Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... That is the sound of a crazy month at school that has come to an end.
I am uber blessed this year to have a great class of kiddos, which made this December a little different than other years..... But nevertheless, it was still nutty and very busy!
For the past 2 years (in order to maintain a little sanity throughout December) I have introduced my students to a 'ticket system'. Last year I ran it a lot different (see post here). This year, I purchased a roll of tickets and gave students tickets for various things
(i.e. agenda signed, having books out on desk without being told, completing homework, beating their mad minute math scores, demonstrating kindness etc.).
The students held onto their tickets until the last day of school before the break and then put their tickets in for various prizes. Last year I held an auction, but this year I decided to do a blind raffle.
I purchased various items within the last month to raffle off.
Here are a few:
I wrapped each prize so that no "pickiness" or "greed" set in!
I numbered each prize and a numbered brown bag to match.
20 prizes were up for grabs!
The students walked around with their earned tickets and dropped them into the bags of choice. They were not allowed to touch or pick up any of the prizes. Just a good ol' fashion game of chance!
The rules--> -NO complaining or saying "that's not fair", as every student had tickets to use. The more you earned throughout the month of December, the better your chances.
-Clapping and positive words only for the students that won.
-Some students may win 0, 1, 2.... or more! It was raffle of chance.
At the end of the raffle, I then gave out my little gift to the students. Every year I struggle with what to give them (as they have so much).
So I made these:
Homework Passes
Their reaction was priceless. BEST GIFT EVER, yet so easy.
When I check the students agendas and homework each morning, they can use this pass (one time) to forego a homework check if they did not complete it and will not lose a recess to catch up. Or, they may use them to extend a due date on an assignment by 1 day.
As for gifts for my colleagues in the portable, I decided to make t-shirts to commemorate our year so far....
"Portable People"
Livin' off the grid since September 2014.
So there ya have it!
A little behaviour management tool and a little gift idea if you're stumped for something to give your upper grade kiddos.
Have a wonderful Christmas Break!
~Kaitlin~
You really make it seem so simple with your presentation but I find this topic before really hard to understand
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