Brain Breaks {Not the GoNoodle Kind}

Hey!!  There is life on the other side of this computer - I AM here!

I got a lovely message from my dear friend Patty over at 2nd In Line telling me that a teacher in her district had sent out an email referring them to my blog to read about how GREAT they are!  If you read that post you'll see that it has been quite a while since I last blogged. 

No excuses.  Just life.

That little bit of happy, from Patty,  motivated me to get back to it...

So, here I am!

Well, I hope with this new school year, you've been able to hold on to those good feelings you gathered over the summer months - relaxing, pinning, blogging, Periscoping {don't know what that is - check it out here}, and all those other things us teachers do during those glorious long summer days.

I know it can take one staff meeting and you feel like the weight of the world is back on your shoulders.  I CANNOT urge you enough to hop on social media.  Facebook, Instagram, Periscope, Blab.im {outside of Instagram, that's my personal favorite - google it!} to help you focus on the POSITIVES in our profession.  I swear to you, I don't know if I would still be teaching if it weren't for the positive energy I glean from all my online teacher friends/colleagues.

But, that's not why I'm here...

I wanted to share a magical part of our day.  Magical in the quiet, non-academic sort of way.

I pride myself on classroom management. It is one area that I can say, with a smile on my face and 100 percent confidence, that I rock the house.

Think about right after recess.  What does your classroom sound like?  Do tattles abound {even though it has already been handled on the playground by an adult}?  Do the acceptable noise levels of a school playground follow your students into your classroom?  Do you hear yourself saying "quiet down boys and girls, QUIET DOWN - you are NOT outside anymore, you are in a classroom", over and over?  Does it take, what seems like forever, for them to calm themselves down and get ready for the rest of the day?

I don't have that problem.  EVER.
{disclaimer: full moons, party days, random "what on earth" days excluded}

Okay, at first I do.  Like, say, for the first few days of school - but with lots of practice and training, I don't; and here's why:

That's one of our schedule cards that hangs on our agenda each day.  You can pick my schedule cards up {here}for free. It's almost just that simple.

Name it.

That's what I did, I named it.  I gave that time of day an official name - like math, science, social studies {all have clear expectations} we have "brain break" with lots of expectations that we practice over and over and over.

I tell my first graders that the minute their first foot walks through the door, their voices turn off, and they sit down, drink from their water bottles, take their turn to use the restroom, and focus on their breathing.  Some put their heads down, some stare off into space, some find an object to focus on and "smell the soup, cool it down" {how we slow our breathing down}.  

And the lights?  Make sure they are all off! {I spray some cinnamon air freshener right before they come into the classroom.  I'm not sure if cinnamon is an official calming smell - but I like it - it calms me down...so I like to think "happy teacher, happy classroom".}

The whole first part of the brain break I speak calmly and quietly - reminding them of what they should be doing.  I sound so calm...I want to fall asleep. All the while, I'm reminding them that their engines were running really fast outside but now that they are inside they want to slow them down by slowing down their breathing, drinking water, etc.  First graders need to be taught HOW to calm themselves down.  Every single day I go over some techniques for how to go about doing that.

It's magical.

I still have little ones who try to come up to me about a recess problem and I'll quickly {and ever so quietly} say "Did you tell a noon-aide" and if they did - I quietly motion them back to their seats.  Soon, they realize they can't come into the classroom with a tattle/recess problem.  I am always sure to ask if they told an adult outside - because I don't want to dismiss something serious that is happening outside that may deserve some attention.

Naming this time, setting the expectations for this time, practicing the right way and stopping them when it's the wrong way has made a world of difference.

Our afternoons aren't perfect...but after taking the time to calm ourselves and get our bodies ready for an afternoon of serious learning - they are better.

And then there's always GoNoodle...

...for after science

...and math

...and social studies

HA!

Book Study: Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites: Chapters 9 & 10 {Mnemonic Devices, Movement}

Happy Spring Break!

We are having a staycation 'round these parts - and honestly, I couldn't be happier.  Instead of rays - I'm hoping to soak up a lot of laziness, relaxation, snuggles & Netflix! 

I'm linking up with a fellow "Holly" over at Mrs. Ehle's Kindergarten to discuss chapters 9 & 10.  These chapters were right up my alley because THIS is how I learn.  I might not be a graphic organizer kinda thinker slash learner - but mnemonics and movement...KA-CHING! 

Strategy 9:

Mnemonics

"Mnemonic techniques are time-tested activities that enable students to recall and use material without conscious efforts from the brain." {Mayer, 2003}

There aren't a whole lot of specifics {aside from those personal stories my teachers told about themselves} that I remember from my days in school.  I do, however, remember:

The Fifty Nifty United States!

...and so many others!

One I STILL use today!

Just this year, I had one of our parapros say to me "I was working with some of your previous first graders and they shared with me how they will never forget how to spell the words "would, could, should"

Click to grab!

That just goes to show how powerful those mnemonics are!

Strategy 10:
Movement

Getting those kiddos moving is so important and that's what this strategy is all about!

"Any task learned when we are physically engaged in doing it remains in our memory for a very long time. {Allen, 2008}

"Because physical movement increases the energy of students, it, therefore, enhances their engagement." {Marzano, 2007}

"Movement not only enhances learning and memory but it also causes neural connections to become stronger." {Hannaford, 2005}

I could just keep pulling quotes from this chapter.  Movement is essential to learning in any classroom - young and old!  I've been Brain Breaking before "GoNoodle" even existed.  HA!
...but thank goodness for those folks at GoNoodle - why didn't I think of that?

Circa: 2013

I'm great at incorporating movement in the form of a brain break in my classroom - but where I'd like to improve is incorporating it into my actual teaching/student learning more often.

I'm sure you've heard of  Whole Brain Teaching.  I've read up on WBT quite a bit and after much hemming and hawing - it's not for me - not in its entirety, anyway {It's a little too robotic for me}.  There are pieces of it that I really like and believe in.  Much like mnemonic devices, I think involving movements as we learn engages the brain and increases retention of new concepts.  There are a few techniques that Whole Brain Teachers use that I use as well...

Blow it in Your Hand/Release - I'll have my students go eye-to-eye, knee-to-knee with one another and share their thinking.  Once they've firmed up their thinking I'll have them whisper/blow the answer into their hand and then release it - by saying the answer out loud.

Just the other day we were talking about decomposing numbers.  When we said "decompose means break apart" we pretended to break something apart with our hands.  The next time I asked them what decompose meant I had several that quickly made the motion.

There's a song we sing about living or nonliving things that we've been singing for years.  I wish I knew who originally wrote it but it goes like this...

Tune: Yankee Doodle

Living or nonliving things,
Now which one will it be?
If something is to stay alive,
It has some special needs.

Give it food and water,
And lots of air to breathe.
It also may need space to grow,
And sunlight for its leaves.

Each year my kiddos love singing this song and creating movements to go along with it.  When I give the test at the end of the unit - without fail, I see kids making the movements to this song and whispering the words when they come to the part of the test where they have to list things that living things need.

"The one most detrimental barrier to learning and recall of information may be a teacher's deliberate attempt to stop students from moving." {Jensen, 2002}

My goal is to incorporate even MORE movement into my teaching/student learning.  Here are a few bloggers who are Whole Brain Teaching gurus that I'm hoping to pull a few more ideas from.

Mrs. Shipley's Whole Brain Classroom

Whole Brain Teaching With Style

Teaching and Learning Together

I'm curious how you incorporate mnemonics and movement into your classroom?

If you are a Whole Brain Teacher I would REALLY love if you would share why you like it so much, how much you incorporate the techniques into your day, and anything else you might want to share.

Go check out Mrs. Ehle's Kindergarten Connections   and read what she has to say about these two strategies as well as what others have to say in the linky!

Brain Breaks and Body Signals

Hey There!

I hope you all had a great week.  Mine?  Was the world's longest.  I'm not quiet sure why that was - but man, did it EVER d r a g!

I think it might have had something to do with the rain, the cold as well as Boston and Texas.  My heart really does go out to each and everyone of you and I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. 

I was just going to ask you all if you have figured out my teaching style by following me on my blog...but then I thought about that.  I'm not sure I could say that I know my own teaching style.  I think I am a chameleon ... sort of ... kind of.  I'm rigid in some areas and super flexible in others.  I'm organized in a lot of ways and a hot mess in others {I've got a closet that would curl your nose hairs}. Mostly, I'm who I need to be, when I need to be.

One thing that I'm pretty consistent with is encouraging my kiddos to listen to their body signals and give their body what it needs.  From the way that I "run" my Daily 5 where I ask them to listen to their "body signals" to helping my kiddos "find their pace".  Think about the life skills you give your kiddos when you teach them how to self regulate.

So, this week we've been a little off.  Indoor recess will do that to you.  Combine that with a mighty rigorous curriculum and you'll catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror...right around Friday...and realize you only put mascara on one set of eyelashes...

To keep each one of us sane this week we took many a brain break.  I have a bunch of my videos/songs bookmarked, but it seems like I'm constantly Googling to find this one or that one, or I bookmarked it on this computer but not that one.  I finally put some of my favorites in a document that I'll save on both desktops in my classroom so it will always be there hand dandy-like.  I thought you might like it too...




Click pic to grab a copy!

The document is a list of songs that I use in the classroom along with the hyperlinks.  I just want to remind you to always watch the videos before playing - you just never know how the links may change and certain advertisements might not be the most appropriate.  I always turn off the projector that I display the videos on so that I can see if there are ads and then wait so that I can "skip ad"...last thing you need is to explain to your little ones what Viagra is. 

Here's our newest favorite...




One of my kiddos asked a great question on Friday.  He wondered why we some of our brain breaks are calm ones and some we jump around and dance.  We had a chance to talk about our little "engines" and that sometimes they are running super fast, like after recess.  So we'd need to focus on our breathing, do our brain gym and find our pace, put our heads down and chillax so that we can do big learning.

Then there are times that we've been working so hard and listening for so long that our eyes are everywhere but on our teacher.  Our shoes have been tied and untied a million times, and we've fallen out of our chair more than a few times. Little wondering man interrupted saying "THAT'S when we have to dance and jump around to get our sillies out"...yup, you guessed it little man, you guessed it.

Happy weekend!!!!!

P.S.  Did you notice my new cute "pin it" button? {do a little hover over one of my pictures} Thanks Tessa for that cuteness!