Pages

Monday, June 4, 2012

Is anyone else brave enough to do this...


I actually had ALL my students take ALL the things out of ALL the shelves ALL at the same time! Now, that's brave! The room was a total mess! But, they had tons of fun wiping and cleaning and sorting and fixing. Funny thing is, these are the same children who will NOT clean their rooms at home or put away their toys at home or clean up after themselves at home. The children were so excited when I told them that they were in charge of the whole cleaning process. And, I told them that if they didn't behave during the cleaning party, they wouldn't be able to participate. Can you imagine if their parents used this strategy at home? It would totally backfire! "What! If I don't behave, I don't have to clean?!" Talk about an open invitation to misbehave! But, not for me. They all worked super hard to make sure that their area was the cleanest, shiniest, and neatest in the whole classroom! Here is the final product...


They did an awesome job! Now, I'm going to let all their parents know just how good they are at cleaning. I actually caught some kids wiping each individual crayon and some were cleaning UNDER the table tops! They're such good kids! I will surely miss them this summer. I'm lucky, though, because I'll still be their second grade writing teacher. It's hard to explain, but I teach three grades for three years. I feel blessed...

35 comments:

  1. Wow! You are brave. I've done all of my manipulative tubs out before because the unifix cubes would get mixed in with the attribute blocks. But, I've never done the entire room. I called my lesson "classifying". You are right, the kids are great about cleaning up the mess.

    Michelle
    Teach123

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haha...we did the same thing!! My kids loved it, especially taking staples out of my doors (who knew??). My only problem is we have to leave it all on tables so that they can move the shelves this summer, so my room is a mess!
    Vickie

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! That is bravery! Doesn't it feel great to have it all clean now?

    Elizabeth
    Fun in Room 4B

    ReplyDelete
  4. You are so brave! I'd probably make something similar on the last week.
    Last year, I divided them into teams to organize toys, crayons, markers and math supplies. It was a great hit!

    ReplyDelete
  5. "If they didn't behave during the cleaning party they wouldn't be able to participate" -- LOL love it! I am always amused at how much my first graders enjoy being given a disinfecting wipe and told clean. They take the role very seriously. Your final result is beautiful!!

    ❤- Stephanie Falling Into First

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's just amazing what our students will do for us and NOT for their own parents! Ah, the power we have!

      Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
      Teaching With Love and Laughter

      Delete
  6. I did the same thing with my classroom. Lucky I have 8th grade girls that love to clean! The last day of school they stayed in my room for 2 class periods reorganizing my closet. But you are brave doing that with your age group!
    Alana

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lori you are brilliant. Sellin' the "sizzle" of a clean classroom . . . now that's what I call some serious talent!


    Kelley Dolling
    Teacher Idea Factory

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think tomorrow, I'll have them go through the markers and crayons and throw out the duds! There's nothing they won't do for me!

      Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
      Teaching With Love and Laughter

      Delete
  8. I wish we could. We were specifically told we could not organize or clean our rooms while the kids were there. But the principal still pulled 5th graders to haul books around

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm, that doesn't seem very fair! The children really love taking ownership of their room and taking part in these end of the year rituals. I'm so sorry!

      Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
      Teaching With Love and Laughter

      Delete
  9. You are definitely a brave soul!! I don't know how you did it!

    Angela
    The Daily Alphabet

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't remember much of it! It's all a blur! LOL!

      Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
      Teaching With Love and Laughter

      Delete
  10. I do the same thing every year. It's a mess, but it's worth it totally! Your room looks so clean! I'm moving to a new room and it's still a total disaster!

    Learning With Susie Q

    susieqsclass@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susie, good luck with your move. So many teachers in my building are moving and, somehow, I lucked out. I certainly do not envy anyone who has to move.

      Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
      Teaching With Love and Laughter

      Delete
  11. I so do this! Especially with all the bins from the library books! Happy end of the year!

    Laurie
    Chickadee Jubilee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for reminding me about my books. Tomorrow, I'll have them go through the books and make sure they're all facing forward! They'll love this! LOL!

      Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
      Teaching With Love and Laughter

      Delete
  12. Thanks for all the comments! I still cannot believe how well operation clean-up went. I don't usually do it this way, but, I figured I'd give it a try. What did I have to lose? Besides my sanity! LOL! I hope your clean-ups go as well!

    Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
    Teaching With Love and Laughter

    ReplyDelete
  13. Girl, that is brave, but the final result was definitely worth it!!! Everything looks perfect! :)

    Lisa
    Learning Is Something to Treasure

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Lisa! I'm ready to start my summer break! 2 more days to go!

      Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
      Teaching With Love and Laughter

      Delete
  14. Looks fantastic!! I am jealous!! I took off all my wall decorations today... my room looks so barren and DEPRESSING!

    Susan
    T.G.I.F. (Thank God it's First Grade!)

    ReplyDelete
  15. LOVE the pics and the "after", lol, brave, brave teacher! Great new look for your blog too! Happy summer! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks so much! I'm really excited about my new look! I timed it perfectly because I'll be having a BIG 500 follower giveaway and I can show off my new blog!

    Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
    Teaching With Love and Laughter

    ReplyDelete
  17. I LOVE your new blog design!! It's so welcoming & colorful! Soo cute :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I am your newest follower! Love your adorable blog!
    Mel D
    Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks so much for the comments about my new blog design! I couldn't be happier! Plus, I just noticed that I have numbered posts now! I'm doing the happy dance!

    Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
    Teaching With Love and Laughter

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks, Mel! I'm so glad you're following me now!

    I just realized that I can no longer reply back to individual posts. I wonder why?


    Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
    Teaching With Love and Laughter

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Lori,
    I just wanted to tell you that I LOVE your new design. I'm going to miss seeing your upside down little girl but your new look is ADORABLE.
    Stacy

    simpsonsuperstars

    ReplyDelete
  22. Stacy, I literally laughed out loud when I red your post! I miss the little upside down girl, too! Sadly, she had to go! LOL!

    Lori (luvyorkies@gmail.com)
    Teaching With Love and Laughter

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Lori! Congrats on over 500 and the blog design - super cute!

    Erica

    sprinklestokindergarten.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I love to read them!

Scholastic Teacher Book Wizard