Terrific Tuesday!

Yesterday I was WIPED OUT. I finally caught that my self-talk was getting really negative as I fell asleep. "You need to to this... you should have done this... I thought this year would be different... why aren't you prepared?" But I woke up knowing that today would be fun... and it WAS! Best of all, I can take a moment to reflect that I'm doing some pretty awesome things.

First of all, Conscious Discipline is taking off in my room. It's so exciting to see the phrases from the  Seven Skills of Discipline become a second language. For example, my favorite skill to teach is assertiveness. So often a child will expect you to tell others how to treat them when it should be THAT child! When an offended child comes up to me with some tattle or report I simply ask, "Did you like it?" Of course they say no! Then you coach them on what they could say to their friend to teach them, not police them. My kiddos are REALLY receptive to using my suggestions on their friends. It puts less shame on the offender and empowers the child that needs assertiveness! That's just one of many teachable moments that Conscious Discipline encourages. I should write a whole post about it, for sure.

Another WONDERFUL example of Conscious Discipline working in my room is that our I Love You Rituals FINALLY took off today! My group loves to sing, yes, but they get a little shy about singing to each other. For whatever reason they got into "I Wish You Well" this morning after four other mornings of little participation. But you know what, I am gonna take credit for this!!! My constant encouragement is working!

I can also be proud of the other fun things I'm striving to do with my kids.
I finally got around to setting up a Pete the Cat Hunt (like the Gingerbread Man) and at the end we found Swedish Fish waiting at our tables! They were SO excited about finding out where Pete went and coming back to a treat. Such a good idea! I got it from Chalk Talk here.
We also made a music video in our technology studio! Our tech specialist put a few of us in front of the green screen as we sang and dance to this song:

I simply bought a karaoke version of "Respect" and sang over it just like these ladies. They LOVED it!  I can't wait to use the green screen again. Sure, not everyone can participate, but we can all enjoy the video for the rest of the year.

I'm also doing a GREAT job of calling parents this year. It is so nice to have a little chat with a few a week and they all seem to appreciate me calling. I get some good tidbits about the child that way. Talking to them lets me know of the best piece to be proud about:

My kids love me! 

I wasn't sure if I loved them until about last Wednesday... (c'mon! The first few days are ROUGH!) but the love I HAVE shown them is paying off. They call me crazy (with all the singing and dancing), miss me on the weekends, rush up for hugs in the morning, and aren't afraid to tell me what they're feeling, especially when it's to say, "Teacher, I love you."

...and that IS pretty awesome. :)