Lunch Count, Exhaustion and Frogs

Well, I've finished the second day of school and exhaustion doesn't even begin to describe it.  I know you're all right there with me.  Why is it that it takes a week for your feet and ankles to get back in the rhythm of teaching?  Man oh man, do I need a looooong hot bath!!!

I wanted to share what I did with the clothes pins we use for lunch sign up.  As a grade level, all five classrooms decided on the same system for lunch count, and behavior.  We have numbered book pockets in our classrooms with four colored cards inside:  blue, green yellow and red.  Students move a color if they aren't making wise choices.  Each kiddo has a numbered clothes pin that clips on their pocket that they move to their lunch choice for the daily lunch count.  I decided that my hand numbered clothes pins needed a little color and personality.  I printed names and numbers for each student and glued them on a piece of card stock and laminated it.

I then cut them apart using my handy dandy old-school chopper that I found at a garage sale for five bucks.  SCORE!!!

Next I hot glued them on to the clothes pins.  Ta-da.  Colorful, numbered and personalized clothes pins.  The pins start the day on each child's pocket.

(Bonus:  How many patterns can you find on the student pocket wall?  It's things like this are the reason I LOVE math!)  When they come in every day, they move their clip to their lunch choice.  I write the daily choices on sticky notes.

 I made these charts out of scrap book paper I found in the dollar section of Target.

How many of you have heard the dreadful words, "I don't know how I'm getting home!" two minutes before the bell rings?  Last year, there seemed to be an epidemic of forgetful students.  Then I'm running around like a crazy woman at the last minute calling parents while trying to get 22 kiddos packed up and ready to go.  This year, I decided to give myself a little advanced warning, and decided to make a chart showing how everyone gets home.  When we get back from lunch, kids move their clip from the lunch sign up column to the going home column.  This gives me a leisurely afternoon to make calls if a kiddo isn't sure how they will be getting home.

I think I will like this system, and I really like the bright yellow, cheerful clips.

Now, on a more serious note.  Please remember never to eat frogs.  I was reminded today with this bit of wonderful advice from a student.

HA!!!  Isn't that the cutest thing ever!!!  It just made my day and I smile every time I think about it.  We had been working on a page from Ashleigh's Back to School Book. www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Book (sorry, you'll just have to copy and paste.  I couldn't get the darn link to work and I am just too tired to keep trying....) as part of our get to know each other activities.  Yep.  This is why we teach.  I can already tell this little guy is going to be a hoot this year.  I love my job.  What humorous things have your kids shared with you lately?

Good luck with a new year.  If you are already back in the classroom, I hope your days are wonderful ones.