3... 2... 1... Ding, Ding, Ding {Timers}

I love to use timers in my classroom! I've used them for many different things from giving them a set amount of time to unpack in the mornings, to organizing our small group time, even letting the students know how long they had to complete an assigned activity.

This past year I used a timer all throughout the day. It was helpful to keep my students (and me) on track. The group of students that I had was very easily distracted and talkative and it was very easy for an activity that should have taken 10 minutes to wind up taking 15-20 minutes. I found that if I set the timer and gave them a specific amount of time to complete an activity, we were more likely to stick to my planned timeline. I always tried to make sure that the students were able to see the timer (either by using the timer on the Smartboard or putting my handheld timer under the document camera). I liked being able to hold my students accountable for getting their work completed in the time allotted. (Now this didn't work for all of my students, but it did work for a majority of them)

I'm excited to use a timer in my classroom next year because I have ordered a Time Tracker Mini. This is a timer that you can set to give the students a visual alarm and an auditory warning. You are able to set both the countdown on the timer and the warning alarm.

I'm anxious to see how I can incorporate this timer into my classroom. I'll have to post about it later and let you know how it works.

Do you use timers in your classroom? If so, what is your favorite way to use them?

Summer Has Officially Started!

It's finally here! The time of year we've been thinking about, dreaming about and looking forward to since about October. I was fortunate this year to have my summer break start early this year. I've actually been out on maternity leave since the very end of April, which has been SUPER nice!

However, I did go back to school for the last two work days at the end of the year in order to prepare my classroom for summer. (I'm just a little bit too OCD to let anyone else do it.) Fortunately, at my school we aren't required to completely pack up our classrooms at the end of the year. So there wasn't too, too much for me to have to do. Nonetheless, I did want to put things away and straighten up so that it's easier (hopefully) when I come back in August.

Since my daughter was only 5 weeks old at the time, I wasn't quite ready to leave her for the entire day. My school is very supportive when it comes to family situations and I was able to take her with me for those two days. I was even able to recruit my mom and my husband to each come with me one day to help with the baby while I was working. I am very thankful for their help because I was able to get more things done than I had originally thought that I would. 

My daughter was so good and slept in her car seat most of the time. 

One tip that I would like to leave you with is something that is not my idea, it's something that I learned from one of the wonderful fourth grade teachers I work with. I don't know about your classroom, but our rooms are VERY dusty. (I can easily end up spending an entire day cleaning when I come back.) In order to help cut down on that amount of cleaning, she likes to take old sheets and cover everything in her classroom. I have been doing this for the past couple years and it definitely helps! 

It isn't very attractive, but it definitely helps keep things from getting so dusty. Now I know most teachers have already packed up their classrooms for summer, but the summer is a great time to gather some old sheets, if you don't have any. There are lots of yard sales, flea markets, and other opportunities to pick up some sheet sets for fairly cheap.

What is your favorite tip/trick for preparing your classroom for summer break?