Oh BOYS!

Made it through the 6th day of school, but finally realized that this year is definitely going to be much harder than last year!  

I have 9 boys and 7 girls in my class right now.  Not so bad.  BUT 6 of the boys are chatty chatty chatty!! They are learning to keep their hands to themselves, so I'm not really concerned about that (well, still concerned about 1...) but these boys just won't stop talking!  All day long, even when I'm trying to teach...  So here is what I'm doing:

1. LOTS of brain breaks!  This will help made sure they can get out some energy.  I printed my brain breaks on labels and put them on tongue depressors and keep them in a very cute $1 tin from Target! I am starting with some easier breaks and will add in more involved ones throughout the first few months.  The class is loving this already!

2. My Voice Level chart!  I made it last year but them didn't really need to use it, but this year it is up, already introduced, and we are using it a lot!! I even had to go to a level 0 today after cleaning up centers because they were so LOUD...  YIKES!

3. Different tables!  I have 5 different tables in my room- if only I had 6! Ha! But this is really helping during snack, art, writing, etc.  I am able to split them up in a way that works for me.

4. Smaller groups at math and literacy centers!  My groups have always been a little bigger, 4-5 kids, allowing me to worry about less centers.  I will be changing this!  I was thinking about changing anyway after hearing great ideas from Deedee Wills (from Mrs. Wills Kindergarten) about how she works her centers and now I will definitely be doing this and I'm excited for it! 2-3 kids per center should be perfect for me.

I'd love to hear how to take care of your chatty friends!