Getting Creative With the Individualized Behavior Plan

As I start writing this post I can't help but think about all the teachers I work with and imagine them laughing at this post because, well...they know.

Every classroom has some sort of behavior plan in place, sometimes more than one. You can have the most perfectly thought out behavior plan, and there will always be students that just don't give a rat's tail about that behavior plan. Then enters the individualized behavior plan. Individualized behavior plans should be just that...individualized. Pinterest is a great starting point for ideas, but I urge you to personalize it to your students. Anyway, here are some things I tried to get EXTRA creative this year.

First I tried this picture behavior sort that I got from the amazing, Mrs. Ricca.

 1. We sorted good choices and poor choices as a class. We never mind another chance to practice this in kindergarten, and it helped prevent the student from feeling singled out. 

2. We sorted good choices and poor choices one-on-one. This allowed me to engage in a conversation with the student about what these choices look like to them.

3. We used a large mailing envelope to keep the pictures. When transitioning to resource, lunch, recess, or dismissal, we talked about what good choices and poor choices would look like when we went there.

4. I encouraged the student to talk about their good choices and bad choices with the other children.

This worked...sometimes. Depended on the day. For a little while. Anyway, I was quickly racking my brain for more ideas.

I started to think more about the student and what the specific behaviors were that I wanted to minimize. The biggest was personal space and keeping hands and feet away from other students. So I found a cute little stuffed bunny that looked a little like this, but not really. 

So we learned about Little Bunny Foo Foo and practiced GENTLY bopping the bunny on the head when we felt like we had a little extra BOP we had to get out. My thoughts were that maybe the student needed another outlet for the hand movements. I also tried play-doh and stress balls with this goal in mind. This worked for one day. One.

THENNNN I made this:

Yes that's a pill box. I broke down our school day and labeled each opening. I had observed that the student was motivated by computer time and a little free time to play with his cars or the sensory bin. Every time the student kept their hands to themselves during a portion of the day, they got to open the box and see what the reward was.

While using that, I also tried a daily behavior log similar to this one from Mrs. Willis Kindergarten. I changed it to reflect our schedule. This was absolutely the resource that worked the best. It was so much better than giving one color for the entire day. This allowed the student to feel that success was much more within their reach.

It's also important to note that I did change things in our classroom environment as well. For example, our rug. I switched classroom rugs with another room because it had lines on it. I felt that a rug with lines would attach a visual to personal space. This had a big impact.

Here are just a few tid-bits that I would suggest to keep in mind when creating an IBP.

1. Get to know the student! 

2. Observe them to find out what motivates them.

3. Observe them for what times of day behaviors are occurring. Do this for two weeks and look for trends. Is it after lunch when they've been exposed to loud noises? Is it before resource (specials) when they're making a transition? You get the drift.

4. Take notes and document. This allows you to look for triggers. Maybe it's something in the environment that is setting them off. It's important to think about what things AROUND them might be impacting them.
5. Most importantly...let them feel successful. Start with small goals and build your way up. The feeling of success is essential to the motivation of the student.

Creating a "Math Rich" Environment

I know I may be one of the only kindergarten teachers to ever say this, but I LOVE math! Of course I couldn't be a K teacher if I didn't love reading too, but I am just a math person by nature. Now every teacher knows the importance of having a "print rich" classroom, but what about a "math rich" classroom? Have you ever thought about how much math is in your classroom environment? I'm sure you already have things in your room that promote a math rich environment, but I think this needs to be something we are being purposeful about when planning the setup of a classroom.

I'm here to share some ways that I tried to create a math rich environment in my kindergarten class last year.

1. Having AN ASSORTMENT of number lines hanging.

I plan to do a post on how I incorporate number lines and hundred charts in the next couple of days so I won't go too much into detail yet. However, it's important to me that I have numbers displayed in numerous arrangements around the room. Guess what? That horizontal line of numbers hanging on the wall isn't going to magically make every student understand numbers, just because it hangs there all year. 

Here's our vertical number line. We made this together and it shows quantities with each number.

Here is our horizontal number line. These numbers show tally marks with each number, since that's a state standard here in VA.

In this photo please do two more things:

* Ignore the fact that my alphabet is falling off the wall. Any time the building gets humid the starts melting away like butter.

 *Also look at my math vocabulary board. This is ESSENTIAL to my math rich classroom. The VA Dept. of Education created these vocabulary cards to include all of our vocabulary as well as a picture to illustrate it. As you can see I did the same with my other subjects as well. I couldn't have one board with fabulous illustrations, and the others without. My OCD hates that there are a few hanging over the border, but trust that I will find a way to fix that this year!

Here is a close up of that vocabulary board.

I also have this engaging number line from my math specialist.

Let me say,  in my kinder-centric mind, the best math specialists are those that understand kinder, and boy does she! 

It can be extended anywhere by tens anywhere from 0-10 to 0-100. My favorite part it that it comes with an assortment of cards for differentiation.

We have this number line that easily becomes a workstation.

2. Line-up Spots

I made these numbered line up spots to help my students learn how to stand in a line at the beginning of the year AND to prevent all of the racing to be first and "SHE CUTTTTTTTTTT!!" meltdowns. You can organize this in a lot of different ways. I gave students a number that changed often, they got into that spot in line. This also ensures meticulous student placement. They loved choosing their own number as a reward. Some teachers prefer to give students a permanent number though. Whatever works best for you!

Sadly those were stuck on with tape as you can see. They held up very nicely through a portion of the year, but this year I am definitely hoping to invest in sit spots for this purpose.

This was a great way to practice an assortment of numeracy skills.

3. Number Rhymes

I keep my number rhymes hanging because number formation is something we work on ALL YEAR LONG. You can find tons of these anchor charts if you search for number rhymes on Pinterest or Teachers Pay Teachers.

4. Piggy Banks

We use these for behavior management. Tables earn coins for a number of positive behaviors. This allows us to practice one of our most difficult standards everyday in a meaningful way. 

5. Clocks

Please excuse the terrible picture, but i had to crop another photo since I don't have any pictures of these. I hang three clocks showing the times for resource (special), lunch and recess. The students were very curious about the clocks from the beginning, which had them asking to learn how to tell time all year. They also came in handy for many teachable moments! I loved doing it this year, but next year I will look for clocks that are not divided into quarters. It just makes them more difficult to see when they are hanging. 

(You'll also see our ordinal numbers below the clocks.)

I found another picture!

6. Daily Schedule

I keep a daily schedule posted that shows both analog and digital times for each part of our day. I found that here and I absolutely love it. I put magnets on the back so that the pieces can be easily moved around and laminated them so I can use a dry erase marker to write the times, as they do change a few times early in the year. This allows students to begin connecting events with time, understanding that time relates to an order of events, and gives them a visual of what time looks like early in the year.

Here is our daily schedule and our calendar area, which of course is a big addition to our math rich environment.

Of course with all of these things, I make sure that I use them and I expose my kinders to them explicitly. You can have these things hanging in your classroom, but if you don't USE them to enhance learning and teach the students to use them and even just to be aware that they are in the room, or how they relate to their world, they will serve very little purpose.

I challenge you to reflect on your classroom environment last year, and how you would compare the "math richness" to the "print richness." Ignore the fact that I'm making up words, remember, I'm a math person. :)

Meet the Teacher Night

In my experiences growing up and as a teacher, I have always had Open House, rather than a Meet the Teacher Night. Last year was the first year we did Meet the Teacher Night. I was excited, but of course I wanted my room to be absolutely perfect the first time families and students saw it, so the pressure was on! Here is how I set up my classroom for Meet the Teacher Night...

READY CONFETTI!

I made bags of ready confetti and attached this poem to the bags. The students sprinkle it under their pillow the night before the first day of school to help with any first day jitters.

CLASSROOM WISHLIST

I labeled these cupcakes with consumable products that we use a lot of in the classroom. Parents were free to take a cupcake from the cake stand if they wanted to donate an item.

COMMUNICATION MAGNETS

On the right side of the table you'll see my teacher communication magnets. On these I place my name, e-mail address and phone number. Parents take a magnet so that they always have access to my contact information. 

PARENT WISHES

The last item on the table is my jar of parent wishes. Parents write down a wish they have for their students for the school year. They fold it and place it inside. We revisit them later in the year during a conference when we celebrate their child's successes.

Classroom Scavenger Hunt

I have a scavenger hunt for the students and a scavenger hunt for the parents. This ensures that parents complete all paperwork, get a chance to move through the room without needing step-by-step directions from me.

Note the small cards labeled with numbers. Those cards are numbered stations for parents to go to throughout the room. It starts with a simple sign-in sheet and progresses to things like completing paperwork and introducing them to various areas of the room. I used spray painted clothespins to hold the cards up. I found the awesome cards here and they are completely editable, so you can create them to fit your needs!

I'll leave you with these guys for today. I stalk the Kohl's Cares items every couple of months when they change. Most of you probably know about them, but if not, they choose a theme or an author every couple of months. They have some hardcover books and the corresponding stuffed animals for only $5 apiece. The best part is, ALL OF THE MONEY IS DONATED TO SUPPORT KIDS' HEALTH AND EDUCATION INITIATIVES NATIONWIDE. 

Right now they have the books written by Laura Numeroff.

IF YOU GIVE A PIG A PANCAKE

IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE

IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A MUFFIN

IF YOU GIVE A DOG A DONUT

I already have the books, so I picked up these little guys as reading buddies for my classroom library.

Binder-ize Me!

Warning: long post!

So I gave myself two major projects to complete for school this summer:

1. Create my blog. Check!

2. Organize my life. When I say my life, I'm referring to my classroom life.

(Obviously this list of two things has grown into a list of 12 things, as all teachers will understand)

Let's just start with this list for now...

My previous method of organization was file folders. Ugh. I hate them.

They're simple because you can just throw things in a labeled folder, and it's not time consuming whatsoever. In my first years at a new school district I felt like this was all I had time for. However, I can't express to you the complete dread and anxiety I felt every time I even looked at these file folders, let alone opened them.

So at the end of the school year I did what I had to do. I took all of the papers out and threw the file folders AWAY! No seriously, I really did that. Nothing left but a stack of paper chaos. I knew if I took it to that level, there was no going back.

First I considered plastic tubs, but I don't have the space at home or at school for that. Plus I imagine it turning into a larger version of the file folders. :(

I decided to BINDER-IZE.

Binder-ize: verb - The act of taking disheveled paper and organizing it into binders based on a targeted skill or content area. Usually with a cute cover sheet give it character.

Well that's my definition anyway.


Here's what I have so far...

Here's the lowdown on the chevron cover sheets. If you go on Teachers Pay Teachers you will find a thousand products that let you edit and print your own cover sheets for teacher binders. I loved them, but I couldn't stop thinking about how much ink I was going to use making 10-15 of these babies.
So here's my solution:

Michael's sells this beautiful colored card stock in packs of 50 sheets. This week they're on sale for $3.33 PLUS your teacher discount. You can however find them fairly often on sale for $2. There's your chevron. :)

Now I haven't put anything in them yet, but I plan on using page protectors to place master copies and workstation pieces. I'll give an update when they're done.

Door Decor

Well I know it's not a Monday made-it if I post about it on Sunday, but I'm visiting with my family and will be celebrating my beautiful niece's birthday all day tomorrow, so Sunday made-it it'll have to be. 

My first project was a classroom door banner. I got the banner card stock from Michael's for 60% off, plus my teacher discount, so I think it was something like $2.50, maybe less. I got the stickers at Hobby Lobby. Download their app for coupons! The banner came with white string, but I used brown  string to match the letters.

My Teacher Toolbox

One thing I'm always working to better myself at is organization. Just when I think I have a great organization system in place, I find more areas for improvement. Like most teachers, I don't sit at my teacher desk. I use it for storage and for the large magnetic space it provides us for workstations. 

This is one space in my classroom that will be getting a makeover in August!

Anyway, I came across a few posts about teacher toolboxes and I decided to try it out. I went with this organizer from Lowe's. I like this organizer because it has drawers of various sizes, but isn't too large. 

I can't remember what source I got my labels from, but there are tons of resources out there for this. I threw on some spray paint (obviously) and used modge podge to put my labels on.

When I first made it, I didn't know how much I would use it. Well, I love this thing. I always know exactly where everything is.

Here's the best part though...so do my kinders. If I needed supplies, or they did, they knew exactly where to go to get them. Another point for student independence!

We're in Fox Business!

I'm absolutely thrilled that I have a foxy little logo addition to the blog today!

Thanks to my creative, artistic, hardworking, handsome boyfriend for creating this beautiful design for me. Poor guy, this is what you get sucked into when you date a teacher.

Eek, I'm obsessed!