On my second to last day I had the opportunity to spend the entire day in my classroom. There is one student that I have been spending a little extra time with to try to encourage him to stay in the classroom. That morning, I told him that I had a secret for him, that I was going to spend the whole day with them and that we had some fun activities planned. I kept reminding him throughout the day of the fun activities throughout the day. We were able to have a lot of really good conversations about his favorite things to do, who his friends were, and more.
By the end of the day I was shocked. This student managed to spend the entire day with his class besides the small portion that he was pulled out to talk with the social worker. This is the same student who has not spent an entire morning in his classroom, let alone the entire day since kindergarten. On the last day, he unfortunately had a rough morning and ran away within the first hour. Before I left the building I found him and talked with him for a little bit before I left. I believe that the positive relationship that we have made was a big reason of why he stayed in the classroom that day. That experience gave me hope for his future as well as mine. I hope that I can make a difference like that on many other students as well.
I'm glad you were able to have that positive experience with this student. It is important for children (well anyone really) to know how much you appreciate them and that they are important to the group. Knowing that fun activities were ahead was a great incentive.
ReplyDeleteIs this a students that would benefit from knowing the daily schedule a day in advance? I've worked with a few students that seem to do better on days when they know exactly what to expect and had a little time to wrap their head around everything.