Every Friday, we do our spelling test and "Friday work". Friday work is independent work that each student is to complete by the end of the day. They always have a book to read on their own, a WKST to go with the book, and 4 - 5 other WKSTs. The point of this is two fold, 1) since I have 3 spelling groups, this gives those students that are not taking a test something constructive to do with their time while they wait to take their test, and 2) the WKSTs they are to complete are on skills we have been working on or that they need repeated drill and practice on (i.e. computation - addition and subtraction with regrouping).
I try to be a very laid back teacher and let the kids do what they need to do to understand things or get their work done (as long as it is not a distraction to others). If that means standing, they can stand. If that means not wearing shoes, they don't have to wear shoes (about half the class seems to take off their shoes as soon as they get to class). Whenever the kids are doing work, I usually always (unless it's handwriting or a test) let them sit where ever they want (this usually means on the floor with a clipboard). On Friday's, there always seems to be a different vibe about doing their work. Maybe because there is more to be done at one time, maybe it's the freedom of managing their own work and time, I don't know. But every Friday they want to move their desks. Sometimes it's just a few kids, and other times its almost all 18 kids, and the classroom looks like someone just threw 18 desks and chairs in there and said find a seat. :) This last Friday was one of those days, so I took a picture of my silly kids!
I love you guys!
(Has anyone noticed that I seem to really like using brackets? Aren't they called brackets? I wonder if there is a grammar rule about when and where you should use them? I probably should find out since I seem to be so fond of them!)
