Novelty

Since getting a puppy last year, I can compare a lot of dog training techniques to what I do in the classroom. I know that sounds funny-but my trainer actually gets a newsletter entitled "Teaching the Whole Dog" (like the "whole child"!).  My dog is unquestionably GT and one of those kids who looks for things to get themselves into if you don't challenge them enough. She has probably at least 50 toys and bones-but she doesn't want to play with any of those. Now take one and put it inside the other, fill one with treats or just tie 2 of them together and well, it's a whole new toy.

Kids are the same way. They love novelty in the classroom. They will notice if you change the posters or hang something from the ceiling. If you let them read with a stuffed animal and then one day give them sunglasses with the lenses popped out-well, that's a whole new workstation! We have to remember these kids spend 9 months of the year looking at the same scenery, using the same materials. We have to do what we can to shake things up every once in awhile and make learning exciting for them.