So today was my first day back after taking some time off for my daughters birth. And after taking some days to get some rest and relaxation... Rest and relaxation... Wait, what?? Oh yea, I forgot, I have a 5 day old daughter- so rest and relaxation are OUTTA HERE.
Anyways, while I was off I scrolled a lot through Pinterest and realized there was quite a bit I had pinned over the past two years and had never actually had time to implement. So today with my caffeine-induced energy, I did them! Simple little touches that my students were ALREADY intrigued with. And they cost NOTHING.
The first thing was a quote area. I've seen pictures of offices that have walls covered in quotes and I have some but I wanted them to be visible to ALL the students- not just those in my office. So today I borrowed one of the small dry erase boards I use for my small groups and attached it to the wall next to my door in the hall. Made a sign for above and am going to write an inspirational quote on it everyday.
Already sitting in my office I could hear students talking about the quote. I'm sure it won't effect 100% of my students. But hey, even if we change ONE child we have done our job!
The other thing I had seen on Pinterest was where a teacher had taken black so construction paper and made handprints. They were attached by her door and she would write vocab words on them everyday. Then, when the kids walked out of her room, they would "high-five" the hands and say the word. Well I thought- how powerful is a high-five?? So my small group made handprints and discussed how were all different but all the same. My handprint looked like this:
I hung it by my door walking out of my office.
Seriously, as we all know, there are some kids that just need a little bit of attention. Just some affection or encouragement goes a long way. I want them to walk out thinking that no matter how their day was or what's happening at home or whatever- that they still have the power to be AMAZING!
These little things are so important in the eyes of a kid. A positive word. And fun "high-five". And someone who cares enough to provide them! What have you done to encourage one another??
-JW
Anyways, while I was off I scrolled a lot through Pinterest and realized there was quite a bit I had pinned over the past two years and had never actually had time to implement. So today with my caffeine-induced energy, I did them! Simple little touches that my students were ALREADY intrigued with. And they cost NOTHING.
The first thing was a quote area. I've seen pictures of offices that have walls covered in quotes and I have some but I wanted them to be visible to ALL the students- not just those in my office. So today I borrowed one of the small dry erase boards I use for my small groups and attached it to the wall next to my door in the hall. Made a sign for above and am going to write an inspirational quote on it everyday.
Already sitting in my office I could hear students talking about the quote. I'm sure it won't effect 100% of my students. But hey, even if we change ONE child we have done our job!
The other thing I had seen on Pinterest was where a teacher had taken black so construction paper and made handprints. They were attached by her door and she would write vocab words on them everyday. Then, when the kids walked out of her room, they would "high-five" the hands and say the word. Well I thought- how powerful is a high-five?? So my small group made handprints and discussed how were all different but all the same. My handprint looked like this:
I hung it by my door walking out of my office.
Seriously, as we all know, there are some kids that just need a little bit of attention. Just some affection or encouragement goes a long way. I want them to walk out thinking that no matter how their day was or what's happening at home or whatever- that they still have the power to be AMAZING!
These little things are so important in the eyes of a kid. A positive word. And fun "high-five". And someone who cares enough to provide them! What have you done to encourage one another??
-JW
I love this post-it is so important. We truly never realize the extent of a hug, smile, or something we say to a student. We have ~8 hours to build them up...and we can do it with such little effort! Hoping to do the free high-fives soon :) Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very interesting quote you have posted there. I think that's sort of the purpose of family counseling from my perspective. It helps to come to common understanding of why you do the things you do and how they affect the people around you. Great post! http://www.myrnayenter.com
ReplyDelete