Finding Time to Connect

My students are awesome, yet sometimes difficult to teach.  It's sometimes hard to make the connections I want to make with my students during my instructional time.  I feel like I have to always be on, and have the students focused on their learning goals and objectives.  And well that just sucks the fun out sometimes.

Last year I started inviting students in before school.  They'd "help" and come play with Rubik's cubes or robots.  I really enjoyed that down time with my kids.  I was able to appreciate them as people and not have to focus on making sure they were focused and on task.  I wanted to do something similar with this group of kids this year, but with a change in our start time, it just wasn't going to happen in the same way.

Then something happened, something out of the ordinary, I assigned homework.  It wasn't hard homework, in fact we started it in class.  I was floored by the amount of students who flat out didn't do it.  So I made an opportunity for them to come in during recess to do it, not their whole recess just the extra time.  As they finished they were released until there were about 5 of them left.

These five are the ones who give me the hardest time in class.  Teaching them is a battle.  I have a hard time connecting with them.  They have a hard time getting down and getting their stuff done.  But these kids who were leftover at the end were working HARD, harder than I had seem them work to this point.  They came the next day to finish up, and they worked even HARDER.  I was floored, and impressed, and that's when the idea began to take flight.

This experience mixed in with one of those laying in bed with an overactive mind thinking about what I can do better.  Some of these late night thoughts flitter in and escape but this one grabbed me and would not let go.  I'm still not certain of the course, but the idea of Indoor Recess Reward has been hatched.

Today was the first day. I sold tickets to my Indoor recess.  Students had to have at least 20 Class Dojo points and not have any negative marks against them for the day to attend.  I pulled out the robots, kids love robots, I love robots.  I think it was a success, time will tell.  I feel better about finding a time to connect with these kids.

Students playing with a Dash robot

Students trying out the new Ozobot Evo's that I obtained through Tryazon

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