Friday, August 17, 2018

Classroom Management for Kindergarteners, and 2nd Week Goodness


Kiddos beginning to paint their sketchbook covers

I am so excited about some of the stuff I'm doing this year.  Yes, I changed the way the classroom is set up; that's already made some differences in movement in the room.  I also am heavily enforcing the "get in the zone" mentality--listen to some quiet music, limit chatting, and find your space within the artwork you're doing.  So far, so good!

I am noticing, though,  that this  year the little kinders seem to have an even harder time keeping themselves together for a whole 45 minutes.  They aren't used to having to sit in one place for so long, and they are so very curious about everything.  They HAVE to make comment, they are so excited to be a part of such an interesting place!  But all those wonderful inquisitive parts of their learning brains mean that it's super-hard to get information to them, get them started on a project, and then follow directions to completion.  What to do?  How to get them quiet and still enough to listen and then make stuff?

QUIET CRITTERS.  All I can say is, AMAZING.  Cassie Stephens, art teacher extraordinaire, talked about these guys in one of her podcasts.  She  got it from one of the kindergarten teachers in her school.  She made some.  Worked like a charm.  Chill, quiet kinders, working like they were focused college students.  Wow!  So---I made some of my own.  I hit up the Michaels that is down the street from my school (thank you for the 20% teacher discount, love ya).  Six fluffy huge pompoms later, I was back at school hot gluing on googly eyes, pipe cleaner antennae, and foam feet.  I made enough Quiet Critters for each of my kinder tables (I have 8 tables in my room but only use 6 for the wee ones).  I couldn't wait to get them to my kiddos the next day.

WOW. That's all I can say.  It was exactly as Cassie described it.

Here's how it went, and how it continues to go:  

When I had given  instruction to my littles, I suddenly turned, hearing a sort of scratching coming from a white box on my front counter.


I peered inside and listened closely.  "Oh!" I cried, "They're awake!  The Quiet Critters want to meet you!"
I pulled one out and listened to it, up to my ear.  "This is Pablo!  He wants to go sit with the blue team!"  I brought the Quiet Critter out and began to explain that Quiet Critters love people, but they are very shy, and afraid of noise.  They love to come sit with my students. but only when they are very very quiet.  As I was telling this, you could have heard a pin drop.  Every kid was silently hoping that there would be a Quiet Critter coming to their table.  As I got to the blue table, I pointed out that they had been so quiet that Pablo  asked to go sit with them.  I asked the class if they felt they could earn a Quiet Critter, too.  Nodding heads.  Clasped hands.  Wishing little people.  I began pulling out one after the other, putting them up to my ear and listening to them tell me what table they wanted to go to.  The kids were rapt.  I reminded my little friends that any sound  would scare them and they would ask me to put them back in their home.

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Y'all, we were PAINTING.  But my classroom was completely silent through the whole thing. ๐Ÿ˜ฒThey cleaned up silently.  ๐Ÿ˜ They folded their newspapers and tee shirts silently as I modeled how to do that, so they'd remember.  They got a piece of free draw paper to practice the lines they had learned.  I'm tellin' ya, it was NIRVANA as a kindergarten Art teacher.  ๐Ÿ˜„

I'm never going back.  Cassie, thank you!!!  And y'all, try it.  It's amazing.  And wonderful.  And peaceful.  And yes, I did use it on a fifth grade class yesterday, and they were totally IN.  I don't think it's an all the time thing with the big kids, but oh---those littles.  And maybe, here and there, those big uns, too.  Yay for classroom management!

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