Bring Back the Zen Classroom

Full Moon ahead? Major school break coming up? Too much excitement for students in the class before yours, or on the bus ride to school? Yikes! That could mean that your day is set up for major headaches, much waiting for quiet and attention, and a constant struggle to get through the lesson plan.

But what if you could bring an atmosphere of calm and peace to your classroom each and every day, no matter what may be happening just outside your door? Welcome to the Zen Classroom! Here are some easy-peasy ways to bring back the calm and get on with the learning:

Of course, we all have heard of brain breaks, and many teachers are already making great use of brain breaks and brain gym activities on a regular basis. I'm wondering if you've tried just breathing at the start of a lesson, after a transition, or when things get a little out of control. You can bring your class right back to center and focus with just a minute or two of focused breathing. Have a sign ready that says, "Breathe". Have a pre-agreed posture that kids automatically get into because they've learned it. It can be sitting up straight in their chair, criss-cross applesauce on desktops, or on a pre-designated spot on the floor. My students often enjoyed taking a seat on the floor under their desks to find a quiet personal spot.

When the sign is displayed, students can engage in one of several types of breathing. Simple and slow  in through the nose and out through the mouth, one of many yoga breaths than can be learned and at the ready for these moments, or whatever breath helps each child to slow down and get calm. Different kids will have their favorites, and one or two that will work best for them.

Just a minute or two spent breathing in this way will restore peace and calm to each student in your class. Because I love you, and because I really want you to try this, here's a free poster for you! Just click, download and print!

                      

Try setting up a yoga poster or two at each of the stations (math, writing, etc.) in your class. Set up a routine with kids that before attempting each academic station, they will practice a pose and/or a breath. Kids and you will see a definite upswing in success, I promise! It's just a great way to clear your head and to save a space in your brain for the learning to sink in. Try it with those dreaded times tables or even a passage from Shakespeare! You just may be surprised!

The most wonderful benefit of starting some of these practices with your kids is that they are truly life practices. Kids will remember and even automatically start breathing or assuming certain positions in stressful or difficult situations or even when preparing for a test, first date, or job interview in the future. You will have given your students a gift for a lifetime by starting some of these habits now in your classroom.

Here's another great use for those yoga posters or yoga cards!
Set up a series of yoga mats, or bath/beach towels, or just areas marked off by tape around your room (or playground!). Place a yoga card/poster at each area. connect the course with yoga straps stretched out (or tape) or yoga blocks laid in a row (can also be stepping stones from the garden or paper stepping stones). I love to use paper stepping stones with messages written on them like, "Just Breathe!" or "Find Your Focus!" or "Be Calm!" or even "Chill!" Laminate them and tape to the floor or ground. Instruct students to follow the paths you have set up from station to station where they will  spend from three to five minutes practicing the postures and/or breaths posted there.

If you make setting up the obstacle course a class job, it will be a very easy and short setup for you, and a yoga obstacle course can be done as frequently and easily as a brain break. Definitely try it outdoors in the Spring for a calm and organized recess with a purpose!

Individual sets of yoga pose and breath cards in each student's desk make it possible for individuals to use these relaxation techniques whenever the need arises. That might not be at the same time for every student! When students have quick access to visual cues, they can try out some new or trusted poses or breaths whenever they need them. A new way of redirecting behavior for you just might become, "Try a card!"

Try hole-punching and adding a "ring-it" to individual decks. Kids can cut out the cards, hole-punch, and assemble themselves in third grade and above. Don't make more work for yourself by creating all the decks yourself when kids can give some zen back to you by doing it themselves. (Of course, cutting and assembling does have its rewards. Try binging on Netflix while cutting!)

 In my classroom, a very popular volunteer position was "CPA Parents". These wonderful (usually full-time working) parents would check their kids' backpacks each night for bags of materials from me to "Cut, Paste, Assemble" (CPA). All the work would usually be completed that evening and returned to school the next day. It's like having a team of fairy godmothers and godfathers just waiting for you to make a wish! Bibbidy-bobbidy-boo! It's an easy way for parents who must work, but want to volunteer in the classroom to take part.

Coloring books and zentangles of all kinds have been increasing in popularity for several years now, and it's no wonder! Focusing in on coloring changes your breathing and is a calming and restorative practice for kids and grownups alike. Using different colored pencils, crayons, markers, and even touches of watercolor adds to the experience. I love using coloring pages with a message. Kids will internalize the message as their fingers make strokes inside and outside the lines. Try printing posters (your choice - make them yourself or make it easy and purchase some) in black/white or grayscale for kids to color in. You can add to your classroom decor with posters personalized by your students. A win for all!

I hope that some or all of these suggestions will help you to create the kind of space in your classroom that will make you feel peaceful and happy while traveling to work to each day, looking forward to teaching and learning as you have always hoped it would be!

You might find some of the resources in these two bundles helpful in your journey to zen:

f I can do anything else to help make your job easier this year, please let me know in the comments below! If I use your idea for a new blog post, you will win a TpT $10 gift card. If I create a new resource for Rainbow City Learning based on your idea, you will win a free copy of that resource to use in your classroom! (Note: all comments are reviewed before appearing on my blog. It may take a few hours for your comment to appear! Thanks for your patience!)

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

For more Spring classroom ideas, don't miss these great posts:

Love is All We Need

 

Huge Beatles fan here. Always have been. As I think about teaching in February, and February in general, the word most on my mind is LOVE. No surprise there. It's almost trite to say what word reminds you most of February? Love of course! This is the month of love - chocolates for your sweetie, cute and fresh valentines for your students, maybe a romantic dinner this year since February 14 falls on a weekend. 

 The word love always reminds me of my students as well as my precious hubby, daughters, sons-in-love, and grandkids. Students' sweet little faces from years long past, their grownup selves who have invited me back into their lives through the magic of Facebook, and the most recent ones who I run into regularly at the gym, the supermarket, the drugstore, and the hairdresser.  LOVE! Love them all!

I really think love is a magical word and if you really feel it when you look at your students, its magical effects will be life-changing. Want to love your job again, and pull it out of the winter doldrums? Love your kids. Stand back, really look at them, and find something to love. There is something lovable in each one. Fake it till you make it if you really think there's nothing to love.

I was planning to continue rambling on here in another of my way too long blog posts when I realized that my boys John, Paul, George, and Ringo have already said it all. As a teacher, those lyrics ring so true for the classroom as well as for life.

"There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game 
It's easy"

Thanks boys! My interpretation: love makes all things possible. A person who is loved feels really good about himself/herself and has confidence in all they try to do. A student who feels loved will "get with the culture" of your class and be higher-performing and better-behaved.

Idea #1: Start with a compliment. Greet each student before class with a quick compliment. "You look amazing today!" "Love your smile!" "That orange shirt is perfect for you!" "I love those shoes! Do they come in my size?" 
Make complimenting each other part of your classroom culture. Try some compliment cards or just make complimenting each other  at least a small part of each day. Make your kids feel loved and they will "learn how to play the game" of school the way you want them to play it.

Here's a great resource to get you started:

"There's nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn to be you in time
It's easy"


Thanks again lads! It IS easy! Make something together! Add some hands on to your lessons! If you're already a hands on teacher, add some personal choice to it. It is never too late in the year to switch up your routine and surprise your kids with some fun-while-learning activities.
And, it truly is never too late in the year to save an unruly, disrespectful class, and turn it into the class of your dreams. You have had the power all along my dear! You are totally in charge of the culture that will be built in your classroom. No state or federal guidelines for that. You are in charge here!
Visit Rainbow City Learning on TpT for lots of hands on ideas to make learning fun!
Never say "can't". If it seems like a good idea to you, try it! Have some fun together and build the idea that learning together is fun into your culture. It's easy.

Rainbow City Learning has a resource bundle for each month of the year to make leaning fun without losing the rigor! Just click!

"There's nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
It's easy"

The answer for classroom harmony in February and beyond is right in front of you. Step back and take a look. Find something to love in your classroom community and build from there. You are exactly where you're meant to be! And your students are so lucky to have you!

Love yourself, love your students, and have the best February ever, teachers! Did I ever tell you that I love your smile? I do!

For more February Teacher Talk, please stop by and visit my amazing blogging friends! I love them too!

If I can do anything else to help make your job easier this year, please let me know in the comments below! If I use your idea for a new blog post, you will win a TpT $10 gift card. If I create a new resource for Rainbow City Learning based on your idea, you will win a free copy of that resource to use in your classroom! (Note: all comments are reviewed before appearing on my blog. It may take a few hours for your comment to appear! Thanks for your patience!)

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

Teacher as Life Mentor

 We've all had that "favorite" teacher. The one we remember throughout our life, the one whose name conjures happy memories of days gone by. Some of us were fortunate to have had more than one. Some of us are also fortunate to have become "that" teacher to our own future students. I've written two previous posts here about two of my most important life mentors, Miss Jean Brooke, and my Aunt Harriet. A life event in my home has brought back memories of another teacher, who I know has also become a part of the teacher I was, and the human that I am today.

My husband is currently in the midst of a health scare, and of course we are hopeful for having a positive outcome. However, he has been engaged lately in getting his stuff in order. Several weeks ago, he came downstairs with a pile of old pictures. Among them was a pencil portrait of me as a seventeen year old. He was fascinated by this portrait, and wanted to hear its story (as, I'm sure, do you!). Get a cup of coffee or tea, or a fresh mason jar of Kachava, and take a seat. 

In high school, I discovered a very special oasis amidst the chaos of finding my way as a freshman. I bought an "elevator pass" on the first day, thinking that the price was well worth the amount of my lunch money for the week, considering that my homeroom was on the third floor. (Our building had zero elevators, and I had zero lunches that week.) Just figuring out how to get to each class on my schedule, and how to deal with the ever increasing homework assignments were chaotic and difficult for me as well. The usual teenage angst of meeting new friends was there as well. I had signed up to take Ceramics as an elective class, not knowing what a life-changing choice that would turn out to be. 

When I entered the Ceramics classroom for the first time, I was greeted by a man with a beautiful wide grin, and a soft and gentle voice. He never needed to raise his voice, as he was a master of "wait time" long before I arrived. He was quiet, and his "people" easily matched his volume level. He called us "people" or "class", never "boys and girls", despite that being the most common way that we were addressed in most classes. 

I quickly learned that this was more a class in living life as an artist, rather than just a focus in Ceramics. Of course we learned to create slab pottery items, and to throw a pretty decent pot or bowl on the wheel, but we were led to discover art and its creation is so many additional ways. I developed a love for collage and stained glass mosaics. Three of my mosaic pieces can be found in our garage today! At the end of freshman year, and each succeeding year, I found a way to continue choosing Ceramics as an elective class. I took advanced tests to skip a year in French language, decided to forgo the study of shorthand and typing, and ended my participation in Home Economics. I became a master of persuasion in the Guidance Counselor's office, and managed to stay a student of Mr. K for a full four years. 

Mr. K's Ceramics classes were mixed grade, comprised of students from all grade levels. This was likely due to the fact that students chose other art electives more frequently. I remember that my sister and several of my friends took Jewelry Design as an elective. Mr. K's class became a microcosm of our school and the surrounding communities. As a parting gift to seniors who took his class, our Mr. K created a pencil sketch portrait of each departing senior. (Remember when it was cool to be a senior? Sigh. IYKYK.) Here is mine:

Mr K was an accomplished artist apart from his teaching career, and sold his work. He had a degree in art from Carnegie Mellon University, and brought that background as well as all that he was as a person to our high school ceramics class every day. After finding the above portrait, I did a deep dive on Google to discover an old interview he had done on his role as a holocaust liberator before he was my teacher. This interview occurred 20 years after he was my teacher, showing once again that each of us is so much more than who we are in the classroom. 

The link to this video is here, if you are interested. Interview With Edward Kosewicz

During my four years in "Ceramics" with Mr K, here are a few of the things I learned. I carry each of these lessons in my heart and in my very soul today, Thank you, Mr. K!

Lessons from Mr K

If you haven’t tried it, how do you know you won’t be good at it?

Although his class was officially, ceramics, Mr K shared his vast artistic background with us, using ceramics as an entry point. His example, I believe, led me to share my whole authentic self with each of my students. I found Reading and Writing to be great opportunities for sharing. You may find this resource useful during reading/writing conferences to share your authentic self! Just click!

Imagine the possibilities

Mr. K taught us to start somewhere, and then to explore and dream! Each class began with a short demo, bringing in new materials and fresh techniques, along with an invitation to soar! He also highlighted some of the projects other students were working on. Having a multigrade class enabled him to use the work of other students, as well as his own, for mentorship. 

You don’t know everything

My high school years were filled with turmoil on the world stage, with protests and political activism at home. The war was raging in Viet Nam, but the time period could be any time, including the present. In his quiet way, never revealing to us his own involvement in WWII, he listened, said something like "Hmmm." Or "Ya think?" "Tell me more." and then invited us to think things through before forming our opinions so quickly. He basically taught us not to be know-it-alls while preserving our dignity.

Be part of a community

Mr K taught us that our class was a community, our three or four distinct neighborhoods were actually one community, and that the world was a community as well. We treated each other with respect, critiqued each others projects honestly and fairly, but kindly, and we learned from each other as well as from our amazing teacher.

I guess I've reached a point in my own life where I am considering who I am, who I was, and what my own legacy will be. If any of the lessons I've learned from my own teacher mentors and life mentors are helpful to you, I will be grateful.

If I can do anything else to help make your job easier this year, please let me know in the comments below! If I use your idea for a new blog post, you will win a TpT $10 gift card. If I create a new resource for Rainbow City Learning based on your idea, you will win a free copy of that resource to use in your classroom! (Note: all comments are reviewed before appearing on my blog. It may take a few hours for your comment to appear! Thanks for your patience!)

For more great December teaching ideas, be sure to check out these Teacher Talk bloggers! 

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

We Need a Little Kwanzaa

                                         

How do you celebrate "The Holidays" in your classroom? I have been seeing tons of pictures online, and honestly, most seem to be geared totally toward Christmas. Teachers dressed as elves, Ugly Christmas Sweater Days, Elf on the Classroom Shelf, and Christmas decorations everywhere. This always makes me pause and wonder if all the children in the classrooms whose posts I see are from Christian homes: homes that actually celebrate Christmas. 

I can tell you from my own childhood experiences that it is hard to be different during Christmas. It feels so lonely and alone. Even if they are not expressing this, many children are feeling this at this festive time of the year. 

For me, the celebrations at this time of the year are all about the values they instill in our hearts, not about the specific names or even specific religious practices. As a teacher of mostly diverse populations over the years, I have loved learning about the diverse celebrations that actually occur at this time of the year. The similarities have always amazed me. For one, the presence of candles in the rituals associated with so many of our winter holiday celebrations. Candles can symbolize so many different things, but they all succeed at bringing light and love into our hearts. Each of the winter holidays we have studied in our Rainbow City classroom has also come complete with lifelong values tidily wrapped up to reaffirm during the holiday season.

And so, as we sing, wrap, greet, feast, and otherwise make merry during these winter months, it's also a great time to address values education with our children. What do we stand for? What's most important to us? What really lies beneath the shiny ribbons and glorious boxes?  Unless we teach in a religious school, we probably shouldn't be teaching religion at any time of the year. But values? Solid, character-building values? Of course we can address those!

In my opinion, Kwanzaa is a perfect holiday to address values that many of us hold dear already. This just may be the perfect year to get a Kwanzaa celebration going in all of our homes and classrooms, or at least in our homes in preparation for considering Kwanzaa as a more universal holiday to celebrate together in class next year. It is cultural rather than religious, and is filled with lights, colors, gifts, togetherness, and joy. 

If you prefer not to put a label of a specific holiday on your celebration of values, it will still work. Who could argue with celebration of unity in your classroom community? Or a celebration of the creativity that dwells within each of us? Responsibility? Self-determination? Purpose? Of course! All of these are so connected to what we try to instill in students every day in every lesson!

You might want to start by introducing a value each day (or each week) in your Morning Meeting discussion. Or start with journals. Start somewhere this year, and build on it next year. I have blogged about this before, but a favorite activity in my classroom for years was a carousel of holidays, where we shared the values, foods, and fun of each of our own special holidays. Here's a post you may be interested in:

For an actual Kwanzaa celebration or lesson, you might like this bundle I've put together for you!

Studying Christmas around the world may be fun and enriching for a homogeneous classroom, where all families celebrate Christmas. (Are you sure that EVERYONE in your class celebrates Christmas? Have you asked? Just asking again for a friend...that lonely child that I once was.) Even if you're positive that you stand before a truly homogeneous Christian class, taking a look at the values and celebrations of others can't hurt, and may be enlightening! 

Wishing you all the peace and joy that you seek in this holiday season!

I hope you have found a few ideas here to make this season of reflection more meaningful this year in your classroom. Please know that I am grateful for each and every one of you who reads this blog! 

If I can do anything else to help make your job easier this year, please let me know in the comments below! If I use your idea for a new blog post, you will win a TpT $10 gift card. If I create a new resource for Rainbow City Learning based on your idea, you will win a free copy of that resource to use in your classroom! (Note: all comments are reviewed before appearing on my blog. It may take a few hours for your comment to appear! Thanks for your patience!)

For more great December teaching ideas, be sure to check out these Teacher Talk bloggers! 

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

Building Community During the Holidays

Couldn't resist bringing back this older post today because it still brings so much of what I am feeling as the holidays approach - especially my favorite: Thanksgiving! I hope that you will find some ideas here for building community and sharing empathy during the season ahead!

Our family has a reunion every year at Thanksgiving time. We are scattered all over the country (actually all over the world) now, but each year as many as possible try to meet up for a banquet cooked by professional chefs (yay!) rather than by any of us. We meet in a hotel back where I grew up and spend several days just enjoying each other and loving on our newest generation. It takes me back to my childhood, when most of the meals were home cooked, certainly at Thanksgiving, and when most of my extended family hung out together all the time. We were there for so many of the milestones in each other's lives, sometimes because they were official and came with an invitation, and sometimes because we just happened to all be there. We were all always there, either at my parents' house, or my grandparents' house, known simply as "down the house" (In Pittsburghese, "You gon' dahn the hause?" Or, "See ya later dahn the hause.") We never said yinz in our family, but we sure pronounced words like dahn and hause just that way. It brings a tear. Sigh.

Our Thanksgiving celebrations through the years always included the long table for adults and the kids' table. I believe I sat at the kids' table until I graduated from college and was married with a tiny apartment table of my own. It was a good place to be, and a great place to grow up.

We hosted a brunch at our house recently, and my favorite grandson (aka only grandson) asked if we could move the kids' table to the end of the adult table so that it would be just one long table and we all could sit together. What a brilliant idea! I wish I had thought to ask my grandmother the same question. Her kids' table was seriously all the way in the living room. We always felt that we were missing something over there! Brunch was so much fun that day, and the furniture arrangement just might have had something to do with it!

Thoughts of Thanksgivings past and future also brought me to the thoughts of the season of excess, which seems to start earlier and earlier each year. I thought I had finished all of my holiday shopping yesterday, but thought of several items that I wanted to add today. A tiny voice in my head said, "Enough!" The voice was right. I took some time tonight to think of all the things that I have enough of. I certainly have enough clothes to last forever. Six bags are ready for donation right now. I have a precious family to love, and I know they love me, so enough love. I have probably far more friends than any one person deserves, so enough friendship. Since I've rekindled my love for dancing and exercise, I am mostly blessed with good health. I do request that you stay away from me though if you have not had your flu shot. Learned that the hard way. Enough food? Probably too much, given my never-ending struggles with the scale.

Yes, enough. I am so sure that I have enough that I have no holiday wish list of my own. The days ahead might just be a good time to consider with your students and children or grandchildren, nieces, and nephews - whoever is important in your life - what exactly each of you has enough of. And then, you might want to extend the conversation to ways you can reach out and share with others who might not have enough. Some examples (some that I've talked about in previous blog posts) might be:

• Adopt a family to gather and wrap holiday gifts for.
• Pack winter comfort bags for the homeless.
• Visit an elderly residence and play board games or sing. 
• Plan an act of kindness to do every day (or even once a week) for someone else.
• Share your holiday spirit by learning more about winter holidays celebrated by others in your community and around the world.

An amazing book that I've just discovered is I am Enough by Grace Byers. It is a lovely way to remind our children that each of them is a precious gift to the world.

For resources to make your teaching life a little easier in the days ahead, and to learn about winter holidays celebrated by others, click here! Winter Holidays with Rainbow City Learning
For resources to emphasize Gratitude, click here! Celebrating Gratitude with Rainbow City Learning

In the days ahead, I wish you a seat at the table surrounded by those you love, and the most precious of gifts to open: friendship, caring, and awareness of the needs of others.

For more November thoughts and tips, be sure to check out the posts of my blogging friends.

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts

that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at    TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

Seven Fun Halloween Candy Activities for Your Class

It's Candy O'Clock! The store shelves may be lacking some essential paper items, but they are currently chock full of Halloween candy of every description in those cute little individual bags! Trick or Treating is so much fun, but how many kids can actually eat all the candy in their haul? It's estimated that most kids will consume about 3,190 empty calories from their Trick or Treat bags. For most kids, that won't even make a dent in the stash. Here are some suggestions to make better use of the annual sugar rush and make your classroom goblins want to share!

The Legend of the Switch Witch

My head is currently spinning while trying to find out who owns the concept of the Switch Witch. Apparently, you can't copyright an idea and so the Switch Witch legend is now part of the public domain. The original Switch Witch book is available on that book selling internet giant and also at some smaller booksellers. I purchased a cute witch and book from a Colorado company (switchwitches.com) which I thought would be useful for upper elementary students. This book talks about the magic of Switchcraft. 

The legend was originally created to help a diabetic toddler to see another use for the trick or treat candy that she couldn't eat. According to legend, various Switch Witches travel all over the world before Halloween. They will exchange your Halloween candy for other fun toys/gifts. They watch over you in a way similar to the Elf on a Shelf concept.

My classroom application: My Rainbow City classroom always had a store (We called it the Rainbow City Boutique!) open on Fridays. Kids could exchange classroom dollars earned through good behavior and work efforts for school supplies, handmade items by their classmates, or materials to make their own items to sell. More about how this economy worked can be found here. 

Whether you have a classroom shop or not, you can place a cute witch doll on a table next to a box which can be sealed (like a plastic storage container with lid). Our school was on the edge of a forest. Forests have mice. Need I say more? Didn't think so. 

After Halloween, your students can bring their wrapped Halloween candy to school and trade it in for whatever you (The Switch Witch) decide to offer in exchange. You can use a witch doll or dress up yourself. I'm pretty sure that a parent might be willing to dress up and volunteer for this job as well!

For a followup writing activity, ask your students to write a letter to the Switch Witch about what they would like in exchange for their candy! Find that activity here: 

What will you do with all the candy you collect? Save it and read on!

Harriet's Halloween

Many years ago, an AIMS (Activities in Math and Science) activity was published in their journal using the picture book Harriet's Halloween Candy. The story was about an anthropomorphic dog who didn't want to share her Halloween Candy. The activity was all about sorting according to different attributes such as chocolate/not chocolate, individually wrapped/package wrapped, plastic wrappers/paper wrappers, by color, by ones they like/don't like, etc. 

Upper elementary kids should be able to come up with four different ways to sort their stash. I made a sorting page for you to use below. You're welcome.

After sorting, my class would make goody bags to be handed out at the local food pantry as a treat for homeless kids or those unable to trick or treat in their own neighborhoods. Some senior citizens centers will take these donations also. 

Cute graphics on this page are from Melonheadz.

Getting to Know Us Again

Depending on how quickly you opened your room and got students back to school, you may or may not have tried this fun Morning Meeting activity. You can play it with Skittles, M&Ms, or any wrapped small candies. I've played it with pennies, and some teachers use toilet paper squares. As students enter the circle, ask them to "Take as many" as they need. As you go around the circle, each child has to say something about themself for each of the number of pieces they've chosen. 

This game can have so many adaptations: Say something nice about a classmate for each piece, say something new that has happened in your life for each piece, tell something new you learned in class last week for each one, use them to tell the steps of something that you know how to cook or build or create.

So many ways to reacquaint ourselves as a classroom community!

Poetry Writing

Here's a funny and fun poem for Halloween from Shel Silverstein's book, Every Thing On It. The cute graphics on this page are from the amazing Glitter Meets Glue. You're welcome again!

Kids can write their own poems, using this as a model. Who do they think invented Trick or Treating? They can also write Five Senses Poems or another poetry form about Halloween. 

STEAM

From Saving Sam (or Fred or...) to Pumpkin Catapults and Pretzel Stick Bridges, there are so many ways to use candy in your STEM/STEAM activities. If you've collected candy from the Switch Witch suggestion, you can use it again and again to supplement your Maker Space and STEM/STEAM activities.

Here's a fun one from my Stepping Into STEAM resource. 

Notes and Awards

Pay it forward! Use some of your "switchcrafted" stash to attach to thank you notes for PTA or Staff Appreciation days. Some years, we have sent care packages to our troops. It is also fun to attach candy to Clean Desk Awards. 

 Candy Book Discussions

 I have used M & M Book discussion cards during Daily 5 time. Wow! Not only was I able to have 10 book conferences in less than one hour, but I could really tell how deeply those books had been read. 

Worked with two multi-level groups of 5 each. Students randomly selected an M&M from their Halloween-sized bags (perfect time of year to try this), and told the group about their book as the prompt directed.

 
Did not hear one "I pass." or one "I don't know." The conversation flowed, and the students were thrilled to keep their cute laminated M & M bookmarks to prepare for their next discussion.  Eight more students signed up for conferences for the next day, and several were heard as they packed to go home that they couldn't wait to get back into their independent reading books that night.
A fun day interacting with my readers! Hope you'll try it!  

For a convenient download of the  pages shown above, just click here! (No longer free, but just a dollar! Really! Come on!)

ALL of the ideas in this post, and many more can be found in my Halloween Bundle. Save yourself some planning time, and enjoy the celebration along with your class! Just click below!

BIG NEWS!

If I can do anything else to help make your job easier this year, please let me know in the comments below! If I use your idea for a new blog post, you will win a TpT $10 gift card. If I create a new resource for Rainbow City Learning based on your idea, you will win a free copy of that resource to use in your classroom! (Note: all comments are reviewed before appearing on my blog. It may take a few hours for your comment to appear! Thanks for your patience!)

Wishing you and your class a safe and fun Halloween this year!

For more October thoughts on teaching, be sure to check out the posts below by the amazing bloggers in Teacher Talk. 

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

A New Way Forward in Election 2024

It's my birthday month. The following represents my views. If you have a politically charged comeback, please just say, "Happy Birthday" and keep stepping. I have to approve each comment before it ever appears anyway! 

So much to think about concerning our country and the world. The Presidential debates have begun, and at this time appear to be over after the first one, and it's getting more and more uncomfortable up in here. Neighbors and former friends are digging in their heels on opposite sides, clearly dependent on which echo chamber is providing their news reports. What on earth do we tell our children, our students, and even each other about the qualifications of the candidates? One of these people will soon be selected as the "Leader of the Free World". I can't help wondering what The Dowager Empress would have to say on the discussion from the last debate. Before long, we will have a chance to vote and will know the outcome. We may very well have the first woman in office as President of the United States. 

I've always wondered if things would be different if women were really in control of governments. Wondered if the focus would be more on being kind to each other, less on the need to show up with the biggest weapon. Who knows? The girls aren't always so kind to each other either.

I belong to quite a few teacher groups, both online and in person. Although I am officially retired, I guess I will always consider myself a teacher, and I love to be around those who are still so actively involved. Every couple of days it seems, someone enters the discussion online or shows up at the restaurant or walks into the teacher's lounge with a similar complaint. "It's (insert month here), and my class is still so out of control. Kids are so mean to each other. I have bullies in my class. I hope they don't keep talking and screaming through my evaluation." I sometimes helpfully suggest the proven system I used which can seamlessly work with the standards and bring kids together as a learning community. Works like magic. Honest. You won't read about it here. I'm tired of suggesting it. No one seems to be listening. You can email me if you'd like a link to those resources.

I often long for a kinder and simpler time when kids had someone to look up to. My suggestion? Let's offer some role models for kids to look up to. Let's start with us. Mainstream America has been involved in a campaign of disrespect for teachers for waaaaayyyyy too long now. One of the Presidential candidates actually said during the debate that teachers are performing gender change operations on students during the school day. Seriously? With what equipment? In which operating room? Last time I visited, school buildings don't have this capability. What tools are they using? Crayons and glue guns? I remember when kids looked up to their teachers and wanted to grow up to be just like them. (Those of us who have been involved in education long enough will remember those days. They were real.) Starting with us simply means to me to walk into that classroom every day with a clean slate. You have no bullies. You have no loud and disrespectful kids in that room. You are a great teacher with the greatest class ever. Now let's get the day started. They may just surprise you and act the way you would like them to act.

Now for role models. Our next president may very well be a woman. No political endorsement either way here. It's a fact. She may just win it while her opponent is acting like the worst fourth grade discipline problem kid on a long recess with no supervision. (Maybe he had poor role models. Don't know. Don't care. No excuse for him.)

I like to show my students positive female role models in life and in careers throughout the year, not just during Women's History Month, and finding new examples of strong and successful women all around us, I am continually amazed that I never run out of new and exciting discoveries.

A few examples:

Kathryn Sullivan of NOAA, who placed the Hubble telescope in space, and now protects the oceans and atmosphere of our planet, launching a media campaign for #EarthIsBlue and educating our young people about the importance of protecting this jewel of a planet that has been entrusted to us.

Marie Daly, an African American PH.D. chemist (did I mention the first one?) who researched healthy foods and lifestyle habits that could lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. She did this in the 1940s. She also gave back by way of encouraging young people of color to apply for careers in science and medicine.

Jane Goodall, who lived among and studied the wild chimpanzees of Tanzania. I had heard of her before of course, but did not know of her extensive work in science education for young people.

Just a few. The list is long. Strong, ambitious, motivated to reach and grasp and learn. And then to give back. Leave a legacy. Role models we can aspire to. No one cares if they were large or small. They had no need to point out the size of their own or any other person's body parts or crowd size. Their interests were in leading from the heart, with all the knowledge they could acquire, in an area they had a passion for exploring. What more could we ask of our own children, or of our leaders?

So for this month, at least, and hopefully going forward, let's try encouraging all of our students to read like a girl, interact like a girl, study like a girl, discuss like a girl, aspire like a girl, and to lead like a girl. Let's encourage them to do all these things in the way the best of our role models (including you!) would do them. Get involved in some research and project based learning focused on these and other role models. And watch those immature behaviors and unkind actions melt away.

You may like browsing these resources to get started (just click!):

If I can do anything to help make your job easier this year, please let me know in the comments below! If I use your idea for a new blog post, you will win a TpT $10 gift card. If I create a new resource for Rainbow City Learning based on your idea, you will win a free copy of that resource to use in your classroom! (Note: all comments are reviewed before appearing on my blog. It may take a few hours for your comment to appear! Thanks for your patience!)

For more ideas to try this month, please check out the fabulous bloggers of Teacher Talk! 

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TPT. For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions.