Last week I was pulling my hair out ... my class was so talkative ALL the time. They are sweet, wonderful kiddos, but so N.O.I.S.Y!!!! Part of the problem is that I have a combination class, so I need my students to work quietly while I am working with the other grade level. But all of my normal tricks were NOT working.
So ... I solicited the help of Lucky, my new favorite leprechaun. Good old Lucky has become a great helper! Lucky began by writing a letter to my class introducing himself. It seems that Lucky lives in our classroom, but he only comes out in March. Lucky explained to the students that loud noises scare him so when the children get noisy, he hides far away. When the children are working quietly, Lucky likes to peek out at them. My children were enchanted by Lucky's letter and worked quietly so that Lucky would come out of hiding. They were so quiet, that several students swore they got glimpses of Lucky.
Every day Lucky leaves a new letter for the children. In each letter, he sweetly mentions a time of day that is a little too noisy. For example, on Thursday Lucky's letter explained that he had never watched the children at stations because the noise scared him. So guess whose class was super quiet at stations? Oh yeah! I LOVE Lucky!
So if you are looking for a way to calm your kiddos down, you might have one of Lucky's friends come live in your room.
Of course, there are some issues with this. I got in a little trouble with our yard duty personal. It seems that my sweet students were so excited about our having a leprechaun in the classroom that they began conducting tours outside our classroom during lunch. The highpoint of the tour was peeking in our window in the hopes of glimpsing a real leprechaun. Because of the tours children were running back and forth from the playground AND getting overly excited. (My students are always overly excited - not sure if it is me or them. Actually, I do know since it happens every year.) So ... Lucky's letter the next day mentioned how scared he got at lunch when he heard so many children looking for him. He said he hid extra deep and didn't come out until it was dark and he knew we were all gone. Please, please, please could we make sure all those children didn't come looking for him again?! So no more noontime tours, thank goodness!
Also, I think I may be loosing my grip on reality versus fantasy. But that is somewhat normal for a primary teacher, right?
Love to all,
Camille
