Friday, September 13, 2013

Morning Routines


Over the past few years, I've fallen into a pretty consistent routine each morning I enter my classroom.  I leave to head home when I dismiss my students because I have two little ones waiting for me, so all of my prep work takes place before my students arrive in the morning.

Here's a quick peek into what I do every morning before my students arrive:

This is my first stop.  It's facing my door as you walk in.  I usually plunk down all of my papers: mail, attendance, copies, letters for the kids, bulletins and {MOST IMPORTANT!} my coffee.  I will definitely forget that I put my coffee down here and waste time looking for it later!  I keep my lesson plans here, so I always stop to remind myself what's on tap for the day.


I spend a few minutes writing up my daily objectives to hang up on the "flow of the day" chart. I like the wipe off sentence strips.  Seems like the most "green" option. I also fix the daily schedule.

It's all wrinkly because it isn't on a bulletin board.  All of my walls are magnetic so I can hang paper anywhere.  Sadly, it's been really humid the last few days and it causes the paper to sag :-(


My next stop is the behavior chart (from Teaching with a Touch of Twang).  Anyone who ended the day on level 4 gets a sticker on their clippy.  Five stickers gets the student a new color :-)  I leave the clippies on their desks so they can see the new sticker and put their clips on level 3.  Anyone who ended the day below level 3 will also find their clips on their desk as a little reminder that everyday is a new chance to start over and make better choices!



Just above the clip chart is the homework board.  I change the words and numbers for the writing and math homework and add any reminders for parents.



My last stop is the copy machine for any last minute copies or a stop in my teammates rooms for a quick chat before the bell.

What do you do before your students come in for the morning?

2 comments:

  1. Hey! Quick question, I read that all of your walls are magnetic. How did this come to be?
    Thanks so much

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  2. My school was built as an open concept school. I guess that was an ed trend in the 70s? At some point later, they decided to add walls and they added these fairly flimsy, but magnetic walls!

    Sarah

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