Building Unity when Kids are Unraveling

If you have been teaching for any amount of time, you know that as vacation approaches, students have many different reactions to the sunny, relaxed, easygoing days off. Most are excited and can't wait for swimming, playing, and sleeping in, but many are terrified of no schedule, lack of time with a trusted adult, and the dark abyss of unknown days on end consisting of different, unfamiliar people coming in and out of their lives.  They are unnerved by not knowing what each day will look like; where they will go and what they will do. As this anxiety plays out, kids become irritable, unkind, and short tempered with one another. The best of friends are arguing and no one has even an ounce of patience for anyone else.

I don't know about you, but all of this attention to student behavior puts a wrench on me trying to squeeze in the last bit of math curriculum and teach it to mastery before the end of the year (insert sarcasm here).

In an attempt to bring fluidity back to my classroom, I have integrated a couple of different team building activities into our days. I tend to rotate back and forth with these two as they seem to be the kids favorites. Each one is designed to help kids get to know each other better and teach them how to give compliments about things their peers do well and excel in. The two activities play out like this:

Table Topics: I have the family version that I bought on Amazon and brought into the classroom. It is $25 and comes with 135 questions that are thought provoking but easy for kids to answer. With 15 minutes left at the end of the day, I pull out a question and read it to the whole class.  Everyone gets a minute to think and then when the first few kids come up with an answer, they raise their hands and wait to be called on. This way if others need more time or a few ideas, they can listen to some of their friends go first.  I find that the kids listen intently to one another and truly enjoy hearing unique, personal details about their friends.  They get excited about what they have in common and enjoy having more common interests to talk about throughout the day.

Bucket Filler Cards: These magical cards go along with the story Have you Filled a Bucket Today? By Carol McCloud and David Messing. At the beginning of the year, I read this adorable book. It talks about how you can lift people up with simple acts and loving words all day long.  It describes how acts of kindness and caring  words work together to lift a spirit and make others feel better about themselves and the world around them. 

Next, I give out bucket filler cards. 

You can make your own with blank 3x5 index cards or find many adorable ones on Teachers Pay Teachers.  These cards work a little differently. I have each student take a card first thing in the morning with the name of another student on the back.  They always go for a student that they haven't had yet.  Eventually they will have the same student twice. Once they have a card, they keep it a secret (they love this) but watch this person intently, looking for good things they do throughout the day.  When they notice something, they (again secretly) write it down on the note card.  Then at the end of the day (usually the last 15 minutes) we read each one out loud from one student to another highlighting all of the wonderful things they did during the day.  Each student lights up when their card is read, and those reading, glow with enjoyment while making their peer feel special.

So, there you go! Hope these tips help smooth out any end of the year bumps and help you end this school year on a happy, healthy note!

Until next time,

Angie