Ideas I have for classroom management AND Newbie Blog Hop

Hi all!
Soon (in 2 weeks) I will have my first orientation day. I am going a little crazy on Pinterest (it's like crack for crafty people) but have come up with many cute ideas.
I present them for thoughts/advice:

Quiet critters

Everyone gets a quiet critter at the beginning of every quiet time (SSR, individual activities) whoever is caught talking loses their quiet critter. Whoever still has a quiet critter at the end of the activity can move their clip up. If the whole class keeps their quiet critter, we’ll add a shell to the beach.

Clip chart

This is standard, but I like the idea better than card flipping... mainly because I can add stick on gems and also because it gives the better behaved kids somewhere to go too...Clips can move up or down. When you hit the top you can get a stick on gem. If you are even better you get a second gem and a good note home to mom. If clips move down we lose Friday Free time.

Friday Free time is something my mentor teacher always did. 20 minutes after lunch every friday the kids could do whatever they wanted within reason; read, play games, color, write, or just talk. It was a very big deal so needless to say, losing Friday Free time is a very big deal. I don't think it's quite cool enough to be a whole class reward for filling our beach, and I honestly think on Friday, the free time helps them focus better in the afternoon (and it gives the teacher time to get stuff done :) )

Class beach

Every time the whole class does something good they add a shell or sea glass to our class beach. Going to the beach is super fun so whenever we make our beach we’ll do something super fun! (extra recess, play a game, watch a movie)

Library cards

Each student has a library pocket with a card in it. Whenever they (long term) borrow a book from the library they mush write the name on the library card. Students can borrow 2 books at a time. When a book is returned students write an R and the date next to the title. Whenever a card is edited it goes in the small pink bucket on my desk.

I also got myself some of those magazine holder things (5 to be exact) my plan is to label them for days of the week and fill them with a weeks worth of lesson plans and supplies (so copies that I need and stuff).  The plan, as of now. Is that at the end of Monday, when the holder is empty, I will fill it with the things I need for the following Monday... same for the rest of the days. Then I don't have to scramble for things... It is and excellent plan... however we all know what happens to the best laid plans. This though, in my opinion, would also be great for emergency subbing. The lesson plans and activities would be right there, in a box, for the sub...

Which reminds me, I also plan on making the While you were out folders for my kids. The theory behind this is that I have folders in a specific spot in the room so that these are kid run. I may make it a job or a part of a job like secretary or something. Anyway, when a child is out, the student next to them will go get a folder and put it on the absent students desk. Then, whenever papers are passed out, the responsible student puts them in a folder for the absent student. The next day, no one has to ask me for what they missed or anything because it's all right there on their desk. I'll also make copies of any missed notes and put them in the folders at the end of the day.

These are my plans thus far, how do we like them?




Oh and, I've been wanting to do the Newbie Blogger Linkup with Grade Three is the Place for Me... So here we are:

    1.  what state you are in

    2.  your current teaching position

    3.  your teaching experience

    4.  when you started blogging

    5.  share a blogging tip / blogging resource

1.  I'm in NJ but I will be moving to NC in less than two weeks to teach!
2.  I will be teaching 3rd!
3.  So far most of my experience is in Subbing since I subbed full time last year. So... I've taught grade K-8 at some point. I also student taught third grade so I'm very excited to be teaching it.
4.  I had a regular blog from my sophomore year of high school til my freshman year of college (My room mates father was using it to stalk her... so weird) but I just started this blog last weekish and my oh my has blogger changed lol.
5.  I would say attempting to learn more about customization would be good (I'm working on this, things have changed since 2004). If you don't have the time or inclination, pay someone else to customize for you. Your design should tell people what your blog is about without even having to read it and no one wants to see the same layout on ever blog...