What’s on Your Mind?
Posted by Hope Spencer on 22 Feb 2010 | Posted in: Classroom Management, Teachers and Teaching
As I drove to work this morning, my thoughts were spinning. Truthfully, they usually are. My brain seems to always be filled! There are small, nagging concerns, such as the pile of laundry that always seems to be waiting and the demanding grocery list in my purse. There are medium-size concerns, such as thank-you notes that should be written and craft projects I want to make. Then there are big concerns. Today I’m worried about my sweet cat, Lily. She’s a senior kitty and hasn’t been feeling well lately.
But when I get to the office, I need to put my concerns aside and concentrate on the job at hand. Some days, that’s very easy to do. I can get caught up in an exciting task and not think about home again until I look at the clock and realize it’s time to leave. Other days, it’s a bit harder. I try to stay on task, but my mind wanders to my to-do list. When that happens, I take a minute to plan how I will manage my time. I reassure myself that I will have time to do laundry or stop at the grocery store after work. Or I call my neighbor and ask whether she has time to check on Lily. Little things like these make me feel better and help me refocus on work.
When I was in the classroom, I noticed that my students had the same kind of struggles. You know what I’m talking about. A student may come to school with something on his mind as simple as an afterschool soccer game. Or he may be concerned about something bigger, like a new baby or an argument that happened at home the night before. Some days, it’s up to you as teachers to help students put their worries aside so they can complete their school work. It can be a big job.
Do you have a plan to help students get on track in the morning? I’ve tried different approaches, depending on the grade I was teaching. For third graders, holding morning meetings seemed to work well. When I taught younger students, getting them focused was sometimes as easy as having them march around the room or sing a song with fingerplay. For all grades I taught, I encouraged students to write in their journals. That was a great way for them to express their feelings.
Whatever your plan is—whether it’s for yourself or for your students—let’s talk about it. Maybe your ideas will help someone else get focused!
Have a great day with your students!
Hope
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Being prepared and intentionally greeting each child in the morning not only helps them make the change from whatever happened before they got to school but it is also great PR as parents bring children to the room. It reassures them they have chosen the right place for their child to go each day and that you are happy to be their child’s teacher. I ENCOURAGE parents to come into the room with their child (I know many teachers who would rather they didn’t disrupt their morning routine). This is a great way to connect, observe parent/child interaction, and teach parents that their children are capable of and need to be taking care of their own belongings-it’s a sign of growing up! They also know by 8:00 they need to be out the door before we capture them and keep them as special helpers for the day!
I always make sure I greet each child at the door and have a quick word with them. This time of year I can usually tell if someone is a bit upset about something or just had a hard morning at home. During our first circle I am careful to pick those children first for something fun and exciting to do.
I also use the morning meeting to just talk about whatever is on the children’s minds.
From the beginning of the school year I have conditioned my students to put their things away, their class jobs to begin (get water to water plants, place supplies at each station, take care of the calendar,flag (for pledge of allegiance and morning song). I am now are ready to check homework, while they write the date on their monthly calendar, trace their 100 number sheet and take out their reading log (these thins are in their folder).
We are ready for our “DO NOW”. It is usually coloring,cutting, and pasting. We are now ready for morning discussions and our READ_ALOUDS.To tell you the truth, they keep me on track. I like to post on the board what we will be doing. It helps me to stay on track. I am a visual person.
To remind students maybe you can print out a sheet of the things that will be covered today, such as, math pages, language pages, reading , journaling, computer and any other tasks of the day. This will keep them focused.
My students shake my hand, and we greet each other as they enter the class. Then, they unpack and return to their tables. Once everyone is ready, we do some deep breathing exercises, which I taught them to do early in the year, to center ourselves. And, after that, we watch school morning announcements. If at any point throughout the day a student gets distracted, including during standardized testing, they know they can shut their eyes for a few moments and center themselves again with deep breathing. I’ve used that idea with 1st through 3rd graders. It works well for 1st and 2nd graders. And, it works very well with 3rd graders.
I also have a voluntary time out (not in a bad way) spot which I call “The Woods”. It is a study carrel lined with large photos of forests, woodland creatures, and waterfalls. There is also a plant there with vines that surround the area and two stuff toys (a raccoon and a rabbit). Students can take a little time out there to clear their heads of whatever is distracting them. No one has ever taken advantage of being able to go there on their own.
And, I have a Peace Table. So, if the distracting issue is a problem with another student, the distracted student can resolve it at the Peace Table and move on.
Finally, if there is something still distracting the student, I allow them to do something that will make them feel that they are dealing with the issue so they can put it behind them. A student with a parent who is away on a long trip might focus better if he or she brings in a photo of the missing parent to put on his or her desk. A student with a sick parent or other relative may be able to put the issue aside after making a Get Well Card for him or her, and so forth.
As my kindergarten students arrive, I enthusiastically welcome them, asking them to get their winter gear off quickly because we have a lot to do today. Then I start telling them about some of our projects and specials we have that day. We have computer lab today so let’s get busy doing our morning work. or This is “Letter W” week. Can you think of something that starts with W?
Each Monday morning we have a long morning meeting when we share about our weekends. That is helpful to a point, but I finally had to give each child a time limit. I slowly count to ten with my fingers, not my words. It helps kids get to the point of what they really want to say. Otherwise, I had kids telling many stories as one long continuous story stretching on for minutes while their friends lost total interest.