Go Tell That Grinch!

Happy Monday, Kinder Tribe!

This is Deirdre from Mrs. Garcia’s Super Scholars sharing a quick management tip with you. I’m keeping this one quick since I think we are all a bit exhausted with this whole back to school thing! 

We've all had that little friend who is kind of...well, mean. They might be the one kid who is always throwing off the classroom environment with nasty remarks, or they may be completely well-meaning with absolutely NO filter! We all know them! 

I have a little trick that lets them express themselves and not hurt their classmates' feelings. Enter The Grinch! 

Many moons ago, I worked at Kohls. I won't go into that experience here, but I would always pick up the $5 Kohls Cares for Kids stuffed toys and books in anticipation for my future classroom. A Grinch plush was one of them. He usually makes an appearance in December with our Elf, and stays out for the rest of the year.

One day after several tattles, rather than crying and losing my sanity reminding my friend for the umpteenth time to use our Bugs & Wishes Wheel, I randomly blurted out, "Go tell that Grinch!" 

What started as a sort of "tattle monster" turned in to something else. If we were frustrated about something or someone, we could tell the Grinch. If we reeeeeally didn't like the barrettes our friend was wearing (it's happened!), we could tell the Grinch. The Grinch likes to know mean things!

In a perfect world, our kids would be nice to each other 100% of the time. But in the meantime, I have the Grinch. This little green guy has made a huge difference in our classroom- the number of hurt feelings has gone down, and my students are able to get those oh so important kindergarten thoughts off their chests without getting in trouble or hurting a friend. "Go Tell That Grinch!" has become a staple in our classroom. If someone is about to be mean, they are redirected straight to the Grinch. If you want to bring the Grinch to your class, you can find a similar one {here}. 

Thanks for reading! Hope your back to school is going splendidly!