The Winter-Greene Report

Camp!

2009-06-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ms. Winter and I are leaving for two weeks to work at church camp. We will come back with stories of all sorts!

Simple Malapropism or Onomatopoeia?

2009-06-11T12:11:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I went to my cousin's birthday party. There were quite a few young children running around. After food and cake was eaten, two little boys grabbed a couple badminton rackets and began a volley with a little hollow plastic ball. They had been at it for a while when a younger boy got in their way. One of the boys shouted at him, "Get out of our way! We're playing tennis whack-it!"

Let's Try A Different Approach

2009-06-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

We have had some recurring behavior issues in my classroom lately. From incessant tattling to fighting and fit throwing. We had tried everything from redirection to time out. Nothing really seemed effective. So my supervisor devised a plan. Each child was given a sticker chart we found on the internet. What I love about this particular chart is that it has a space to put five individual goals for each child. This way you can tailor it to each child and involve the parents in the process for continuity. The child can earn short term rewards such as extra playtime or special priveleges individually. These charts also help the kids earn more long range goals like fieldtrips as a group. The first week has been fairly successful.

Uncle's Little Helper

2009-05-30T01:29:00.000-07:00

This week was my group's turn to clean the church building, and two of the five members of our group couldn't be there to help. Fortunately, there was an unexpected volunteer. Yes, it was my niece.

She really surprised me with how well she helped. After all, it is a big building, and she's only four. She and I tackled the second floor while the other two members of the group (the family that *was* able to be there) took on the ground floor. Feather duster in hand, she was all business until right near the end. It started to get late and she began to ask if we were done. That didn't bother me at all, since I had expected the question to come a lot sooner.

Fortunately for my niece, by the time she got impatient to go home, we were almost finished. It wasn't long before she got to buy a candy bar with that $1.25 that one of the members of the group gave her while we were cleaning...

Practice What You Preach

2009-05-12T18:40:00.000-07:00

I had something similar happen when taking my niece to the bathroom during church. When I teach her Sunday school class, I have a "mantra," if you will, for walking through the halls. When I take them to the classroom after they're dismissed from the sanctuary, I repeatedly tell them, "Slow like a turtle, quiet like a mouse." I use the same phrase when take students en masse to the bathroom. The sound of stampeding children is altogether too audible from the sanctuary.

Well, as I took my niece out of the prayer service on a bathroom trip one Tuesday night, she turned to me and whispered, "Quiet like a mouse, slow like turtles, Uncle."

Listen and Repeat

2009-05-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

While straightening up the classroom today I noticed scuff marks on the floor. All was not lost I grabbed some of our handy dandy magic erasers and got to work. One of my boys asks "Oh oh can I help?" I toss him a sponge and reply "Sure knock yourself out." I continue cleaning but he gets bored and goes back to playing. After a while he returns and asks "Can I do it again?" Before I can reply he grabs a sponge and and says, "Knock yourself out."