Last Friday I
flew into Albany and I arrived early enough to do a free concert. (Katie read about my offer on my blog
and took me up on it.)
WOW! Was I impressed with the Balston Spa
School District! They have more
great projects and programs going on for children than I’ve ever seen! One thing that really amazed me was how
well behaved the children were.
They are doing something called PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and
Support) and it’s working! I
don’t usually promote commercial programs, but if your school has issues with
classroom management and behavior you might want to check it out.
You know, it
really bothers me when I hear reporters trashing teachers or when I read
articles about the faults of our educational system. Those people need to visit a school and see just how HARD
all of you teachers are working!
And the children are doing their very best as well! Nobody is slacking off! Everybody is hard at work – with their
“heart” at work. Teachers come in
early to help struggling students – teachers shampoo the hair of children who
have lice – teachers ask relatives to give bikes to children in the classroom
instead of buying them a present – teachers buy shoes or snacks for children…. Every single day there is a teacher who
is making a positive difference in the life of a child! So instead of finding fault, start
looking for the GOOD and THANK A TEACHER!
Saturday I was
lucky enough to present at the Capitol District Child Care Conference. The teachers were wonderful and shared
these ideas:
Our Hands on
Ourselves (Rhonda Haynes,
Albany YMCA Child Care Center)
(Tune: “Think Boxer”)
Our hands on
ourselves
That’s what we
see.
We keep our hands
On our own
bodies.
Own bodies, own
bodies,
That’s the best
place
To keep everyone
safe!
Chicka Chicka
Boom Boom! (Melissa Allen,
Albany, NY)
Chick, chicka,
boom, boom,
Look who’s in our
room…
Tear brown paper
for the trunk of a tree. Use
fingerprints or handprints for the palm leaves. Cut circles out of brown construction paper and adhere
Velcro to the back. Write the
letters in each child’s name on the coconuts. Letters are removable and can be arranged to make each
child’s name in the room.
Authostrator (Terrie Perkins)
Terrie was
reading to a group of children one day and they were discussing the author and
illustrator of the book. It
happened that was the same person, so a little boy came up with a new word –
AUTHOSTRATOR! Don’t you love it?
Terrie also
shared this Halloween chant where the children add the “Woo, woo, wooooo,”
after each verse.
There was an old
woman of skin and bones.
Woo
woo woooooo!
She lived down by
the old graveyard.
Woo
woo woooooo!
One day she
thought she’d take a walk.
Woo
woo woooooo!
She walked down
by the old graveyard.
Woo
woo woooooo!
She say the bones
all laying around.
Woo
woo woooooo!
She went to the
closet to get a broom.
Woo
woo woooooo!
She opened the
door and
BOOOOOO!
I Like Myself
(Rachelle at TOAST Albany City Schools)
After reading a
book called I LIKE MYSELF each child picks out a favorite body part and
Rachelle takes a super close up picture of that body part. On an 8” x 10” piece of paper write “I
like my ____” on each picture.
Laminate and hang together to make a quilt or class book. Children learn to track print and are
motivated to learn to read words.
Clean Up Song (Amy Bielinski)
Put ‘em away.
Put ‘em away.
Put your things
away.
Clean it up.
Clean it up
So the next time
that
You play you can
find them.
Clean it
up…(Continue singing until children have finished cleaning up.)