratory cloud cake! Discovery Basket Time So far, our summer days have been more mobile than in year's past. Since we are in the process of trying to sell our house, we have not been at home very often...requiring a more flexible schedule. So, while we haven't been able to enjoy our discovery quiet time EVERY day, we have tried to sneak it in whenever possible. Individual Interests Summer...with its fun-in-the-sun-laziness...has always been a great time for my children to explore individualized extra-curricular interests. Because the season is short, the commitment is minimal. I might not be able to taxi my daughter to three-day-a-week basketball practices ALL WINTER LONG...but, I CAN commit to chartering her to a morning basketball camp for one week in the summer. In addition to free weeklong swimming lessons offered by our local YMCA that my oldest three participated in the very first week of summer vacation, here's what my kids have chosen for their own personal summer learning. Sweetie Pea "Mommy's Helper" for a family friend once a week week-long morning basketball camp two-day sewing camp for girls offered by some wonderful women at our church Super Boy Alert Cadet training with dad nearly-free weekly guitar lessons offered as a ministry from our church's children's ministry assistant bi-weekly art lessons with an exceptional retired art teacher in our area Blonde Warrior AND Greased Lightning twice-a-week morning T-ball at a local park While I love the vigorous learning that takes place during the school year, I also enjoy the "exhale"-style schooling that happens during the summer months. The organic kind...the slow-down kind...the GENTLE kind. So, that's what our summer learning plans look like. How about yours?
Little storytellers, take a trip to the beach with this fill-in-the-blanks story! Your young writer will practice her parts of speech to finish the story.
Teach poetry tools for kids successfully with a visual anchor chart. Here is a visual anchor chart that you can create with your class as you study a unit of poetry. Practice each poetic device (personification, imagery, repetition, alliteration, metaphor, line breaks, simile and rhythm) and add it to your anchor chart to help students see that they can be successful in writing poetry too.
Would you like to decorate your classroom with fun, hand-drawn anchor charts/posters? Do you simply not have the time to get them done? Well, you have come to the perfect place! I love making these engaging and appealing anchor charts. I also can draw/create any other topic you would like, just contact me directly and ask! My students absolutely love these posters and references them every day. Many of them are visual learners, so the colorful images really help them connect and remember what they have learned. This particular anchor chart is for readers/writers practicing how to summarize. This helps them learn a strategy of how to include the characters, the problem, and the solution. It breaks summarizing down into 5 steps of how to do this, and helps them mentally imagine the beginning, the middle, and the end of a story! **These will be copies unless asked otherwise for a custom poster. They are not laminated, and are printed on normal, anchor chart paper. I ship these out ASAP after being ordered, but please keep in mind once shipped, it is outside of my control. Therefore, if shipping does not meet your expectations, I highly encourage you to please reach out to me first, and we have always been able to work something out to make up for anything that may have occurred after I have sent your package, thanks so much!! Hope you love it :)
Rosie Revere Engineer was our inspiration for this paper plate hovercraft. My kids are big into engineering and STEM, so when we found the book Rosie Revere Engineer, of course we had to buy it. This book is so much fun, because not only does it show kids that they can be inventors too, but ...
My kids weren't really interested in learning about cells until I said slime. Okay, it was a fairly cheap trick since I knew they loved slime. But I also knew that slime would be the perfect way to learn about cells. I can't say I've ever touched cytoplasm but it sounds very slime-like to me.
Learn how to make Musical Instrument Crafts with Kids. Your DIY Band put together with drums, guitars, DIY maracas, to horns and more! Easy fun
Thousands of teachers have used these tried and true GUARANTEED tups to stop students from blurting out. Chatty Class? YOU NEED TO READ THIS!
How strong is spaghetti? Challenge kids to invent a way to find out! This STEM challenge is a lot of fun, and you won’t need much in the way of materials! Here are the materials we used: 1 package of spaghetti 2 sheets of styrofoam – purchased at Hobby Lobby Books Wooden blocks We started our […]
Anger is probably the #1 issue the kids I work with deal with. In this post you will find many great links, worksheets, and resources for addressing anger in children of all ages. One of my favorit…
The kids and I have been talking about words with ing added on the end. My youngest has just started coming across these words in his reading and his big sister was showing him how to break the wo…
I love to start the year building classroom community with Peter H. Reynold’s books like The Dot and Ish. They are great read aloud books to begin a growth mindset activity. Both books are great for teaching kids that it is okay to take risks and make mistakes. Those books also go very well […]
How to Create Audio QR Kids using Seesaw
Find out how to organize an Escape Room at home. Create an Escape Room kit DIY with family and friends. Tips and advice for your puzzles!
A crisis plan (sometimes called a safety plan) can sound intimidating, but think of it like a tool: a gameplan for navigating the worst days.
The Naaman cup craft is a seriously simple yet incredibly effective craft that will go along with your kids session on Naaman.
Teach children the basics to paint like Pollock in just 40 minutes. Great for grades K-2, kids learn new techniques with paint, yarn and becoming fearless
If you have ever struggled knowing the best way to teach grammar to your students, you are not only one! Whether you infuse your grammar instruction into your reading and writing units or whether you teach from a more traditional curriculum, I think it is safe to say that none of our students have mastered […]
special education, behavior, behavior plans, BIPs, writing a behavior plan
special education, behavior, behavior plans, BIPs, writing a behavior plan
Here’s a fun science experiment that will definitely get a “wow” from the kids. Combine baking soda and vinegar to make sodium acetate, or hot ice! It crystalizes instantly when you pour it, allowing you to create a tower of crystals. Since the process of crystallization is exothermic, the “ice” that forms will be hot […]
Whether they're completed on a piece of paper, a tablet, or a whiteboard, exit tickets are a powerful tool to use in your classroom. Exit tickets are formative assessments that provide a quick snapshot about your students' learning and understanding of a topic faster than any other tool in the classroom.
From reading fun books to STEM projects, this Viking Unit gave us a vast insight to where exploration began and helped set the stage for the Age of Exploration.
If you have followed the discussion over the past years about "21st Century Skills" or have been on this planet long enough, you know that the ability to work with others is just as important as any "
5 Creative Uses for QR Codes in the Elementary Classroom
Basic vocabulary, like knowing prepositions, is necessary for beginning readers. Teach prepositions with this simple game.
Creating mood in writing is a lot easier than it sounds. Find out how to help your students with this important skill with this post!
Use the train analogy to teach students about subjects and predicates! This blog post contains an anchor chart and several matching activities.
Looking for a fun way to teach 2D shapes? This marshmallow geometry activity will do the trick - and fill your tummy!
Your students will love using our interactive portable calm down corner lap book! It's the perfect effective behavior management tool that's easy to transport and store. The strong visual supports help students to communicate more easily. This means most students can use the portable calm corner independently. Plus it makes an excellent deescalation tool. Best of all, using it can be a calming strategy in and of itself. HOW IT WORKS 1. Students identify their feelings and the size of the problem 2. Choose and try one of the 20 suggested classroom-appropriate coping tools 3. Reflect on whether or not they feel calmer, more focused, and ready to learn. ⭐️ ⭐️ Check out the PREVIEW to see more! ⭐️ ⭐️ WHAT OTHER EDUCATORS & PARENTS ARE SAYING "We no longer had room in my classroom for a physical "Calm Corner," so this was a game changer. Something that can be easily handed to students when they need it." -Michelle "WholeHearted School Counseling knows children! This resource takes all the pieces of what I know to do to help students regulate and puts them at the students finger tips!! AND the make the product sooo enticing and user friendly. I LOVE the graphics! Thank you for creating this portable Calm Corner!" -Jenifer "This process honours kids so wonderfully! All feelings are valid and they have the power to regulate. Such a valuable process in an engaging, easy to follow process for kids to do independently. LOVE THIS!" -Jocelyn WAYS TO USE Effective classroom management tool to help students with challenging behaviors Individual intervention for students who need additional support with self-regulation Allow students to take it to different classes Acts as a stand alone Calm Corner or used as additional Calm Corner tool Use as Check-In and Check-Out resource Great for classroom, counseling office, Break Areas, and at home use, too! Looking for a Digital Version? Check out the Digital Calm Corner What's Included: ✔ Choice between full color, light color and black/white printing options ✔ Bonus "How Are You Feeling?" Posters (in 3 printing options and optimized to print in both 8.5"X11" and 18"X24"). ✔ Bonus "I Feel" Checklists COMMON QUESTIONS and ANSWERS What's Needed to Assemble Choice Board? ✓ Hook and Loop Adhesive Dots ✓ Paper Clips, Binder Clips, and/or Clothespins ✓ File Folder How many Coping Strategies are Included? 20 How many Feelings are Included? 20 How Can the Portable Calm Corner Help Me Create a Trauma Sensitive Classroom? More and more we are learning about the vital importance of cultivating trauma sensitive classrooms and schools. Kids need to feel safe, cared for and seen before they are ready to learn and get along with others. Warrior educators like yourself understand this... and this is why we are seeing a movement to implement safe spaces, like Calm Corners in classrooms. Teaching children self-regulation coping tools helps the thinking part of their brain, the pre-fontal cortex, to get back on track when big emotions -which are adaptive and there for very good reasons- make it hard for kids to engage in school tasks. Many of our students need extra support in this area, often coming to school already in a reactive state of fear, worry & chronic stress. Until we help students manage and relate-with kindness & compassion-to these challenging emotional experiences, they will not be ready to learn the academic tools that students need to be successful in and out of school. Can Families Use This Portable Calming Corner Kit At Home? Yes! What Other Counseling, Wellness, or Social Emotional Learning Resources Do You Recommend to Help My Students or Children Regulate Their Emotions? 50 Coping Tools for Kids! The Brain and The Stress Response SEL Lesson & Activities The Calm Classroom Bundle for Classroom Management ___________________________________ Learn about sales, freebies & new resources (that are always 50% off the first 48 hours!): Follow WholeHearted School Counseling™ on TPT Join our Newsletter Follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter ___________________________________ Earn TPT credit to Use on Future Purchases: Visit your My Purchases page. Click on the Provide Feedback button for any Paid Resources. Leave a short comment and rating. ___________________________________ Need Help With Your Files? Visit the FAQs section Contact TpT Tech Support and submit a help ticket Ask WholeHearted School Counseling™ a question via the Q& A tab ___________________________________ Terms of Use This resource was created by WholeHearted School Counseling™, all rights reserved. When you purchase a license, it may be used for your personal single classroom, counseling office, or home use only. If you would like to share this product with other teachers, counselors, staff, or administration, please either refer them to WholeHearted School Counseling's™ store or purchase an additional license for each adult use. You can read more details about copyright and terms of use here. Thank you for respecting the Copyright and Terms of Use boundaries. Take good, kind care of yourself. ❤️
Teaching about character traits in reading can be challenging but fun! One of the hardest parts for kids is that in most pieces of literature, the character traits are somewhat abstract. The author doesn’t directly tell the reader what the character is like, which forces kids to have to learn to piece it together by […]
Learn how to create a peaceful and effective Calm Corner to help children self-regulate in your classroom or home.
Show Don't Tell Anchor Chart! This blog post contains a complete writing lesson and the printables you'll need to create the anchor chart and replicate the activities!
Learn about famous art and create your own sculpture with this fun lesson about Giacometti.
Everything you need to know about teaching 5th grade categorized and organized by topic for easy reference.
Team-Building in a Student-Led Classroom
It's that time of year! Back to school time (even though I know some of my bloggy friends have been back for a couple of weeks now.) While you may be in a district that wants you to hit the academics hard core from the first day of school and cut out "fluff", there's nothing fluffy about a cohesive classroom. And you can forget good things happening academically when nobody can get along. Do you hear me administrators? I think it's a wise idea to spend some time helping your students learn to live together in a room that gives everybody about one square foot of personal space. So here's a little collection of some fabuloso ideas I found through the wonderful world of blogging. Here are some great ideas to get your new friends talking to each other, working together, and thinking about what a successful classroom looks like. 1. Talk about how to treat each other. Tales from a Tidy Teacher shares a lesson using Finding the Green Stone by Alice Walker. She gives each student a shiny green "stone". They plan how they will keep their stones shiny all year. I think this would be a great anchor lesson to refer to all year long. Here's a post from Mrs. Robinson's Classroom Blog. She has a different question each day to get kids thinking about their role in the classroom. Your actions are who you are. When things were getting cranky in my classroom last year, we worked on this activity. We planned out the words that we would want our principal to use when describing us. Then we planned out the actions that would get us there. 2. Talk about words and what they can do (for good and evil). I love love love this poster. It is from Sweet Blessings who also happens to be the genius behind Technology Rocks. Seriously. I had it printed as an 11x17 on glossy card stock ($1.50 at Office Max). I referred to it all year long the last couple of years. By the second month of school, all I had to do was say, "THINK before you speak" and they knew exactly what had gone wrong. Yes, Mrs. O Knows will convince you that toothpaste and toothpicks will teach kids everything they need to know about words. I tried so hard to find the original source for this one. Please leave a comment if you know where it came from. Cause it's awesome. 3. Have kids work together in a fun way. Who wouldn't want to save Fred? This is a great team work lesson from Fabulous Fourth Grade Froggies. This one's from Science Gal. Now tell me that doesn't look fun? And because the best way to learn that the world does not revolve around you, have your kids perform RACKS. Random Acts of Classroom Kindness. Here's an idea from 3rd Grade Thoughts. There are tons more great ideas out there on this, too. Have kids work in teams to plan out some RACKS for each the classroom, other students, and staff, too. And now for a little giggle: Hope you have a great school year!
As you may have discovered over the weekend, my blog has an “All New” look to celebrate my one year “blog-iversary”! I have been so blessed to have “met” so many wonderful people over the last year and have learned so much. I want to celebrate with all of you with a GIGANTIC five day […]
"Magic Feet Follow The Beat" is a fun & engaging game to introduce kids to basic music theory. March to the beat of a drum & learn some note values!
Synonyms and Antonyms Anchor Chart! This blog post contains the material to create this anchor chart, plus a FREE interactive notebook entry for synonyms and antonyms!
Use a bandaid to create a card that shows how much you care. The tutorial includes a cute song about caring for others.
Hi, friends! For the past decade, I have continually reminded students to label their pictures, stretch out the words, make finger spaces, begin with a
