My Teacher ALWAYS says...

I saw this linky from Forever in First, and I couldn't pass it up! During my first year, I realized that I repeat some of the same things over and over to my students. As the year went on, the students were able to say my quotes before I even got a chance to say them! It's amazing what they pick up.

Our school really focuses on teaching students to be helpful, kind, and considerate of others. Many of you have probably heard this called "being a bucket filler." Whenever I see a student who needs to be reminded that he or she should try to be kind instead of yelling back at someone, I would say, "Be a bucket filler!" Works like a charm. I even had a time at the end of the day where the kids would share who filled their buckets that day!

This one just popped out of my mouth one day when I was explaining an activity they were going to work on. One of my boys asked, "Ms. Adams...What do you mean 'a piece of cake?'" I thought they all knew that idiom already! From that day on, anytime we had an assignment, they would go, "Will it be a piece of cake?"

Every time we would come back from out class or lunch or recess, I would get their attention in the hallway and tell them where to go. They got to the point where I didn't have to say it anymore! I switched it up sometimes and asked, "Where do we go?" They all would say "GO TO CARPET!"

When things weren't going their way, I would pull this one out. I would shrug and say, "It's cool," if I couldn't find something I was looking for. When the kids had to leave recess early, I would say, "It's cool" to show them that they don't need to get all worked up about it.

This was a hard one! Whew! Some students love to report to me. I would always ask, "Did you talk to him first?" to see if the student had tried to solve the problem before reporting to me. If they said no, I would have him go talk to the person and explain what bothered him. Usually, the problem worked itself out. If not, I'd step in and guide the confrontation. I need a recording of this quote so I can just click play instead of wearing my voice out repeating it!!

Let me know what some of your most used quotes are! I'd love to know what you tend to say often. :)