Tuesday, June 18, 2013

My teacher always says...


One of my very favorite bloggers, Tammy at Forever in First, is having a Linky Party of classroom mantras.  I'm not sure if my kiddos would come up with other things that I always say but I certainly say each of the following several times a day.

I teach preschool and I am the best swing pusher.  The kiddos in my class usually remember to say "May I please have a push?" but I still say this several times a day to the younger kids.



I say this when a kid shares something they have accomplished.  For example, "Look, I just tied my own shoe." A long time ago I read that it helps a child to value intrinsic motivation if we say "You must feel proud." rather than "I'm so proud of you." I like the idea of helping kids recognize that they don't need adult validation to feel good about themselves.



I often say this to my class when they do something well.  Either I will be "shocked and amazed" or we will share something we are learning with a visitor to "shock and amaze" him or her or I will tell the kids that their parents will be "shocked and amazed" by what the kids are working on.  When we wrote our class book about a visiting leprechaun, the kids insisted that the leprechaun would be "shocked and amazed!"  

I just started saying this after Tammy blogged about it.  My kiddos really seemed to "get it" when I said this when they were tattling. 
I know this doesn't really make sense but it seems to help my little ones not blurt out what they are thinking.  We "think inside our own brains of something we are thankful for" during our moment of silence before snack and other times when I want the kids to quietly think about something. I always let the kids share what they were thinking about later.
I like this so much better than repeatedly saying "be quite."  I try to say it once and then quietly wait for the kids to get their coats and line up.  I can now just stand at the front of the line and they know it won't move until the line is quiet and everyone is looking at me.

I could probably go on and on but I want to read what other teachers say everyday:)







3 comments:

  1. Lyn, I'm blessed that you linked up with me today. I love listening in on what kinds of things you say all the time. "You must be very proud" is one that I for sure could say more often than I do. By the way, your last one sounds like it came right out of Love and Logic. I say that kind of thing too! Thanks again for joining me. I'm honored. :)

    ❀ Tammy
    Forever in First

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  2. I think I am going to have to steal some of your sayings. I often tell kids to think with their own brains - but i have one little fellow who definitely needs to think inside his brain not outside his mouth. And I love your shock and amaze them - that will replace my knock their socks off.

    sandi
    rubberboots and elf shoes

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  3. Lyn, I really like these mantras! I especially appreciate the second one ("You must be very proud..."). I think it's SO important for young children to have a good self-image and to start looking inside themselves for how they feel about their own work. Thank you for sharing this!

    If you have a second, stop by my blog.

    Sharon Dudley, NBCT
    Teaching with Sight

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