Moving Desks and Building Rainbows!

Despite having some wonderful house guests this weekend, I did get some school things done!  Today my husband (Ben), my sister-in-law (Sarah), and their cousin (Kara) came with me to Starry...

They wanted to see my room though little did they know I would enlist their help to get the desks arranged in my room! :)

I'm going to try having the desks in pods of 4.  I really like the idea of student collaboration and interaction, so hopefully with careful management and monitoring, my kiddos will be able to keep their talking to a minimum (when necessary!)!  I also am happy with the way the desks are arranged because we will have two main meeting areas and focus points on either side/wall where the desks are currently positioned, so by sitting sideways the kids will be able to see either direction from their seats, if we are not meeting on the floor.  Thank you to Ben, Sarah, and Kara for their help today-it would have taken me a long time on my own!

As part of my classroom management, I am going to have my kids "build rainbows".  For (exemplary) positive behaviors they will be able to earn pieces of their own rainbow and at the end of the week if they have built their entire rainbow, they will be able to pick a ticket, or tickets (I haven't finalized the details yet).  Instead of a physical reward or treasure box, I have created a selection of reward tickets that include lunch with the teacher, wear a hat, sit by a friend, be the teacher assistant, chew a piece of gum, and more.  For negative behaviors, I am creating a stoplight system with green, yellow, and red lights...more on that later!  Anyway, hopefully I will see lots of rainbows by Friday afternoon every week!

I can't believe that I have new teacher workshops later this week already and the entire district goes back to work a week from Tuesday, followed by students the next Tuesday!  Time is flying!
Thanks for stopping by, check back soon!
Mrs. Clough