I start my year with reading Quentin's First Day. It is our book about a scared penguin who is afraid to go to school, and his mom teaches him the"Quality Student " song. It makes him feel better because he knows what to do now. He also shares the song with his penguin friend Mandy.
Then we sing this "Quality Students" song which teaches us how to be quality students. My kiddos love spelling and acting out each letter to "Quality." You can grab it for free. We would really appreciate your kind comments when you download it. Thanks!
We also learn about not be bullies by singing this song about Bully Prevention. You can also get it in our store.
Next we have a class meeting where we go around the circle and say our names and what a quality
student is. My name is...... and a quality student........
The student who is talking is holding Quentin the Quality Penguin. Nobody else is allowed to talk.
We also write a class big book on Quality Students.
Free Download at our store.
These are our Quentin Dollars which we can earn for being quality students. When you get 10, you can go to the small store.
Or you can save to 20 and go to the larger store.
You could also do computer time or give out homework passes. My kiddos love the store! I even had some of them using their dollars to buy gifts for family members. One student wanted something for her brother's birthday and didn't have 20 dollars, so she borrowed from the bank-me:)
It was so great to use this opportunity to talk to her about a loan!
This idea has given me opportunities to teach economic concepts as well as have well-behaved students!
I have used many different behavior management ideas, but this has been the best for me. It is easy to do and the kiddos love it!
No more turning signs. I just take a Quentin dollar away when someone is misbehaving, and discuss how it cost them.
I also have students asking me to do extra work to earn dollars.
I send home Quentin every night in a bag with a book and journal with a "quality student" and they write about what he did at their house. Some of them have given him toys and books. They have also made him things. One kiddo sent him this scarf in the winter so he wouldn't be cold. The deal is you have to be a quality student in order to take him home. This includes getting your work done. This has really helped my kiddos to be quality students.
This poem is also a Free Download.
You can get the book and song in our store.
We have a Back to School Bundle that has the book, song, read around the room cards, Quality Student poem, activities, and printables which include questions about the book. This igloo and small Quentins are also included. We use this as a classroom management tool. We put Quentins on the igloo when the class is doing well and do something, like extra recess, game day or a special treat when we earn 20.
We hope you got some ideas for behavior management. We will be selling Quentin puppets soon if you're interested.
Be sure to check out some other awesome ideas from these other great ladies!
This is also a great activity for recycling unwanted clothes or extra rags. I put rubber bands on various clothing items and also stuffed a few to make "ball" shapes. The kids threw, slung, flicked, and smacked paint onto this giant butcher paper canvas.
