Ron Clark Linky Party Part 2

The Parent To-Do List on page 119...especially "Limit chaos in the mornings." Second graders need the routine just as much as first graders! Breakfast and a relaxed morning atmosphere at home are my recommendations. When students have a rough time in the morning, it sets the tone for their day. Sometimes I have asked my students to go back into the hall and compose themselves to "restart" their day. I have even met them in the hall and given hugs to get them in a better frame of mind. I had one little sweetie who would tell me she didn't get her hug from Mom that morning. We made a deal that she would come to me immediately upon arrival for her hug if she needed it. That settled her each morning and she had better days. It's amazing how something we think is so small does so much!
"Leave encouraging notes" is also a BIGTIME favorite. I sent notes in my son's lunchbox from PreK through high school. :) Even now (he's 22 and assistant manager in the local Publix bakery), he carries his lunch cooler from high school. In the lid, I wrote "Stephen, I love you! Mom." It's still there and I rewrote it recently because it was beginning to wear. I write notes to my husband and parents, too. I love, love, love getting notes! ;) My hubby writes notes to me, too.

  Last year, my uncle Curtis died. He lived in Texas and hadn't really been sick. We all knew he was getting older (81 years), but he had not been sick. On Friday & Saturday, he helped decorate a booth for the local Christmas extravaganza. He went to church on Sunday, out to lunch with friends, and had a marvelous weekend. He died on Monday morning. He was a very special uncle, so I went to Texas to his funeral. I was out of school six days. I sat down at my aunt's computer and wrote typed a note to every single one of my students after the funeral. My friend printed them out from the e-mail I sent her and gave each student his/her personal note from me. She said they were thrilled to get them and my sub said they were on their very best behavior because they were concerned. The power of an encouraging, personal note is amazing!

End of Molasses Classes

Check out Ron's message to TBA here. He is awesome and amazing! I have visited the Ron Clark Academy with my school (Thanks, former principal Mike Roberts, for taking us all there!) and am Slide Certified! I also visited Mike's new school about three weeks ago to see and hear Ron Clark again! He definitely tells it like it is with no apology!

In this picture, Ron was shaking hands with one of the students who performed. He made sure to make eye contact, but she was little shy at first. He quickly instructed her to make eye contact and she did! She had been told to hurry out of the cafeteria... 

This is the picture prior to the handshake. Ron went to meet the students, but they had been instructed to leave quickly so the meeting could get underway. He stopped the little girl just in front of him (seen in the previous picture) to shake hands.

Principal # 4~Uplift other adults who play a role in the lives of our children~is something I really try to do. I spent three years teaching adults and it really brought it home to me that many of my parents might not even be fluent readers themselves, yet we ask them to read with their children daily. I always try to offer assitance to my parents in such a way as not to embarrass them or make them have yet another bad experience with school. I realize that some of them had a really hard time in school and are not so excited about school even now. There's a fine line there and we must be supportive of both the parent and the student.

Principle # 19 is also something I strive to do. I know that some days must be spent following through on the big idea, activator, or whatever you call it at your school. We need some time to assimilate and accomodate what is taught so it will become real learning, but we can refer back to the fun stuff to get the students excited about even the dreary parts. Using every angle available to teach something, giving my students lots of different ways to practice the skills, and keeping my eyes open for exemplary work are ways I try to keep it magical. Blogging has really helped me with that, too!

Thanks, blogging friends! This is the best year (of my 23 years teaching) ever because of all I'm gathering in blogland! God bless you all 100-fold!