My packing up time really stinks. It is chaotic no matter how hard I try. Much of this points to me. I have changed it up too much because my plan didn't seem to work. One day I'll call tables, next day I call individual kids, somedays I've had them get their backpacks first then their papers or the other way around. I kept changing it b/c there seems to be so much chaos. I realize I need to just stick with something. Sooooo I am here for advice. What do you do? Here are some of the things I have to factor in: I have about 5 who just can't seem to get this down no matter what. They are always forgetting something or we have to wait on them. (two of them are just sort of ditzy and the other 3 are hyper) We go to specials right after we pack up so we have to lug all of our stuff to specials. There is no time to come back to the room. We are sometimes late to specials and the kids don't care. It is way too loud for me, I have partitioned walls with two other teachers, I am sure they notice. I've tried rewarding for a job well done and taking points for a job done poorly and it doesn't work for pack up (other things yes) I teach first. Any suggestions to a good quiet routine would be great. Original plan was to have them pack up perfectly and sit quietly on the rug as I read. Hasn't happened since the first week. Thanks in advance, Lemon
I hand my kids their homework folders at the end of the day and tell them to put them in their backs and zip it up. If their is anything from their desk they need to take home like their monthly activity folder, or reading books I make them bring it up to me when they get their folder so I know they have it. Back when I student taught my cooperating teacher used to have them put everything they needed to take home on top of their desks and she'd call on them one by one when they looked like they had everything (I would like to emphasize the "looked like" part) this didn't always work.
Is there anyway to partially pack them ahead of time? If you know what homework there is going to be, can they pack this ahead of time so all the need to do at the end of the day is grab their coat and backpack? I think that kids are always loud when they are packing up because they are excited and see it as unorganized time- I'm sure that once you have a plan in place, it will get easier!
I noticed my 3rd graders need 15 minutes to order to do everything which is: write in the their planner and pack their bags with their folders! I play "The Mystery Garbage Game" where they can earn a ticket (it's like money at our school) if they find the one piece that I've already selected in my mind! They LOVE cleaning up and I have to remind them to not get a head start until I say, "Go"! (so, I will see a piece of garbage and the student who finds that same piece wins)
I have struggled with this myself - year after year I try new things but nothing works - it always turns into chaos. Lately I started playing a Brain Pop segment or a song from a math website and all the kids are sitting in front of my computer watching/listening. I have to call them individually (Kinder) - they get their things and sit back down again. They try to stay quiet so they can hear the computer. Tennisplayer - I like that "Mystery Garbage Game" - it's a great idea.
I've found that anything with the "game"thrown in gets the kids vry excited! Even for math, I have turned flashcards into a game by having the kids get into groups of 3 or 4 and the first person who says the correct answer gets to "keep the card" until they're done playing. They love it so much that I have to remind them to keep their voices down so I can help people on the worksheet!
I am so with you on this! I also teach first and this is what has worked best for me, but it is still usually louder than I want. **Pack up 1/2 hour before the specials. **have a set routine: mine is - bring your jacket/backpack to the desk; take out your folder; go get your mail from your mailbox; put your mail in the folder; put the folder in the backpack, zip it, sit down. **I let 2-3 pack up at a time. **There is an incentive to get the packing up done: a small snack, a story at the circle, or a coloring page. **kids who are slow don't go to the specials, or miss part of the specials. Reward the kids who get their job done. Arrange for someone to watch the stragglers while you take your class to specials, or ask the specials teachers to come pick up the kids who are ready. Snack has been the best incentive, and the worst thing is packing up under a time pressure. If you can do it 1/2 hour early, then do something they really enjoy, it should smoothe out. And we spent several days practicing the routine, with a candy reward for doing it right. I have even made a picture/word list of what is done and the order, laminated, and taped to their desks. Sometimes a child will need a check off list to stay on track.
THANK YOU! I've been struggling with packing up as well. My kids would love this, and it should give me time to get everything done at the end of the day without mass chaos.
I get the kids settled down with a read aloud. After the read aloud, I pass out HW and they put it in their folders. Their HW folders are clear plastic, so I can see in each one. After they get their folder, they sit back down. Then, once they are seated I dismiss one at a time, or two at a time. Since I have kids going to 3 places (pick up at the door, after school care and the pick up lot) I have them line up accordingly. By the time the last kids are done, we are out the door in 3 directions.
This is my LEAST favorite part of the day. I have the kiddos go back to their tables and I pass out their dismissal cards to the kids who are sitting quietly. When the entire table has their cards, they go to their lockers and get packed up and come back and sit at their tables. I then dismiss them by tables to go to the door that they need to go to to go home. It has worked pretty well but I still despise pack up time... lol Glad to hear I'm not alone!
I could do this so that all there was to do was the stacking of the chairs and the grabbing of backpacks. However, I sometimes don't have their folders ready to go or all the things from the office until shortly before 2:00. I do make sure their guided reading folders are in their back packs immediately after guided reading.
Friends, Thank you so much for the advice! I don't do mystery trash (although I did it as a sub all the time) b/c I have a sanitation manager who walks around the room at the end of the day and has kids who have a mess clean it up. If they don't they owe the sanitation manage a classroom dollar. Yesterday at the end of the day I told the kids that we would never have a clean up like they had that day. I told them that I would have a new method. I asked them to think about how we could have a better pack up time when they are at home and then report back to me today. So this morning, before I saw any of these suggestions, a little girl brought it up. I asked the kids how long it should take to do certain things and this is what they said: Get backpacks -1 minute get things from mailbox and bring to desk- 1 minute Put things in backpack- 1 minute Stack chairs- 1 minute Come to carpet for story 1 minute I told them that was only 5 minutes but we were taking 15. I told them I knew they could do it. "What do you think we should do?" They said "no talking" YES!! We then talked about how we are excited at the end of the day and all of that but they still agreed they shouldn' talk. I then told them the new plan was this: They clean up their area after science and put heads down I call odd tables to go get backpacks from the hall and put on desk and wait at desks At the same time I call even tables to go to mailboxes and get papers then return to their desks. Then we reverse that. Then they load up the backpacks with papers and keep them at their desks Stack chairs Join me on the carpet. I took exactly 5 minutes. And they were quiet. I had to stop some kids from trying to load their daily folder right in front of the mailboxes and one of my kids was not paying attention when I called his table. Other than that, it was sooooo much better. We then read a chapter of Junie B. on the carpet. We were on time for specials. If this works tomorrow I will be soooo excited. We actually talked more about it than I wrote here. I hope they get it.
Thanks STG I miss you, too. I try to get here but you know!!! I so hope it works today. I need to review it again and I think starting the story really helped. The funny thing is that I knew when I had my own classroom that my trouble woudl be transitions and packing up. I was right. Maybe I should have reversed that thinking.
I agree. The only thing I am happy about is that my room is not a disaster after the kids walk out. I see some really trashed out rooms.
