Classroom Management Tip!

A great classroom management tip is having a table “Captain”. The child who is the captain is the person in charge of the table for the month.  He or she must get materials for the table, ensure things are put away, and when games take place at the table, the table captain would have the first turn if we would play a table game. The students in my class use the school supplies community style so before having the captain, the kids would all be scrambling for materials. By having the captain in charge of materials it ensures the children are not all scrambling for materials.

I have always given the students new seating arrangements at the beginning of the month.  It promotes social skills, communication and cooperative learning.  To select my table captain the kids roll a die.  The one with the largest number (or smallest number) is the captain.  Eventually all children get a turn, but I continue to use the same process.

Now one of the jobs of the captain is to get the plastic table dishes  to the table.  It is a total organization tool for me and the kiddos.  I purchased 30 of the colorful dishes from the Dollar Store.  The dishes are used to play all table games at the table.  The kiddos have their own personal space to keep game pieces, cards, manipulative items.  If dice are involved in a game, they must shake the dice on their dish.   The plates are great for keeping art project pieces.  I don’t just use the dishes at the table, the kids use them on the floor for different games and projects.  The dishes are durable, stackable and easy to clean. The dishes are one of the best investments I ever purchased and is a super management tip.