Sunday, November 24, 2013

ROLLING WITH IT!


“Life is like riding a bike.  If you stop pedaling you fall off.” 
Change is inevitable and children will constantly be challenged to adapt to new circumstances in the future.

Many Ways – Sing different versions of the same song or read different versions of folk tales.  Remind children that there are many ways to do things, and that’s O.K.

Variety – The Spice of Life – Vary work groups and seating arrangements in the classroom. 
*Have students turn their chairs around and face the back of the room.
*Let children exchange seats with a classmate.
*Do “Tummy Time” where children lay on the floor and read, write, and work.

State Changes – How about Whisper Wednesday where you whisper all day? 
*Turn off overhead lights.
*Give children sugarless bubblegum to chew.
*Have silly sock, sports day, cap day, dress up day, and other theme days.
*Use colored paper or colored pencils.

Schedule – Write the activities in the day on index cards.  Include specials like music and P.E.  Put a piece of magnetic tape on the back of each card.  Every morning put the activities up according to the schedule for the day.

Opposite Day – Flip your schedule for the day by starting with a good-bye song and reversing the order until you end with a good morning song.  Read a book from the last page to the beginning.  Be sure and eat your dessert first when you go to lunch!

Self-Directed Learners – Make individual contracts for students with a list of assignments, centers, and so forth.  Allow them to make decisions about the order and length of time they spend on the activities.  Set a deadline for when all work should be completed.