Behaviour chart

First few days into school and things are running smoothly. I am loving the balance of personalities in my class and the uniqueness that each student brings to the table.

Over the last few days I've been busily trying to get around and finish those little jobs that need doing. Today I finally finished off the behaviour chart in my room.

My behaviour chart has three levels- 1,2 and 3. If students make the wrong choices they move up this chart by finding their picture and sticking their picture on the level applicable. The thing I like about this is it is making students remove themselves from the situation they were in to choose out their picture and place it on the display. This gives students time to think and make a better choice.

I have used this process over the last few years but I wanted to add a more positive behaviour spin on it. Therefore I have added another element to the display which says "star performer". If I find a student working hard and making good choices then their picture can be placed on this to reinforce good behaviour.

To make my display I use Velcro dots on the display and the back of the photos to make the photos of students stick to the display.

DIY zen garden

I am always collecting shells from the beach with my girls. When we go on holiday the girls always come home with a bucket full of shells.
Last year in class I took the shells in and got students to choose a shell to sketch.
This year I decided I wanted to make a zen garden to place in a quiet area in the classroom for a calming down strategy. Students can rearrange the shells or rake the sand and calm down whilst doing this. The thing I liked about this most is it doesn't make noise (bonus).
To make a zen garden I brought a photo frame from a discount store. I then removed the glass and used electric tape to tape the base to the frame. I then turned the frame over and filled it with sand collected from the beach. I let my girls place some shells and drift wood on the sand. Completed. Easy enough for all students to make. Give it a go and feel free to let me know how it goes in your classroom.

Positive Behaviour Support Ideas

I started looking at my positive behaviour support resources and decided to share one of my many ideas with you. I use a bank system for positive behaviour support in my classroom. Students are rewarded with bank money for different activities for example they may receive $50 for completing tasks in a certain time frame, or the person who is first to solve my lateral thinking problem in the morning will get $30 or it can be used for rewarding students who demonstrate the social skill in focus for the week consistently. The beauty of this system is you give out the bank money for whatever you want as an encouragement for that behaviour to continue. When students have saved and reached a certain amount they can cash in on a reward. For $100 they can receive a pencil, right up to $1000 which will allow students to do some cooking of own choice with friends, spend a block helping out in another class or possibly computer time. The ultimate reward is a movie ticket for $3000 which is a year of savings. I keep the bank books and regularly ask a student to update them which sllows students to focus on their numeracy skills. The other positive about this system is it teaches students about savings.