Category: Classroom Management

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School Affirmations Round Three

Last month we featured a post of affirmations for students to use at school. We also have a list of Back to School Affirmations. They were so popular that I knew right away we needed a part three. 

Affirmations can be so important to us when our bodies are feeling one way, but we need to remind ourselves what is important and who we are. They may be awkward at first to say to ourselves, but given practice and time, it can 

“When I want to shrink, I choose to expand” 

“I deserve to take up space” 

“I am enough”

” I am not responsible for others happiness” 

” I can feel hard feelings until they pass” 

“I can have restarts. I can try again. Mistakes help me grow” 

” I am doing warrior work” 

“I own peace and presence in all circumstances”

” I am brave” 

” I can communicate my needs clearly” 

” I am capable of moving forward” 

“I am still learning. I deserve grace” 

“I hold serenity and peace” 

” I am a champion” 

” I can feel frustrated and be calm.”

“My voice matters” 

“I embrace change and welcome challenges”

” I have the knowledge and space to overcome any obstacle I face”

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Putting Homework in the Child’s Hands

Homework… it can be such a tricky topic! There is little research that shows homework being effective for children in elementary-aged classrooms. Upon a quick Google search, “Is homework effective for elementary-aged students?” There are pages of results full of articles denying that homework is academically effective. 

So as a teacher or a parent with higher-ups enforcing homework in the classroom, what can you do? 

Change the role of homework, stop seeing it as academic advancement, and start seeing it as an opportunity for students to build their self-awareness, self-fulfillment, and responsibility. And we do this by putting the homework in the child’s hands. 

This means as teachers we are encouraging parents to remind, but not nag, about the homework. 

It means, if possible, grading based on completion and participation instead of correctness. 

It means giving the responsibility of the homework, completion, and bringing it back and forth from home to school, to the child and not the teachers or the parents. 

It’s doing our best to teach them the intrinsic motivation of learning and practicing by watching them accomplish more and do better with the work they have put into their studies. 

It can also mean starting the conversation with your principal and superintendent about the research on homework in younger grades and seeing if you can help change school policies. 

In the end, putting the homework in the child’s hands and letting them take control of their learning can bring them more benefits later than actually doing the homework will.

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11 Jokes to Use in the Classroom

Jokes in the classroom are important, you can read more about it from our earlier post here. Try these fun jokes in your classroom and let us know how they go! 

Why was 7 afraid of 8?
Because 7, 8 (ate), 9!

What did one wall say to the other wall?
I’ll meet you at the corner!

What do you call an illegally parked frog?
Toad!

What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple?
Finding half of a worm in your apple!

Why are fish so smart?
Because they live in schools!

Which teachers have the greenest thumbs?
The Kinder GARDEN teachers

Why was the geometry class always so tired?
Because they were all out of shape

Why didn’t the skeleton go to the school dance?
Because he had no BODY to go with!

What is a cat’s favorite color?
Puuuurrrple

What did the teacher do when she got to the beach?
She tested the water

What vegetables do librarians like?
Quiet peas.

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A Place For Jokes in the Classroom

When I was in sixth grade I had a teacher who would take the time every single day to read the Joke of the Day in the newspaper. Every day, without fail. 

We all looked forward to hearing the joke of the day and sometimes we would have a fun discussion about the joke, too. 

It was the very first thing we did in his classroom each day and it set the tone for the remainder of the school day. 

Laughing and joking immediately puts your mind at ease, it tells your body, “I am safe here, this place is okay.” This is why some people like to joke around when they are in dangerous or stressful situations, they are trying to trick their bodies into thinking they are safe and okay. 

School can feel stressful and scary for many students, but starting the school year, and even just your day, in a setting where joking and laughing and great discussions are held tells the mind, “This is somewhere we like to be. This is safe.”

If you’re not already doing something similar to Joke of the Day or adding humor into your classrooms or schools, I would strongly suggest finding a way to implement it. 

It’s a simple, easy way to tell your students that they are welcome, safe, needed, and happy in their environment. 

Do you do a joke of the day in your classroom? 

Photo by Katerina Holmes: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cheerful-black-teacher-with-diverse-schoolkids-5905918/

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Talking to Students About Current World Events

The world is a heavy place right now. With wars raging in Ukraine, Israel, and multiple other places dotted across the globe, there is a lot to process. There is also a lot out there throughout the media to sift through, some facts being truthful and some unfortunately not. 

How do we talk to our students about these heartbreaking events going on right now? Especially in a day and age where teachers can easily be attacked for what is said in the classroom. 

Teach your students how to find factual sources. No need to lead them to specific news websites or bring up current events if it’s not on the schedule. But in almost every classroom, a lesson on how to find and cite factual sources is relevant. Help them to decipher the information on their own, if their parents allow. 

Remind your students that they are safe. Allow them to use your classroom as a safe space emotionally and remind them of all the safety protocols around your school that keep it physically safe as well. 

Just listen. Sometimes, human beings don’t need someone else to pass facts and opinions back and forth. Not everyone is out there looking for a debate. Sometimes, people just need a listening ear. No words are needed, just validating feelings and thoughts and turning into a listening ear. 

Stick to facts. If the topic of wars, presidential elections, or something else comes up in your classroom, stick to the facts. There is a time and place for debate and opinions, but to stay on the safe side, the classroom is not this place. Stick to facts when students have worries or questions, and refer them to school counselors when and if needed. 

We as humans need the time and space to process everything going on around us. It seems as if every day there is something new going on to add to our worry list. But as teachers, we can put on a strong face and support our students who have heavy hearts and are struggling during this time. 

What other tips would you add to this list?

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A Pumpkin for Everyone

The annual first-grade field trip to the pumpkin patch is coming up. All students in the first grade are allowed to go as long as permission slips have been signed.

However, in order to pick a pumpkin out at the end of the field trip, a $5 fee must be paid by a certain date.

$5 for a school field trip isn’t a huge ask for parents… but for some parents, it’s everything. It’s more than they can give to allow their child the simple indulgence of picking a pumpkin at the end of the field trip.

On the day of the event, several kids will leave the farm with a small pumpkin.

And several will walk away empty-handed.

Maybe the parent forgot to send the money. Maybe the parent truly could not afford the money. Maybe the money was swapped with a 5th grader at recess for a candy bar, I don’t know the circumstances.

But what I did know was that some kids would be walking away without a pumpkin. And my heart broke for those students, regardless of the why.

So we sent an extra $20. It wasn’t much. It may not even cover every single child in the classroom that didn’t pay the $5 fee.

But I’m helping how and when I can, and I’m working hard to teach my children to do the same.

To find the friend on the playground who doesn’t have anyone else to play with and invite them into your game.

To notice the classmate feeling down and ask how you can help.

Because school is really cool, and we are there to learn how to read and add up numbers. But we’re also there to learn how to be really awesome human beings full of empathy and service.

So pay the extra field trip money.

Send a second sandwich in their lunch for someone who needs it.

Donate the dry-erase markers.

Because when our kids see us treating others in schools this way, they’ll turn around and do the same.

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Saying Goodbye to our Students

The school year is coming to a close, which is always so exciting (and needed). But it seems like after all of the hectic end-of-the-year parties and celebrations are over and we’re sitting alone in our empty classrooms, that’s when the reality sets in. 

They’re gone. They’re really gone. 

Your students aren’t coming back to your classrooms again, they’re moving up and moving on. 

For so many months, the routine was the same. Your students walked in, took their seats, and your school day started. 

Together, you learned new concepts and reviewed the old. As a team, you worked to problem-solve within your classroom to create the best learning environment possible. 

There were so many hours spent in the classroom that you all became a family, functioning together as a family does. 

And yes, times were hard, deep breaths were taken (by everyone), and problems were dealt with.

But at the end of the day, your classroom dynamic was still a family dynamic, and there you all were, sticking up for each other, advocating for each other, and learning together. 

So as you sit in your empty classroom in the silence to follow the crazy end of the year… take it all in. Remember all of the good times and bad times you had. Appreciate those students for everything they were and weren’t. And feel good knowing that they walked out of your classroom a better person than they were when they entered. 

It’s okay to feel sad and to feel happy at the same time, there’s space for both.