Buddy Classsrooms

Last year I posted about our "Chill Spot" when my classroom got flooded by Hurricane Sandy.  Hopefully this year, we will avoid any natural disasters coming into the school, but just in case, I've been carefully to pick up the carpet and pillows from the leaky corner before I leave for the weekend :)

Although it's a couple of weeks into the year, I've been taking my time to introduce materials, classroom structures, and routines, so I actually just introduced the "calm down corner" (as we are calling it this year).  We read When Sophie Gets Angry -- Really, Really Angry and sang a great song called "Full of Lots of Feelings" which I got from a teacher at a KIPP school a few years ago.  Then we discussed the importance of having a place in our room to calm down.

We also talked about how sometimes it can be helpful to calm down away from our friends and classmates.  The kids quickly identified that it can be hard to calm down when you are feeling angry at someone, or other kids are playing around you, or your friends are trying to make you laugh.  When I asked my kiddos where they think they could go to calm down, they immediately thought of their Kindergarten or Pre-K teachers' rooms and other rooms on our floor. I love that they know they'd be welcomed and safe all around our school.

Our school has relied on "Buddy Classrooms" for awhile (read more about buddy teachers and classrooms from Responsive Classroom).  Most of the time, however, our teachers are not able to step away from their classrooms to invite a student or bring a student to another room.  In fact, when a student needs to take a break, we want to send them off quickly and with as little disruption as possible.  Last year, I began to think about a way to make this practical, and purposeful so that students could receive the best support.  So I came up with the idea of Buddy Classroom passes...

These passes quickly and easily indicate to the receiving teacher why a student has come for a "time out."  Sometimes, the student just needs to calm down in a different space, other times he needs to finish some work, and sometimes she needs to talk to an adult about a particular problem.  On the back of each pass are suggestions to the student for how to calm down (check them out on TeachersPayTeachers!).

Last year, we started using the passes on the second floor (with first and second grade only), but this year, we have extended their use to Kindergarten through 5th grade.  Most of us have attached the passes to a lanyard or string so it can go hang around a student's neck and act as a "hall pass" when they travel between buddy classrooms.  While we try to make every student feel welcome when they come into our rooms, it is helpful to know whether that student is coming in with excess energy or anger that needs to be diffused.

Of course, our hope is that our kiddos can function appropriately and productively in our classes all the time, but realistically we know that there will be times when we all need a little break. A couple of hours after I'd introduced the Buddy Classroom Passes, a 2nd grader with significant behavior challenges came into our class wearing his Calm Down Pass.  I knew the student had been being disruptive, and possibly violent, so I silently sent to put his head down at an empty table.  Immediately one of my cuties came over to me with the biggest smile, "I know why he's here," he said, "he gets to calm down!"  Yup! :)