Welcome Guest Blogger Susan from T.G.I.F.

Hiya everybody!

My name is Susan over at T.G.I.F. (Thank God it's First Grade!) and I was so excited when Stephanie invited me to guest blog for the day!!!

 

Raaar!

Ya know... when you're walking around.. and one student is drooling... another is nodding off in the corner.. and two others are clearly daydreamin' about who knows what 6 year olds day dream about. Recess and Phineas & Ferb?!? 

Well, I swear I am not the most BORING teacher of all time.. but even when I'm on my A-game my kiddos make it clear when their little brains need to be re-booted! So, I thought I would take some time to share my absolute favorite energizer!

Whenever my kids are looking sluggish I just casually walk over to the computer and go to this website: http://www.televisiontunes.com/  It has tons and tons of theme songs to TV shows and movies.

I pick one of our theme songs and my students know exactly what to do!

Now here's the scoop:

• Each song you choose will have a purpose. For instance, one song I chose is the James Bond theme song. When the students hear this song they immediately drop everything their doing and walk over to their {Secret Headquarters} where they meet their *Spy Partner.* Both the meeting spot and the partner will be the same EVERY TIME this song comes on. At their {Secret Headquarters} they sit criss-cross and very quietly quiz each other on how to spell word wall words. When the song is over (1 minute later) they quickly walk back to their seat and continue what they were working on before.

Sounds a bit re-donkulous, but it works like MAGIC!  The kids love every second of it.

When you are introducing this energizer the first thing you do is play the song and tell the kids to "mix-n-mingle" around the room. When the song comes to an end, they match up with the closest person to them and wherever they are standing is their new {Secret Headquarters} and that partner is their *Spy Partner* for the rest of the year. You tell them the activity you want them to do while they are there and then you practice, practice, practice!

 The first week I only introduce one song and they do this energizer about 3 times a day. Slowwwwly, you add in other songs/activities and the students are re-energized and ready to go! It is honestly my favorite little brain break and it is theirs too! It also gives you more partners to pair students up with throughout the day ("Meet up with your *Spy Partner* and answer the comprehension questions at the end of your story").

Here are some other fun songs/activities:

• Song: James Bond, Meeting spot: {Secret Headquarters}, Partner: *Spy Partner* Activity: Quiz spelling or word wall words

• Song: ABC3 - 3 Is The Magic Number Theme Song, Meeting spot: {The Bank}, Partner: *Accountant* Activity: Skip count by 2's, 5's, or 10's, Make 11 game with fingers, Quiz +/- facts

• Song: Sid The Science Kid - You Look Different Theme Song, Meeting spot: {The Laboratory}, Partner: *Scientist* Activity: Act out life cycle steps of a butterfly (or bee, caterpillar, plant, etc.) without using words

• Song: Phineas & Ferb theme song, Meeting spot: {The Stage}, Partner: *Rock star* Activity: Air guitar, disco dance moves, air drums (this one is purely fun)

I am sure once you get on the site you could think of cute, creative ones - let me know if you do!!

Now other times when they need to come down from their hyper-ness I always call on my go-to book: The ABCs of Yoga for Kids.

I just turn the lights off... call on a few students to pick letters... and namaste.
They love it and so do I.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and if you aren't already a follower, swing on by and see if you like what you read! I have some freebie Daily 5 Stamina posters a couple posts back for you!

<3 Susan