September 30, 2011

Good Afternoon,
  Above you is a brief video clip of our science class today.  We started our first day of Forces and Motion with a science circus.  We teamed up with Mr. Hubbard's class and allowed the students to use a variety of balls and ramps to explore their ideas and make new discoveries.  If you watch this video with your child, ask him/her what was going on in the clip.  This should lead to an easy discussion about their own discoveries.  We finished the class with a min science circle of sharing and reporting out of ideas.  All in all, it was a fantastic and exciting start to our science unit.

Picture day went well.  Each year I try to find a new spot for our group photo.  My goal is to teach 30 years at the Waitsfield School and to never have the same setting for our class photo.  I hope you like this year's choice.  Since it was Jersey Day, this marked the first time in my teaching career that I did not have a tie on.

Announcements:
*The informational parent meeting is scheduled for Monday at 6:00.  Ms. Hopper had surgery on Wednesday and will  not be able to attend.  I will be able to speak about the 2nd grade math as well.

We have had an absolutely wonderful week, and I am very pleased with the class.  I hope you enjoy the weekend.
Peace,
Tom

September 28, 2011

Good Morning,

It was so nice seeing so many of you during the Open House.  It is very rewarding to see the students so excited about their room and their work.  I was glad they had an opportunity to show you around.

Today we Skyped with Claudia Derrberry.  It was nice to catch up with her and hear about some of her early experiences in France.  It was a nice way to introduce the technology to the students (some of them already knew it).  During stations students worked on their sight words by making rainbow words, wrote in their journals, some practiced making the letters V and Y while others worked on their Time For Kids work, and everyone had a chance on the computers.  During this time Ms. Hines gave a bench mark spelling test, and I worked on finishing the math assessments.  This afternoon we had math and worked in our science notebooks.  it was our last day of observing plants.  The kids were taught how to use a Venn Diagram to compare to items.

Remember that Friday is Uniform Day.  Your child is encouraged to wear their favorite teams apparel, a uniform from a team that they play on, or a shirt that represents something they do (i.e. dance).  I will be sporting my Steeler Jersey this week.  If your child wants to put on the shirt after pictures are taken, I will let them have that chance.

*Picture Day is Friday at 8:00
*Please make sure your child has a water bottle each day
*If you have signed your child up for fluoride and have decided they no longer need to do it, please let Sue know.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Peace,

Tom

September 25, 2011

I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the wonderful weekend weather.  Both of my daughters had soccer games over the weekend, and it was nice to be outside in the sun.  I have spent some time with the blog over the weekend.  I hope the new font is easier to read.  The volunteer schedule should be posted by the end of the week.  I will go over more of the blog at our Parent Night on October 3rd.

Today, I introduced the idea of logical consequences.  Our three logical consequences are loss of privileges, you break it you fix it, and take a break.  At the end of this post, I have attached an article to help you better understand the idea of logical consequences and the pros of them.

OPEN HOUSE:
Tonight is our school's Open House.  This is an opportunity for you to come in and see the classroom, and have your child show you some of the things that we have been working on.  I will be in the room to meet and greet you, but the children will be your hosts for the evening.  The Open House will end with a whole school gathering in the gymnasium.  I look forward to connecting with each of you, and I ask that you don't ask specific questions about your child's academic standing.  Open house does not offer the confidentiality necessary to specifically address individual student needs, growth, or behavior. Remember that Open House starts at 5:00.

REMINDERS:
*There will be no homework tonight.  I will never send homework on the night of a school performance or event.

*Book orders are due tomorrow.

*School pictures are on Friday.  We are scheduled to have ours taken at 8:00.

*We are all set for the Parent Evening on October 3rd.

I hope you have a wonderful evening.
Peace,
Tom

Punishment vs. Logical Consequences

What’s the Difference?

Responsive Classroom Newsletter: August 1998

Logical consequences are directly related to children’s behaviors and help them to fix their mistakes.

The use of logical consequences is one part of an approach to discipline used in the Responsive Classroom®. It’s a powerful way of responding to children’s misbehavior that not only is effective in stopping the behavior but is respectful of children and helps them to take responsibility for their actions.

Teachers often ask, “How are logical consequences any different from punishment?” It is a critical question because there are some basic and important diffrences between the two—differences that must be understood in order to use logical consequences well. Take the following example:

Six-year-old Jacob is zooming around the classroom when suddenly he trips and falls into Michelle’s block building. Michelle lets out a scream and the teacher comes over.

Using punishment

This first scenario involves a teacher who uses punishment. Feeling irritated, the teacher looks at Jacob and says loudly in front of the other children, “I have told you over and over again not to run in this classroom. Now see what you’ve done with your carelessness. Go sit in that chair and don’t move until it’s time for lunch.”

What might be going on for Jacob? He might be thinking, “I wasn’t even running. The teacher doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She’s always picking on me. Now everybody’s looking at me. I hae this school. It was a stupid building anyway.”

Now, here’s what might happen with a teacher who uses logical consequences. The teacher, although also feeling irritated, takes a deep breath and makes herself begin by describing what she sees: “Michelle is very upset right now because Jacob knocked over her building. I need to talk with Jacob first and then we’ll figure out how to help Michelle.”

The teacher takes Jacob aside and begins by asking him a question.

“What happened?”

“I just tripped and fell into it accidentally. I didn’t mean to knock it over.”

“Hmmm. So it was an accident. I did notice that you were running before it happened. Could that have been why you fell?”

“Maybe.”

“When kids run in the classroom, accidents often happen. That’s why our rule says to be safe. What do you think you could do to help Michelle?”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe she would like some help putting the building back up.”

Jacob nods and the teacher walks back with him to the block area. Michelle accepts Jacob’s offer to help and together they build for the rest of the period.

Now, what might be going on for Jacob? He might be learning, “When I knock things down I have to help build them back up. I can fix things when I mess up. My teacher helps me solve problems. I have to remember to walk in the block area.”

Here are some of the fundamental differences in the two approaches:

The goal of punishment is to enforce compliance with the rules by using external controls or authoritarian discipline.

• While effective in stopping the misbehavior of the moment, punishment does little to increase student responsibility.
• Punishment often leads to feelings of anger, discouragement and resentment, and an increase in evasion and deception.

The goal of logical consequences is to help children develop internal understanding, self-control, and a desire to follow the rules.

• Logical consequences help children look more closely at their behaviors and consider the results of their choices.
• Unlike punishment, where the intention is to make a child feel shamed, the intention of logical consequences is to help children develop internal controls and to learn from their mistakes in a supportive atmosphere.

Logical consequences are respectful of the child’s dignity while punishment often calls upon an element of shame.

• Logical consequences respond to the misbehavior in ways that preserve the dignity of the child. The message is that the behavior is a problem, not that the child is a problem.
• The teacher’s tone of voice is critical in distinguishing logical consequences from punishment. There are many ways to say to a child that they’ve spilled their juice and should clean it up. If the tone is angry or punitive, then it’s no longer a logical consequence.
• The same consequence can be respectful in one situation and demeaning in another. Mopping the floor is a respectful consequence for the child who chooses to have a water fight at the drinking fountain, but not for the child who fails to complete his work.

Logical consequences are related to the child’s behavior; punishment usually is not.

• Leaving the group is related to being disruptive in a group; missing recess is not. Cleaning up graffiti on the bathroom wall is related to drawing the graffiti on the wall; being suspended from school is not.
• Logical consequences require that the teacher gather more information before reacting. The teacher takes time to assess the situation and determine, sometimes with input from the child, what will help fix the problem.
• Here are a few questions teachers might ask themselves when trying to assess a situation:

What are the developmental issues at work here?
Is it clear to the child what is expected?
What rule is being broken?
What problem is the behavior creating?
What will help to solve the problem?

The belief underlying the use of logical consequences is that with reflection and practice children will want to do better, whereas the belief behind punishment is that children will do better only because they fear punishment and will seek to avoid it.

• Teachers using logical consequences begin with a belief in the basic goodness of children and the knowledge that every child is a learner, struggling to establish meaningful relationships with us, each other, and the school community.
• These teachers expect that all children will from time to time lose their control and make mistakes.
• The use of logical consequences helps children fix their mistakes and know what to do next time.

Teachers frequently ask, “Is it ever okay for a child to feel bad about their behavior?” Of course it is. When children misbehave, chances are they already feel bad. Our job is not to make them feel worse but to help them choose a better course of action the next time.

As Ruth Sidney Charney says in Teaching Children to Care, “Our goal, when children break rules, is never to make them feel ‘bad’ or defeated, although they may, in fact, feel bad. Our goal is first to help them recover self-control and self-respect. When I observe a child acting the part of the bully, or sneaking out of a job, or putting down a classmate or teacher, it is not a picture of self-control and self-respect. It is a sign of distress and a signal for help. Something needs to stop. The use of logical consequences urges respect for the rules and the people they are designed to guide.”

September 23, 2011

Good Afternoon,
  I hope everyone enjoyed the first day of Autumn.  Today your child will be bringing home their Weekly News Journal.  Each Friday, the students will write an entry that highlights an event or two from the week.  Your job is to read it with them and then write a quick note back (at the bottom or along the side).  It is a chance for you to hear about their week, observe their writing, and for me to work on elaboration and detail with each student.  I hope you enjoy these journals.  You don't need to edit with your child but are more then welcome to do so.  Please send these journals back on Monday of each week.

  I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Peace,
Tom

September 21, 2011

Good Morning,
  Today we continued working on our individual math assessments, some children worked on handwriting while others worked on a current events assignment, and we finished our adjective project.  This project required the students to create an image of themselves by coloring and decorating a body template.  The students then created teams of three and took turns writing a descriptive word about themselves and the others in their group.  Ms. Hines and I added the fourth descriptive word for each student.  These should be on display by the end of the day.

  We also continued to work on our Science Notebooks.  We have been discussing how scientist observe and the ways that a scientist can record their findings.  Yesterday the students used hand lenses to observe an apple, recorded their observations, and then shared them with the class.  Today we will do the same thing with plants.

  Our current read-a-loud is The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl.  We read from this book everyday.

Notes:
*Reading Bags and books should be returned daily.
*I am sending another book set of book orders home today.  If you would like to order from them, please do so by next Wednesday.  Remember to make checks out to Scholastic Book Clubs.

That is all for now.  I hope you have a wonderful day.
Peace,
Tom

September 19, 2011

Good Morning,

 I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  I spent the weekend taking the Hunter's Safety course.  My father in-law really wants me to bird hunt with him.  So I took the plunge.  Today we focused on a song called I'm Gonna Tell.  It was a silly way to introduce the first logical consequence of "time-out."  Time-out is not a punishment or meant to be negative.  It is a tool that students can use to regain self-control.  I recommend that you read the following link for a better understanding of this http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/time-out-avoiding-punishment-trap

Later in the morning, we demonstrated the appropriate way to use time-out.  We will be calling this consequence the Take-A-Break spot rather than the term time-out.  If you have any questions about this technique or process please ask.

PARENT NIGHT:
I am going to be offering a Parent Night on the evening of October 3rd.  It will start at 6:00 and go until around 7:15-7:30.  This will be an opportunity for you to gain a better understanding of the classroom and the curriculum for this year.  I will take the time to go through the parts of our daily routine.  This will give you a chance to ask questions, and meet the other parents of our class.  I will start the meeting talking about math.  This way Ms. Hopper can talk to the 2nd grade parents, and Mr. Hubbard's 1st grade parent's can join us for the part that is applicable to them.  Could you please let me know if you plan on attending (by this Friday).  For the sake of time, I ask that no children be part of this.  However, I will have a video going in Mr. Hubbard's room.  This way you don't need to get a babysitter and your children will have something to do.

I hope you have  a wonderful day.
Peace,
Tom

The Song From Today:

I'm Gonna Tell

I'm Gonna Tell

(Rosalie Sorrels)

I'm gonna tell, I'm gonna tell

I'm gonna holler and I'm gonna yell

I'll get you in trouble for everything you do

I'm gonna tell on you

I'm gonna tell how you broke the plate

And I'll tell about all the bananas you ate

I'll tell on you one time, I'll tell on you two

I'm gonna tell on you

I'm gonna tell 'bout where you hid your gum

And I'm gonna tell that you still suck your thumb

I'm even gonna tell her about the cat and the glue

I'm gonna tell on you

I'm gonna tell 'bout where you hid the broom

So you would not have to clean up your room

And when she finds out, she'll sweep it with you

I'm gonna tell on you

I'm gonna tell how you punched me and bit me

And I'm gonna tell how you socked me and hit me

But I'm not gonna tell Momma what I did to you

I'm gonna tell on you

I'm gonna holler and I'm gonna bawl

And she's gonna smash you all over the wall

And when he comes home, I'll tell Daddy too

I'm gonna tell on you

Happy Friday!  We have been quite busy over the past two days.  The students have created illustrations of a specific talent that each child possesses.  Ms. Hines has turned each illustration into a puzzle piece. The project discussion focused on our individual talents are only a small puzzle piece, but if we put all of our talent pieces together we create a beautiful and completed puzzle. This puzzle is now on display on a bulletin board in the classroom.  Please feel free to stop in and see it.

The students also started creating an image of themselves.  They spent the morning coloring in a body template.  Next week we will use these images for a bigger class project.  I will write more about this as we go.

FRIDAY IS FAVORITE JERSEY DAY
During Morning Meeting, the students were all asked to share their favorite piece of clothing.  One of the students shared that their favorite piece of clothing was his JETS t-shirt.  It led to a much deeper discussion about all of the activities that we do and teams that we route for.  We have decided to make Fridays a day where we wear our favorite team shirt, jersey, or uniform.  This may look like a shirt from their own team that they play on, a professional teams apparel, a dance shirt, or a favorite t-shirt.  This is meant to be fun and a chance to do something together.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Peace,
Tom

September 14, 2011

Good Morning,
  Yesterday we used our Hopes and Dreams to foster a conversation about Classroom Rules.  To this point we have had not had any rules.  I asked the kids to think about what rules they would need in place to allow them to obtain their goals.  We had a list of 14 or 15 rules but were able to condense them down to 4 simple statements.  Our rules will be referred to as our "Be's."  Below is a copy of our new rules.

Our Be's

1. Be Safe

2. Be Respectful

3. Be Nice

4. Be Your Best

Today I will be sending home a copy of our Be's.  Could you please review them with your child and ask them what each one might look like.  For example, "What would it look like if you we being safe at lunch?  After you have had this discussion, I would like your child to use the back of the page to illustrate a picture of one of the rules in action.  So, I might draw a picture of myself holding the door for someone else.  This would be a great visual for #3 Being Nice.

I also expect that your child will read with or to you tonight as well.

I hope you have a wonderful evening.

Peace,

Tom

September 12, 2011

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  This morning we continued to work on our Hopes and Dreams illustrations.  The students have been doing a wonderful job with these, and it has been interesting  discussing their goals with them.  Ms. Hopper and I started the 1:1 math testing for each child.  This will give us great information in regards to each child's understanding of number and operation.

Today's specials were PE and Library.

NOTES:
*Book orders are due tomorrow.

*Your child has reading homework tonight.  This may either be a book that he/she can read or one that they want read to them.  You may not finish the book tonight (depending on length).  If this is the case, please do not worry about how far you get.  The rule of thumb is about 20 minutes of homework a night.  I only send homework Monday-Thursday of each week.

*PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure your child is at school by 7:40.  We start Morning Meeting right away and it is very uncomfortable for kids to walk into a room where the whole group is already engaged in an activity.  I know the parking lot situation can cause delays, so please plan accordingly.

That is all for now.  I hope you have a great week.

Peace,
Tom

September 9, 2011

Good Afternoon,
  We have had a great first week.  We have created norms for our Morning Meetings, explored a variety of materials from the room, and modeled many of our classroom and school expectations.  Today we talked about our individual Hopes and Dreams for the year and each student started to illustrate their goal. Once we have finished this, we will use our goals to create our classroom rules.  Our day ended with a special presentation by Chris Wadell.  He is a para-olympian who spoke to us about goals.  Chris is quite inspiring and has done some amazing things in his life.  I suggest you check him out at the Big Picture tonight or through a Google search.

Notes:

*Book orders are due next Tuesday.  I will be mailing them on Wednesday.
*Reading homework will start next week.
*If your child hasn't brought in a shoe-box (or something of similar size) please send one in by the end of next week.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Peace,
Mr. Young

September 7, 2011

Good Morning,
  I am writing to let you know what a wonderful first two days of school we have had.  We have and will continue to create classroom norms, expectations, and an environment where every child feel safe.  Today we had our first math class.  This year all of the 1st graders will be coming to me for math (Mr. Hubbard's and my students).  My 2nd graders will have Ms. Wilcox for math.  Although it is an extra transition, they are very fortunate to have such a small group of which will be led by such a wonderful teacher.

Notes:
*I still need to know if the following families have the ability to access the blog:  Zeb, Nina, Caleb, and Arianna.  Today will be the last time that I send home a hard copy with each kid.

*1st Graders:  If you have not brought in a shoe box or small tub for your homework please bring in one by the end of the week.

*Book Orders:  Today your child will be bringing home book order forms.  It is not required nor expected that you place an order.  I will try to send these home monthly.  Please do not send in cash.  Make all check payable to Scholastic Book Clubs.

*Please return your child's plastic reading bag each day.

  We are off to great start, and I am looking forward to a wonderful year.

Peace,
Tom

September 6, 2011

We are off to a great start.  Please remember that I will post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I am asking you to check this today just to make sure there is no problems getting to the sight.  I asked that you log on and write down the name of my dog.  Below is the answer:

Ozzy is the name of my dog.

Peace,
Tom