Each Kindness

This is a quote from one of my favorite books, Each Kindness, by Jacqueline Woodson.

I read that book after reading Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud.  (Ask your child about that book.  It's the basis for rule #4 in our class: Be a bucket filler.)  I try to promote bucket filling and kindness every year with my students.

If you've never read Each Kindness before, you should.  This book pulls at my heartstrings! In the story, Maya is a new student at a school. She tries to become friends with the students in her class but they are mean to her. She eventually switched schools. After she left, the teacher did a lesson with the students comparing the ripples of a pebble in water to the effects of being kind to others. One of the girls Maya had tried to become friends with was sad she wasn't nice back to her. Their teacher said, "Each kindness makes the world a little better."

After that I did the heart lesson. 

I cut out a beautiful magenta heart. The students loved it. I told them to pretend that was their heart. I said, "Watch what happens to your heart when people say mean things to you." I said some things they have heard before like, "I don't like you," "You're not my friend," "I don't like your shoes!" Each time I said something mean, I crumpled up the heart. Every time I've done this lesson, the students are in SHOCK at what happens to the heart. I then say, "We can make things better by saying things like 'I'm sorry,' or 'I do like your sweater,' or 'Will you play with me tomorrow?' " As I said those things, I slowly unfolded the heart. I said, "We can say things that make things better, but our hearts will never forget, just like the crinkles in our paper heart."  I hung the paper in our classroom to serve as a reminder.

 

My final kindness lesson involved a tube of toothpaste.

I explained to the students to think of the tube as our mouths and the toothpaste as the words that come out of our mouths. I repeated some of the mean things I said earlier, and as I did, I squeezed the toothpaste out of the tube. I asked the students if they thought we could get the toothpaste back in the tube. Some said yes, others said no. We tried using a fork, but we were not successful. 

I said, "Our words are like the toothpaste, once they come out of our mouths, we can not put them back. We can't take back what we said."

The point of all of the lessons hit home with them today.  It was extremely powerful.

I hope you all have a great weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!

~Stacey~

Deskless Classroom 2018 Update

 

Image from here. 

Three years ago, I went deskless!  I removed all but three desks and two tables from my classroom, and introduced flexible seating to my students.  I wrote a blog post about it a month later.  Now that more time has passed, I wanted to write another blog post about it.

First things first:  I 100% stand by my decision to do this in the first place!  It has been the most wonderful experience ever!  I told my principal that I never want to have desks in my room again! 

 

You can see *most of* my classroom from this angle.   You can view the rest of my classroom here.

When I first made the switch, I only had puzzle pieces and seat cushions, which I received from Kaplan:

 

I still have those, but I've added more items!

 

I bought these additional puzzle pieces from a Facebook Online Yard Sale.

 There are multiple bathmats (from Freecycle) and three yoga mats (from Five Below,) in this crate.

I have six wobble stools (hokki stools,) at my guided reading table. These are also from Kaplan.

 

Here are more seat cushions - this time from Lakeshore Learning.

If my students are working on the floor, they can choose to use clipboards (which I've had forever and honestly don't remember where I go them from,) and these cute lap desks which are from Staples Advantage.

 

They can also choose to use privacy shields.

The students keep their supplies in these buckets.

Although this year, I opted for pencil boxes which I purchased on sale at Target!

 

As a result of my classroom environment, I've become even more aware of dirt and germs, and I take steps to prevent the spread of germs in my classroom.

Students must wipe their feet on my welcome mat when they arrive in the morning, and after they return from lunch / recess.  

On snowy / muddy days, they take off their shoes, and use napkins to get any extra dirt off the bottom of their shoes.

I purchased a mini broom set so we sweep as needed throughout the day.  The students LOVE to take responsibility for that!  I just recently purchased a Swiffer to use as well.  (The students will not be using it.) 

With regards to germs, Lysol spray and Clorox wipes are my best friends.  Honestly, I should probably invest in those companies!  I spray my whole room with Lysol at the end of the day - after the students have left.  I wipe down my computer keyboards, tables, desks, the doorknob, and sink daily.  I clean my seat cushions weekly.  During cold / flu season, they might get cleaned 2-3 times a week.

To read more about flexible seating and what the research says, check out the links below:

1.  From Kindergarten Smorgasboard.

2.  From Top Dog Teaching.

3.  From Edutopia.

If you have any questions about flexible seating, feel free to ask away in the comments section!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Stacey~