My birthday was months ago but yesterday I received a great gift. YOU were THERE. For your kids in Primary, for us. You were there and it was TRULY wonderful to see all your bright shining happy faces, happy to be there with us in Primary. Primary was so peaceful; I didn't have to scramble to find subs for you. Those who were not there found subs ahead of time. From every fiber of my being, THANK YOU. Seriously, I wanted to hug you all as you left and thank you for this sweet gift. Be glad I didn't. ;)
Since you gave me such a nice gift, I wanted to share one with all of you: Our favorite secret for smooth class times....
MOTIVATION WITHOUT SUGAR :D
We all love a bit of sugar, especially when lunch is necessarily stretched by an hour or so. However, our Stake Primary presidency has asked us to remember that snacks are ok ONLY when they pertain to the lesson. Otherwise, they often serve more as a distraction/mess than a reward. Believe me, I know it's hard to refrain from bringing goodies to good kiddos, but we need to remember the reason behind the rule:
Rewards change incentives away from the act to the reward itself. When we start giving rewards for expected standards of behavior, we too often hear, "What will I get if I'm good?" The giving of rewards for appropriate classroom behavior implies that such behavior is not inherently worthwhile.
Our goal is to assist students to be self-disciplined and independent problem-solvers. Yet, rewards set up students to be dependent upon external stimuli. The decision to reward your students with objects should be more often an exception than the rule. Often we don't put enough emphasis on positive reinforcement.
So, with that, help the children you teach/lead to understand their expectations in the classroom/meeting with the following ideas:The students need to be a part of creating the rules, rewards and consequences. If it is meaningful to them they are more likely to participate and they know what to expect. Children like consistency and they like to know what is going to happen when they are good and what is going to happen if they act out.
As a class discuss your class rules. Prompt the children by asking them what a safe and respectful class looks like. Ask them if Jesus was to visit what would he want to see from our class? After you have brain stormed several ideas come up with a list of no more than 3 rules for your class.
Ask the children what rewards the class should receive if these rules are followed. Ask the children what should happen if these rules are not followed. The following are ideas you could suggest to help the children decide on rewards.
(Example) Give star bucks for good behavior (tell the class why you are giving these out) at the end of class or after several Sundays gather them, and draw out for a prize or privileges.
Privileges could be:
Privileges could be:
- The line leader on a walk.
- The one who runs a game.
- The one who gets to read a part of the lesson.
- The one who gets a positive call or post card sent home.
- Free time with you outside of class.
- Make a sticker chart and as a class decide on a goal you want everyone to reach and the reward.
- Have a picture of an important part of the lesson. For good behavior, compliment the specific behavior and take off a piece of the puzzle until the picture is revealed.
- Have a can with the class's name, add flowers for good behavior, and take away when misbehavior is occurring.
- Make several circles for each child. Every time the student participates in the lesson or shows good behavior give them a wedge. Encourage them to fill their "pie" or "pizza" by the end of class. This is a good way to get classes talking and involved in the lesson more.
- If you feel like you are losing the attention of the class bring the children back with a prompt (For example: you say "their promises" they say "are sure")
- Give them a plastic bug and say you are bugging others, please be quieter.
- Tell them a specific behavior you want them to do, and every time they do it give them a stickers
- Give out high five
- Decide on a big goal and have a class party
- Give a picture of Jesus with a message "Thanks for being Christ like in my class!"
- If the class earns a goal tell them you will wear a goofy hat in sharing time. Basically anything that embarrasses yourself
- Give a Badge that says "I was caught being good!"
- Decide on a student who has been particularly good and feature them as student of the week. Have the students write on a special card all of the things they like about this person. It could even be announced in sharing time.
- Create a game about things from the lessons this year, prophets, and include several questions on individual students in the class. You could play this game as a reward and give a personal copy as a birthday present.
- Have a treasure box that is opened at the end of the class if there is good behavior. Inside have special objects relating to the lesson. Have kids guess how these objects relate.
Thanks again!! We LOVE our teachers!!
