Summer's here and just as busy!

I returned from my maternity leave five and a half weeks after having my 3rd baby boy.  It really went by way too quickly, but with the state testing coming up and pay being docked, it was time to get back to school.  I actually returned a week before our testing began, which gave me a little time to get us back on track with behavior and a few last minute reviews.  I was thankful to find that my second sub had been utilizing some Whole Brain Teaching techniques with my class.  She found the Super Improver Wall to be a huge help in controlling behavior. 

My kiddos were still able to review concepts that I had taught them by utilizing their Whole Brain Teaching gestures, so that gave me hope as I returned to the classroom.  I am anxious to see our test results as we also used Prove It the entire year.  My kids were really excited about Prove It during the year, and I feel like they had a good foundation to use on their testing from the exposure throughout the year. 

The last couple weeks of the year flew by with our track and field day, talent shows, yearbook assembly, and so much more.  The behavior of my kiddos really stayed on track though thanks in large part to Whole Brain Teaching.  They were excited to continue to earn stars on the Super Improver Wall and ultimately get to take their Super Improver cards with them.  I'm excited about getting back into my classroom and getting my Super Improver Wall set up for this year.  I think this was the biggest thing that worked in my classroom this past year.  They knew that it was based solely on their improvement and nobody else's.  That says it all!

This past week, I attended a 2-day conference in my hometown with Coach B!  What a fantastic two days!  Even though this was my 6th Whole Brain Teaching Conference, I still took away lots of new and fun things to do in my classroom this next year.  I loved the "grabber" that Coach B presented as well as the Problem Solver, Magic Mirrors, D.V.R., and so much more.  I will be posting more about this conference next time.

My colleague, Susan Floyd, and I will be presenting 6 mini conferences during the 2012-2013 school year in our area, so be watching the forum and calendar for those dates on the Whole Brain Teaching website.  We're really excited about getting more teachers on board with Whole Brain Teaching.

Thanks,
Staci