Day Four -- After Labor Day

I really love watching Jessie use positive coaching to reinforce rules. It's like clockwork for her. Her natural reaction when kids shout or stand up is not to quip, "Shhhh," or "Please sit down," but to calmly find a positive comment for the situation. "I like how Ethan is sitting quietly next to Dylan (the stander-upper) and is ready to listen." And, since I'm not a fan of tattle-tales, I really like the simple approach I've learned from her on that pesky kid habit. She looks at the tattler and assertively states, "I'm glad you know the rules." It seems like a nice way to respond to the child and let them know that tattling isn't necessary.

Also, to maintain control of the class but not stifle students' excitement after an activity, Jessie says, "If you have questions or comments about what we just did I would love to hear them at snack time." Other times, she employs signals. "Show me a thumbs up if you've been to the zoo like the child in the book." We're also starting to teach and use a little sign language for certain cues, including getting a drink of water and going to the bathroom. It's amazing how quickly the kids can catch onto this.