It's the hardest kids that need the most love

We've all had those difficult kids.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  

These kids take ALL of your energy EVERY day.  

They make it hard for learning to take place uninterrupted in your classroom. 

We've all had kids like this- sometimes more than one in a class.  I've got 3 this year but one is ESPECIALLY hard.

I'm not complaining.  Really, I'm not.

In my classroom we start each day fresh.  I greet each child with a smile and a sunny hello as they walk in my door.

I think that makes a difference.

As draining as those hard kids are, they deserve the very best that I can give them.

They deserve to be loved too.

Did you notice the beautiful picture at the top of this post?

Well, it was painted for me by the very child that is my hardest this year.

He said, and I quote..."It's for you Mrs. Irick!  See all the love in it?!"

As exasperating and exhausting as this kid is, he feels loved by me!

Job well done!

I've got his painting hanging in my house.  

It reminds me every day that the hardest ones need the most love.

Leave a Comment About Me, Classroom Management

What Worked Well Wednesday- Center Tub Labels- FREEBIE!

I'm linking up with my friends over at Kinder Tribe for their "What Worked Well Wednesday" Linky Party.

Even though it is the middle of my summer break, I'm starting to think ahead to next year.  (Do we teachers ever really stop thinking about our classrooms??)

One of the things that worked really well last year was the addition of these simple labels to my math and literacy tubs.

Before I had these labels, the kids would try to work together on activities meant for one, or try to do a partner activity alone.  By adding the labels to the tubs, my kids gained independence and I gained some peace (and the ability to focus on my small group of kids).

I change the activities in the math and literacy tubs often based on what we are learning, or when I sense the kids are getting bored with the activity, or when I need to introduce a new skill or activity.  During my afternoon rotations, kids rotate through different activities.  One of their rotations is "Math and Literacy Tubs."  Although I direct WHEN the kids do the math and literacy tubs, the children can choose WHICH tub they would like to work on.  Some of my kids prefer to work alone, but some like to work with a partner or group.  By having these labels on the tubs, kids know immediately if it is an independent or partner or group activity.  This helps them get settled quickly and saves the wear and tear on my nerves.

You can grab these labels for FREE in my TpT store.  Just click on the pictures or on the link.

I hope you find these useful too!  They might be little, but they make a big impact.

5 comments Back to School, Classroom Management, Classroom Set Up, Organization

Teacher Deals and Dollar Steals- Get Organized

Hi everyone!

I'm joining the folks at Teacher Deals and Dollar Steals on the 10th of each month to provide you with a fun and amazing deal.  Be sure to follow both blogs!

This month I am sharing my absolute favorite system for organizing all my teaching units.  I have been teaching for over 20 years (I'm not going to say how many years over 20- I'll keep that my little secret) and I have tried many different organizational methods.  I've purchased big Rubbermaid tubs and stored all my things for the month in there.  That was great, but boy did it take up A LOT of storage space.  I ended up storing those tubs at home in my garage which meant that my car lost it's inside home. (Boo hoo)

I've tried to put things into filing cabinets.  Once again, this takes up a lot of space and it seems like stuff was constantly getting mis-filed or not filed at all.  I could never find what I was looking for until I found it weeks or months later in the wrong place.  My blackline masters were always getting torn and crinkled as well.  I currently have 3 filing cabinets full of stuff!

Last year, my coworker began putting her blacklines into 3 ring binders.  I waited to see how she liked it before getting my own binder system going.  Well, she LOVED it.  So mid way through the year I began to slowly organize my stuff by units into 1 inch binders.  I also purchased a few bigger binders for those huge subjects that needed more space.

As I finished or planned a unit, I would put my blacklines into page protectors and into the binder they went.  My blacklines stayed pristine and organized.  They were easy to find when I needed them and I no longer got them mixed up with my stuff when I was making copies.  I simply copied them and then they went right back into the page protector for safe keeping.  It was super easy to find what I was looking for, prep it, and then get the precious masters back into the binder.

I'm still in the process of getting rid of those 3 filing cabinets.  I'm going in to school one day a week during the summer and going through each drawer.  My goal is to have only one filing cabinet left at the end of the summer.  I will use that to hold the sample projects that don't fit into the page protectors.  I am so excited about the amount of classroom space I will be gaining!

So, if you are interested in getting organized using 3 ring binders, then head on over to Teacher Deals and Dollar Steals and get the monthly binders for free and the thematic binders for only $1.

Make sure to follow that blog because you'll get a daily Deal or Steal (or both) from fabulous TpT authors and bloggers.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Leave a Comment Back to School, Classroom Management, Classroom Set Up, Organization, Teacher Deals and Dollar Steals

Getting Organized this Summer

For me, summer time is all about doing things to rejuvenate my mind and body so that I can be ready to tackle teaching in the fall.  This is the summer of organization.  My plan is to spend a couple of days a week either organizing my classroom or my house and spend the other days enjoying my family and San Diego.

Here is a photo of my first Beach Wednesday of the summer.  

It is a tradition to meet friends at the beach every Wednesday.  We have a big group of friends and everyone is welcome to invite whomever they want to, so on any given Beach Wednesday, you never know who is going to be there.  It has been a tradition with my friends for as long as our kids were old enough to enjoy the beach.  Now most of our kids are in college and high school, so our beach days are more relaxed, but we still take our Boogie Boards into the water and enjoy the surf.  All my friends know that if it is Wednesday, they can find me at the beach.  

So, that's how I tackle my goal of relaxation and rejuvenation.  The ocean is good for the mind and body and friends are good for the soul.

My second goal of the summer is ORGANIZATION.

This one is not as fun, but will help keep my mind happy during the busy school year.

So, I have made some binders for each subject and month.   I have found that pulling a binder off the shelf, flipping through pages, taking out what I need, making copies and then replacing the masters in the binder is far EASIER and much FASTER than trying to find what I need in a messy filing cabinet.  Things stay neater and more organized in binders.  I LOVE MY BINDER SYSTEM!

Here are are my monthly binders.  You can get them FREE at my TpT store!  Just click on the link or the photo.  If you use them, I would love if you took a moment to leave feedback in my store.  And feel free to share the link with your friends!

I have also made some binders organized by subjects and themes.  I teach kindergarten so the subjects are appropriate for me, but if you think they would work for you, you can purchase them on my TpT store.  

If you purchase the binders and want a specific topic that I didn't include, please let me know and I can add what you want to my unit.

Happy organizing!

Leave a Comment Classroom Management, Organization

Organizing Centers

I needed an easy way for my kids to grab a math or literacy tub and know right away if it is an independent activity or if they need to find a partner to work with, so I created these cute labels. 

Sometimes kids want to work alone and sometimes they feel like working with a friend, so all they need to do is pick a center that suits their preference.

I made two different sets.  One has cute apples and the other has adorable kid faces.  You choose the one that fits into your classroom decor.

All you need to do is print, laminate, and cut out. 

I like to velcro them to my tubs so that I can easily change them when I change the activity in the tub.

I also tape the labels to the bags that I store the center activity in so that I can quickly identify what bin to put the activity in when I'm changing out the centers.

These are FREE and in my TpT store.

Don't forget to leave me some feedback love if you like them.

Leave a Comment Back to School, Classroom Management, Organization

Lunch Count on the Door

Every morning on their way in the classroom, my kindergartners move their clip from the "I'm not here" section to either the "Bringing" or "Buying" lunch section.  This is a quick way for me to visually take roll and since it is located on my door, if we ever have a fire drill or a real emergency, then I can quickly scan the door as a reminder about who is absent for the day.

Here is how it works...

I got the jumbo ten frame magnets from Lakeshore Learning and put those on my door.  They come as a set of four so you'll only need to buy one.  They also have the magnetic circles that you can write your kid's names on if you don't want to get the IKEA magnets.

But I got the white circle magnets from IKEA and wrote the kids' names on those.  These come in sets of 4 and are nice because they have a raised area that makes it easy for my kids to grab and move.  I had planned to put their photos on the magnets, but then I thought that I would rather they be able to identify their name instead, so that's what I went with.  I just wrote their name with a permanent marker.

To complete the area, I put up a picture of a lunch bag for the bringers, a hot lunch tray for the buyers, and a sick child for the kids who didn't make it in to school.  I used a strip of magnetic tape to separate the areas.  You could use colorful duck tape or even masking tape, whatever works with your classroom decor.

When the morning bell rings, I greet the children and their parents at the classroom door.  It's nice to say good morning to everyone and to touch base with parents before the day starts.  My kindergartners move their magnet from the bottom area to the appropriate ten frame under the bringing or buying side.  Then they stow their backpacks, lunch boxes, etc and go sit on the rug.  I have music playing for them to sing along to until we are all situated and ready to begin our day.  You could easily have the kids do morning work at their desks as well, but I like to have everyone gathered on the rug so that we can do the calendar and other opening activities right away.

At the end of the day, I have a student move all the clips down to the home area and the door is ready to go for tomorrow.  Simple, fun and a great visual for organizing data.

Leave a Comment Back to School, Classroom Management, Math, Organization

Brownie Points

I have a lot of ways to reward good behavior in my class.  We tally points, we earn blue tickets, we get bear tickets, etc.  Those, I hand out regularly, but for my class, earning a Brownie Point is a little more difficult.  In fact, my class worked from September to January to fill up this tray of brownies.

To make the Brownie Points bulletin board, I simply took an empty box of brownie mix,  photos of real brownies that I laminated and then glued a magnet on the back, and a real baking sheet and stuck them on the wall.    I store the brownie pieces in the box and reach in and get one out when we have earned a brownie point.  I found this cute header somewhere, but I have searched and searched and for the life of me, I can't find where it came from, so I can't include the link for you- sorry.

My district does not allow baked goods from home, so I stopped by the store and picked up some Brownie Bites.  These are just like they sound, a bite of brownie.  They are super small and just the right size for a little treat.

My class was so excited to have finally filled up the brownie pan, they all went home talking about it that night.  The next day, they were beside themselves with excitement to get brownies from the teacher.  I gave everyone a Brownie Bite and then we recapped all the things we remembered doing to earn our brownie treats.   The kids munched away happily as they recounted the good things we had done.

Some of the kids noticed that I had a few brownies left in the bowl and asked for seconds.  I told them that I didn't have enough in this bowl for everyone to have seconds, but I did have more brownies is my bag.  (Little did they know that I had a pun coming their way!)  I just love stretching those little minds.

I reached into the bag and started handing out the brown E's.  Everyone looked perplexed. (I loved it!)

"Mrs. Irick, what are these?" started echoing around the room.

"They are brown E's," I said.

"No they're NOT!" exclaimed the most adamant of my kiddos.

"Of course they are," I answered.  "OK.  What color are they?" I asked.

"Brown," they answered.

"And... what letter are they?" I continued.

"E," they replied.  It was then that many of the kids had that lightbulb moment.  I saw small grins begin to form.  Little heads started nodding with understanding.

"Oh!  I get it!" said a few.  "They are brown and they are an E, so they are brown E's!"  Now I had the whole group giggling and asking if they could take the brown E's home to their parents.  "Of course!" I said.

Lots of fun- and hopefully a kindergarten moment they will remember.

Leave a Comment Classroom Management, Fun Stuff