Warm Fuzzies--New Classroom Reward System

Today I am going to blog about something new that I have decided to try this year and they are called  warm fuzzies.  I got this idea from Mel D at Suesstastic Classroom Inspirations and I am going to try my best to describe this as best I can, but I will also link to her post on warm fuzzies.

Suesstastic Classroom Inspirations--Warm Fuzzies

What is Warm Fuzzies?

Warm Fuzzies is a positive reward system.  The actual warm fuzzy are just craft pom poms that you can get at Wal Mart, Michael's, or any craft store that is local to you.   There are two kids BIG fuzzies and small fuzzies.

Students earn "warm fuzzies" for doing all sorts of things--passing AR tests, getting a good grade on a test, being a bucket filler to their friend or classmate, NOT bombarding the principal when they come in the door, being quiet in the hallway, getting a complement from another teacher, ect.

Students can also lose warm fuzzies by not doing something you expect of them--my favorite example was that they lose a warm fuzzy for forgetting their name.  My students often forget their names on papers and this is a way for them to remember.

Now there are 2 different kids so you may ask when they earn what.  They earn big warm fuzzies for big things--Mel D. gives them a big one for passing an AR test, for getting a "wow" on a test or quiz, doing something really nice for a friend, ect 

They earn a small warm fuzzy when the whole class gets one for getting a complement, ect.

There is a better, more detailed list on Suesstastic Classroom Inspirations check it out at the link above.

Now you ask--what do students get? Students get to earn coupons based on the number of warm fuzzies they have.  The BIG warm fuzzies are worth 5 and the little are worth 1.

Mel D. has 2 coupon sets on her teacher's pay teacher's store and they are on SALE right now.
Coupon Set 1
Coupon Set 2

She has several ways to store the coupons and I tried to cut them apart and store them in a binder in trading card page protectors in a binder, but I found that the coupons were a little to tall and they would fall out of the page protectors.  So here are picture of how I am going to store them.

Scraps from lamination

Pile of Lamniation

Coupons after I cut the extra lamination off

Scrapbooks with coupons stored inside

Scrapbook opened with coupons inside


 

I am only going to use warm fuzzies with my reading class because I cannot imagine keeping up with warm fuzzies for 3 different groups of kids.  I am excited to start this project and how my kids are going to want to make good choices to earn warm fuzzies so that they can earn these coupons!!!!


Don't forget to check out my TPT store--I have assessments on there as well as a few free items.


Kristy's Crazy Classroom on Teachers Pay Teachers

Morning Work and Number of the Day

       Over the past couple of years I have struggled with how to incorporate morning work into my classroom.  I teach a heterogeneous, inclusion classroom.  In the morning depending on the year I have had anywhere 11 (which only lasted one week before I was transferred to my current school) to 18 students.  This upcoming year I will have 21 students in my class (as of now--that number may change).  My school district is also a very transient area, our kids often move to several schools throughout the year and I receive several students each year.  This past year I had 1 students transfer in about a month into school and a month later she transferred out.  I had another student transfer in about a month and a half into school, 1 transfer in the beginning of Feb, and 2 transfer in during the same week in March or April (this year is a blur)!  My morning work has to be simple enough to be easy to get a grasp of quickly so that my new students can pick up on it quickly.  We also do a lot of switching in my school (yes--in 2nd grade).  We have an accelerated math class and an accelerated reading class.  This means that I have kids coming and going all day long.  This has made it difficult to do journal writing, dlr, or other language arts or even math practice in the mornings, at least practice that I would need my whole math or reading class to participate in.

       Oh, and did I mention that I always have several kids who bring their breakfast to class in the mornings, so that takes out more kids that are not completing morning work.  So for the past couple of years my morning work has consisted of reading from their book bins (if they weren't in my reading class and didn't have a book bin they would just take out a library book or get a book from our class library).  AR is also always open in the mornings.  My famous phrase in the mornings was "you are eating or reading" because they would always ask to do something else.

     So I have had this dilemma, but Pinterest helped to solve that problem.  I saw lots of posts about morning work and so I decided to start a project--morning work/number of the day folders.  I saw this idea in a binder but I didn't want another binder for each child that takes up even more space on my scarce bookshelves.  So I made Morning work/Number of the day folders.  I made and printed activities that students will complete each morning and then placed those sheets into a page protector.  I then took those two page protectors and put them into a plastic folder that has metal prongs inside of it.  Students will use dry erase markers to complete these activities each morning with our number of the day that I will have up on the board in the front of the classroom.  This will allow students to work at their own pace and if they are eating breakfast, it is okay if they do not get to it.  It will keep students engaged who are not eating their breakfast but the students who are eating breakfast will still get the benefit of reviewing the number of the day each day.

        Here is a picture and a link to my TPT store where you can grab your copy of the Morning Work and Number of the day printables--there are more challenging sheets besides the ones in the picture below.  I am going to put some manipulatives and a dry erase marker into the pockets of the folders so students will be able to write and complete the activities.  I will put base ten blocks and counters into the folder.  I also am going to buy cheap wash cloths and cut them into fourths and that will serve as student's erasers (another brilliant idea I saw on pinterest :) !!  Please leave feedback on the morning work/number of the day printables if you use them :) 

Click on the picture to go to Kristy's Crazy Classroom on TPT!

My name is Kristy and I teach 2nd grade in Lynchburg, VA.  My principal told me about 4 years ago that she could see me being one of the teachers that have a blog and I just brushed that comment off.  Well 4 years later, I guess I have proved her right.  I have been teaching 2nd grade for 5 years and I love it.  This past year was interesting because I had back surgery and began the school year using a walker.  My experience this year made me realize that I take a lot for granted and I want to be able to share my ideas with teachers that are new to the profession and get ideas from other teachers who have more experience than me. 

I enjoy doing things on the computer and with technology.  The other 2nd grade teachers in my unit encouraged me to put my things up on Teachers Pay teachers--tests and other activities that I have made for our unit.  our unit works very well together and we all have our unique talents and strong suits.  My strong suit is using technology and making tests, worksheets, activities, posters, ect.  I bit the bullet so to speak and began my Teachers Pay Teachers account this week and thought I could go all the way and make a blog to go along with it and to share ideas through this avenue. 

I hope you enjoy my blog and the ideas I present.  If you have helpful blog tips, please share, I am not used to having a blog and sharing my ideas in this venue!!! :)


Check out my TPT store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kristys-Crazy-Classroom

This is a picture of my nephew, Liam, and I at Christmas this past year!