How To Survive a Classroom FULL of Boys

Two things happen everyday in my classroom. Someone gets tackled and someone does a somersault. I have a classroom full of boys. With a 5:10 ratio, us girls are outnumbered. I have seen more blood, sweat and tears this year than any before, and then there's the kids!

If you're living in a world where your students are mostly males, here's a few tips on how to survive your classroom of rowdy, somersaulting, farting (yep), fighting, and often hilarious boys.

1. Come to terms with what your classroom rug really is. Whole group lesson area? No. Independent reading refuge. PFFFFT. Writing island? HAHAHA. NO. It is a gymnastics mat. A Slip 'N Slide. One may even describe it as a trampoline. These are 7 year old boys we are talking about. No surface is safe from a slide into home.

2. Attach a mirror to your whiteboard. You'll need it to see the face-smacking and eraser throwing that's going on behind you while you're making that super cute anchor chart.

3. Give up on having them sit. LET IT GO. Let them stand. Let them stand, Let them staaaaand.
Turn away and slam the door...
On the way you did things last year. For your sanity and there's, just let them stand or kneel or do anything other than sit. They can't. They won't. You'll spend all day asking so you're better off just letting it go, girl.

4. Purchase a whistle. That's all.

5. LAUGH. A lot. At yourself, at the chaos, for the few girls looking to you for guidance on how to survive the deafening cloud of testosterone. Just laugh! Also, don't feed them anything with sugar.

Enjoy your fart-joke free holidays! Unless you're a mom of boys, then just eat chocolate (and wine).

Turn and Talk with Brain Quest

Turk and Talk has been a buzz word in education for a while now. Every year this is a practice that many of my students struggle with. The conversation skills and confidence needed for a successful T&T can be intimidating to a 7 year old! I've noticed only a few of my students are truly capable of sharing their ideas clearly and then listening while their partner does the same. I decided to work some practice into our Morning Meeting with the help of Brain Quest.

I get so nostalgic when I break out my Brain Quest cards. I LOVED these things in elementary school and my students do too. They love the trivia and the randomness of the questions. I love how the silly questions trick them into talking to each other! Ha!!!

You can grab a set of Brain Quest questions at most educational stores but I swear every yard sale has them! Mine came from another teacher that switched grades and was tossing them. Turn trash into treasure in the form of turn and talk! (Can you tell I have been working on an alliteration resource?)

Tomorrow is Friday! We made it! 

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Enjoy your winter break!

'Tis the Season of Freebies!

I am having a case of the Sunday blues but I am also super excited that it is our last week before break! This will be my son's first Christmas and my daughter, who is now four, is just the right age for some elf and Santa antics. I can't wait to make some Santa footprints at our door out of flour!

My team started a tradition last year of dedicating a whole day to the book The Polar Express. We have our students dress in their PJ's, we do some fun crafts, and make hot cocoa. I created this how-to writing template to go with a Christmas Cone craft we love to do. Grab it {HERE}!

I rack my brain every year on what to get my students as a little gift without breaking my bank or my back. I came up with this in the Christmas baking aisle at Target (frantically searching Pinterest while my baby boy slept and preschool pick-up approached) and I am loving the outcome.

Grab the tags {HERE}! They come in color and black and white.

Godspeed on your final week before break!!!!!!