Towards the end of the school day, I was taking turns having some one-on-one reading time with each of my students in a room nearby the Kindergarten classroom. The rest of the class was working on cutting out an art project, and finishing up their Social Studies papers. Once, when I came in to get the next student for their reading time, they were all at the chalkboard writing out all the special sounds they have been learning in Phonics class. The chalkboard was literally covered with words! Although I knew it would take a long time to erase everything, I wasn't about to stop them from practicing their special sounds. :-)
As the clock ticked closer and closer to dismissal time, and I was still doing one-one one reading time, I began thinking about how messy the classroom surely must be by this point. I had piles of stuff all over my desk. The art project the children were working on was probably just tossed somewhere since I wasn't over there to organize everything.
Suddenly, as I was listening to my last student read, I started hearing my other 3 kiddos whispering loudly and giggling about something in the hallway. I heard the classroom door shut, and I was thinking...Oh no...what are they up to now?!
When I walked into the hallway, I noticed that all 4 lunch bags were lined up perfectly on top of the shelf. The backpacks and coats were hung neatly on their hooks. Normally, this area looks like a tornado struck by the end of the day! My teacher antennae raised when I saw this...something was up!
Taking a deep breath, I opened up the classroom door. There were all my kiddos standing at attention, with huge grins plastered on their faces. I looked around the room in astonishment. It was spotless. Everything was in it's place. To the point where one of the charts hanging on the chalkboard was still slightly crooked, so one of my kiddos quickly ran to straighten it. Their art projects were laid neatly on the front table, in straight little piles by name. The papers and folders on my desk were all in stacked piles. The chalkboard was totally erased. Needless to say, I was shocked! Who would have thought that they were capable of getting the room THIS clean and organized without any instruction?!! It made my day!
Of course, there is always that hope that Miss Follett will give some "positive reinforcement" for completing a task such as this. :-) At this point in their young lives, positive reinforcement plays a big factor! Although I don't want my kiddos to assume that every "good deed" they do in life will earn them a piece of candy or some extra treasure in their glass, I do want them to realize that I appreciate their effort, and that showing initiative is a great character quality!
As the clock ticked closer and closer to dismissal time, and I was still doing one-one one reading time, I began thinking about how messy the classroom surely must be by this point. I had piles of stuff all over my desk. The art project the children were working on was probably just tossed somewhere since I wasn't over there to organize everything.
Suddenly, as I was listening to my last student read, I started hearing my other 3 kiddos whispering loudly and giggling about something in the hallway. I heard the classroom door shut, and I was thinking...Oh no...what are they up to now?!
When I walked into the hallway, I noticed that all 4 lunch bags were lined up perfectly on top of the shelf. The backpacks and coats were hung neatly on their hooks. Normally, this area looks like a tornado struck by the end of the day! My teacher antennae raised when I saw this...something was up!
Taking a deep breath, I opened up the classroom door. There were all my kiddos standing at attention, with huge grins plastered on their faces. I looked around the room in astonishment. It was spotless. Everything was in it's place. To the point where one of the charts hanging on the chalkboard was still slightly crooked, so one of my kiddos quickly ran to straighten it. Their art projects were laid neatly on the front table, in straight little piles by name. The papers and folders on my desk were all in stacked piles. The chalkboard was totally erased. Needless to say, I was shocked! Who would have thought that they were capable of getting the room THIS clean and organized without any instruction?!! It made my day!
Of course, there is always that hope that Miss Follett will give some "positive reinforcement" for completing a task such as this. :-) At this point in their young lives, positive reinforcement plays a big factor! Although I don't want my kiddos to assume that every "good deed" they do in life will earn them a piece of candy or some extra treasure in their glass, I do want them to realize that I appreciate their effort, and that showing initiative is a great character quality!
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