Wellll, I am not sure how bright these ideas
are, but they are my favorite easy peasy lemon squeezy things I do in my room.
This isn’t genius anything so don’t be prepared to be mind blown. Haha!
are, but they are my favorite easy peasy lemon squeezy things I do in my room.
This isn’t genius anything so don’t be prepared to be mind blown. Haha!
First, I don’t do classroom jobs. Gasp! I
know. Deep breathes. You can keep reading. I have had ten jobs and even twenty-two
jobs in the past but I was always forgetting
who did what and when. I felt like I was
chasing my tail. Then, my I noticed how my genius teaching partner handled
classroom jobs and it was like LAAAAA….(cue in angelic light and music). She
had a Super Star of the day, as one ONE kid has ALL jobs. What?? How could this work? I would only have to remember one kid's name for jobs? She had star die cuts on a ring hanging on her calendar
wall. She changed the star each day. So, I ran over to my room and dug in my die
cut basket thingy. No stars. Bummer. At last…hearts. I can do that, right? Cue
in the Sweetheart of the Day. Genius!
know. Deep breathes. You can keep reading. I have had ten jobs and even twenty-two
jobs in the past but I was always forgetting
who did what and when. I felt like I was
chasing my tail. Then, my I noticed how my genius teaching partner handled
classroom jobs and it was like LAAAAA….(cue in angelic light and music). She
had a Super Star of the day, as one ONE kid has ALL jobs. What?? How could this work? I would only have to remember one kid's name for jobs? She had star die cuts on a ring hanging on her calendar
wall. She changed the star each day. So, I ran over to my room and dug in my die
cut basket thingy. No stars. Bummer. At last…hearts. I can do that, right? Cue
in the Sweetheart of the Day. Genius!
At the very beginning of the day I give clues as to who the sweetheart is. Clues can be “this person is a boy”, “this person's name has three syllables” “this person's name starts with the same beginning sound as fish”, etc. The Sweetheart of the Day takes the lunch
count to the cafeteria, runs notes to the office, passes out papers, helps with
calendar, picks our “special” song of the day, etc. The cool part is that the
sweetheart gets to pick one friend that is obeying the rules at that moment to
help them. They must alternate between boys and girls and no one can be picked
twice in one day to help. The kids LOVE it!
count to the cafeteria, runs notes to the office, passes out papers, helps with
calendar, picks our “special” song of the day, etc. The cool part is that the
sweetheart gets to pick one friend that is obeying the rules at that moment to
help them. They must alternate between boys and girls and no one can be picked
twice in one day to help. The kids LOVE it!
My second favorite idea is my Birthday Box. Birthdays can be a hassle sometimes. Let’s be
honest. Birthdays are important though. Sometimes it is the only celebrating
kids do, is the one at school. I often
don’t have brain power to be on top of birthdays AND teaching. Imagine. I know.
So, I keep a birthday box. During the summer, I purchase certificates and sign
all of them ahead of time. I put them in the box along with a birthday banner,
birthday stickers, readers (ones I have gotten with scholastic points or found
as a dollar deal), and “treasures”. Each student gets their own book,
certificate, treasure, and sticker to wear. We sing the normal Happy Birthday
song and then a special birthday song. Birthdays are no longer stressful in my
room because all I have to do is pull down the box and wha la, everything is
there and ready.
honest. Birthdays are important though. Sometimes it is the only celebrating
kids do, is the one at school. I often
don’t have brain power to be on top of birthdays AND teaching. Imagine. I know.
So, I keep a birthday box. During the summer, I purchase certificates and sign
all of them ahead of time. I put them in the box along with a birthday banner,
birthday stickers, readers (ones I have gotten with scholastic points or found
as a dollar deal), and “treasures”. Each student gets their own book,
certificate, treasure, and sticker to wear. We sing the normal Happy Birthday
song and then a special birthday song. Birthdays are no longer stressful in my
room because all I have to do is pull down the box and wha la, everything is
there and ready.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Now, I told you this wasn't rocket science but I hope you liked one of these Bright Ideas. The ideas don’t stop
there (aren't you relieved? Haha!). Hop on to the next person and see what
tricks they have up their sleeves. Click the pic to take you to Whimsy Workshop Teaching!
there (aren't you relieved? Haha!). Hop on to the next person and see what
tricks they have up their sleeves. Click the pic to take you to Whimsy Workshop Teaching!
I hope you come back and visit. You can follow me here or on
Facebook. Love and virtual hugs.
Facebook. Love and virtual hugs.
document.write(”);
document.write(”);
Susanna Westby says
Thanks for linking up to me! I can totally relate about the cleaning up charts! I've had SO many different systems over the years. I'm going to try your idea! Another thing that helped me was purchasing a few long brooms – they LOVE being chosen as the Super Sweeper to clean the room – go figure! lol
Susanna
Whimsy Workshop Teaching
Jennifer White says
Super cute ideas! I don't do assigned classroom jobs, either! =)
Jennifer
First Grade Blue SKies
Jenny Ames says
I could never manage the job chart. Glad I know I'm not alone.
Lesson Plan Diva-Teaching Resources says
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
Lori says
I did one helper of the day too when I was in the classroom! Having lots of helpers was just too much for me to keep up with. Love how you turn it into something extra special with the clues to who it will be!
Lori
Conversations in Literacy
Kinder Alphabet says
Great idea! This is so much easier to manage.
-Lidia
KinderAlphabet
Kimberly S. says
Great idea to make bdays less stressful! thanks for sharing.
-Kimberly
LittleMrsPreschool
Mandy Myers says
We have a birthday box too. I think I need to add some more interesting things to it though.
Thanks for the great idea about the class helper.
Mandy
A Special Kind of Class
Jacii says
I'm curious what your special birthday song is!