Yesterday, I read a great post from Kyoshi Dave Kovar - a reminder about the impact that we have on others. It made me think about how many wonderful teachers I've had in my life, and how many of those conversations had affected me. And then, I opened an e-mail from a friend of mine - someone who, after looking at my students' Acts of Kindness portfolios, began asking his students to document the kindness that they perform in the world. Suddenly, every student was offering to buy him coffee and although he didn't take up on it, he left the studio in a fantastic mood - already noticing the difference that the thoughtfulness of others can have. Very cool! Just a few minutes ago, I received a visit from a guest who attended a pressure point seminar that I held earlier today. I had known him for years - my girlfriend did his initial training, I had taught a few guest classes at places where he was training, and he eventually went on and earned his black belt through West Coast World Martial Arts. That brief visit soon became an hour as he shared how much he appreciated the role I had played in his training career: how I had given him his first belt and shared advice that hadn't left him, how he's been following my work with Epic on Facebook and loves how much the kids have grown, how much he appreciated me being there at his black belt test (I rarely miss a WC test), and now we're going to train to hike Mt. Whitney together in late 2012. To me, I've only shared a few hours here and there with him, but we're connected in a much more profound way because of the quality of those meetings. I don't always stop to notice it because in my head, it's just what I do....but we are living high-impact lives. Every day, whether we step outside of our homes or reach out through the magic of Facebook, someone else is reading, watching, learning. They won't always say it, but they don't have to. It's what we do.
For those of you attending our live classes, we've created a selection virtual backgrounds for your next Zoom class. Now you dont need to clean the lounge/garage/yard quickly before class starts, you can transform your training area and train in style ;-P Even if youre not attending our live classes via Zoom - they’re great as a desktop background too!
When I took this second grade position, I had many things on my to-do list. However, the first item on my list was classroom management ideas. Any teacher would agree that the most important skill in running a class is classroom management. There are so many strategies, but my go-to is Class Dojo! The Benefits […]
I’ve used Class Dojo for the past six or seven years, and I love it. I love that it’s a flexible, easy way to manage the classroom, and I really love the home-school communication tools that have been added. One of my students’ favorite aspects of Class Dojo is our Dojo Economy system. It’s super easy and not at all fancy. I adapted my idea from School and the City's Sticker Economy. My students earn and lose points on a daily basis. We keep track of that on the Class Dojo site, and parents are able to sign on to see how their students are earning and losing points. With my Dojo Economy, we take the points one step further to keep students motivated and reward them for positive choices. I keep a binder, and in the binder, each child has a blank hundred grid with his/her name on it. We add a sticker for every 5 points students earn. I check in with students every other Friday for our Dojo store. I call the student over, and tell them how many points they've earned over the past two weeks (They usually already know.) We add that to their existing total. So, if a child earned 21 points, we add 4 stickers and a +1 at the bottom of the last sticker. As students' math skills improve throughout the year, you can involve them in the process. You're starting with x points, add x. What's your total now? You earned x points, how many groups of 5 is that? You had x points, you spent x, how many points do you have leftover? I keep an anchor chart hanging in our classroom with the prizes and their value. Students able to easily choose something within their range. I also keep a small version of the chart in the back of my binder, so I can easily see how many to subtract from their total. The prizes and privileges are inexpensive or free- candy, lunch with a friend, no shoes for the day, bring a stuffed animal to school, iPad for morning work, etc. I have a few big prizes worth 10 stickers (50 points), like donuts and ice cream from the cafeteria, and some kids really do save up for them. At the start of the year, we work together to come up with a list of prizes and privileges that they would like to be able to earn. This helps to give students ownership of the classroom. Once a student chooses their prize, we subtract it from their total by crossing off the stickers. It really is uncomplicated and easy to manage with things you already have in your classroom. You can download the blank grid here. I reset point bubbles to zero after we cash in points. This doesn't affect how parents can see how students have earned or lost points. Their pie graph and Dojo data will remain the same. I also use brag tags in my classroom, and students earn brag tags when they hit certain Dojo point milestones- 25, 50, 100, 200, etc. Because you're keeping a running total with the stickers, even when they're crossed off, students can see how many points they've earned throughout the year. The brag tags can be found here. The whole process usually takes me about 20 minutes, which is perfect to do at the end of a Friday while kids are playing a math game or even during morning work. It's also a great task for a parent volunteer or student intern. Comment below if you have any questions! Pin me now, use me later!
Technology & Physical Education
I have finally embraced classroom technology, and this app is my secret to success. Here are the top 5 reasons you should start using Class Dojo TODAY!
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Hi teacher! Today this post is for you! Usually I write for teachers and grown ups with kids at home. Lately, I’ve been doing lots of reflection as I think […]
All those little fruits over her fridge.
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Our pets provide a never-ending source of love, affection, and the all-important cute factor. But even the most lovable animal can have an off day, like the miserable creatures pictured here.
Image 2 of 20 from gallery of Conservatoire d'Aubervilliers / Agence Chochon-Pierre. Photograph by Augusto Da Silva
The study of vital points to strike on the body is of paramount importance to the Karate student. In this updated version of this post, I am including pictures that highlight some of the more obvio…
