Calling All Teachers... and WANNABE Teachers (again)

Here are a couple of ideas that I thought I would share. When I get a classroom again, I am def. going to use these. I figure with the pumpkin present, you could switch it out according to the time of year and use the same concept. I got these ideas from this wonderful blog ...What The Teacher Wants. (These words and ideas are not my own.)


FIRST....


Halloween time is full of wonderful things!  Like: pumpkins, haunted houses, candy, soup, and REALLY EXCITED STUDENTS!  To help my students remember the rules and expectations during the few weeks leading up to Halloween, we do a "Pumpkin Present" each day.

During the day, if a student is following the rules and expectations, 

they will get the pumpkin on their desk.

I move the pumpkin all around on different students' desks all day.  If you are working nicely, you'll probably see the pumpkin once, maybe even twice on your desk! You can't play with him or touch him, but if you are the very last person to have the pumpkin on your desk at the end of the day..... YOU GET THE "PUMPKIN PRESENT" that is inside of the pumpkin!  I like to put pencils, or stickers, or smarty pants tickets, or maybe silly bands! *If you have lots of kiddos in your class...send around 2 pumpkins!


SECOND...

Image from Funky First Grade

 I found this amazing post by Kimberly at Funky First Grade.....I give her full credit and she's behind my inspiration for...

Every Friday my kiddos get to wear SLIPPERS {or colorful socks if they don't have slippers} during our spelling test.  This will help alleviate my #2 problem about spelling tests {make it less stressful}.

Then, after each test is correct on Monday, I meet with each student BRIEFLY and come up with a personal spelling goal {get a 90%, spell the sentences correctly, write 11/12 words write, etc.} to meet for the next week. If they meet that goal, they get their picture up on our SUPER SPELLER SLIPPER CLUB board!  I have to remember that each child is different and I can't expect them to get 100% on every test. That's why it's an individual goal, not a class goal.

Let me just say how EXCITED my kids are to wear their slippers!  I can't wait to set a goal with each of them on Monday and then next week we'll add some pictures up on our board when they meet their goal.

  And then when they meet their goal, I'll give them this...

And for those who don't meet their goal and need an extra push, I'll give them this one {and it will help the parents know what their goal is}:

Hope you find these ideas as fun as I did!

K