Use these 10 ideas to create a teachers lounge that promotes collaboration, celebration, and humor! Make your staffroom a place you love!
Create the perfect space for teachers to relax and recharge.
How to make over the teacher's lounge or staff space in your school as a teacher appreciation gift idea for PTO and PTA groups!
Man oh man, do teachers ever work hard. While I’m no longer in the classroom full time, I’ll never forget my classroom roots and the time, energy, and dedication that being an excellent educator demands. There’s just no end to the amount of mad props these teacher-heroes deserve. And as coaches, that’s what we’re dedicated to doing […]
If you read forums for teachers, job satisfaction surveys, or listen to conversation in the teachers’ lounge you will often hear a common theme in the complaints of teachers. Teachers who are unhappy feel unappreciated and unrecognized for their hard work. Although a raise would put a smile on teachers everywhere, this may not be possible with the current state of economics. Have you read Malcom Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point? One of the examples he gives in his book is the NYC subway system. George L. Kelling was hired as a consultant in 1985 to test his broken windows theory. The city cleaned the subway system of graffiti. Graffiti was quickly cleaned any time it appeared. The theory was that small crimes lead to bigger crimes. Purging the subway of graffiti was the tipping point to make the NYC subway system safer. Small crimes lead to bigger crimes. I think a few negative comments can spread quicker than 48-hour flu in a school. Soon it seems like the entire staff is infected with negativ-itis. It is possible to make teachers, staff members, and co-workers of your school feel appreciated and recognized for their hard work. The best thing is the school climate doesn't have to be the responsibility of one person in the school. Do you think your co-workers are feeling a little stressed? Do you hear more snips and snarks than comments of appreciation? Have there been changes on your campus . . . new team members, administrators, curriculum, or expectations? If this sounds familiar, you could be the change agent at your school. Sometimes it is the administrator, team leaders, or Sunshine Committee than plans school climate and community building events. But, one thing I have found through the years. Everyone loves a helping hand. If you step up to the plate, you will have their undying gratitude. After a few community building events, you will have a happier place to work. So, it is a win-win for everyone. For whatever reason, I have always enjoyed planning these type of things. I know it is crazy, right?!! I have been on a social committee for my neighborhood homeowner association, a school's Sunshine Committee, and planned monthly luncheons for my daughter's middle school. Through all of these experiences, I have picked up a few tips and tricks that make putting on a luncheon for a large group a little easier. Food brings people together, it bonds them, it is just that simple. If at all possible it is best to plan the date of your luncheon on a day when everyone can eat lunch at the same time. Do not forget to include everyone in your school family like the custodial staff and secretaries. If you do plan the luncheon on a day when you have multiple lunch periods, set out fresh food each lunch period. I just added a new School Climate packet that includes what you see above. Each luncheon has a PDF that is "PRINT & GO" prefilled for your luncheon. There is also a blank signup in the EDITABLE file so you can personalize it to fit your needs. The sign is EDITABLE, too so you can add the date, time, and place. There are also notes (6 per page) so you can write little notes of support, encouragement, thank you, and give treats. There is room that you can write a note or attach a treat. Who doesn't love to get a little note in your mailbox? Some of these are colorful and some are black & white. Look for the Positive is a system where staff members recognize other staff members. This system could also be used with students. Staff members fill out a nomination about another staff member who is: ALL HEART: A person who is kind and helpful to others. ALL STAR: A person who shines at his or her job and goes beyond what is required. ALL SMILES: A person who has a positive attitude and a joy to be around. OUR TREASURE: A person who is worth his or her weight in gold. Prizes can be whatever you want. I made these signs to hang outside classrooms to recognize teachers. I bought the supplies at Hobby Lobby. At one of my schools, the prize was a front row parking spot. That was a very popular prize! If a luncheon seems like a bigger job than you want to tackle this year, I included monthly events that are still fun, but on a smaller scale. The signs are editable so you can add the date and time. Click HERE find out more plus get a FREEBIE in the preview file. Click HERE to check out the preview file. Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.
Provide an engaging Forensics lab that assesses your students' skills over Fingerprint Analysis with The Case of the Teacher's Lounge Thief- an investigative lab activity that allows your students to take on the role of a fingerprint examiner in order to solve a crime. Your students will LOVE this activity! It is a favorite in my Forensics classes. The idea behind this investigation is to harness your acting skills and have the students assist you in trying to determine who (a student in your class) is stealing your FAVORITE sodas from the teacher’s lounge refrigerator. I have made this lab worksheet editable so that you can customize to fit your classroom needs. What's Included: ⭐Teacher Instructions and Set-Up Guide with Pictures ⭐EDITABLE & CUSTOMIZABLE Student Lab Sheet (2 pages) ⭐Fingerprint Ten Card Skills covered in this activity include: ⭐ Methods for making prints visible ⭐Procedures for dusting prints ⭐Comparing suspect prints to evidence prints ⭐Identifying common patterns in fingerprints You might also like these other FORENSICS resources... • FORENSICS ACTIVITY: FINGERPRINT SCAVENGER HUNT • Forensics Worksheet: DNA, Fibers, Fingerprints & Hairs Vocabulary Assignment • Fingerprint Science Doodles [Forensics Worksheet] • Real Life Forensics: Fingerprint Case Study [worksheet] • Forensic Science: Investigative Processes Classroom Escape Activity • Forensics Case Study Project: Making a Murderer (Steven Avery) • Forensics Lab Activity: Chain of Custody and Evidence Collection ★BEST VALUE- CHECK OUT MY COMPLETE INTRO TO FORENSICS UNIT BUNDLE AND SAVE 50%! THAT'S 1/2 OFF!!!★ Connect with me: ❤️Newsletter ❤️Blog ❤️Facebook ❤️Instagram ❤️Pinterest TPT Customer Tips: How to get TPT credit to use on future purchases: *Please go to your My Purchases page (you may need to login). Beside each purchase you'll see a Provide Feedback button. Simply click it and you will be taken to a page where you can give a quick rating and leave a short comment for the product. Each time you give feedback, TPT gives you feedback credits that you use to lower the cost of your future purchases. Feedback and ratings are most greatly appreciated. Be the first to know about my sales, discounts, freebies and new products: *Look for the green star next to my store logo (THE TRENDY SCIENCE TEACHER) and click it to become a follower. That's it! You will now receive email updates about this store.
Teacher morale is an important part of the school community. Teachers are unique, we are used to fending for ourselves, and pulling ourselves out of even the deepest of funks. This doesn't mean we don't like a little morale booster from time to time.
So much Twitter love from my post about my walls this year. Y’all know how to make a girl feel good! I don’t have my lesson plans ready, and am not entirely sure what I’m doing on…
Inspiring Art Room Doors. Lately, I've seen some truly inspiring art room doors posted by art teachers on social media.
Create the perfect space for teachers to relax and recharge.
Welcome to Schoolgirl Style's "Printable Classroom Decor Bundle" collection, where convenience meets creativity to transform your learning space into a cohesive, inspiring environment effortlessly. Our meticulously designed printable bundles are more than just decor sets; they are comprehensive solutions that bring style, organization, and a touch of magic to every corner of your classroom. At Schoolgirl Style, we understand that when it comes to classroom decor ideas for preschool, elementary, middle school or high school, every detail matters. Shop in STYLE with our diverse selection of Classroom Decorations, Bulletin Board Borders, Classroom Rugs, Bulletin Board Paper, and Printable Classroom Decor, personally curated by Melanie Ralbusky, Founder and Creative Director. Whether you're in search of Teacher Resources, Seasonal inspiration, or delightful Teacher lifestyle additions, Schoolgirl Style stands as your one stop Teacher Shop. Welcome to UPRINT, the printable classroom decor category at Schoolgirl Style. Our UPRINT collection is a treasure trove of creativity, offering educators the power to customize and personalize their learning spaces with ease. Elevate your classroom aesthetics with the convenience of printable decor that brings style, organization, and a touch of magic to every corner of your educational haven. The goodness included in the UPRINT bundle: Six (6) UPRINT borders Floral Cut-Outs (regular and XL) Beautiful Day ICH A-Z DIY Wood Grain ICH Strong Coffee & Calm Students ICH Staff Announcements Posters Mini Poster Set 17x23 Poster Set Available in: UPRINT ~ digital PDF & PPT files sent to your email! Collection for Personal Use Only. Please do not share, distribute or copyright the files.
Use these 10 ideas to create a teachers lounge that promotes collaboration, celebration, and humor! Make your staffroom a place you love!
I’ve always loved being so involved with my son’s school. I previously was the Activities Director for our PTO and after taking off a year, I’m now the Vice President of Communications. Being so involved in his school has given me the chance to build great relationships with the teachers and administration at his school […]
This makeover is near and dear to me because not only did Jen sign up for my 30-Day August Upgrade Room Challenge, but because this makeover took place at my son's elementary school! :)
Building and keeping staff morale strong is a direct result of continued action throughout the year. This ongoing process does require effort, but it's well worth it to make your staff feel appreciated on a daily basis. One of my best tips for making it a little easier is creating a Staff Morale Hub or Staff Sunshine Corner at your school. Set this up once and watch as your staff form meaningful bonds and connections throughout the year! What is a Staff Morale Hub? First off, if you're wondering what I'm talking about, let me explain. A staff morale hub, also known as a staff sunshine corner, is a central location where staff can go to find goodies and notices related to them. Ideally, it should be a little corner that's big enough for a cart or table, and have a bit of wall space for displays. This area is usually outside of the principal's office, or in the staff lounge so it's easy to access and most staff see it regularly. The idea behind a staff morale hub or staff sunshine station is to have a place where staff can find things that will encourage them, thank them, support them, and overall help boost morale. Holiday event notices should be here, as well as sign-ups for potlucks, and even special treats! As the coordinator for the Sunshine Committee for many years at my school, I loved getting this area set up because it was one of the best ways to make staff feel appreciated on a daily basis. Set-Up & Materials Before we can decorate and add all the goodies, you'll want to make sure you have an area that will work. Talk to your principal and/or other administrators about where a good spot for this might be. Then, you'll want to make sure you have a couple of clear walls. Corner spots work well for this purpose! And finally, you'll want to secure some kind of table or cart to place everything on. In my school, we used a large media cart for this job. It was tall enough to be table height, had storage space underneath, and was easy to roll in and out! What Goes in a Staff Morale Hub? Now, on to the fun stuff, stocking your staff morale hub! This is the really fun part, where you get to instill personality and plenty of sunshine into your Staff Morale Hub. Remember, the idea is to help staff feel appreciated, supported, and like they're all part of one big family. Being intentional in choosing materials that will support that goal is key. Here are 13, fun things I recommend stocking your Staff Sunshine Corner with for maximum effectiveness: 1. Staff Bulletin Board On the large wall behind your cart, I recommend using a bulletin board or making a mock one on the wall. This comes in handy for hanging important notices, event posters, and even fun memes to make the staff laugh. In the spirit of spreading sunshine, I always used bright and happy colors for this along with a fun header like this one. Feel free to get creative with this and add seasonal decor too! These small touches help bring your staff morale hub to life. 2. Staff Shout-Out Board If you happened to secure a corner for your staff morale hub, I recommend using the smaller wall on the side of your table or cart of a Staff Shout-Out Board. This simple idea encourages staff to recognize each other for acts of kindness and service. it has a way of snowballing and spreading sunshine like crazy too! To prep this, print out a staff shoutout board here and provide staff with post-its and markers. You can even print it poster size and place it in a large frame if you want to go the extra mile. Then, add a few notes to get the ball rolling and watch the shout-outs multiply. 3. District Calendar While the staff morale hub is mostly for spreading sunshine and boosting morale, it should also be practical. Adding a district calendar to your main bulletin board is a must! You can also add any important notices specific to your district as well. Make sure to set a reminder to swap these out seasonally, if needed! 4. Check-In Sunshine Corner This can be used for lots of different things, but it seems like it's most often used for sign-ups. At my school, we had a lot of events, so whatever was upcoming was always placed on the Sunshine Corner bulletin board. That way staff could quickly check and see if they were interested in participating. Some schools also require a daily check-in for staff. In which case, this Sunshine Corner bulletin board would be perfect for that! This helps to get staff to the area daily and they can take a quick peek at the board and see what's coming up. 5. Basket of Blank Thank You Notes This is such a simple add-on to your staff morale hub but it truly makes a world of difference! Grab a basket or bucket and fill it with blank Thank-You cards. I found a bunch at the dollar store. Then, as staff need them, they can grab a card or two to use. Over the years, I found that staff often brought in their own cards to donate as well and spread the gratitude! 6. Staff Address Book At one point, our district stopped sharing staff contact information. At my school, we were used to sending cards to each other at various times throughout the year, so I made a Staff Address Book for anyone who wanted to participate. The Staff Sunshine Corner is a great place to store this book in case anyone wants to send a thank you note, holiday card, or get well card to a staff member. 7. Staff Favorites Book The Staff Morale Hub is also a great place to store a Staff Favorites Book. This is a binder or booklet filled with forms that share everyone's favorite things. Some of the items on the list include favorite hot drinks, fast food, candy, pens, and more! I always passed out these forms at the beginning of the year, then filled up a binder and left this out for staff to access as needed. 8. Candy Bowl Goodies of some kind are another must for this area, in my opinion! At my school, my principal liked to take on the responsibility of keeping this stocked. You can also fund this in other ways as well, or take turns filling it by grade level. No matter what you choose, it's nice to have a little treat available for staff at all times in the staff morale hub. 9. Staff Birthday Display I don't know about you guys, but our school LOVED celebrating birthdays! In my school, I always made sure there was a spot on the bulletin board for the current monthly birthday display, as well as the bound birthday book. We all know how busy the school year gets. So, when we can take a minute to show your staff that you remember their special day it makes a big impact on morale! As an extra special bonus, the bound book was a way to peek at upcoming birthdays and the display showed the ones for the current month. Our staff always loved seeing whose birthday was coming up, and then flipping through the Staff Favorites Book to surprise them with something they enjoyed! 10. Kindness Plates This area is also a great spot to store some Kindness Plates for staff to pass around. If you've never heard of them before, they're easy and fun to use. Here's the idea: a Kindness Plate gets filled with a special treat, lunch, office supplies, or other fun goodies. Then it gets left for a teacher or staff member. That person gets to enjoy everything on the plate, and then it's their turn to fill it and gift it to someone else. At my school, we had 5 Kindness Plates in rotation all year long. Our rule of thumb was that once you received it, the kindness plate would be filled up again and passed on within a week. This is a fun way to encourage staff members, say thank you, or just spread a little sunshine! 11. Staff BINGO This next idea takes up a fair bit of wall space, but it's great to display in an adjacent area to your Staff Sunshine Corner. Staff BINGO is a fun way to reinvigorate your team and recognize them for all the things they do. Each page on the large BINGO board lists something the staff might do in their daily work. Each day they check the board and see if they completed anything on the board. If they did, they signed their name in that spot. The idea is to get 5 in a row to get a BINGO! This ongoing game is a lot of fun, and if you use Astrobrights paper it really brightens up a room too! 12. Collection Envelope for Staff In Need This is an extra added touch, that hopefully you won't need. In the case that you have a staff member who is very sick, in the hospital for an extended amount of time, or otherwise in need, you can start a collection envelope. This is where staff can leave monetary donations to help the staff member and their family out. Staff might also want to drop encouraging notes here as well! 13. Random Acts of Kindness Tear-Offs Last but not least, we all need a few more random acts of kindness in our lives, don't we?! This is one of my favorites on the list because it promotes genuine and kind acts among staff that seem to boost morale more than anything else. These tear-off posters offer simple prompts that staff can choose from to pay it forward in some way. It's as simple as tearing or cutting off a prompt and taking it with you to remind yourself to make someone else's day extra special. The prompts include things like bragging about the principal, filling the candy bowl, bringing a colleague a special treat, or bringing a vase of fresh flowers for the lounge. These small acts pay off BIG, and staff love grabbing them as they pass the Staff Morale Hub! Use a Staff Sunshine Corner All Year So what do you think? Could your school benefit from a Staff Morale Hub or a Sunshine Corner? I sure think so! This project takes a little time to prepare, but I know you'll LOVE it once it's set up. Working with administrators, your principal, or the Sunshine Committee is a great way to get this set up in your school and reap the benefits of it all year long! If you're looking for more ideas on spreading sunshine and boosting staff morale, be sure to check out these posts too: 8 Staff Morale Boosters Holiday Staff Party and Gift Ideas Fun Fall Staff Morale Ideas Boost Staff Morale During a New School Year Save This Post Pin this post on Pinterest to keep these ideas for your Staff Morale Hub handy!
The school year hasn't even ended for me yet, and I'm already thinking of next year! I love the lap books that I see on Pinterest and TpT so I decided to take a go at it and create an All About Me Lap Book for the beginning of the school year. Take a peek... The foldables includes Favorites - kiddos write 3 of their favorite things This Summer I... - What did you do this summer? Classmates - Who's in your class this year? (classmates can autograph this or students can write their classmates names) Snapshot of My Life - Question on each lens (My birthday, I live with, I'm really good at, I was born in (city & state)) Facts About Me - Kiddos write down facts about themselves that they would like to share My Super Power - If you could have one super power, what would it be? Get your All About Me Lap Book Here: All About Me Lap Book
Hand drawn doodle vintage digital frames. This cute frame set includes 15 retro inspired designs - curly, ornate and elegant. These delicate frame illusrations will be perfect for wedding and other special occasion themed crafts - scrapbooking, as photo overlays, for stationery, home decor, stickers, printing on T-shirts and much more - the possiblities are endless! You will receive: * 15 separate images; * High resolution 300 dpi PNG with transparent background; * Image size from 5 - 8 inches at the widest point; * Graphics as shown in the listing; * One .zip folder with the files; *** Please be aware that this is a digital item, no physical item will be shipped to you! *** Remember that colors of the digital items may vary depending on your monitor settings, printer you are using and paper you are planning to print on. Be sure to print a test sheet before printing the final amount of whatever you are planning to use Pixel Garden designs for. ♥ Other frame sets available here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PixelGardenDesign?ref=l2-shopheader-name&search_query=frames ♥ More fantastic hand drawn designs: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PixelGardenDesign?ref=hdr_shop_menu§ion_id=19195790 ♥ Back to the shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/pixelgardendesign By purchasing a Pixel Garden product you agree to the terms of use stated in the shop policies: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PixelGardenDesign/policy?ref=shopinfo_policies_leftnav All images are copyright © Pixel Garden. All rights reserved.
Happy teachers mean happy students. Here is a list of ways to build morale, support teacher wellbeing and have fun as a teaching team at school.
Get inspired by our collection of clever event themes, activities, gifts, and other teacher appreciation ideas from parent groups across the country.
Teacher job satisfaction makes a difference in everything school-related and even affect student achievement. Here are some ideas to help keep it top notch.
Take lounging to the next level with our super comfy bean bag that will look great in your living space.Product DetailsBean bag fill not included. Available hereSuitable for ages: 3+ yearsDimensions/Size: 120cm (H) x 49cm (W) x 49cm (D)Material: Polyester, steel and nylonColour: WhiteFeaturesDurable fabricFeatures a child-resistant zip fastener200 litres beans required2 bags of bean refills requiredAdditional InformationSuitable for indoor use onlyCare instructions: Clean according to instructions on the care labelWarning: Children can suffocate if bean bag filling is swallowed or inhaled. Do not let children climb inside this bean bag. A bean bag is not a safe sleeping surface for an infant under 12 months of age.
