The kids were kind of wound up and chatty for most of the day. However, I didn't have much left for them to do during the last half hour of the day and I was really trying to get them to earn free choice time. We'd decided that morning that they needed 10 stars at the end of the day to earn it, and they still only had 7 at about an hour left. I found a way to give them 2 for walking quietly in the hall and coming back in and getting ready to work. They still needed one though, so I told them they had to work on their writing for 10 minutes without me having to remind them to be on task or in their seats. I found a countdown timer online and displayed it up on the Smart Board so the kids could see it from their desks. This turned out to be my best idea of the day! They were totally silent and writing the whole time and I was relieved to be able to let them have free time. They were also happy that they could draw, play games, or write on the mini white boards for a while.
Once again, I am the cool Miss Barnes. This is the best part of being the substitute. I get to be the fun one. :)
1 comment:
That timer was a stroke of genius. Of course you are the cool Miss Barnes. Sometimes you have to work so hard to figure out ways to give the kids a reward. I'm glad they liked the timer and now you have a new tactic in your bag of tricks.
Love you!!! MOM
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