Earthquake Reading

My students earned 50 points. Yeah! I give them "points" every time I catch them being good as a class, getting compliments from another teacher, and so on. When they earn 50 points they get a no uniform day and they get to choose an activity of their choice that is no longer than 20 minutes.

Well they choose "earthquake" reading. What is that you ask? I asked the same thing. It is something they have been plotting at recess amongst themselves. Earthquake reading is bringing in pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals, piling them under your desk and snuggling up to read. I am so pleased that they wanted to spend their time reading. However, as they got started they took about 10 minutes just setting up their desks. (They actually had 45 minutes to read, as we have DEAR time every day already for 15-25 minutes.)

Why did it take so long to set up? Well here's what happened before DEAR time...

At lunch they had plotted again and asked if they could make "forts" with the blankets they had brought from home. I said sure, as long as they didn't move their desks too much. Now we have a problem. Remember how you were supposed to pile your blankets and pillows UNDER your desk so you could snuggle up and read? Well, now the blankets were on TOP of the desks and we have hard, concrete floors. It wasn't too comfortable reading under the desks. And it is a bit dark under the desks when there are blankets draped over them. It is hard to read in the dark. So little by little students were emerging from under their desks to sit in their chairs and read. They do love to read, so they didn't want to miss out on that.

This was really quite fun as it unfolded. They still had fun and would probably choose it again. I still remember making forts as a kid in our house and it was more fun building the fort than it was actually hiding out in it. Oh the joys of childhood!

I need to design my room

So I really don't like my room. I spend so much time in it and it really doesn't reflect my personality. It is functional, but doesn't have that inviting, homey feel. So I have been plotting and planning and this summer I am going to revamp it all. We moved into a new building with big, beautiful classrooms, almost 2 years ago. Trying to move into a new space and plan for the upcoming year was just too much. It was panic city. At the end of the year I made some changes, but not enough. This year it has been better and the space is more functional, but it still isn't that inviting.

The desks are all donated, as well as most of the mismatched furniture. It was quite fun up-cycling old cabinets into cubbies, and designing my very own classroom. But it takes so much time! So I am going to dive in and really make a change this summer. I love the color on two of my walls and hope we have enough paint to paint one more wall.

So here are the "before" pictures of how my classroom looks now. It's okay, but not great.

Incentives

For the past 5 years I have given the kids "tickets" for good behavior, returning papers, etc. They love this. I don't. I like rewarding them for good things, but what to do with all those tickets? I have a treasure box, but keeping it stocked with things they like is expensive and cumbersome. Plus on days where they can "shop" takes forever! Valuable time that we don't always have. I need some ideas for what they can "purchase"with their tickets. Think, Think, Think...