Recognizing Positive Behavior with Tags

Praise tags...why are they so effective?  It's a tag that a child is proud of!  They received it because of something specific accomplished. It's something that they earn.  

These tags take me back to when Cady and Trey, my kiddos who are now 21 & 20, were in elementary school. They had a PE teacher that did something similar to positive behavior tags.  For so many laps/miles run Mrs. Stone would give out a small rubber foot that could be placed on their shoestring. It was a HUGE deal to get that foot.  Tonight I asked them if they remembered those feet and it sparked some great memories of childhood. Now if Mrs. Stone had given trinkets from a treasure chest I don't think it would have made the same impact.  Those feet stayed on those shoestrings all throughout the school year and they were so proud of them!!! 

Motivate your kiddos to work hard, play hard, and build character with praise tags.  It's simple and inexpensive: print, laminate and cut! I think storing in storage drawers like the pic below is the best way to keep them organized.

I'm always looking for ways to engage and motivate kiddos so when Sayward asked if I could create some tags I was all about it!!! I'll be sharing these with my teachers at school this year!!! I can't wait to see them swinging on the zippers of back packs in the hallways.  

How do students keep up with these  tags?  

1.  Purchase binder or book rings to place on the zipper or strap of their back packs.  Hole punch the brag tags and place them on the ring.

Book Rings

2.  Purchase lanyards and hang in an area in your classroom.  Hole punch the brag tags and place them on the lanyard.  If you choose this method make sure you have designated days that the kiddos can where them home and show them off.

3.  Purchase lanyards to use for both name tags and praise tags.  Hole punch the brag tags and place them on the lanyard.  If you choose this method make sure you have designated days that the kiddos can where them home and show them off.

Name Tag/Praise Tag Lanyard

Grab the whole set of Praise Tags HERE.

HUGE Phonics Games Bundle

This is a HUGE Phonics Games Bundle. The game boards are all the same format but the pictures and skills change with each game. I used these for the entire year with my first graders and they loved them. They are simple and engaging. I used as a choice in my Word Work center for Daily Five. Perfect for Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade literacy centers. Print and laminate for a year's worth of activities.

Contents included:

26 different phonics games ready for your word work
literacy centers

• Backpack Attack Short a & ck
• Big Pig     Short i
• Socks the Ox Short o
• Ellie the Elephant Short e
• Looking on the Bright Side Suffix ing
• Fun in the Sun Short u
• Shelby the Shark sh & th
• Don’t Be Late for the Plane Long a a-e
• Mike the Kite Long i i-e
• Jump Rope with Hope Long o o-e
• Pete the Mule Long u&e u-e e-e
• Lee the Bee Long e ee
• My Fuzzy Puppy Y sounds like i or e
• Don’t Get Skunked nk & ng
• Happily Hopping Suffix ing
• Super Girl to the Rescue er, ur, ir
• The Fudge Shop dge
• Play the Train Game ai & ay
• Knead the Bread ea
• Row Row Row Your Boat oa & ow
• Mighty Flies igh & ie
• Somewhere Over the Rainbow Compound Words
• Take a Dip in the Pool oo
• Don’t Tattle on the Turtle -le endings
• Shout Out to the Clowns ou & ow
• A Good Book oo

PHONICS GAMES

Markdown Monday

I've linked up with Kelly and Kim's Kindergarten Kreations for Markdown Monday.  

I'm offering my best seller for 1/2 price through July 24!!! You can grab Ruby Bridges for just $2!!! It is kid tested and teacher approved!!! My kiddos loved learning all about Ruby and creating both the craftivity and the lap book.  Other teachers and kiddos approve too!  Take a peek at some of the feedback I've gotten:

Deborah D. said, "SO many wonderful activities. My kids really enjoyed learning about Ruby during Black History Month. This was a huge hit across the school, Thank you!"

Rachel R. said, "Absolutely one of the best purchases I have ever made from teachers pay teachers! Thank you so much!"

The craftivity includes a writing piece and makes a 

fantastic display!!

The lap book will keep your students engaged in the learning!!!

You can get a copy of Ruby HERE OR HERE!!!!

To find more markdowns click on the Markdown Monday picture at the top of this post.

Oh Snap!! It's Almost Back to School!!!

One of my favorite activities for back to school is this Back to School Craftivity and Lap Book.  The first week of school is always so exciting! With this craftivity and book your kiddos make you have a first week or open house display that is the awesome! As an added bonus it gives you several activities for that first week!!

 Me in My New Classroom

These next items are great to help with organization in your classroom during those first few hectic days! My Where Are We and How We Get Home clip charts help you keep up with how your kiddos get home and lets others know where you are during your school day!

How We Get Home Clip Chart Bright Colors

How We Get Home

Where Are We Clip Chart

If you are looking for a different theme for your classroom I have both a Mustache Classroom Theme and A Gnome Classroom Theme.

Book Study: Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites Strategy 3 Field Trips

"The purpose of the brain is not to make good grades or to score high on standardized tests. The brain has but one purpose-survival in the real world." WoW! What a powerful statement and a great lead into the 3rd strategy, field trips.  Okay, okay, I'll confess....one of my least favorite activities is going on a field trip.  I was not a fan but....now after reading about how effective field trips are I am feeling GUILTY!!!! Get those babies out of the classroom and let them experience their learning in the real world. Research shows that concrete experiences enable the brain to store a great deal of information. (Westwater & Wolfe, 2000)  

Something else that really really stuck with me is that we need to take our kiddos on the field trip BEFORE we teach the unit!!! When I did go on a field trip I would usually take it at the end of a unit instead of the beginning. It was always the culminating event.  However, if you take them before you begin the unit then they can link their learning with prior knowledge. GENIUS!!! Why didn't I know this earlier in my teaching career???? Now that we know better we will do better!

Sometimes money and time are factors that interfere with taking field trips so check out these links for virtual field trips.  

Ten of the Best Virtual Field Trips

5 Best Virtual Field trips

Virtual Field Trips Pinterest Board

Learning Expeditions: Rethinking Field Trips