General Classroom Management

A STICKY SITUATION!

The teacher's lunch room is a great place to have a laugh about some of the everyday things that can drive you crazy. That is just what happened today. A number of early years teachers were bemoaning the way small children handle glue. The dramatization of the mess that can be made was hilarious. When it all quietened down I simply stated in my silliest voice,

"One, two three, four.....in the corner NO more!"

Everyone had another good laugh. When asked to explain, I felt a little foolish at the simplicity of the strategy. If glue pots are required I ask the whole class to chant after me,

"One, two three, four..... in the corner NO more!"

By this I mean that the student is instructed to only apply glue to the four corners of the sheet before sticking it into their book. I have found over the years this conserves glue, is time efficient, increases drying time and allows the child to continue working on the sheet as the centre of the sheet is not wet with glue. Classes that know my style will often say this without any prompting when they are gluing. Everyone listened and then we all talked about something far more interesting.

Here's the funny twist. This afternoon I had four of the teachers especially tell me how successful the strategy was and how much they loved it. My pleasure, treasure! If we are not here to share and support each other what are we doing?

Blessings for the journey....

Live,laugh and learn!

Carmel