Today was the best day ever. I was sure it was going to be tiring and frustrating, but it wasn't.

My class was so wonderful today. We had tons of tests and big projects to finish up. Much of the day was chaotic. The children had many opportunities to make choices about what they should be doing while I was distracted by someone or something else and they were consistantly making good ones! I am very big on giving my students the responsibility of using their free time wisely. When they finish ahead of the others they are allowed to read a book, do a little math activity, color a picture, write a letter or story, or some other quiet, respectful thing. I use the words "good choice" and "poor choice" repeatedly every day and rather than getting angry and wasting my time doling out punishments I usually tell the offending student "I see you making a poor choice. What would be a better choice for you right now?" This is usually all that is needed to redirect them to something appropriate. Makes for a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

If someone is being particularly troublesome I will give them two viable options. Today a girl was very upset because she didn't get to go to the activity she wanted and intentionally stepped on her own foot and burst into tears, hoping I would allow her to stay in the room with me (an activity she really wanted to do). I simpy stated that she had two choices - going to the activity she was assigned to or going to the nurse to treat her foot. She wanted "tooo goooo hooooommmmee!" I'm sorry, that isn't a choice right now. You may choose...etc. etc. She finally chose the nurse, went and was promptly sent to the computer after the nurse looked at her foot and proclaimed it fine. The student ended up where she was supposed to be, I covered my responsibilities regarding an accident (even if intentional) and the student was allowed to make an appropriate choice. And all with minimal fuss.

We finished stuffing our animal pillows this afternoon. They painted polar region animals and we stapled around the edges to another sheet and stuffed them with paper scraps (good example of recycling in action!). In a couple of weeks we will be putting on a parent night with the other 3rd grade classes and everyone will be able to see how hard we worked. The animals look great and the students have done a fabulous job of researching about them and writing up little reports for the display. It will be great!

I am now very tired and looking forward to the weekend! I will sleep in tomorrow! : ) I LOVE MY JOB. *sigh of contentment*