Safe Spot

The safe spot has become a total lifesaver in my classroom. 

What is the Safe Spot? 

First, let me tell you what it is not. 

IT IS NOT TIMEOUT. 

The safe spot is a positive place to be. If students have a negative association with it, such as timeout, it's purpose will not work. 

The Safe Spot is a place children can go when they need to get away from it all. Some examples:

1. They miss their mom,dad,etc.

2. They just want to be left alone.

3. A friend hurt their feelings.

4. They wanted a certain toy and someone else got it first.

Children can go to the Safe Spot on their own initiative, or a teacher can suggest they go there. When I suggest a child go there (usually when they are about to have a major meltdown or temper tantrum) I stress THEY ARE NOT IN TROUBLE, that I am not upset with them, they just need to calm down.     Students may leave the safe spot when they are feeling better.

Here are some rules I have for my Safe Spot:

1. Only 1 child at a time, it is not a play center.

2. They cannot go there and continue to have their meltdown. They must find something at the Safe Spot (examples below) to help them calm down. 

3. Safe Spot items stay at the Safe Spot.

My room is tiny, so unfortunately my Safe Spot is small. If you have room, you can add soft seating to make the spot inviting. Try to locate the Spot away from traffic as much as possible. I have mine by our cubbies and the door, away from all the centers.

At the beginning of the year we go over these charts; feelings, appropriate choices. I then post them in the Safe Spot as reminders. 

consciousdiscipline.com

The above cards can be found by following the Conscious Discipline link. These are actions children can do to relieve stress. I introduce these actions at the beginning of the year by reading "Mean Soup" and "When Sophie Gets Really Angry" . The children love these stories and the actions. I repeat the lesson several times the first few weeks of school and occasionally throughout the year.

Below are examples of items you can put in the Safe Spot to help students calm down.

14 Weeks Pregnant!

I love today's outfit! Nothing is maternity.

M.I.A.?!?!

So.... It has been a while since I have posted any outfits. I was also planning to post pictures weekly of activities being done in my classroom. But a very big surprise came along. I found out my husband and I are expecting our second child this next April! We had tried for six years to have a second child but have been unsuccessful. We were okay with it and had just about moved on from the idea of having a second child. After realizing I have a gluten allergy and going gluten-free, within three months I was pregnant! We were so much in denial that I was pregnant I was actually 8 already weeks pregnant when I took the test. 

With this news I wondered if anyone would still want to see my teacher outfits. My paraprofessional was surprised to learn I had quit posting the outfits. She encouraged me to start posting them again. Here goes nothing!

Necklace: $8 Hamricks    Khakis:@$12 JCP.  Tank: @$10 loft outlet   Shoes:@$10 clearance Target

My Other Owl Dress!

Friday and Mondays Outfit

It's hard to tell but my pants are cobalt blue.

Wednesday and Thursday's Outfits

Today's Outfit

First Day

Today was the first day of school, ready or not! I am super excited about my students this year! I did quickly forget how little they come knowing how to do, but we made a lot of progress in one day.

The hubby bought me a new dress for back-to-school! I was so excited to find this one with owls all over it!

A Saturday Outfit?

Said Thursday I made and posted a video of my finished classroom. I even made the comment to my paraprofessional that I've never had a classroom so clean and organized. Clearly, I spoke too soon. Upon coming to work Friday we discovered our trailer had some damage that he was beyond immediate repair. There were other empty trailers so we decided to move. Yes, everything in my beautiful, clean, organized classroom was taken down and moved to another trailer and had to be ready by Monday. I was taught in college to be extremely nice and respectful to your custodians. I have always tried my best to be and I was rewarded greatly by it on Friday. Every custodian at our school helped the other PreK teacher and myself move our classroom without a single complaint. In fact we were all smiling and laughing. My paraprofessional  was an amazing help as well Life as a teacher is always unpredictable and I am blessed to be surrounded by wonderful coworkers.

This crazy move also meant I had to come in on a Saturday so I am including Saturdays outfit as "teacher fashion."

Today's First Outfit

Here is the outfit I started off in today. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, when I arrived at school I learned I had to move to a new room. I ended up in jeans and a T-shirt but I didn't think anyone would really want to see that outfit.

Video Class Tour

Here is a video tour of my classroom. I hope you enjoy looking at it!

I will post more pics of the big reveal this weekend.

Open house outfit

Today was open house. I met eight of my 22 sweet students! One more day of work to get ready for when they come through the doors on Monday!

I Love Presents!!!

One of the few negative parts of my job is that I am in a little trailer. But... The bonus of being in the trailer is that right through the hallway is the other PreK class. I am blessed to have an amazing teacher that is just a few steps away. Today she surprised my paraprofessional and me with owl tumblers! She found them at Fred's, so if you're interested you can go get some too.

Funny Hubby

So the hubs is getting a little laugh out of my new outfit blogging. Today he decided he would Photo bomb my picture. I actually like how it turned out so I told him he would be in the blog!!! That will teach him to ever Photo bomb me again. Looks like Ricco, my Chihuahua, photo bombed the picture as well.

Winning!!!

One our ice breakers at preplanning was to see which grade level could build the highest free standing structure with spaghetti noodles and marshmallows. Guess who won?!?! The PreK team!!! So proud of my team members!

Today's Outfit

Here is today's outfit! We are still in preplanning so we get to wear jeans! Yay!

Giant pockets!!!!!!!!

One of my favorite parts of visiting my parents every summer in North Carolina is going to Stones, this amazing teaching store they have near them. I am guilty of buying things "just in case" I need them. This summer's guilty purchase was giant pockets. I had no clue how I was going to use them, but they were GIANT LIBRARY CARD POCKETS. As I am getting ready for this school year, I have found the perfect use for them. We are required to fill out a nurses pass when sending a child to the nurse. I am delighted to discover they fit perfectly in my giant pockets. Stay tuned for another way I have already found to use them.

Preview of what's to come...

So here are the infamous "look what I've walked into" pictures. Fortunately I was able to stay in the same classroom and leave up most of my decorations that were on the wall.

 

Teacher Fashion

One of my pet peeves are people who are addicted to taking Selfies. This made me hesitate a little for the idea I am now taking on. I really enjoy seeing other teachers posting what they are wearing to school. I also have a great love for fashion and accessorizing. I have decided I will post the outfits I wear to school. I am doing this in hopes of encouraging many of you as you get ready for your day at school. I rarely spend more than $10 on any piece of clothing, accessory, or shoes that I buy. Splurging for me is spending $20-$30 on an item. I am hoping to show you can still be fashionable while on a teacher's budget. 

Planning Buddy!

It's my last Saturday before I head back to my classroom so I decided to spend some time printing off all the great things I found on Pinterest this Summer. Somebody was a little jealous of my attention being on the computer and not him. So I decided to let him be my planning buddy, he couldn't be happier!

I am hoping to add to my blog a little bit more consistently this year, We will see how well that plan goes once school starts up!

One of my goals this summer was to find a comfortable large pillow or smaller pillows to put in the reading area. I didn't want to spend a ton of money but of course it had to be the absolute cutest pillow possible. That can be hard to do on a budget. As I was going through my things I noticed some scrap material with Owls I had bought several months ago. I had no immediate plans for the material but I just knew I could use it somehow. Ding! A lightbulb went on in my head. I could use the material to make a cover for a body pillow. I made it just like you would a no sew Blanket, you know, the ones where you tie knots around the edges. I had a yard of the owl fabric and bought a yard of green fabric. I unfolded the cuts of fabric and put the pillow in the middle of the two pieces. I cut the strips one at a time, tying them in a knot, and did this working my way around the pillow. It may not be the official way to do such a project but looking at the pictures below I think it turned out pretty cute!

 I plan on putting this pillow on top of my four crates that I have turned sideways as a bench and storage.