Monday, September 23, 2013

Stop Monkeying Around!

We wrote our class promise together.  We discussed the things that have to happen in a family so that everyone gets along together, so the promise is in the children's words.  They are the "Rules of the Jungle."  When a child breaks one of the promises, he is given a warning.  The next time, the child changes his white card to a yellow card.  If it happens still again, a warning is given again and then finally the child adds a red card, misses a free time activity and a note is written to the parent so that the parent can discuss the issue at home.  Each day the child's Home-School folder is marked if a yellow or red card is received.  Most children stay on white all week and if they do, they get to go to the Treasure Box at the end of the week.  Some children might need a single warning but as soon as they realize that they have broken a rule, they straighten right up.
In these early weeks, more children end up on yellow because they just forget or might not be entirely clear about an expectation.   Most kids thrive in this environment where they know the expectations and limits and they can always expect the same consistency.  This environment of trust and mutual respect means that we can really concentrate on the learning.  There are so many times that we have wished the school system had nanny cams so that parents could peep in throughout the day and see all the learning that is going on all day long!  Most of you would be so very proud of how your little ones are handling this new environment.  We are sure proud of them!

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