Read how I carried out an experiment on weathering and erosion with my upper elementary class. Students get to use background knowledge to make predictions!
Looking for easy pipe cleaner crafts for kids? My girls love making these beaded dragonflies! They are so cute for any spring project. A great boredom buster for when they are stuck at home. Cute little gifts, too.
Make your classroom more engaging and interactive by using these fun and academic products throughout your school year.
Follow the life cycle of a seed with these colorful sequencing cards. (Black and white cards are also included.) *This set now includes a digital Easel activity so that students can sequence the pictures on their own devices* This is a sample from my "Taking Care of Plants" Science Unit There are several ways that you can use these pictures: ✿ The students can cut out the pictures and then glue them onto paper in the correct order. ✿ Cut the pictures out ahead of time and laminate them. Mix up the cards and have the students sequence them. ✿ Print two sets of the pictures, cut them out and laminate them. Use the pictures to play a matching game. (If the students find two of the same picture they have a “match” and get to keep the cards. Play until all the pairs are found.) This game works well when played with a partner. Click to see my entire Science Curriculum
Interested in hand-lettering your Bible? These 5 easy tips will help you get started with hand lettering and enhance your Bible journaling.
This step-by-step block printing lesson teaches how to do linocut and foam printing with your students complete with block printing supplies and videos.
I can’t wait for you to try this homemade hand cream without beeswax.
Handing little learners a pair of scissors for the first time in a classroom can make teachers a little uneasy. Spend time focusing on how to cut with scissors, as well as, seeing what tool learners are ready to use is important. What Scissors to Use? There are many levels of development a child needs
Super simple craft for a DIY Paper Spinner, keeping the kids entertained this summer as part of the Make and Takes summer series Get Out and Play!
16 Immersion Blender Recipes | Make sauces, soups, lattes, whipped cream, and so much more. #ConquerTheExpected #MultiQuick9
This is a digital file. You will NOT receive anything by mail. Make the sweetest flowers ever with your little ones handprints (or footprints) for Grandparents Day! This is a digital download in 8.5x11. Handprints are not in downloaded file. This Grandparents Day printable is a project that allows kids to add their own handprints and/or footprints to the page. Makes a great keepsake for grandparents. Great for use at home or in a classroom! *I am a former childcare teacher turned stay at home mom of a toddler. I have 14 years of experience in writing lesson plans and planning activities for the toddler age range. These are the same activities I do at home with my daughter! Follow us on Instagram for tutorials and more toddler ideas! Search growing_upwith_grace. *This printable is for private use only either at home or in a classroom. NOT TO BE RESOLD.
What is a retained spinal Galant reflex and why does it look like ADHD in my child?
My miso sauce is probably one of the most versatile and simplest sauces to keep on hand for dressings, sauces and marinades! Meat your new magic sauce that will compliment absolutely everything on your dinner plate!
Need a great sauce to serve with your burritos? Try this burrito sauce recipe! It's easy to make and calls for just a handful of ingredients.
My family's secret homemade spaghetti sauce is easy to make using a few staple ingredients you may already have on hand! Perfectly thick and packed with flavor, you'll be ditching that store bought pasta sauce!
Henri Matisse turned to collage when he could no longer paint because of illness. This is a great hand out for students to use as a reference when creating a collage in the style of Henri Matisse. I tell my students that the shapes don't have to look exactly like the pictures. The pictures are sh...
When I started quilting, I had no idea how to do this. My knots would look so ghetto, lol. This may be a no-brainer to a lot of you seasoned sewers out there, but for all of you that’d like a…
Masculine cards can be some of the hardest to make, but that shouldn't be true! Here are some tips for making easy, yet great, masculine cards.
I love having a science lab in my own kitchen! I don't really understand the physics of what’s happening when each of those balls bounces, but it sure is fun to experiment with the kids. This...
I painted this striped design on the walls and ceiling of the water closet in the kids’ bathroom and I won’t lie, it was quite the time consuming project. Especially for someone like me who would t…
As you all know by now, I love painting with watercolor. I have shared my
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Bifanas are traditional Portuguese sandwiches made with thin slices of pork that are marinated and simmered in a sauce of white wine, garlic, hot pepper paste, lemon juice and other seasonings. They are served on papo secos (Portuguese buns), topped with sautéed onions and sweet peppers. You will find bifana sandwiches all over Portugal and similar to any famous recipe, everyone has their own variation. My recipe has been handed down to me from my mom. It couldn’t be any tastier or easier to make and I hope you enjoy it.
Family is the most important thing ever! You can teach your child this through this Paper House My Family Craft.
If there is one thing I have learned from working with preschoolers and now, homeschooling my own preschooler, it is that they love, more than anything else,
This DIY lotion recipe ensures you have a quality, safe product to use on your skin. Here's how to mix up a natural lotion step by step.
I know some of you are looking at this DIY and saying, “I don’t have good handwriting” or “I don’t know how to embroider. I’m not a machine!” Well, I’m excited to share my favorite hand-embroidery hack with you today! I used it to make this fun DIY embroidered sweatshirt and as a fellow handwriting deficient …
On A Peach for the Teach on Facebook, I invited people to ask their most challenging behavior questions. We got some great questions, each of which really tied together. Dona asked, I have a student that comes to me from second grade (I teach 1st) for my entire reading block, who likes to shout out talk back and just shuts down when you ask him to do something. He then treats his 2nd teacher with severe disrespect when he goes back to class. Rebecca asked, I have a class of 25 this year. 1 student is below K level (I teach 1st grade), 2 are identified as ADHD, we are working towards another student getting identified as ADHD, and I have 2 students who have really disrespectful attitudes. I have tried talking with parents, I have changed their seating, I have tried encouraging them and pointing out the positive......nothing seems to be working. Ideas? Lindsay asked, I need motivation tips for kids who can do the work but basically refuse to... These are such common issues that teachers face daily. I think they all tie together and have similar interventions, which led me to write this blog post-- How to Help Calling Out and "Class Clown" Behavior. "If you put a kid in the position of choosing between looking bad or looking dumb, he will choose to look bad." - Rick Lavoie, Motivation Breakthrough When a student is performing at a level lower than his peers, he is often aware of that. That could be part of the reason for the acting out. Maybe the child is embarrassed and would rather be seen as a class clown than struggling. It allows the child a sense of control over a situation where he would otherwise feel out of control. Try giving him some control in a positive way. To intervene, start with an informal play meeting. Meet with the student individually when he is calm, to play a preferred, non-academic game at the beginning or end of the day. He may be more likely to open up honestly in that type of setting through informal conversations (e.g., favorite TV shows, games, etc.). Casually ask what he likes and doesn't like about school, and "admit" to him that you always had a hard time with [insert his least preferred subject]. Try not to make it obvious that this is the whole point of your conversation. He might give you some insight into what's causing this. It's also great for establishing rapport, which will help you to get the student on your side. Give him some sort of task with which he can be successful, and give him positive attention for completing it. Avoid patronizing him or making it obviously at a level lower than the other students. Instead, try non-academic leadership positions, like a class helper, teacher's assistant, etc. Maybe give him the opportunity to call on students with questions. "Class, today we are going to try something new." Next, set limits. Start by telling the whole class that today we are going to try something new. Starting today, the teacher will no longer answer any calling out. Explain that we need to practice raising our hands and not calling out. Demonstrate, practice, and ask for volunteers to show you what hand raising looks like. Establish a non-verbal cue (e.g., a cue card with an image of a hand, or simply hold up your hand), and completely ignore calling out. Instruct the class to also ignore calling out. Have students practice calling out while you ignore it. Explain why you're doing this, so the student knows it's not just him being ignored. Ignore the behavior, not the child. You might want to give one verbal cue, such as, "I'd be happy to answer you when you raise your hand." This is your new procedure that will happen every single time a student calls out. You could still say it in a positive tone of voice, but it's all you will say. Give a Little, Get a Little Use positive language to elicit positive language. If a student is using disrespectful language, being threatening will teach the child to talk back with threatening language. Think about your reaction when somebody confronts you with doing something wrong. You initially feel a little attacked, so you want to react. Give the student the opportunity to save face. For example, instead of, "How dare you speak to me that way?" try a, "Whoops, that sounded disrespectful. I know you could ask me using nicer words," and only respond when he uses nicer words. If he doesn't, say, "I'll be over here when you're ready to use nice words to ask me." Dodge the Power Struggle To nip disrespect in the bud, we need to avoid power struggles-- even when a student questions what we're doing. That's the part that really tricks even the most skilled behavior interventionists. We want students to believe in, trust, and respect us. When they question what we're doing, we want to tell them. Please don't. You don't need to justify yourself in this moment. You may be skilled with planned ignoring, but when the child asks, "Why are you ignoring me?" it's too tempting to reply with an explanation, but resist the urge. If you planned and practiced this procedure previously, the child already knows why you're ignoring him. He may try to get you to give him anything other than the ignoring. Stick to the ignoring, and he will eventually try using nice words to get you to reply. It may also be helpful to teach a lesson on the words "disrespect" vs. "respect." Teach the meaning, and explain situations and words that are unacceptable. Teach this with empathy, and practice it. If the child uses negative language in class, prompt with a, "Please use your nice words if you need me to respond to you." Completely ignore anything else. I know that using a firm prompt followed by planned ignoring sometimes feels like you aren't doing anything to stop the behavior, but that's the best thing about it-- doing "nothing" stops the behavior. It completely eliminates the power struggle and argument. The child will be forced to use kind words to get any type of reaction out of you and to gain access to his wants/needs. This also works with whining. I told my little ones that my ears can no longer hear whining, and they all stopped whining. Now if only I could use planned ignoring on messes to make my kitchen clean itself! Words of Caution Sometimes when implementing planned ignoring, the child may initially test the limits and engage in more attention-seeking behavior. This is typical and should pass when he sees that he won't get a reaction. I got a comment on this post that really made me think and add another word of caution about this strategy-- exercise caution when using this for students with bonding and/or attachment needs. We certainly do not want to intensify feelings of abandonment, and we want to be sure that we are responding to their needs. It is vitally important to make sure that we are ignoring the behavior, not the child. Give the child plenty of positive attention for positive behavior. Make giving positive attention during appropriate behavior part of your behavior protocol for this child. When the negative behavior ends and the child begins acting positively, give positive attention. No need for a lecture at that moment. After the Procedure is Learned Once you are sure that the student understands how he will appropriately gain access to wants/needs, you can begin to address the calling out caused by impulsivity and habit. Make a T-chart, and write the positive behavior on the left and negative on the right (e.g., "Called Out" and "Raised My Hand"). Instruct the student to tally when he does each. This alone is often enough to curb the negative behavior. Other times with more severe behavior, it helps if tallies are tied to reinforcement. For example, the student can earn [something preferred] if he has more positive than negative tallies at the end of each block. You could also set goals based on baselines. For example, if the student reduces his calling out by ___% or does not exceed ___% incidents of calling out, he can earn [something preferred]. Class Dojo is another fun way to track this! The teacher can track the behaviors throughout the day, or the students can self-monitor behaviors on their T-Charts and plug them into the Dojo at the end of the day. Establish a procedure that students must earn more green (i.e., "positive") than red (i.e., "needs work"), or a certain percentage of green, in order to earn a reinforcer, positive note home, etc. Another helpful strategy is bonus free time. It's often harder for a student with ADHD and/or behavior needs to attend to instruction for a given length of time, so plan three breaks in the day. I call them "five minute free time" to play with something fun, and I end each of my subjects with it. It gives me five minutes to clean up or correct work, and it gives the students five minutes to regroup. If you're strapped for time, you could have students complete exit tickets, assessments, etc., and give the student with ADHD the special free time. It also gives him something to word toward, as he has to earn the free time. If a student engages in negative behavior or work refusal, I ask if he is earning his free time or if he is to make up his work during free time. Never underestimate the power of a question instead of a demand. A simple, "Are you earning your free time?" is often enough to set the behavior back on track. An additional motivational tool is a task chart where students rank their tasks by preference. They earn little reinforcement for easy/preferred tasks and high reinforcement for non-preferred tasks. You can download that chart for free here. What are some ideas you use in your classroom to help calling out and "class clown" behavior? Do you have any questions about behavior challenges? Please share in the comments below! A Peach for the Teach
There are so many things I love about my job, from working with my wonderful students each day to learning from my blogging colleagues to organizing my classroom (you know I love that, right?). But on
