This week has been so much fun! When the students first arrive they walk in and greet the teacher. Then they put their coats and back packs on the racks, pick their names off a velcro strip, and put it by the lunch they want. This is great because they pick their lunch and it makes it super easy to do roll. Next they have self starters and they just go! I am amazed every day at how well they do without being told what to do. After self starters, the teacher tells them they will start rotations, and again, they just go. It's really cool seeing what a good teacher can do with a group of kids.
My favorite part is anytime I get to teach or help a student one-on-one. These kids are so sweet. They have been working to earn their campout, and they earned it Friday so that is what we will be doing tomorrow. We will get the parachute from the gym and put it over a circle of desks for the tent. We will do s'mores in the microwave and tell scary stories.
We finished our five lessons this week and they all went really well. We had someone observing us this week while we were doing an art project. I had a student have a melt down while I was trying to work with him. I worried that I wouldn't know how to handle the situation but knew that I was being watched and had to decided what I was going to do. So I did what I would with my own kids and it worked! I told him what I expected and then I walked away. He sat on the floor for a while and then I saw him get up in his chair. I went back over to talk to him again and he was ready to work. He worked very well with me the rest of the lesson. It felt so good to get through to him. Now he always comes up to me and I can tell he has more respect for me now.
I will help the students more this week by letting them know my expectations and then helping them reach them. We gave them a turkey that they could fill in spaces when they showed good behavior and most of the class has theirs filled out so I'm excited to give them their treat on Tuesday. But I am so sad to be leaving them. I had a girl come up to me in tears saying that she doesn't want us to go. The students wrote letters to santa for Make-a-wish foundation and a few of the girls said their only wish was that we could stay all year.
WOW! Now you see that is why you are such a great mom... If that was me I would have probably given in and made a fool out of myself in front of the observer. Fantastic work! I'll have to keep that behavior changing strategy in the back of my mind the next time i find myself in that very situation.
ReplyDeleteRachelle, what a great connection to make with that little boy. I feel like kids that struggle sometimes just get a label stuck on them, it sounds like you handled the situation perfectly. I agree with Piper that is a great behavior strategy.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I would have freaked out in that situation. That is awesome that you could tell him what you expected of him. That probably made him realize that you are in charge and not messing around. I am always a little scared that something like that will happen. I switched a boy to a different group and halfway through the lesson he came up to me crying because I switched him. It's rough when you have to teach AND deal with that! What a great way to deal with it.
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