I’m a firm believer in consequences. Children should know that certain undesirable behaviors will result in consequences, and well, you can read my detailed thoughts on that topic here.
Have you read that post? Because if you have, then you’ll probably agree with me that it’s pretty long, and not the easiest thing to implement. I really do believe it can be extremely effective, but it takes a thoughtful plan and a lot of consistency, and I’ll be the first to admit that consistency can be hard!
Maybe you’ve been with me for a while and you read that post back in May, and now it’s July, and you’re thinking, “Oh man. I totally meant to try it, but… well, the end of the school year came… and graduations… and summer camps… and Grandma’s… and vacation and… ah what summer is half over?! It takes too much planning and now it’s too late…”
No, no, my friend. It is not too late.
Maybe that was too big of a project and you weren’t ready to commit to something so involved. Okay, no problem. I am still all for the cause of parents training their children up, so I have an easier alternative for you. It is still very effective (I wouldn’t share it otherwise!), and I’m honestly not sure why I didn’t share it with you sooner. Maybe because that post was already 23 pages (…size 12. Times New Roman font. Without the pictures. Yeahforreal.).
This is a simple addition game called 42. It’s great for younger and older kids, and again, offers opportunity to dig deeper and think about adding and subtracting in a fun way! While it seems very simple at first, it actually gives opportunity for rather complex thinking and many mental math calculations.
I recently shared some of these math games with a neighbor, and she said she couldn’t really figure out one of the games just by reading the directions on my blog. It got me thinking that I should probably just make videos of me teaching/playing them. Personally, even I don’t like reading through instructions to learn a game and would much rather have someone just show me. So I’ll try to go back and add videos for the last three games I posted (in addition to making videos for the future games). Here’s the first!
This game is from Mr. Bailey, one of my mentor teachers from my credential days. I still remember him teaching it to me during one of our lunch breaks, with his hand full of dice. I was skeptical at first, because I had never really played “math games,” but then I started to really get into it! Like, I spent the rest of my lunch break trying to make math expressions. Just for fun. Yeah, really.
It was in this sixth grade classroom that I first saw what a great tool a good math game could be to help kids have an enjoyable time practicing math! I love this game because it really pushes kids to think mathematically in different ways. I suppose it can be used for kids who only have addition and subtraction under their belts, but it is probably most challenging and fun for kids who have learned the order of operations: PEMDAS, anyone?
I have yet to find a kid that does not love writing on a whiteboard.
Heck, even most adults find it kind of cool. At least, I do… even after nearly a decade of writing on them for my day job.
Ask kids to do a math problem on a sheet of paper with a pencil, and it may feel like a chore. Have them copy the exact same problem on their whiteboard, and suddenly there is an air of excitement and motivation. Maybe it’s the safety of not having to commit their thoughts to something as permanent as paper. Maybe it’s the excitement of writing on a whiteboard the way the teacher does in the classroom. Maybe it feels more like drawing than working. Maybe they just like the smell of the marker… who knows.
What I do know is that whenever I said, “Take out your whiteboards,” there was a collective sprinkle of “YES!” echoing around the room. Day after day, no matter what subject. And it’s not like I rarely used them… we used them all the time: daily for math, frequently for spelling, and oftentimes for other subjects. Still, whenever I said those magic words, the kids were raring to go, ready to write in a way that would make paper and pencil envious.
This is a fun and simple game that lends itself to a variety of math topics, including 1- and 2-digit addition, place value, absolute value, and negative numbers. It’s great for practicing mental math and combinations to make 10. It also provides many great opportunities to have math talks to discuss strategy. My students love this game. It’s easy to learn, there’s no time pressure, and it’s not as directly competitive as other games can be, which helps some students thrive more.
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I am very pleased to present the game of Tic-Tac-Toe Products:
This is a really fun game which also happens to review multiplication facts! It’s one of my favorite math games to teach and play with my students. It’s super simple, and kids can play several rounds of this without noticing the time passing! Like most of the games I will share, it’s also very portable. If your child has learned their multiplication facts, you should really give it a go! Fun for the whole family.
It’s summertime! Time for the kids to read books, swim, play outside, and learn how to deal with boredom. I think a healthy dose of boredom is good for kids. It can be a stepping stone to creativity and imagination. Some of my best memories from childhood stemmed from boredom, and I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything!
Still, summer can get pretty… boring.
(Sound familiar?)
I filled my elementary summer days with hundreds of books, lots of sunshine, and probably a little too much TV. One thing I wish I had were the math games I’m about to share with you! They are simple, fun, and great ways to practice math facts and concepts. In my classroom, my students would cheer every time I announced that we were learning a new math game. They loved these games so much that they even chose to play them during their free time!
Several years ago, I was asked to give a talk to Sunday School teachers at church on how to discipline children. My first thought was that I didn’t want to talk about disciplining children. Disciplining children implies that they’re misbehaving, but misbehaviors can be caused by a lot of things, not the least of which is the teacher’s inability to teach well. (I’m pretty sure I could talk for hours on that topic alone, but I’ll save it for another time.) Sure, every child has their weak moments, but there is a whole lot that a teacher can do to help students compose themselves respectfully and responsibly.
I find that the smoothest path involves anticipating and preventing misbehavior in the first place. If that ship has sailed, though, this is the next one you want to get on. Sometimes children come in with certain habits and behaviors and you need to proactively help them to work them out. Maybe it’s a girl who throws a tantrum every time something doesn’t go her way, or a child who has a habit of talking back. Perhaps it’s a small but persistent matter, such as getting a boy to tuck in his chair or keep his desk area tidy.
As a teacher, it can mean training your entire class to execute various procedures well, such as walking to and from the carpet area quickly, quietly, and ready to focus as soon as the transition is complete. I’ve worked with children on all of these and more, and have found that our success generally depended on my consistent execution of a few key skills. Yes, my execution. It’s not completely up to the child to improve himself. You can’t just tell a kid to “be better” or “stop doing that” and always expect her to know how to do it. You need to actively work with them to shape their behavior and help them grow as individuals.
In a series of posts, I have shared some of my experiences in shaping children’s behavior. Big or small, whole class or individual, there were a few key patterns that began to emerge in my behavior-shaping process. I constantly fine-tuned it over the years, and grew increasingly confident of my ability to effect positive change in children.
True, I have not actually shaped the behavior of my own children yet, but I really think that all these years as a teacher have given me a leg up to that end. Actually, one of the biggest reasons I wanted to be a teacher was to garner experience and wisdom from my career in order to enhance my effectiveness as a parent. So here’s a glimpse of what I have learned, for all you parents out there who didn’t get to spend eight years working with hundreds of kids before having your own. I hope to share some of the highlights of what I’ve learned over the years with you so that it may benefit you as you parent and teach children.
A friend recently posted this in a mommy facebook group that I’m a part of, and I knew I needed to follow this conversation: 
We’ve been blessed by an amazing community of friends and family that showered us with tons of love and food when we first had our baby, so I can tell you from experience that it is a REALLY APPRECIATED act of service for families with new babies! Even so, I still have trouble coming up with meal ideas when it’s my turn to sign up for someone else’s meal registry. I’m guessing you will find yourself in a similar situation soon, if not already. Whether it’s a family going through a difficult time due to illness or unexpected circumstances or new parents who could use a helping hand, a nice meal can really show your care and love in a special way.
This post is part of my series on How to Shape Children’s Behavior.
Over the course of the last eight years, I’ve learned a lot about teaching. One thing I know for sure is that if you don’t have students’ behavior in check, you cannot teach as effectively. Children thrive in an environment where they know where the boundaries are and are able to respect them. Some kids need more help developing this ability than others. That’s where we come in.
Hopefully you’ve had a chance to read some of my other posts on setting clear expectations and laying out a graduated system of consequences. Now it’s time to follow through with these new behavioral structures. The beginning is probably the most formative time as your child feels out just how serious you are about holding them to your stated expectations and following through with the stated consequences.
It’s likely that you will soon experience the first few pokes and pushes as they subconsciously explore the new system(s) you’ve set up. This beginning period is definitely one of the most important times to consistently reinforce the boundaries with the consequences you have set forth. However, all your work will be for naught if you don’t continually show that the boundaries are still where you said they were—day after day, week after week, month after month. I know this all too well, because I watched all of my behavioral structures collapse again and again when I first started teaching.
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