Alternatives to the Treasure Box: 100+ Behavior Rewards

It’s getting that time of year when students are filled with lots of energy!

Sometimes the weather is a bit rainy and inside recess just doesn’t help get all of those wiggles out.

I find that having behavior incentives truly helps motivate children and gives them that extra incentive to try a bit harder.

The jury is out in many schools about the proverbial treasure box.

Are rewards good or do they do harm?  Whether a reward system is intrinsic or a thing, it is in our society to stay.

Adults go for the raise, the bonus, the extra paid vacation day, the free trip for the highest sales etc.

Yet constantly rewarding children with a trip to the treasure box can lose its impact too, so one day I decided to let my fingers do the clicking through the Internet, to see if anyone had done any surveys or studies, or taken any polls, on what students liked as rewards.

Incredible as it sounded, many students liked to DO a special thing rather than have a prize, such as be line leader, student helper, or message/errand person, to name a few TOP jobs.

Switching desks and eating lunch with the teacher or sitting on a bean bag or at the teacher’s desk, were also high on the list of “woo-hoo’s”, as well as phoning home, or receiving a certificate or happy gram of praise, to share the great news with parents.

Something that isn’t often seen in a treasure box, but coveted by kids, are trophies and medals.

Anyway, before you shell out big bucks for your treasure box, you may want to check out this list, and make a few coupons for special treats your students will truly treasure and “behave for!” What a win-win.

Why not enlist their help and ASK them what’s their hot button.  To jumpstart their imaginations, read them the list and highlight the ones they think are the best.

Enjoy the good behavior to come!

Hope you can pop back tomorrow for more tips and tricks! Do you have one you'd like to share? 

I'd enjoy hearing from you This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or feel free to post a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas, which you can PIN if you think it may help someone! Thanks in advance for making the time to do that.

A Pocket Full Of Paper Love...

A Pocket Full Of Paper Love is an inexpensive and fun way to make an assortment of wonderful keepsakes for Mother’s Day.

Your students will enjoy stuffing the different items that they make during their independent center time throughout the week, into this container.

By the time they take them home on Friday, they’ll have a pocket that’s over flowing with love.

One of the items not pictured, is a wooden broach made from the same old-fashioned woodcuts.  I bought wooden circles for only 10 cents each at Hobby Lobby.

My students cut and glued the “love knot” to the top and then drizzled on 10,000 Coats.  After the discs dried (48 hours) they glued a pin to the back, to make an old-fashioned pin.

I taught my Y5's  how to sing "I'm a Little Teapot" so they could serenade their mommy with a song, they made the teapot note and attached a teabag to the back.

Their bouncing renditions were heartwarming and adorable!

The final item we tucked into the pocket was their handprint. It added color and provided a backing to the plate so that the items didn’t spill out.

We wrapped the entire thing in hot pink tissue paper.

These ideas are part of the May Art Mini Book: Frogs, Flowers & Mother’s Day Packet.

Click on the link to view/download it.  There are several other Mother’s Day gift ideas included in that packet as well.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful. 

"Don't compromise yourself; you're all you've got." -Janis Joplin

Bookmark It! You Hold A Spot In My Heart...

I don’t post more than 2 articles in one day, but with Mother’s Day just around the corner, I wanted you to be able to look at all of these ideas at once, and decide which ones, if any,  you’d like to do with your students.

They were all huge hits with my Y5’s as well as the mommies.  I set them up as independent centers and they did quite well.

Since they only take a brief amount of time you could actually do all of them and tuck them in the "Pocket Full of Love" or if you don't do that, simply put them in a lunch bag or their folder to tote home.

I find that “paper love” is just as much appreciated as anything else a child puts together.

After all, the above activities were made with TLC, used their skills, which included reading a story, (no small accomplishment!) used sign language to express their affection, serenaded them with a song, and now make a bookmark their mom will certainly find useful!

How cute is that?

Click on the link to view/download the MOM bookmark.

Finally, Where Are The Flowers, is an easy reader that reinforces spatial directions.

The last page deals with the word "behind". Behind the door is the message "Happy Mother's Day!"  Making it a perfect "read-to-me" booklet for Mother's Day, truly a special gift for any mommy.

Click on the link to view/download Where Are The Flowers?

Do you have a Mother's Day idea you'd like to share? I'd enjoy hearing from you. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it OR...feel free to post a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas. 

Thanks in advance for taking the time.  Feel free to PIN anything you think a parent or fellow teacher might find helpful as well.

I hope you can visit tomorrow for more teaching tips, 'til then take time for the 3 R's: Refresh, Relax, and Rejuvenate.

Monkey Business

Are a few of your students still struggling with skip counting, or are you teaching PK and decided to raise the bar and add a K standard to help out for next year while you still have some days left before school ends?

I’m always looking for fun ways to reinforce skip counting with kids, so I dreamed up “Barrel of Monkeys!”

There are traceable number cards for skip counting by 2’s, 3’s, 5’s and 10’s as well as counting by 1’s to  30 with, matching covers for each set so that students can make their own Itty Bitty booklets.

Make a large “teacher’s monkey” and laminate.  Pass out your class set to the students and “feed the monkey” while you count whatever set you want to reinforce.

Play “I Have; Who Has?” and feed the monkey that way. i.e. “I have 2 who has 4, 6, 8?" etc.

Make class sets in a variety of colors.  Children choose a partner.

Mix up the cards, but keep the packs separate.  Each child flips over a card.

The one with the lowest card goes first and skip counts from that number ‘til the end.  If they do it correctly they get both cards. i.e. if they flip a 4 and their partner flips an 8, they get to count 4,6,8,10 all the way to 40.

If they can do that, they get to keep their 4-card and their partner’s 8 card.  If they can’t do it, their partner gets a turn to try it.

If they are successful they get the cards.  Play continues ‘til all of the cards are gone.

You can also use them to play Concentration-Memory Match games.

Click on the link to view/download Barrel Of Fun Monkey cards.

A nice companion to this packet is the rhyming easy reader booklet Counting Monkeys, which includes a graphing extension, to reinforce yet another standard.

Click on the link to view/download Counting Monkeys.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure and pop back tomorrow for more fun tips.

Do you have one you'd like to share?  I'd enjoy hearing from you This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or feel free to leave a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas. I really enjoy hearing from you.

It's OK to PIN anything you think will help another teacher or parent as well.

I hope these activities have your little monkeys having a barrel full of fun!

Do you need a silly story with manipulatives to review the life cycle of a butterfly to make sure your students have it down before you assess them? Or…

Would you like an interesting and fun way to assess the life cycle?

Read the story and have students “feed” the little old lady the story cards as they are talked about.

Later, give the life cycle cards to each student and have them feed her the cards as they explain the life cycle to you.

Click on the link to view/download The Little Old Lady That Swallowed A Life Cycle.

Scroll down for article #2 today: A culmination activity for your April Earth Day or recycling studies.

It's Keen To Go Green!

Do you need a quick and easy writing center?

Run off this “Love the earth” bookmark.

Students trace the words, fold the bookmark in half and glue it.

They write 3 things that they will do to reduce, reuse, and recycle to love their planet.

After everyone is done have them share their goals with their classmates.

This is a nice culmination activity for your recycling or Earth Day studies.

Click on the link to view/download Love the Earth bookmark.

I hope you can roll on over tomorrow for another quick teaching tip.

Do you have one you'd like to share?  I'd enjoy hearing from you: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or feel free to post a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas.

Thanks for your time and for visiting!

Is It Or Isn't It.... Plural?

That question can be a bit confusing to some little ones.  Do your students need some help with plurals?

Make it easier for them to understand, when they sort them into the plural and singular schoolhouses.

I’ve made over 100 traceable school-related word cards for singular and plural words.

Students sort the cards and then put them in the appropriate schoolhouse.

Make it a game by passing out the cards.

Play “I Have; Who Has?” i.e. “I have clock.  Who has clocks?”

Students can also alphabetize the cards, as well as make an Itty Bitty ABC Plural Booklet with them.

There’s a card for each letter except Q. I could not think of a q item that I found at school, except for maybe a Q-tip as an art supply.

There's also a certificate of praise included.

Click on the link to view/download Plural Packet.

You may want to print the anchor chart that I designed with simple spelling rules for making words plural.

I made my poster “pop” by adding 3D butterflies.  Simply print off the butterfly template.

Cut out the butterflies, bend the wings forward, put a stripe of glue down the thorax and press onto the middle of the other butterflies.  They look like they are flying!

Click on the link to view/download Plural Spelling Tip Anchor Chart.

I hope these ideas will help your students have fun while they practice perfecting their plurals!

Do pop in tomorrow for more tips and feel free to PIN anything you feel might help parents or teachers.

Do you have an idea you’d like to share?  I’d enjoy hearing from you. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or leave a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas.

Thanks in advance for making the time to comment. 

You’ll make my day! 

Crawling With Creativity!

Is anyone still doing caterpillar stuff?

Even if you’ve completed your studies, I bet you’re still assessing and need a moment of sanity.

Why not plug in anyone of these independent activities for your kiddo’s to work on?

Your students can make their own hungry caterpillar by simply coloring the template.

I made mine out of construction paper.  You can run the master off on red construction paper and students can cut eyes out of yellow and green scraps if you want to make them that way.

Cut a hole for the mouth, Scotch tape a small Baggie to the back and you’re all set to feed this hungry boy all sorts of traceable cards.

I went crazy making traceable number cards from 1-30, skip counted numbers by 2’s, 3’s, 5’s and 10’s, upper and lowercase letters, all 14 adjectives used in the book, the days of the week, the months in the year, + covers so that students can make Itty Bitty booklets to match all of the categories!

There's also cards for everything that the caterpillar ate, including black and white cards so students can color their own little My Itty Bitty Very Hungry Caterpillar book which includes the rest of the story telling cards as well.

Use word cards from other packets (such as the Dolch, CVC, Shapes, or Color word card packets) and feed to review even more concepts!

Decide which cards you want your students to work on and run those off.  Make all the sets for yourself, so that you can play “Flash Review” to nail all of those standards.

To make things even more fun, while reviewing whatever concept you want to work on, play “I Have, Who Has?” with your students. i.e., I have 3 who has 6?

I’ve also included several What’s Missing? worksheets for upper and lowercase letters as well as all of the skip counted numbers + a blank template so you can program your own skill sheets.

Students can also color a pattern on their caterpillar or play the Caterpillar Creeps dice game and review the butterfly life cycle. 

I’ve included traceable life cycle cards as well. Use them as a fun way to "review-read and feed!"

Click on the link to view/download this 50-page fun-filled packet. Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities.

Feel free to PIN anything you feel might help someone.

Scroll down for article #2 today, a Flower GLYPH!  Enjoy

Growing With Glyphs!

I LOVE glyphs and so do my students.  Here’s one celebrating those May flowers that the April showers supposedly brought in.

They are a wonderful way to whole group assess listening and following directions and because I have a “hard copy” of that, I can actually show something to parents to “prove” their child IS or ISN’T meeting that standard.

When done, the glyphs are adorable and provide a wonderful bulletin board or hallway decoration.

You can have students share them with their classmates so everyone gets to know a bit more about each other, or have them try to figure out who did which glyph through the process of elimination and give a prize to the student who has the most correct.

Click on the link for the flower glyph.

If you’d like to do another spring glyph, I also made a butterfly glyph.

Click on the link for the butterfly glyph.

Hope you can meander on over tomorrow for more creative "stuff".

I'm never sure what I'll be whipping together as I have so much fun designing new things every day. 

If there's something you're in need of and tired of searching the web for, just shoot me an e-mail and I'll see what I can do. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it I so enjoy hearing from my readers, or feel free to leave a commet here.

You can PIN anything you think parents or teachers might enjoy as well. 

Happy "Glyphing".

Spring Into The Garden and Reinforce Color and Number Words

In My Garden is another easy reader that’s great for your writing center or Daily 5 activities too.  Once students get used to these little booklets they feel empowered and it builds their self-esteem as well as their skills.

This booklet reinforces number and color words and touches on a little science as it involves insects, which can lead to a discussion of what might go on in a garden.

I’ve included 2 graphing extensions to nail that core standard as well.

Besides the graphing extensions, the booklet also offers a variety of other discussion opportunities

All of the things in the garden are seen doing something.  Do they all do the same thing?

The last page asks students how high they can count to.  Which student in your class can count the highest?  How high is that?

When everyone has completed their booklet, read it as a whole group to reinforce concepts of print and so students can take it home and enjoy sharing it with their families.

Click on the link to view/download In My Garden

You may also want to teach or read the nursery rhyme Mary How Does Your Garden Grow? I never had enough time for my nursery rhyme unit at the end ot the year, so I tried to plug in nursery rhymes throughout the year, whenever they seemed to fit with other themes.

Click on the link to view/download this  nursery rhyme. (2 anchor chart-posters)

I hope your day is filled with sunshine and flowers and that you can flutter on over tomorrow for some more tips.