Teacher Week-Classroom Management

Aloha friends!  It is my 2nd week back in school and things are flowing pretty well in my class.  We are still working on our rules and routines and figuring out new procedures as they arise.  The first 3 weeks are pretty slow curriculum wise, but once we have these routines down we will be ready to roll.

I am linking up with Blog Hoppin' for Teacher Week Day #4-Classroom Management.

Classroom Management is one of the key ingredients to a successful year.  There are so many wonderful and different ideas, tricks and tips and I am excited to share what works in my classroom.

I think many of you have seen pictures of my room so some of these pics might be repeats.

Each morning when my students arrive they mark their lunch and turn in their homework.

I created this simple lunch chart out of a yardstick and the kids quickly move to where they need to be.

It is right by the door and on the opposite side is my basket for homework folders.

They put away their backpacks and write down their homework in their agenda books.  Our books are provided by the school for each child.

Then they begin their morning work.

My rug area is our main meeting place in the classroom.  The students are assigned a spot and I switch it each month. This particular rug has been so helpful to get them on the floor and seated without arguing who sits where.  I received it through a Donor's Choose project.

Each morning for the first few weeks we review our Class Rules.  I just created these posters and they are really easy to see from across the room.  I give lots of positive praise for my kiddos who are demonstrating these rules. 

My clip chart is really the star of my classroom.  This behavior system has been magical in my class. Maybe it's because of the surf theme and the top says Cowabunga!!  When I am waiting for students to get rolling or I notice any negative behaviors I quickly turn to my sweeties who are modeling good behavior and tell them to "Surf Up".  Suddenly everyone seems to be on task and waiting for a chance to surf up.  I usually pick 1-2 kids at different times throughout the day.  

At the end of the day anybody on Cowabunga gets to add a bead to their Award Necklace.

Each student has a necklace to start the year.  They add a bead each time they surf to the top of our chart.  Once they have 5 beads I let them choose a new tag for their necklace.  I have lots of different tags that I have created.  Once kids start adding more tags they get so excited to see how many they can earn.  If you are interested in these tags you can check them out {HERE}.

This year I have really tried to label everything in my classroom and am teaching students that everything has a place.  Their cubbies have their number on them and most have memorized their numbers for this year.

Our book bags for Daily 5 are also numbered.  They place their backpacks here on these hooks.

Our supplies are clearly labeled so they know where everything belongs. 

This year I took the supply buckets off of the tables.  I just couldn't take the kids playing with everything all the time.  I have them keep pencils, scissors and crayons in their toolbox in their desks.

If they need glue they grab a bucket for their table.

I finally created my own Class Job Chart.  I make everyone responsible for a classroom job.  We have been taking the last 15 minutes each day to go over our duties.  I will change the jobs at the end of the month.  That way each child has enough time to learn their job well before moving to a new task.  I will then have them train the new hires at the end of the month.

The final management item that I have been working on is our class Attention getters.  My favorite item for centers is my Music Wand.

It has such a great sound and my students respond instantly to it.

When my wand is not close at hand I use some good old sayings.  The two I am using this year:

Teacher: Macaroni and Cheese

Students: Everybody Freeze

Teacher: Hocus Pocus

Students: Everybody Focus

The teacher down the hall uses this one:

Teacher: Shark Bait

Students: Hoo Ha Ha!

It always makes me smile when I hear it :)

If you have started back already I hope you are getting your class in order and running smoothly.  If you are still on vacation enjoy your time and sleep in for me!

Make sure you stop by and check out all the great posts going on this week over at Blog Hoppin', and if you haven't stopped by our new collaborative blog make sure you do!  We have a great eBook to help you through your first weeks of school!