Displays for Gold

I work with some of the most creative teachers. And when I say teachers I mean staff, principal, secretary, attendance clerk, etc. We love to do things with a theme. We were asked to use the upcoming Olympic games and "going for gold" as motivation to inspire our students with decorated doors to greet them before coming into the classroom for testing.
Classroom Olympic Themed Doors for Testing Motivation (in no particular order):

A lot going on and looking great!

 

You can say a lot and have a huge impact on the reader's when you keep it simple.

 Finding innovative ways to add dimension really makes your display memorable.

Don't forget to think beyond boundaries.

Keeping it student centered and student made also impacts the kids like nothing else.

Go ahead and motivate your students before they even walk in the door! Even feel free to get your cohorts to go in on a theme with you. I really think it's fun.
~ The Farmer's Wife

Motivational Continuem

Back to the Sucker Flower Pot...
I decided to up the ante to include a sucker pull. Now when students do their best with great success, they get to choose and pull a sucker from the flower pot. But wait... there's more! (That was fun! :) ) Now when students pull a sucker, they look at the bottom of the sucker in search of a red dot.

When they've pulled the red dot sucker, they additionally get a "treasure chest prize".  Oh lucky day! To entice them further, I sometime color the bottoms of the suckers in front of them - this brings out a moment of extra goodness. Mixing the dotted suckers with the non-dotted and placing them into the pot. It just gets them ready to do their best all over again.


(I love my treasure chest. It's one of the first classroom items my husband ever built for me and was made even better by a student many years ago when he took it home, painted and decorated it. Thanks, Izzy!)

By the way, did you happen to notice the jar of marbles next to my red marker? If you don't have a glass jar in action yet, get one now. Use erasers, marbles, fuzzy little whatevers to fill it with when you have a reason to reward the class. When the marbles reach the top, celebrate as a class and try to fill it up all over again.

Hope you find joy and motivation for yourself! ~ The Farmer's Wife

Attacking the Bucket List

Welcome Back from our Spring Break!

Step one on my bucket list (thanks to dots-n-spots) was to make these welcome back bags. I love them! I have to also say that I love the idea of welcoming the kids back from a short break. Remember that I said, " but the kids so give me their best right at the beginning of the year, so I'm going to try to dig back into that vibe again. Wish me luck!" Here it is - my welcome back bag with an Easter kick. Nothing is more motivating to to think you were missed and someone cares about you ~ and kiddos, I do. 

Step 2

a.) working on perfect attendance... hoping all are back at school tomorrow morning so we can earn our P for PERFECT. Just to help bait the hook, I've cooked up these yummy bird nest treats (thanks to my friend Becca who always makes Haystacks for our Christmas Cookie exchange, and a little something I saw on Pinterest) to feed my flock this Thursday.

d.) Hopping into High Gear - My students filled the marble reward jar, so I owe them, right. So, I bought a class pet. Not a real one, silly. I wouldn't be able to turn that off and testing time is NOT the right time for something that unpredictable. A FurReal  Hop 'n Cuddles Bunny.

One of my classroom rewards is time with the "class pet". I'm sure this little guy will be a big hit. Did I mention it has an OFF button?! AND NO CLEAN UP!

Other rewards for Hopping into High Gear are the reward Easter Eggs. Every egg has a prize. My bunny jar will remind students that they were "mint" to succeed. Here I'll  house my "calming" mints.

e.) Tomorrow we will be decorating our water bottle labels and I have the Hershey's Kisses ready for students to give their brains a kiss for all the hard work they've done and to have their brains ready to show what they know. 

 Now I'm still in the middle of preparing the Lucky Charms cereal in a baggie (idea from What's the Buzz in 1st ) to add some testing luck. I think it's such a great snack to eat during the test that I'm also making these for my daughter's second grade class as well!

Step 3 looks good. I'm still making my parent's "Thank You!"s, but I've started with my plan. Step 4 makes me happy and I'm excited about Monday. Step 5 is ready to go, and I swear it's making me a better person. I've been using this organizing idea  

 

at home and it's working SO WELL for the whole family. (Even my 4-year-old.)  and I'm going to post my classroom organizing calendar at 

 

by weeks end adding this goal list to it. 

I will also then put the goal list itself as a freebie at the TpT store.

Wow this has been an exciting bucket list and I can't wait to share more with you!

Good luck with your back to school and finishing up your year's Bucket List!

~ The Farmer's Wife

Blog Beginnings

I needed a place to talk about what's going on in the classroom and log all those thoughts and ideas for keeping it creative, so here I am! 

I feel it's important for you to know where I'm coming from, so here for your reading pleasure is My Philosophy on Teaching:

With harmony established in the classroom, I strive to help each child reach his or her capacity for learning. I believe children learn best when they are totally immersed in learning, and they feel good about themselves, their class, and their school. The child should be inspired to develop all of their talents and abilities; their social, physical, mental, spiritual, and aesthetic qualities should be considered and cultivated.

I view each leaner as unique; therefore, the pace at which an individual learns and various learning styles need to be addressed in terms of what is taught and how it is taught. I believe in treating students and their ideas with respect. I want students to feel free to take risks and learn from mistakes, yet have pride and ownership for their actions and work products. Children should have the opportunity to show that they have acquired knowledge, skills, strategies and competencies – that they have learned - in a variety of ways through authentic assessment practices and multiple demonstrations of mastery.

Now SPRING BREAK is upon us and it's time to focus on that bucket list for the end of the year. My next post will begin there. Hope to see you soon!

Mrs. Simmons