Classroom Economy

I am very excited about this new product I've made and about using it in my class this year. I've never used a class economy system before, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it pans out with my Primary 4/5's (Grade 3/4).

I haven't figured out all the nitty-gritty quite yet, but I think I'm going to assign jobs to them at first, then introduce job applications once they have a feel for what each job entails. They'll know what jobs are most desirable or least, and perhaps have a better idea of what the responsibilities are. I'm hoping the application process will be painless, but we'll see!

I've also made up some Class Job cards to use on our class jobs display. I'll rotate the jobs accordingly. Some jobs require more than one person. I've also made up a jobs chart that has a wee reminder of what the job entails, because we all know little minds can forget.

To keep track of deposits and withdrawals, the kids are going to use a check book recording sheet. I love that it provides additional practice for adding and subtracting, as well as having real world connections with money management. Bonus!

Have any of you used a classroom economy in your classrooms? How did it work out?

Big Changes Ahead

Well, there are some big changes ahead for me. I've been teaching Nursery (Kindergarden) for more or less the last 3 years, but I'm moving on to Primary 4/5 (Grade 3/4) in August. I'm excited to finally have my own class, older children, and the chance to expand my experience beyond 3 & 4 year olds! So excited, in fact, that I got started with labels and organisation well before the end of term.

This is the part where I would post some photos of the pretty labels I made, but blogger is being stupid and won't let me post anything. Surprise surprise.

Nevertheless, I've made tray labels and peg labels for all the children. The kids don't have desks to keep their belongings in, but we have these tray units, and each child has their own tray to keep their things in. Instead of desks, we have tables, which I actually prefer. It's easy to move kids around and you don't have to worry about moving furniture because all their "stuff" is in their tray. Anyway, I've made up some simple labels for their trays and coat pegs.

I've also put together a set of subject labels that I will use for our daily schedule. You'll just have to take me word for it that they are super cute.

Besides going on a label spree, I've been thinking a lot about how I want to tackle this year with a composite class and a new stage for me. Reaching all the needs of the children is always a stress, but now that I have two stages mixed in with all their needs already, it makes things a bit tricky. I've decided that I'm going to try to take advantage of rotations or stations of work in order to spend more time in small groups to meet children's needs. What have your experiences been with this? I've put together my literacy block timetable and my numeracy block timetable, which is half the battle, in order to visualise how I will divide up my time with the children and decide how they will spend their time when I'm busy with groups. I'm really hoping this strategy works for their benefit and mine. I anticipate that I may have to shuffle some things around or restructure, but I really want to make a go of stations/rotations.

What else do you think I can be doing with a split class to benefit them and their learning?