Talking Strips

I have a little sweetie. She is very needy.

Haha - I'm a poet and didn't know it!

OK, for real now. I have a young lady in my class. And all of the sudden, I noticed, especially during centers, when I supposed to be working with my small group, she's coming over and asking me tons of questions. And being the caring and giving teacher I am, I'm answering them. But then I realize, she's interrupting like 6 or 7 times. So I gave her these:

So she gets these 4 little pieces of paper. And she has to give me one each time she comes up to talk to me. If it's really bad, I make her give me one whenever she comes up, not just during centers. And if she's out of little slips of paper - - - well, she can't talk to me. {And I'm just crossing my fingers that it isn't a biggie that she wants to talk about - LOL} 

This young lady caught on pretty quick and I'll probably not continue with her. I had a sweetie last year - I don't think he ever caught on. I had to go to 4 strips in the morning and 4 in the afternoon. I have another sweetie in my class this year - I had done this with her before, but she's been gone a lot lately, and now she's interrupting during whole group work. So I'll probably start her back up - and hers are any time. And I don't even have to "threaten" anything - just have her hand me a strip when she interrupts. I think, somehow, it's just making some of them conscious of what they are doing. And making me conscious, too, of what is irritating me and doing something about it. 

What do you do for your interrupters - to break the habit?

Happy Day to you!!