The Paper Clip Chain...

 

   

     Many teachers use a simple paper clip chain as an incentive for good behavior in their classrooms, and I'm one of those teachers.  I started by hanging one paper clip from the ceiling in our classroom.  Whenever a student or the entire class did something positive, I added a clip or two to the chain.  When the chain hit the floor, the class would get to choose a reward.  It's a very simple concept, but the kids really like it.

     This year, on the first day of the paper clip chain, I had each child guess how many clips he/she thought it would take to reach the floor.  This winner would get a free homework pass (something I rarely give out!) After chatting with their friends, measuring the paper clips, and doing all sorts of math calculations, they put their secret predictions in a box, and we set the box aside until the day that the chain hit the floor.  These predictions just added another element of surprise and excitement!  They would count those clips every single day!!  Whose guess was the closest?  Who would win the free homework pass?  It really was a lot of fun!
   

   
     The excitement grew as the chain got longer and longer!   It was right about the time that we were fairly close to getting the class reward,  when I noticed that my students were rushing through their reading homework and handing in less than stellar work.  Many of them weren't applying the strategies that we'd been learning in school, and they were making very careless mistakes.  I decided to use the paperclip chain to encourage them to "up their game".  I gave my students very specific expectations when I explained their next homework assignment.    I modeled my expectations in class and told them that I would be rewarding good work with a paper clip.  The next day, the homework assignments were absolutely gorgeous.  I couldn't have been more proud of them!  I rewarded them with paper clips that they happily added to the chain, anxiously awaiting the one clip that would hit the floor- they were getting so close!
     Finally, we were ONE clip away from the highly anticipated reward (that had yet to be decided.)

1 centimeter away from the floor!!!

     Everyone had handed in their homework, and paper clips were given out, so the class knew they'd have to wait until later that day or tomorrow to earn that final clip.

     Just then, I glanced across the room and noticed one of my students, Taylor, scrambling at her desk to complete her homework.  Taylor lived in a one room apartment with her entire family and had no quiet place or parental support to help her with her homework. Most days I would have Taylor do her homework at school with me, but she was absent the day before, so she obviously didn't have her homework completed.

     It's moments like these that make a teacher's heart skip a beat...

     Taylor, who in the beginning of the year would NEVER do her homework, and wouldn't care that she didn't complete it, was sitting at her desk doing last night's homework.
     I watched her hand it in without saying a word.  I walked over to my desk, checked her work, graded it (she got it all correct!) and made the announcement to the class, "Wait a minute, here's another homework assignment!!  It's Taylor's, and she got it all correct!!  Here's your paper clip, Taylor!"   The entire class cheered and hugged Taylor!  In that moment, Taylor was their hero!   Her paper clip was the one that made our chain hit the floor!  Taylor's face was priceless!  She was the hero, and it was because she did her homework...
     Guess who has been doing her homework every day since that moment?  Taylor!  If it takes a paper clip chain to encourage students to do their very best and to feel good about themselves, then I'll hang a paper clip chain every year.

     Next, it was time to choose the class reward, so we brainstormed some ideas and the kids wrote them down on chart paper.

         After taking some time to think about it,  each student voted for his/her top 2 choices.

    

    And the winner was...HAVING LUNCH WITH MRS. MONKS!  And since having some extra outdoor recess was a close second (and they have been cooped up inside for awhile now) I promised them some extra recess once the weather gets nicer.  I couldn't help it, they really are so well behaved!

     So, my class and I now have a few more memories to add to our 2016-2017 fourth grade adventure.  Our paper clip chain experience and the fabulous picnic lunch we shared together in our classroom!    Life is good in fourth grade!  :)

Valentine's Day~

     If you're a teacher, Valentine's Day is one of those magical days.  The students come bursting into the room in the morning, anxiously digging through their backpacks to get their little valentines out.  They run over to your desk, and proudly give you their specially picked out valentine.  Their little eyes are looking closely for your reaction, hoping to put a big smile on your face.  Within 3 minutes, your desk is cluttered with gifts of love- many handmade with such care.

     They head back to their desks, surprised and delighted by what awaits them.  Simple little valentines from me, a sweet little note, and a bag to decorate before collecting their treasures from their classmates later in the day.  It's an exciting day to be a kid...

The simple pleasures of Valentine's Day!

       
     I help to run the 4th grade Student Council at my school.  This year, my friend Nancy suggested that each child in our school make a valentine for another random Southdown student.  Then, on Valentine's Day, the Student Council members would go into every classroom, and each child would pick a valentine out of the special box.  We decided to call this project, "Spread Some Love at Southdown." We thought it would bring some joy, especially to the children who didn't get many valentines.

       

Our box was filled with beautiful valentine notes from children of all ages.

     I asked my own students to write out a valentine to put in the box.  I suggested that they write something positive or encouraging on their card- something that would make them happy if they chose that valentine out of the box.  That's all I said.
     When I saw what my students created, I was brought to tears.

Who wouldn't want to choose this valentine out of the box?

So thoughtful!

I wish you could have seen sweet Richard carefully writing out this card for a stranger... priceless!

I hope an impressionable child chose this beautiful note and takes it to heart.

     If ever you begin to doubt that there is any good left in the world, just look towards the children.  They remind me day after day that there is love, innocence and hope in every single one of them.  I believe that it's up to us, as adults and teachers, to bring that love out, to keep the innocence in tact, and to never, ever, squash their hope.  Children truly are incredibly beautiful.

     I wonder when it is that some of us adults lose those simple, precious traits....

     Some years it's more difficult to pull a door together than others.   When I look at this particular door, it brings me back to one of the darkest times in my life...

     It was the Hollywood Year...
     I had been going through something I never thought I'd ever be going through- divorce.  It was the saddest time in my life.  I needed to move out of the family home that my kids grew up in and move into a rental home.  That totally broke my heart.  I found myself going through and packing up 20 plus years of memories and "stuff" on my own that summer.  That in itself was brutal.  Then came the kicker...  I was told that all of the fourth grades would be moving out of the intermediate schools and into the primary schools that year.  I had been in my classroom for over ten years, and to say that my room was full of supplies, resources and "stuff" would be an understatement.   So, I spent that summer packing up my life- both at home and at school.  There were boxes wherever I turned.
     You would think that creating a door would be the very last thing on my mind that summer.  But actually, it was just the opposite...

     Movies and Hollywood have always been a passion of mine, so I decided to do a theme that would truly bring me joy as I worked on it.  So, in the rare spare time that I had that summer, I spray-painted giant Oscars and created Mann's Chinese Theater.  I scoured the craft stores for gray poster board and paint to recreate the cement handprints that the celebrities made.   And as I packed up boxes, I would think about ideas and activities that would bring my classroom to life that year.  I kept a notepad with me to jot down my ideas, and my motivation to get through all the packing and unpacking was to finally get to work on my classroom and my door.  That's what made me happy and kept me going.

Once again, my photos were not very good, but if you look closely, there is an actual picture of Mann's Theater hanging on the wall.  There was also a photo of the celebrity handprints and the actual Academy Award statues for the children to see.

   Cutting out mini Oscars as I watched TV late into those summer nights brought me peace and comfort.  It took me away from the packing and the anxiety that filled my mind during the days.  As a teacher, I have always needed to calm myself and give myself the time and space to decompress and create.  That's the part of teaching that sometimes gets lost as we try to jam the curriculum into our hectic days.   The summer has always been my time to rejuvenate my creative juices, and that summer was no different.  I just had to work a little harder to find the time to give to myself.

 

My co-teacher, Mary and me.  We were both exhausted!  She was pregnant with her first little girl, and I was just physically and mentally drained.  I was so grateful that we had each other to lean on!

      Being able to express myself creatively has been a true gift in my life.  I come from a very artistically talented family.  My sisters can sew, draw, cook, and decorate their homes like pros.  My brother can write, produce, direct and analyze movies, among other things.  And I, well I can make a cool bulletin board.  I always thought I got the short end of the artistic gene pool, but I finally see that my creativity is just as valuable, it's just very different. I am incredibly grateful that I am able to share this part of myself with my students every year.  I have been surrounded by the most talented and creative colleagues my entire career.  I love to see what special and unique lessons they are creating every day in their classrooms!
     I wish the world could witness and appreciate these extraordinarily unique talents that teachers everywhere share with their students every single day.  I am in total awe when I watch a passionate teacher do their thing!  I only wish there was an Academy Award for them.

 

 Choose Beautiful....

A while ago I saw an ad on TV for Dove soap called "Choose Beautiful."  It was a social experiment where women were asked to make a choice as they walked through a door.  They could either go through the BEAUTIFUL side or the AVERAGE side.  I loved seeing the results, and thought I'd share the video with my class.   A terrific discussion followed about self-confidence and self-worth.  It was great!

The following year, I decided to go a step further and have my students make the decision themselves before I showed them the video.  At first, they weren't quite sure what to do.  They just stood there staring at the two choices!   I would simply encourage them to choose a side.

After some thought, each child made a decision and walked into the room.  Of course, they all gathered to see which side their classmates would choose, and the kids were all asking each other which side they chose.  There was such a wonderful feeling of excitement and energy that filled the classroom!

I stood outside my door that morning, curious to see which side each child would choose.  I learned  a lot about how each child viewed him/herself that day.  

I was surprised as I watched one of the most "beautiful" students in my class walk through the AVERAGE side.  This particular student is kind, sweet, caring, as smart as can be, and also physically beautiful (in my opinion) - yet she chose the AVERAGE side.  I never questioned any of the kids about their choice; however I did notice that after watching the video and having a class discussion, many of the students went over to the BEAUTIFUL side.

Two of my girls trying to decide which side to walk through.  One chose BEAUTIFUL, one chose AVERAGE

My students enjoyed the experiment so much that I decided to change the signs above the door every day for a week.  I tried to create signs that would cause the children to think and reflect about themselves.  Each day we would discuss the new signs and talk about what we could do to become even better versions of ourselves.  

The children noticed that when the signs in the picture above were up on our door, I went through the left side, and they called me out on it.  They said, "Mrs. Monks, you always try your best!"  And I explained that there are some days that I feel I can try even harder.  I told them that I wasn't ashamed to admit that and that I'm going to try to do my best even more than I do now.   In that moment, they realized that there wasn't a "bad" side and a "good" side of the door.  There was simply an opportunity to reflect and be honest with ourselves in order to become even stronger in the future.  SO many valuable lessons were learned that week!

By the end of the week, the students were the ones coming up with the ideas for the signs!  It was awesome.  They were so disappointed when I eventually took the signs down.  They wanted them to stay up for the rest of the year!

Clip below to view the video:

Choose Beautiful Video by Dove

The Carnival Year!

        Each door seems to have its own energy, and as I look back and reflect on each door, I remember vivid memories of that particular year.  I wonder if I would have those memories without my photos and the recollection of all of the activities that my class and I shared together that went with that year's theme.  The carnival year was a particularly fun year, and the first week of school was chock full with one exciting activity after another!
        Looking back at the carnival door makes me smile.  It was the first year that my door went 3D.  I knew that I needed a circus tent, but I didn't want to go overboard.  I decided to create a small awning out of lightweight insulation board, and it made a great impact.  I painted it white and used red duct tape for the stripes.  It was easy, and the kids loved it!
     Another first for that year was adding the students' photos to the door.  That was difficult back then because we weren't computerized.  I actually had to find the pictures in each child's permanent record folder, take a picture of the picture, download it to my computer, enlarge it, print it and cut each one out.  It took forever!  It was all worth it when I saw the children's reactions on the first day of school when they saw our door and realized that they were on the roller coaster or sitting in the ferris wheel!
     It's in that very moment when you see a child's eyes come to life, that you realize that it's the little things that make all the difference.  They feel so very special.  They get incredibly excited.  It immediately sets a positive tone for the year- before they even step inside your classroom!

Notice the roller coaster is levitating!!!

Maggie the clown!

   

The Ranch Year

     Many people ask me how I come up with each year's theme.  That has always been super easy for me.  I usually find my inspiration sometime during the summer.  I see an object at a gift shop that speaks to me, or a visit to the Dollar Store sparks an idea.  When my mind is quiet, the ideas just flow.
     This year I created my 19th door.  The question I get the most often is, "Are you ever going to repeat a theme?"  The answer is always, "No way!"  First of all, I have no problem coming up with new ideas, and secondly, I want each new class to be represented by their own special, unique theme.
There will only be one class that is my Carnival Year or my M & M Year.  I remember my classes by their themes and all of the activities we do together that go with that particular theme.
     One year, the Ranch Year, I had a pretty challenging group of students.  They were wonderful kids, however, they had a LOT of energy!  I always remember that year as the "Whack a Mole" year.  Once I got one of my students calm and focused, another one would pop up and need attention.  There was SO much energy in that room.  I found myself going home in the afternoons, day after day, saying to myself, "When I'm in my classroom,  I feel like I'm in a jungle!"  The following year's theme was born in those moments!
     The funny thing was, my Jungle Year class was the farthest thing from a jungle.  They were the quietest, calmest, sweetest class I ever taught.  I would always tell them that I got their theme wrong.  They should have been the angel year!  Those sweet little Jungle kids are now seniors in high school and will be heading off to college in the fall.
     When each year has it's own theme, each student feels like he/she belongs to something special.  I believe that that is the key to making a connection with students.  When they feel like they belong, they develop a sense of pride.  I have heard old students of mine speaking with each other.  They will say, "You had Mrs. Monks, too?  What was your theme?  Mine was the Lighthouse Year!"  They remember.  It's a small part of how they define a part of their elementary school years.  It warms my heart.

     The Fire Marshall is not a big fan of mine.   That's an understatement.   I have been very fortunate to have worked for a group of principals over the years who have been able to "look the other way" when I decorate my doors, knowing that they are obviously a violation of the fire codes.  Usually, I keep my door up for the first two or three weeks of school, and then I would respectfully take it down, grateful that I was able to keep it up that long.

The Jungle Year

      One year,  I received a call over the summer from my principal telling me that things were getting a lot stricter, and that I wouldn't be able to decorate my door that year.  Of course, by the time I received that call, I had already planned out the entire Jungle themed door, and every monkey had been made.  I was so upset and wasn't quite sure what to do.
     That particular year was Amanda's year.  I had known Amanda since she was a baby and had taught her two older brothers.  She had been wondering what her 4th grade theme would be for years- there was no way I could let her down!
     I decided to head down to the Home Depot and started looking for my options.  I was drawn to these large, pink lightweight insulation boards.  They were inexpensive and very sturdy.  I brought two of them home, attached them together and covered them with bulletin board paper- I had it! A portable door!  I placed it right beside my classroom door and no one had any problems with it.  I actually loved it, because I kept it in our classroom for the entire year- I didn't need to take it down on the third week of school!
    Since that year, I have been able to go back to the traditional door, but I like that I know that I can continue with my traditions even if the rules get stricter in the future.  

Maggie xoxo