Welcome Back to a New Year!

We have completed our first week of school. Things are going great!

Students are learning what it looks like to be 2nd graders.

BEHAVIOR IN CLASS

In my classroom students earn classroom money.  If you hear them talking about the money they earned, it is not real money.  They get to spend that money special privileges and items.  A few purchases they can make are: sitting in a bean bag chair, sitting with a stuffed animal, using a clipboard, taking the class for a walk, choosing their job, choosing from the treasure box or using a special pen for the day.  Students earn money by showing responsibility like returning their blue home folder each day and by meeting classroom expectations like being respectful, following the rules and working hard.  Students lose money when they make poor choices.

I have a chart in my room with magnets on it. Each day all 2nd graders start on the blue owl.  When I catch them being a role model and going above and beyond the expectations, I ask them to move their magnet up, that is a good thing.  They earn more money if they end the day on the purple owl which is the role model.

If students make poor choices, I ask them to move their magnet down.  The first time is a warning, it is a reminder to stop and think about what you are doing.  The second time they need to fill out a refocus form and write down what they did and what they will do differently next time.  When students end the day on the orange (warning) or red (refocus) owl they owe me money.  If a student isn't able to refocus and make good decisions, the next stop is a referral to the office. 

The good news is students can move their magnets up and down all day.  Even if they make a poor choice, if I catch them making good choices their magnet can go back up.

Today students are going to bring home a practice refocus form for you to see.  It isn't real so you don't need to worry.

I am so thrilled to have each of these 2nd graders in my class this year!