Its about how we start the day

It is now week 3 and I'm starting to feel like we are getting there with my class. Last week and Monday this week were challenging. The children were really testing the boundaries and seeing where I might cave. I could see that with some I was beginning to get into a negative cycle and I didn't want that for them or me.
Last night I began thinking about what the causes could be. After a while, I realised that it all came down to self-esteem. Today I started the day by playing the following clip to the class. After it finished I asked the children why I might have played it to them. I had a few ideas ranging from, "it's a cool song!" to, "they're good singers." We discussed the article in more detail. Why did these people gather to sing the say they did? How do you think they felt singing with such passion? At the end, I told them that I think we as a class are an amazing bunch and that we are capable of some great things if we put our minds to it.
After a start like that their attitudes were completely different! We had a fantastic day (even though it was wet and muggy). We achieved heaps and we got along. I didn't feel like I was in a cycle of constantly growling. I think the next step for me will be to continue to develop self-confidence in my students. I want to look into working on growth mindset and mindfulness with them. I am hoping that when they leave my class they can hold their heads high knowing that they put everything they've got into the day. I want them to feel proud!

Importance of mood

Today was brilliant! We started the day focused and motivated. The kids and I played "I Spy" before the bell and it just set a positive mood for the day. I thought about the days that I arrive a little tired because we had a bad night at home with the toddler and how much it might reflect on the overall mood of the day. Yes! There are days when on matter what you do and no matter how positive you are at the beginning of the day it seems to not matter, they are not the norm. Usually, the state of the mind of the teacher is reflected in the students. It seems like common sense when you think about it really, but it is so hard to pick up your feet when there are other things going on.
Today has proven to me that starting the day with a smile can do wonders for how your students work for the rest of the day. They were a reflection of me and they wanted to please. The writing I got out of them today was fantastic. One of my boys, who usually produces a sentence or two at writing time, wrote a whole two pages of organised recount. I was so proud of him. One of my reluctant readers today was the star of the group at sounding out tricky words. I was proud of her too. They weren't the only ones that blew me out of the water today. I danced the victory dance more than once today.
I endeavour to start tomorrow with a smile too and I implore the rest of you to do the same.

Expectations!

Once again I am forced to think about expectations. I wasn't sure what to expect from a Year 1 class when I started. Naturally, some of the work that I set was too hard and other work was too easy. I had to adjust my expectations to fit what the children were able to do. I was, however, reluctant to make the hard tasks too easy. I want to keep my expectations high. I find that at times, we lower our expectations too much. I have always believed that when adults expect more, then children rise to the challenge. Not everyone gets there the same way. They all have a slightly different way of achieving what is set, but they always end up doing better than they, themselves, expected.
In my second week in my new class, I didn't let one of the girls hand in a sentence for writing. I told her that she was capable of much more, that she was doing such a fabulous job of sounding out and that I thought she could complete her story to describe one of our class activities. She walked away, looking a little sulky, but when she returned she had completely described our class activity. On another occasion, I had a young gentleman completely change his attitude to reading. He was reluctant to start with, and would happily wait for others to read out the tricky words for him. In three short weeks, he has become my star reader!
I realise that the children were probably trying their luck with their new teacher. But imagine if I had lowered my expectations to what they were saying they could or couldn't do? What would I be getting from these children? I think by keeping my expectations high, but also praising the children for their efforts I am able to achieve much better results that I first thought. Becuase at the end of the day, all they really want to know is that they have done a good job and that we are proud of them.

Power of positive reinforcement

I have just read Kimberley Rivett's (@krivett1) about Celebrating Everyday! This inspired me to look at what I do in my classroom. It can be too easy to be bogged down by all the things that need to be done or focus on the kids who just don't seem to be understanding. We end up thinking, "What am I doing wrong?" These are all very important parts of teachings as we need to evaluate our approach and adjust strategies that don't suit some students.
I started thinking about what I do to let kids know that they're doing something right. As a child I remember one teacher speaking to my mum about my lack of achievement or her perception of it and how that made me feel. I remember another who never seemed to say anything positive to us kids. I vowed to try to be aware of the power of my words. One of the things that I try to do in my class is bring up the self esteem of my little ones. What I found worrying with some of my kiddies is that they have already started displaying avoidance tactics or talking themselves down when something gets tricky.
One of my tactics is to ask the children to think of something they are proud of from the day. It can be anything! I've had responses that ranged from, "I'm proud of my self because I said a compliment to a person and made them happy!" others say something along the lines of, "I wrote a longer story today!" We all need to have things we are proud of.
Many teachers get their students to give themselves a pat on the back but I also like to give the children a high five when they have done something awesome. My high fives are usually followed by, "Wow! (insert compliment here) I'm so proud of you!" Being proud of yourself is one thing but knowing that someone else has noticed and is proud of you too can really make your day.
At the moment I'm teaching my class about giving compliments to each other. I can't notice all the great things that are happening in my class so I'm trying to teach my kids to notice for me. Yesterday one of my boys came up to me and said, "Mrs Tauroa I'm really really impressed by (Name). He has been working really hard and every time I looked his way we was focused. I'm proud of him!" I thought how cool!
So those are some of the things that are happening in my room to create a positive environment. What are some things that happen in yours?