Classroom Mangement Archives - Check in with Mrs G

Community Service at School through Kindness

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Community service at school is critical. It is one of the first opportunities your students will have to learn about the ripple effects of kindness. This is how an inexpensive bin helps me make an impact in my school community all year long.

Make a Kindness Kit for your Classroom

My kindness kit gives me and my students a chance to positively impact the days of the people around us. It makes our community a happier place to be. Here is what is in my Kindness Kit:

Flower Water Tubes: These tubes give my students and I the ability to turn any cutting from a bush or wildflower into a thoughtful gift. They only cost a few cents each and allow us to share beautiful flowers with the people in our community all year long.
Note Cards: A simple handwritten note goes such a long way. Having cute note cards on hand encourages me and my students to write them out. I send them home to parents and put them in the boxes of teachers who make my day better.
Tea: A simple tea bag with an encouraging note can turn someones day around. As teachers, we do not always take time for self care. This is a good way to
Student Art: Students produce beautiful art but we all know, we cannot keep everything. I will display art students want to give me for a few days. Then I will ask them if they want to move it to the Kindness Kit. Most of the time, they do! I store the student art in an expanding file folder. When a person is helpful to our classroom (volunteers, substitute teachers, office staff, etc.) we choose a piece of art to give them.
Gift Tags & Twine: Having a cute gift tag and a bundle of twine makes all the difference. These two items are a quick way to turn anything into a thoughtful gift.

Kindness is a Community Service at School

I became a teacher to help create good people. To be honest it’s a challenge for me to push academic rigger over developing quality relationships in my classroom. This strategy is not so good on state tests, but maybe good for our world. Helping shape humans that care about themselves and each other is kind of it for me. As some of you may know by now, I love sneaking character building content into academics anywhere I can. Nothing and I mean nothing, beats a good student check in followed by a social skills group in my book!

And then there is kindness. I could talk about being kind with my students all day. Kind is what we need more of in schools, in homes, and in communities. I infuse kindness into my reading comprehension groups and into my vocabulary word of the week. I have used kindness as theme for my classroom. We have a kindness word wall and classroom posters. It is a part of the fabric of our classroom community.

Kindness is having a moment and I am here for it! The outcome in my classroom has been a kinder, more safe learning environment where students are encouraged to take chances. I would love to hear how you infuse kindness into your classroom!

Resources for Teaching Kindness in your Classroom

FREE Kindness Writing Prompts

Kindness Themed Classroom Decor

Reading Comprehension Workbook: Kindness Theme

by admin

What is a Paraprofessional?

Paraprofessionals are the unsung heroes. Of all the jobs in Special Education, Paraprofessionals get my vote for having the greatest ability to impact the daily lives of students. Paraprofessionals are sometimes called Paraeducators, Education Assistants, Special Education Instructional Assistants, or Teacher Aides.

By any name, Paraprofessionals keep the classroom running and deserve to be celebrated! So, what is a Paraprofessional? What is a Paraeducator? What is a special education Paraprofessional? Simply put, these people are the heart of the classroom.

What do Paraprofessionals do?

Paraprofessionals are the heart of any classroom. They support the classroom Teacher. When Teachers are drowning in data and phone calls from parents, it is the Paraprofessional who greets the students. When a Teacher is managing a behavior crisis or testing students it is the Paraprofessional who is re-teaching a concept to a small group of students. Paraprofessionals are famous for organizing classrooms, completing student observations, and preparing student materials.

The relationships between the Paraprofessional, Classroom Teacher, and students can change the dynamic of a classroom.

My Special Education Paraprofessionals

I have a huge place in my heart for the amazing Paraprofessionals that I have worked with in my Special Education classroom over the years. There was the one who brought in an illuminated, five foot tree with lights to make our room more cozy. We read with students under that tree and wondered how long until the Fire Marshall shut us down.

Another favorite created a classroom currency (horrifyingly with my face on it) while I was out sick for the day. She opened a store and encouraged our students to bring a friend from their general education classrooms to “shop”.

We created a talent show to showcase our students and cried when they performed in front of their peers to standing ovations. We opened our daily check ins to any student who needed it, not just our students in Special Education. This made our Special Education room the coolest place to hang out.

The Cool Kids of Room 209

Our Special Education room was so open, warm and inviting that general education students would stop me in the halls to ask, “when will you take me?” and “why is it only some kids that get a turn to go with you?” Our students including many who had numerous things stacked against them socially were accepted, popular even. We were officially the cool kids in room 209. This made our student’s daily lives better. It should not be the case, but it simply was.

I am so incredibly proud of our program and I take absolutely zero credit for it. None of it was me. It was my Paraprofessionals. Their creativity, thoughtfulness and ingenuity built our program.

My Paraprofessionals met the needs of students when they were overwhelmed in the chaos of general education. They modified work, taught life skills and offered breaks at exactly the right moments. They took data, gave advice, and solved so many problems while I sat writing IEPs.

Thank You, Paraprofessionals

Paraprofessionals see our students for exactly who they are. They love our students and hold their hands through the tough stuff. But, Paraprofessionals hold our hands too as Teachers. They help, support, document, prepare, and laugh just at the right times. Next time you see a Paraprofessional, thank them for all they do, seen and unseen.

Resources for Paraprofessionals in Special Education

Paraprofessional Appreciation Gift

Forms for Paraprofessionals

Special Education Basics Training

FREE Small Group Behavior Management Training

Progress Monitoring Training for Paraprofessionals

by admin

Make Time to Teach Kindness

Teaching kindness in my classroom is always a goal of mine. I became a teacher to help create good people. To be honest it’s sometimes a challenge for me to push academic rigger over developing quality relationships in my classroom. This strategy may not always be so good on state tests, but it maybe good for our world. Helping shape humans that care about themselves and each other is kind of it for me. (You can read about my classroom kindness kit here!) As some of you may know by now, I love sneaking character building content into academics anywhere I can (you can read about more ways I do this with early elementary students and with my older students too!).

Resources forCharacter Building

I created a series of character building quick write prompts that are meant to challenge students to respond to questions about growth mindset, college readiness, diversity, behavior at school and thankfulness in short fifteen minute daily writing sessions. It is always my hope to use their responses as entry tickets into more meaningful conversations. Learning this background information about my students helps me celebrate who they are, where they come from, and where they want to go. It reduces my urge to push my students down the paths that I think would be best for them and helps me support them in reaching their own goals.

And then, there is kindness. I could talk about being kind with my students all day. Kind is what we need more of in schools, in homes, and in communities. I infuse kindness into my reading comprehension groups and into my vocabulary word of the week. I have used kindness as theme for my classroom. We have a kindness word wall and classroom posters. It is a part of the fabric of our classroom community. I want to embed a universal language of kindness in my room.

As I foster relationships between students it has been helpful to have a structured way to approach personal and sometimes difficult topics. The outcome has been a kinder, more safe learning environment where students feel comfortable taking chances. I would love to hear how you infuse character building conversations into your classroom!