Headphone Storage

Like many things, I discovered this neat idea by accident!  Just hang your headphones on a door and the cords NEVER become tangled as long as you take the headphone on the end.  

iPad Cover

How do you protect iPads in an elementary school?  These covers for my iPad minis are FANTASTIC!  The silicone covers have extra large corners, are easy to hold, and allow easy access to headphones/charger inputs. The online store, HandHeldItems, was quick to ship and I will use them again.  I have much more peace of mind with these covers!  All my students, from kindergarten to sixth grade, love them!

Magic Circle

I LOVE my double circles drawn on my music room floor.  I have a black outer circle and a red inner circle. They have SAVED my life and made classroom management and teaching in general so much better.  I use a permanent marker.  I have to redo it every couple of months because it fades, but I couldn’t live without it. You just have to find a way to MAKE them let you do it. I would think custodians would like it better because it doesn’t leave any residue like tape leaves.

Here are more details.

Why I love my circle.

1.  Kindergarteners can make a circle in 2 seconds flat because you don’t need to HOLD HANDS with all that pulling and tugging.

2.  I can make single circles and double circles.

3.  I can have students on the black outer circle and take three small steps in to the red circle (step, step, step, touch) which is so common and no one goes past the red circle.  It sets boundaries.

4.  You can circle right or left without the circle collapsing on a side or a student passing the person in front of them.

5.  As far as classroom management, if I ask students to stand with their toes on the black line, it’s very concrete.  A student is either in compliance or not.