Quickness Counts

I had a good process for having the kids create our classroom rules each year, back in my teaching days.  They'd brainstorm what we DO do in school.  I list, then we'd combine, condense and reframe their ideas down into the four rules that always seemed to cover everything.

1.  Follow directions promptly

2.  Work and play safely.

3.  Be respectful.

4.  Do your best.

Seriously, for probably the last nine years of classroom experience I never had need for any other rules. But I learned that first year...  "Follow directions" wasn't enough.  It never failed that I had a few smart cookies that would ultimately do as I asked after dawdling around, and then tell me that they did in fact follow directions.  That year I had to do alot of specifying.  "Please pick up your pencils right away."  Or, "It's time to line up at the door immediately."  Or, "You have two minutes to put away your morning work and get ready for math."  Yeah, not fun.  After that, I added "promptly" to our #1 rule.

I spent the first two weeks of school rehearsing and reviewing routines and procedures that we'd use all year.  And no matter what we were practicing, we practiced it promptly.  We talked about synonyms for "promptly".  We role played doing thing quickly and then slowly, so we'd all know the difference.  I would role play too, I'd make total fool of myself zipping over to the door when it was time for Art or raising my hand to answer the TA's question for the class.  But.  It.  Worked.  I'd say 80% of the time, 80% of the class just did things as asked, without delay.  THAT'S ALOT when we're talking about eight year olds.  And the rest?  I'd have had to be more on top of them anyway, no matter what I asked or expected, so I figured it was worth all the effort up front.  Fast forward to today...

Our little Princess has recognized that she has her own will.  And that Mommy cannot control some things.  Like pooping and eating and sleeping.  So now she is furiously trying to figure out what other things she can control.  Most recently she discovered that she can buy an extra three seconds of time before I start walking toward her by looking intently as if she's processing what you've just asked her.  Then she throws the "A'n wants to do it" out with alot of foot stamping in the hopes that you'll stop and let her.  Yeah, that went on for a few days until I realized it wasn't an independence thing, it was a delay and distract thing.   And while the CIA may be in need of her decoy services, I'm not.

Rule #1 is a hill worth dying on.
Operation Speedy Gonzalez has commenced.
Your move, chica.