I am beginning to have troubles with the end of the day routines. They are just simply to used to each other now and all the stuff that used to work is fading fast. I have end of day procedures I must do so reading aloud to them is just not possible unfortunately. It might work to have children take turns reading journals or other papers at this time. Does anyone have anything they do that works during dismissal? I know it's "that time of year" but state tests are in 3 weeks and I must hang on to them for dear life until that time is over!!!! Thanks for any help.

[Hockey Fan]

I have recently been playing a chapter book on tape / cd. The children, by this point, are packed and we are waiting for announcements. This allows me time to wrap up anything that I need to do (with individual students, my desk, etc.) before they leave for the day.

This has worked really well for me. I'm sure I will have to find a new system again as my group begins to adjust to this method.

[SusanTeach]

I give out tickets for good behavior, at the end of the day. They know I won't start until their desks are cleaned off, floor clean, packed up, etc... Everyone gets a ticket, and then I draw 2 who pick from my treasure chest. If they got into trouble during the day, they don't get a ticket. I keep all the tickets in there all week, and then start fresh each Monday. That way, if a child misbehaves one day, they still get a chance to get their ticket pulled from another day.

I also do the read aloud right before that, but you said that won't work for you. I've had kids read journals and stories before, and that works also. Unfortunately, we don't have something to read every day.

I give my students a math sheet as morning work, so it would be a good time to go over that as well. I normally go over it during math, but you could save it for the end of the day.

Last year, after everyone had done their jobs, I would pick a "Magic Mess" which would be secret. The child who found it and picked it up, would get a ticket (given out for good behavior, and used as money in our weekly auctions).

After that, everyone would stand by their desks and I would choose a quiet table group to go pack up. As each student was done, they would choose another quiet child to go pack up. It went pretty quickly, and without the noise of having all the kids out in the hall packing up at the same time. If there were a few extra minutes at the end of the day, we would play silent ball.