Submitted by Sandy Elder, Michigan
Idea posted September 27, 2002
I knew I was in for a challenge when my first graders first entered my room this afternoon. Instead of sitting down like I'd told them to, they ran around, shoving and laughing, then finally falling, flipping, rolling into their semi-sitting positions. Yikes!
Rather than get mad (OK, I did get mad, but rather than show it), I said, "Oh, I guess you need some practice sitting down." I told the dangerously rough ones to sit by a wall and watch while the rest of us showed them how by playing the "sit down game" (sounds like a game to me!).
Tune: "The More We Get Together"Words: (sung by teacher with/without the piano)
Walk around the room, the room, the room.
Walk around the room, and now sit down!
(They had to sit properly immediately - legs crossed and hands in lap, or they too were "out.")
Crawl around the room, the room, the room.
Crawl around the room, and now sit down!
Dance around the room...
Skip around the room...
Walk around backward...
Tip toe 'round the room... (you get the idea)
They LOVED it and not only got out most of their wiggles, but also learned how to sit down QUICKLY and QUIETLY. We stopped the game and let the others join in, but only if they continued to sit down properly when it was time. Any flipping, jumping before sitting, etc. sent them back to the wall.