Cookie Jar of Righteousness

Detentions are a pain - you've got to fill out the paperwork, schedule a date, be in your classroom the entire time... it creates a lot of work. Not to mention the students never bring anything with them to do, making the whole situation unnervingly awkward. A few years ago I came up with a solution: behold, the Cookie Jar of Righteousness!

Inside this righteous cookie jar are scraps of paper with classroom chores written on them. I tell my students at the beginning of the year that if they are fortunate enough to earn a detention with me, they must draw a task from the Cookie Jar of Righteousness and must complete the task satisfactorily in order to receive credit for the detention. It's amazing - they are more than eager to fold towels, wipe down desks, clean white boards, sharpen pencils, or anything else they draw from the jar. It makes the time go by much more quickly for them, I get a little extra help, and at the end I get to thank them for their assistance, which helps "heal" the relationship and we can forget the incident and move on. I highly recommend!

Student Folders

Here's how I keep track of student behavior and performance as well as parent contact:

On the left side, I have sheets attached to fill in with dates, times, and details for any student or parent contact (calls home, holding a kid after class, grade reports, etc). I tuck copies of all notes sent home, email printouts, grade reports, carbons from referrals, accident reports... any and all relevant paperwork. If called for a last minute meeting, I just grab the folder and go! (And yes, the folders are color-coded to match the class they're in).

Paper Management

Papers, papers, everywhere! Any teacher of any subject has to tame the wild paper beast. Here's my method...

 Sterilite Corp. ClearView 3-Drawer Organizer 

These drawer sets are the perfect size for holding papers. I designate a drawer for each class, then one for papers that need to be filed, papers related to coaching, and all the papers we receive during meetings/in mailboxes/etc so that they're easily accessible (and easily located!). I used to use stacking trays, but these look sooooo much nicer. Throughout the week I throw my papers in which ever drawer they belong. Then I go through them once a week, file what needs to be filed, toss what needs to be tossed, sign what needs to be signed, and put all graded student work back in the student binders. I absolutely love them! They're also perfect for sorting colored paper:

Again, looks much nicer than trays, and very easy to manage! 

Parent Contact

I'm big on parent contact (it's a self-preservation thing among us teachers). What I am not big on is sending items home in a school envelope - oddly, those things tend to never make it in to parents' hands... hmmmm....

To prevent such troubles, I take a two-pronged approach. If I am sending either good news or informative news home, I use a postcard:

This way when the kids pull it out of the mailbox they know that they will not get into trouble, and their parents actually get to read it. I ordered these personalized postcards from Paper Direct - very cute designs, and good sales for reasonable prices. I also like having them pre-printed with my name and school address, phone, email, etc - that way I don't have to write any of those things on there! Above is an invitation to Parent/Teacher Conferences, which I send out to every student's parents. I print the dates and times on a sticker to save extra work, but I like the personal effect of a handwritten note. I obviously start these WAY before PTCs.

However, let's say I'm sending bad news home - this I don't want displayed on a postcard. So I send it in a regular notecard with a regular envelope:

This way the kids don't know it's from the school, and the message gets through. I used Paper Direct for these also, and again my info is already printed on it. Sneaky!

In addition to invites and "bad" notes, I try to send at least two good postcards per class per week, to help build those positive perceptions. A lot of parents have commented on how much they appreciate "the postcards." Bonus - my parent attendance at conferences has gone from about 3-4 per night to around a dozen since I started this. In light of the total number of students I have it's a small percentage, but three times more than usual is a big improvement!

Review Games

I'm a fan of using games to review before written tests. One thing that the kids really get into is using board games for these reviews. I used to just tape the game boards up, but with a projector it's even better! Just project an image, use magnets for game pieces, and modify the rules a bit - the kids get really competitive, which helps them all prepare!

Chutes and Ladders

Candyland

Desk Trashcans - Sewing

One of the problems with sewing projects is that threads tend to take over the floor. My solution is this – baby formula trash cans! Take empty formula cans, wrap with some fun wallpaper border, and there you go! A mini trashcan for every sewing station! Kids use it as they go to collect threads and other trash, then at the end of class empty it out into the main garbage can in the classroom. No more threads! Can also double as a container for scissors/pin cushions/etc after it’s emptied out.

Décor – Flags

An easy way to add a little seasonal color and fun to the classroom are outdoor flags. I am a HUGE Snoopy fan, so thanks to eBay I now have a wide variety (meaning many, many more than any normal person should own) of Snoopy flags to hang throughout the different seasons and holidays. Easiest way to manage is to attach a café rod where you want to hang your flags – that provides a low-hassle way to quickly change them out.

Nice all-purpose flag.

When the leaves start to turn...

Veteran's Day! (With another fall flag to the right).

Décor - Ironing Board Covers

Worn-out and/or hideous ironing board covers in your classroom? Make your own! Very similar to upgrading your desk chair. Turn ironing board upside down on fabric of your choice and trace around, adding approximately 4 inches all around. Cut, sew casing, insert elastic, fit to board. You can leave the old pad on or make your own from fleece, an old blanket, etc. Gives a whole new look to your classroom!

 Hideous, stained, worn-out ironing board cover.

FABULOUS ironing board covers! I can't decide which one is my favorite.

Décor – Pimp My Desk Chair

Time for a little fun - some ideas for classroom decor. Have an old, shameful-looking desk chair? Reupholster it! It's a much easier task than you might think. Choose a fabric that can take a little abuse and won't wear or fade quickly. Remove the cushions and trace around them onto fabric adding about 4 inches all around. Create a casing, insert elastic, fit around cushions, reassemble chair. Presto – “brand new” chair, in your choice of covering!

Ugly chair!

Home Ec teachers can't have ripped chairs!

Fun fabric...

Cover ugly fabric...

Ta-da!!!

Sewing room chair (this gets addictive).

Make-Up Work

How many hours we would save if all students were here every day! I have several procedures in place to allow students to be as independent as possible in obtaining their make-up work. First, the week’s schedule is written on the board, so they can check there to see what they missed. Second, the current copy of the Table of Contents is located at the front of the room for them to find the titles of any documents they may be missing. Finally, any handouts/notes/etc that are given out, I toss in their binders the day they are gone – since all of the absentees’ binders are still in the crate, this is easily accomplished in less than a minute. Truly takes the headache out of having to continuously pull out make-up work!