Notes to Nemo

My biggest classroom management issue, my downfall, is the students' need to tell me everything and my inability to turn them away!  New shoes, fights with siblings, sports events, broken toys, jokes, songs, tattling... you name it, they tell me.  Usually, at the wrong time.

With so many things to talk about and so many students I was at a stump as to what to do.  I love the students' excitement and their trust in me, but if allowed each student to tell me every important detail in their lives (a play date with a friend is as important to a child as a reunion with an old friend is to an adult) learning would never take place.  I had to find a way to listen to my students, each of them, without interfering with our classroom time. 

My first strategy was to designate snack time as chat time, allowing students the time to tell me any tidbit they wanted to share about their lives, but that failed.  I had a line of students waiting to talk and no one eating their snacks.  I also realized that some of the quieter students would never meander to the line willingly though they had their own stories to share.  I had to scrap that idea.

Next, I tried to organize a daily rotation.  Each day certain students had the opportunity to come and tell me whatever they wanted for a few minutes.  However, sometimes students had nothing to share on their day or another had something really important they couldn't wait to tell me.  This strategy, no good.  (I do use it to make sure each student is getting a little extra attention throughout the week).

Finally, and something that actually worked, was a variation of the Tattle Monster.  The teacher I replaced in the beginning of the year had the same idea and by the time we met she already created the perfect variation... Notes to Nemo.  I  decorated an old shoe box, added some writing paper, and included some fancy pens and viola! A perfect solution to my problem.

What I loved about Notes to Nemo, was that it included everything... not just tattling!  I learned about

Very blurry picture of Notes to Nemo...sorry.

the students and their lives without having an all day group meeting.  The shyer students had an outlet for any concerns, the more verbose students filled page after page creating diary entries, letters, or even illustrations.  The students could sign their names or leave it anonymous, whatever they chose.  At the end of the week I would empty the box and read through all of their notes.  It surprised me how these little people, even at such a young age, had so many valid concerns in and out of the classroom... and so many reasons to be excited!