So much of our classroom management skills start in our own heads. Dealing with our own MINDSET and beliefs about who we are and what we're capable of is the first step in both changing your classroom management and making those changes STICK.

You KNOW what I mean.

You find a new system that works for a colleague and decide to try it out. It works great for awhile, but then, it starts to unravel. The system starts to drain a lot of your time and energy just to keep it going. It's hard to figure out why it works for them and not for you.

Before you know it, you're questioning yourself and your abilities. But... YOU are not the problem. It's just a mindset shift that needs to happen. So quit beating yourself up and struggling to make a failing system work.

Mindset Matters

Instead, let's talk about how your mindset it SABOTAGING your classroom management. What lies (about you, your students or even classroom management) are you telling yourself without even really knowing it?

Here's my...

True story.

My very first year teaching, was a year of surprises, lots of learning and improvising. I had 34 kids in a 3/4 split that quickly turned into a straight 4th grade. The school was in a very poor, rough area of Los Angeles. I was in a mobile all alone at the furthest end of the school with no classroom phone (this was before cell phones). The teachers at the school were reserved and not exactly welcoming to a young teacher at first. I realized later, the teachers had stacked the class I was given as were regretting that just a bit. Oops.

About 2 weeks into school, I had assigned some reading to the class and they were to get busy while I started working with a small group of struggling readers. Within the first minute of that assignment I had a student pick up his desk, throw it and shout, "I'm NOT going to do this!" To say I wasn't prepared for this would be an understatement.  I stood in shock for what seemed like an eternity but was probably only seconds. Truly, I...

Have you ever struggled with planning out your year in Language Arts? Well, today's your lucky day because I'm giving my entire Language Arts program a makeover this year (in my spare time).  :D

Information Overload

You see, I'm always learning new techniques and finding great ideas that I want to incorporate into the whole. For awhile this year I was on information overload, so I just let it all sit and marinate. But now,, I'm ready to tackle it all, add in the best of the best and toss the rest. 

Here's my process:

There are certainly plenty of things to have regrets about or beat ourselves up about as teachers and as parents. But... here's a few you should never apologize for.

1. A lesson that didn't go as planned.

So what?! As my mom would say..."quit boo hooing about it, learn something from it and try again". Show your students how to accept failure and start over. Now, there's a lesson worth teaching! Your failure is a powerful teachable moment for you to use with your students.

2. Sticking to and following through on your classroom management plan even when students or parents aren't happy about it. 

This is a big one! If you don't hold to your standards and expectations, then parents and students are going to fight you all year. Being firm is not mean or personal, it's just the law in your kingdom. Get yourself prepared with a list of all the objections you've gotten from kids or parents in the past. Next, write down your reasoning the way you want to sound when you answer them....

Structure and Learning

We all want to have well-managed classrooms and students who reach their potential. Creativity, curiosity and independent thinking and learning (think lifelong learners), are certainly things we hope for with our students. But, what makes for the best environment to promote these in our students? Well, it starts with something that seems counter-intuitive to creativity and independence, structure.

Promoting a Creative Environment

“I have finally realized that the most creative environments in our society are not the kaleidoscopic environments which everything is always changing and complex. They are, instead, the predictable and consistent ones— the scholar’s library, the researcher’s laboratory, the artist’s studio. Each of those environments is deliberately kept predictable and simple because the work at hand and the changing interactions around that work are so unpredictable and complex.”  

Lucy Calkins, The...

Here's my back-to-school book picks for those first weeks of school. With the help of these 15 fun books, you'll set the stage for great discussion and the opportunity to teach your expectations and train your students. While this is far from a complete list, it's a good start to your back-to-school collection.

The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! by Mo Willems

Pigeon has to start school and is terrified until... As usual, Pigeon is dramatic and funny but expresses all the emotions (and excuses) kids really have. 

So many kiddos are nervous about school and the unknown. This timely book (and very funny) book can help pave the way to talking about all those fears. 

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Chrysanthemum loves her unusual name until she starts school and the mean kids get to her. Not to worry, her teacher has an ace up her sleeve.

Perfect for talking about class culture and how to treat others. It's also great for reminding students what others think of us doesn't...

With summer winding down, it's time to start thinking about getting ready for school again (or heading back already for some of you). It's so easy to get overwhelmed with all there is to do. If that's you, this issue is for you!

Let's break things down into manageable steps so you can get it done without all that stress and overwhelm. Don't worry, you can download a free printable copy here. Let's dive in.

Be Prepared

I'm all about being prepared all year long. Some of these tasks may seem nitty gritty, but they really do help a ton throughout the year. If you're short on time (your school starts in August), do the essentials and simply skip the rest for now. BUT, (don't cheat yourself) schedule time to do them later.

Arranging Your Classroom

• Arrange the furniture.
• Wipe everything down for a clean start.
• Desk tags w/student names or "Where Are We?" chart for flexible seating.
• (Primary) Book boxes for students with names and possibly a few books to start the first...

Your classroom management is the backbone of your classroom.

I know spending time managing a class and dealing with behavior problems is not the fun stuff or the reason we all got into teaching. But the reality is once we actually become teachers, we realize teaching isn't all unicorns and rainbows. In fact, how confident and skilled you are in managing your class can make or break your year.

There are 5 major reasons our classroom management systems fail. 

Teacher Mindset

I find that teacher mindset is the biggest hurdle to great classroom management. I know that sounds bold and it is. But, it's true. When we have a mindset of fear, lack of confidence or self-doubt or other mental hindrances to taking charge, there isn't a system in the world that will work. We have to get our mindset right. You CAN and SHOULD take charge. Someone has to steer the ship and if that's NOT you, it will be your students [and that won't end well].

Take the time before school starts to do my ...

I have to confess, I LOVE those TV shows where there's a transformation - new you, home redo, clutter cleanup. I'm completely obsessed with them. Just watching them is inspiring for me. I know... I'm a little weird.

Do you love a good transformation, too? I can't be the only teacher who loves that.

It took me awhile to realize why I love those shows so much. Clutter, both physical and emotional, is stressful to everyone whether we know it or not. I also know that physical clutter becomes mental clutter because it's like a visual to do list nagging at us. So, cleaning out physical and emotional clutter is always one of my MUST DOs every summer. Teaching is one of the few professions where there's an end each year and a fresh beginning the next. Let's take advantage of that. 

Are you with me? Here's my Clutter Buster Plan, just in case you're in.  ;)

Because I'm such an organization freak, here's a checklist: 

• Make a list of all the areas you need to take care of...

I can a be a bit of a workaholic if I let myself. I just LOVE what I do so I always have projects and teachers to help. That means, I have to plan for keeping kids busy and getting the family out and about, especially in the summer. 

My kids don't like to do a lot of organized stuff over the summer, so I have to plan a bit of structure into our days or the summer slips by way too fast.

I know how hard it is to live on a teacher budget. But with summer here, we all still want to have fun every week. So, here's an easy way to make sure you get to do fun things and still stay within your budget.

Prep

First, take 5 minutes to make a list of all the activities you and your family want to do. Everyone helps. This is the "no promises what's your dream" list. You can rein it in once you're done. 

Now, arrange the activities into groups of your choosing. Perhaps you have a group for free things, one for inexpensive things and one for more expensive items. Or maybe you have them...