Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Do you find yourself answering questions about the directions that you just gave your class? Does your voice get hoarse from repeating yourself? Do you feel like you have tried everything but still your students aren't listening? Observe your class during their lesson with the librarian or school counselor. Look for signs of active listening. Sometimes we assume that our students are actively listening when they are quiet. This isn't always true. Listening is a skill like reading or playing soccer that you need to practice in order to improve. You can promote and practice active listening when giving directions for an assignment: Engage your students when giving important directions. Example: "Boys and girls hold up one first and repeat after me, the first step of this assignment is ____", (class repeats while holding up one finger), "Now class hold up 2 fingers and repeat, the second step of what I will do is _____", (class repeats while holding up two fingers), continue until all of the directions are given. If your class is sitting at their table or desk, you can ask them to stand up when they repeat what you say, and sit down when they listen to you. Movement helps engage them and with the wiggles. Sponge activities that improve listening skills: Teacher or student leader says: If you can hear me tap your chin. If you can hear me jump 2 times. If you can hear me flap your arms like a chicken. If you can hear me touch your left elbow. Mental math: teacher or student leader gives math problems to the class. Great activity to use when class is waiting in line. 4 + 2 + 6 + 1 = __ 7 + 5 + 5 + 8 + 2 = __ In order to actively listen, students need to concentrate on what the speaker is saying. This skill requires stamina. Practice! Practice! Practice! Assessing listening skills can be done formally and informally. You will notice that you have to repeat directions less often as your students' listening skills improve (informal assessment). It is helpful if you have a baseline of where your students begin to see how they improve during the school year. Listening skills can cause academic and behavior problems for students. This is one more tool to add to your teacher toolbox. Listen and Draw is an activity that is a non-threatening way to assess your students' listening skills. I recommend doing activities like these at the beginning of the year and at least once a month throughout the year. It is helpful documentation for parent-teacher conference, R.T.I., and other times when you are looking at behavior or academic issues. Listening skills impact many areas in the classroom. I have a FREE sample that you can use with your class. Click HERE for a FREE sample. Listen & Draw - PLUS: includes additional materials that the other files do not include. These materials include: QR Codes, MP3 files, assessment tools, brag tags, and happy notes. Listen & Draw - Inferences & Superhero lessons are a big hit with students! Listen & Draw - Fall / Autumn Listen & Draw - Winter Listen & Draw - Spring Listen & Draw - Summer Listen & Draw - BUNDLE (includes the files above) Listen & Draw - Christmas Listen & Draw - Ocean Listen & Draw - CVC Words Listen & Draw - R Controlled Words Listen & Draw - Poetry - FREE Listen & Draw - CVC Words - FREE Listen & Draw - R-Controlled Words - FREE How do you promote active listening? Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

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.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

Are you on the Sunshine Committee this year? Some schools call it Social Committee. Whatever the name, it serves the same purpose. Usually there is a little arm twisting at the beginning of the year to get staff members to pay their dues. If your school normally doesn't allow the staff to wear jeans, you might ask your administrator if your committee could give people who pay dues a "Jean Day Coupon" that allows teachers to wear jeans on one day of their choosing. It's like a "get out of jail" card. Through the years, there has been some grumbling at some of my schools about our committee. I think this happens when there are not clear cut guidelines. There needs to be guidelines in writing and transparency with the finances. Here are a few topics to discuss when you are ready to write some guidelines: Leadership: officers and their duties I highly recommend the treasurer giving a report at the faculty meetings at least quarterly. Boss Day in October: Will the committee purchase the gift? If so, what is the budget? Appreciation Day/Week: Which staff members do you recognize? How and what is the budget? Morale booster activities: when and budget Staff parties: When, where, budget Showers: baby/wedding - Does the committee provide anything for the shower, if so what is the budget. Is it for the first baby and first wedding or other? Death: Does the committee send something from the faculty? If so, what and what is the budget? What relationship to the staff member should it be when you do this? I.E. Immediate family member Holidays: Does the committee purchase holiday gifts for any staff members? If so, who and what is the budget? I typed up a few things that I have done at some of my schools that you might like, too. These are fun activities that boost morale. Do you have a staff member that is your PTA representative? If the PTA ask you for suggestions, you might suggest that they organize food during your conferences. I helped organize this at my daughter's middle school. Her school had a week of Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students had school for half a day and then teachers met with parents the other half. Our PTA organized food the first three days for the teachers. We knew that the teachers had conferences at different times and wouldn't eat at the same time so the food had to stay fresh for a long time. We organized a salad bar one day, a nacho bar another day, and heavy appetizers the final day. This was the most popular thing that our committee organized. Click HERE to download this freebie. Looking for more tips? Check out my Beginning of the Year Pinterest board. Click on the picture below. Fern has a few tips to share with you, too. Be sure to hop over to her blog! Each week, Fern and I will share a teacher tip. We love to read teacher blogs and the latest teacher idea books and hope you do, too! Stop by Fern's blog and my blog each week for our latest tips. We hope you will share your ideas, too. Each week we will choose one person who shared a tip on our blog who will get a $10 shopping trip. We will announce the winner on the following Tuesday's post. Click HERE to read Melinda's tip. Do you have a staff morale booster tip to share? Be sure to include your email so I can contact you if you're the winner of the $10 shopping trip. You must leave your email address in order to win. Looking for more ideas? Click on the pictures below. An InLinkz Link-up Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

What did I forget now? Does this sound familiar? It is very easy to get overwhelmed when you have too much to do and so little time to do it. The Boy Scout's motto, be prepared, is the best way I have found to help with feeling overwhelmed. Organize your forms that you use frequently in folders or a binder. Have multiple copies ready to go. Color copies work best for important reminders. Keep of stack of "speeding tickets" with you when you grade papers. Attach a speeding ticket to students' papers when they speed (rush) through their work. Redoing the assigning plus parents seeing the speeding ticket on their child's assignments has a magical way of slowing down students during work time. Use a variety of forms if you do not get the response you need the first time. Start with a small note like the orange one in the picture above. It can be stapled to make a bracelet or attach it as a ring around the student's backpack loop. If those two ways don't work, use a bigger note like the pink one above. Kids often talk about what level they are on when discussing their favorite game. Getting to the next level of the game motivates them and gives them a sense of accomplishment. You can do this with the charts like the ones above. One way you can organize this: Each student begins with the first level chart - bookworm chart. Keep the chart in either their book box, Daily 5 folder, or reading homework folder. You set the goals for your students. You can have different goals for each reading group or the same goal for your class. Suggested goals: Read one book Return weekly reading log Read for 30 minutes When students achieve the goal they earn a sticker, stamp, or hole punch on their chart. Students earn a prize when they fill their chart. Give students a new chart which is the next level when they complete a chart. Soon you will hear your students discussing which level of the reading motivational system they are currently on. With this system, you are rewarding EFFORT not reading level. Students who work hard will advance to the next level. Keeping your students accountable for their reading is a topic you often hear when teachers are together. Students can chart what they read in the examples above. Your students can keep these in their reading homework folders or reading boxes. Keep a couple of class sets of these handy for those times when the copier is on the fritz. Build positive relationships with students and parents from the first week of school. Happy phone calls, emails, or notes are wonderful way to show your students (and parents) that you recognize happy things about your class. If you don't have a lot of time, you can quickly staple a note like the one above into a bracelet or the backpack loop of a student who did something great that day. It is quick and positive! **I have found parents are more receptive to sad notes (behavior charts) if you have sent home, emailed, or called to say positive things about their child. It never fails, your students will fall off track at the most inopportune time. But, if you are following the Boy Scout motto, you will quickly have them back on track. Have a stack of behavior charts in your files so you can work as a team with your students and parents when this happens. Charts are a quick and easy way to communicate with parents. I just added these Pencil Management printables and Brag Tags to Behavior 101 and the Bundle below. Here is a sneak peek: How do you prepare for the new school year? The forms from this post can be found: (click below) Behavior 101 Busy Teacher Forms Bundle - Save money Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.