Bright Ideas Link Up Dismissal Sticks

Hello and welcome to another Bright Ideas Link Up!

I love writing these posts and I really love reading Bright Ideas posts from other bloggers.  I get some fantastic ideas that I can usually implement immediately into my classroom.

This month I am sharing how we dismiss our kiddos at the end of the day.  At my school K-2 goes out one door and 3-5 goes out a door on another side of the building.  We always have tons of parents waiting for their kiddos at the end of the day and it is a crazy mess of parents grabbing kids out of line to leave before they have checked out with the teacher, kids trying to run off to play on the playground, and older siblings trying to get back into the building through our door to grab a book they forgot from their classroom. 

Enter dismissal sticks!

The dismissal sticks are soooooooo simple and the key to our now smooth dismissal process.  They are popsicle sticks with the kiddos names and numbers on them.  They are handed out at the end of the day and the kiddos hold onto them.  At the end of the day we walk out to our class line, which is spray painted on the blacktop outside of our dismissal door.  Before they leave they have to raise their stick in the air and wait for a teacher to come and take it from them.  This way we can grab the stick, give the kiddo a handshake, hug, or high five, and make eye contact with the person who is picking them up.  This way we KNOW they have gotten to the right person for pick up. 

Another reason why we LOVE this idea is that it is brilliant for subs.  We all know our kiddos and could probably semi quickly determine who is missing if we can’t find a student, but a sub doesn’t know everyone’s names!  This way they can quickly look through the sticks they have collected and say they are missing number 5.  With a student list they can very quickly determine who number 5 is. 

This has been a total win win for our K-2 this year.  I would love to know if you have any other great ideas for dismissal!

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For even more Bright Ideas from more than 130 different bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic/grade level that interests you.  Thanks for stopping by!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Booking Across the USA- Kansas Sunflower Cookies!

Hello and welcome to Kansas on this stop of the Booking Across the USA tour!

I'm so glad that you stopped by to visit and learn a little bit more about our amazing state.

We were so lucky to be able to preview one book out of a fantastic set by Blue Apple Books.

This is the cutest book and I (of course) love the section on Kansas!

I have lived in Kansas for about 18 years and I still found some places that I want to take my family to visit by reading this page!

Every year our school learns about Kansas History and our kids always love it.  We always do fun projects and crafts along the way.  One great idea that I would like to share with you is Sunflower Cookies!  These turn out so cute and are such a fun and easy way to reinforce the Kansas State Flower.

You will need:

candy Corn

blueberries, brown M&M's, or chocolate chips (whichever you prefer)

sugar cookies 

white or yellow icing

something to spread icing with (at school we use popsicle sticks and at home my own kiddos spread icing with spoons)

1. Start with a round cookie.  I used a sugar cookie.

  2. Buy premade icing or make your own. Then either keep the icing white or add yellow food coloring to the icing.

3. Spread the icing onto the cookie.

4. Add candy corn around the edges and M&M's, chocolate chips, or blueberries in the center.

 

5. Enjoy your Kansas sunflower!!!

Make sure to click on the picture to head over and check out 49 other states that are participating in Booking Across the USA!

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