Quiet Critters!!

Our kiddos sometimes get a little carried away with all the excitement we have in store for them throughout the day.  And that means our rooms can get a little noisy!!  I found this Quiet Critter idea at The Lemonade Stand Teachers and I just HAD to try it.  I made these cute little guys.

I gave each one a cute little name: Wonderful Wazzy, Fabuous Fiona, Magnificent Marvin.  You get the idea. I may have spent more time thinking of funky names than actually making these cute little critters!

There were a huge hit with my kids the second I introduced them.  Obviously I put on a huge production...I wanted them to know how important these little critters are!  I told them that these guys would be living on my desk, but like to come out and visit with friends.  The only thing is that they can only survive when the person they're with is nice and quiet.  Otherwise, they get super scared and have to go back home.  And we don't want to scare them right????!!!!  Kids in whisper shouts: NOOOOOO!  So cute!

I hand our little critters out just about every day.  The second I pick them up off my desk, everyone gets super quiet and focuses on their work, while secretly peeking at me out of the corner of their eye to see who will get the quiet critters this time!  They're like little magic charms!!!  I have 8 of them, so I hand them out to a few kids at a time.  To make it more special, when they are working quietly, I let whoever has the quiet critter pass it on to someone else who is working quietly.  That way everyone gets a chance (if they're working quietly of course :)!) The kids do a great job in making sure that they pass it to someone who hasn't had one yet.  Finding another quiet student to take care of you critter is a very important job.

At snack time, or when we are working in groups or partners, my kids always make sure to return their quiet critters safely to their home on my desk so they don't get scared.  They carry them like little babies in their hands, some rocking them, and place them ever so gently back home.  I wish you could see them do it.  It's seriously the cutest thing ever!

I'm telling you, these quiet critters are the best thing ever!  What do you use for behavior management in your classroom?

Happy Saturday Everyone!!  Hope you all did something fun!