Friday Fun!

Yeah!!! I can post from school! That means you will get the update earlier and we will be able to have students create a survey they can vote on at home!!

Today was a very busy day. We were in and out of the classroom all the time it seemed. We had are art rotation first thing this morning. When we came back we took a "test": PSI or Primary Spelling Inventory. This is a test that gives me information as to where they are on the spelling continuum so that I can pinpoint their instructional needs. I will be working on those this weekend so we can begin small group instruction.

We then went to the computer lab for a practice test for MAP. This is a practice that helps the kids maneuver around the computer,keyboard and mouse.

We then came back to the room and talked about balance. I have decided begin using Quantum Learning in addition to the 4C's. All based on how the brain functions and learns, we will be learning about the following lifeskills: Integrity, Failure Leads to Success, Speak with Good Purpose,This is It!, Committment, Ownership, Balance, and Flexibility.

Some of the students are having a very hard time learning when to work and when to play. Their behavior is interferring with everyone's learning. Because this is a learning curve, I want to help them as much as possible before I call parents for a confernce. The student is in charge of their behavior and they are the ones that need to change their actions, so I want to help them with the tools before we need to go a further step. However, you can talk to your child about these 8 Keys of Excellence:

Integrity: You do what you say you are going to do. It is your character. It is who you are when no one is watching.
Failure Leads to Success: everyone makes mistakes, but if we learn from our mistakes, we will succeed.
Speak with good purpose: there is a time to talk and there is time to play. There is a way to talk and way NOT to talk. We speak with kindness always. We don't talk and interfere with others learning.
This is It! (MY FAVORITE!!!) You have to be in the here and now. Today will NOT be repeated. A reading lesson will not be repeated and if you choose to not listen, to goof off and miss instruction, you are not here, you will not learn. This is it...you can't go back!
Committment: agreeing to do something. Commit to learning...commit to getting your work done.
Ownership: take ownership in your education. Only you can learn. Only you can change behaviors that interfere with your learning.
Flexibility: things change and we can't get upset if we have to change or go with the flow! Sometimes we have to quickly re-adjust and we have to get our mind off the old and quickly onto the new.
Balance: Words and Actions have to agree. Many times kids can repeat the rules, but their actions are not matching what they say. We need to be in balance, where what we say is what we do.

Phew...that's a lot, but students this young CAN do this! I've seen it over and over. I've used Quantum many times before and it does change behavior. We talked about balance, speaking with good purpose, and this is it today. We will continue with this next week. Depending on their actions will determine if we need to move into behavior goal setting.

This weekend I will post links to Quantum Learning on the portaportal site so you can take a look at this fantastic program based on how the brain works. It fits right into our PBIS philosophy but it also helps to build intrinsic motivation.