SPRING is in the air!

Hey Y'all! Excited to be linking up with The Inspired Owl and many other fabulous teacher bloggers for a Spring Linky!

Oh, Spring. I love Spring. 

The weather is getting warmer, state testing is almost over, and summer is right around the corner!!

Just look at how GORGEOUS my sweet little island city is. 

I did not grow up here, I moved here, making me an "IBC" meaning "Islander by Choice". If you're not an IBC, you're a "BOI" which means "Born On the Island". This may seem weird that we classify ourselves... I thought so too when I moved here. Five years later, it is what it is... Lol. I'm proud to be an IBC. After experiencing island life, I'll never leave my little strip of paradise! 

I also dislike Spring... 

Because this season starts to bring out the crazy in my classroom... My sweet little fourth graders start to act more like 5th graders. Behaviors start getting a bit more obnoxious because they sense the year coming to an end. So to combat the cray, I introduce my students to BINGO DOTS.  

What are bingo dots you ask? Well, they're stamps made from bingo daubers. I purchase my bingo daubers at the Dollar Store. $4 and some change later, I'm armed and ready to capture my student's attention and get their behavior back on the straight and narrow. 

All you need are these handy-dandy bingo daubers and a scrap sheet of paper for each students. You're ready! 

I give away bingo dots for EVERYTHING. 

- Working hard in class? Bingo dots.

- Quiet in the hall? Bingo dots. 

- Showing strategies? Bingo dots. 

I also play the "Give me 5 Game"

When the kids are rowdy, or I want them to get ready to switch classes, I say "*insert student name*, Give me 5!" That student gets 5 bingo dots, then walks around to find a quiet classmate to give 4 bingo dots to. The student chosen for 4 bingo dots gets to walk around and find someone to give 3 bingo dots to. Then that students finds someone to give 2 to... All the way down to 1. End result? SILENT CLASS. ALL SITTING PERFECTLY. 

My FAVORITE thing to do though is give away giant amounts of bingo dots.... 

Sometimes I get caught up talking with a teacher, dealing with a student, parent, whatever. YOU KNOW that as soon as the teacher's back is turned, kids think it's a free for all... WHY, I DON'T KNOW. Anyway, while I'm handling a situation and they're acting cray, I simply find one student who's behaving and say, "*insert student name*, 20 bingo dots". DUDES. The way the rest of the kids snap to is simply amazing.  TRY IT!! 

Why are these bingo dots so amazing? Two reasons: 

1) The kids get to stamp themselves. It's thrilling for them. And less work for me :) 

2) Bingo dots EARN REWARDS!

Most teachers have a reward system in their classroom. I have several. 

--> TREASURE BOX (answer "exit tickets" correctly, you get a ticket. Ticket goes into bucket. Draw from bucket for treasure box)

--> EARN A TILE (get a compliment in the hall or from specials/rotation, you get to draw a letter that eventually spells out a classroom reward - check it out in my TPT store for more details)

--> BINGO DOT REWARDS. Students save up their bingo dots and redeem them for rewards.

     5 Bingo Dots: fun eraser

     15 Bingo Dots: piece of candy

     30 Bingo Dots: homework pass  

     40 Bingo Dots: QR Reward Card THEY GO CRAZY FOR THESE!!! Check them out in my TPT store

     50 Bingo Dots: 15 minutes of choice time 

I'm seriousl, y'all. Bingo Dots are THABOMBDOTCOM!!!! You've got to try them. 

Bingo Dot Tips:

- I tell my students keep up with your Bingo Dot papers. If you lose them, too bad so sad. Just get out another piece of paper and start over

- Let the kids stamp themselves. It's a reward in itself. I've only had a few students try to "over stamp" but the other kids kept them honest... They will rat each other out in a heart beat for stealing bingo dots!! 

- Have several different bingo dauber colors. It makes it more fun and HELLO, THEY'RE ONLY $1!! So have a rainbow of 'em! 

I REALLY want you to try out this Bingo Dot Madness in your classroom so you can see how fun it is for you and students... So here's my FREEBIE! Bingo Dot Reward System Templates!!

The product includes the poster I use in my classroom and three editable templates for you to personalize of your own classroom. Just click the link to be taken to my TPT store! PLEASE leave feedback and follow my store while you're there! :) 

Enjoy and PLEASE let me know how they've worked for you!! I love to hear feedback and any upgrades you've made! 

Thanks SO much for reading this post! I hope you've enjoyed. As a reward to yourself for BEING AWESOME, enter the fantastic giveaway below!! YOU DESERVE IT! Happy Spring!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up



xoxo
- Katie

Exercise Bands in the Classroom

Do you have wiggly students?

Do you have students that refuse to stay seated?

Do you have students that can't stop talking? 

Do you have students that kinda sorta drive you CRAZY???

Let's be real - we all do. I have been searching for years on ways to get my little wigglers to stay seated and focused. 

My first year I inherited 8 of these babies: 

They were great.... Until I noticed my little wigglers had turned into little bouncers. All day. Bouncing. It drove me as crazy as their wiggling! And EVERYONE wanted one! Students would fake being a wiggler just so they could sit on a giant bouncy ball!! UGH! That year I ended up switching districts and had to give up my bouncy balls. BOO-BYE. Don't miss 'em. 

I was at square one again, and needed a new plan. So I researched and found what I refer to as "wiggle seats". 

Thanks to Donors Choose, I got six of these wiggle seats (filled with foam beads) that my students can sit on and wiggle to their hearts content. LOVE THEM. They're quiet, the kids don't argue over them, they're comfortable, my wigglers stay seated... They are pretty much perfect.... Pretty much.... You see, I'm down to 4 after only one year of use because SOME SCISSOR HAPPY KIDS CUT THEM. UGH. I guess they wanted to see what was inside.... Anyway, these wiggle seats are too expensive for my teacher budget to replace on my own, so I started looking for yet another option.

That's when exercise bands entered my life! 

I had to do some physical therapy for my back a few years ago, and one of the items my Physical Therapist gave me was this giant elastic band for resistance training.... 

Follow me on this thinking journey: 

Giant Rubber bands...

Tied onto the front legs of student desks....

Kids have a place to rest their feet and wiggle their legs...

Quiet classroom...

Wiggly legs eventually tire because of the resistance the bands provide....

Still, seated classroom...  

Do you hear angels singing yet?? You should. And you should SO try these out!! Just look at these happy legs!!!! 

This is one of the cheapest items I've found to help my wigglers and these bands are STURDY. I have yet to replace a broken band. I've found them on Amazon, and also at school specialty stores. Just look for "resistance bands", "exercise bands" or "physical therapy bands". 

Now for real talk: At first, they're a novelty. The kids will bounce their legs like crazy on them. It's loud. It's annoying.... BUT, then the resistance slows them down. Legs get tired. Novelty over and the bands are used for repositioning/ getting comfortable/ and the occasional wiggle. And your classroom is focused and quiet! 

As teachers, we MUST think of ways to reach all our students, and provide outlets for all of them. Including our wigglers/movers/shakers. And this is a fantastic way to go. I hope you try these out in your own classroom!! 

Kiss Your Brain - Monday Made It

Linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for another Monday Made It!

Only one craftivity today - but I'm pretty excited about it. While Pinteresting, I found a picture of a "Kiss Your Brain" jar, which is a jar filled with Hershey Kisses. I LOVE this idea- when my students are doing something exceptional, I love to reward them with food! They love it too... So I knew I had to make one!

I took an old gum ball container (from Party City) and tried to rip of the labels. This didn't work, so I just decided to cover them!

Then I made some cute labels for the sides and top, whipped out my Modge Podge, and got to work. 

When I Modge Podge'd, I slathered it all over the container, as I usually do when I use the goo... However, since this was a clear container, it dried messy. So I had to clean some of it off. My tip: glue the label down first, then Modge Podge a 2-3cm thick border. I also MP'd all over the label to kind of laminate it. It worked, but some spots got crinkly. I'm not too worried about it though, because it turned out SO CUTE!

I'm currently the only one kissing my brain right now... But I'm sure my students will enjoy this once the school year starts!

Like the labels? Tell me below and then download HERE!

-Katie