Ahh! I am currently on a plane. Yes...a plane~ and I am completely panicking because I do not like planes. My poor fiancé, he walks out with scratches and nail marks all down his arm because of how terrified I get. Today was a very emotional day. I had to leave my puppy at a PetHotel. I was so devastated that I couldn’t even walk her in. Wesley had to take her in while I cried {yes....boo hoo cried} in the car. It has been sooo emotional.
Today marks the first day of something new! Today marks the first day as “Try It Thursday!!” Let’s talk about the W’s. C’mon teachers! You know the W’s.
Who? Me, you, and everyone who wants to try something new.
What? It’s a chance to try new things in your life.
Where? At the luxury of your OWN home.
When? Well~ we will start out posting every Thursday. Hopefully other teachers will link up with me and want to try something new as well.
Why? {Why in the world did I start this? As a teacher, a woman, a puppy mommy, a fiancé and a thousand other things I could fit under that title ~ I decided to make sure that I try something new all of the time. As I write this, my fiance says ~ “what about food? Try some new foods!” bahaha nooo thank you! I started this because as a new teacher, I am always scared to step out of my box. Now I have NO excuse not to push myself. Hopefully this will push you to do things you were worried about.
Let’s show you what the first thing we tried!!
This week is Star Student of the Week. I know...sounds babyish but in facts~ our students need this type of love. They need someone to show that they truly love them and care for them. As I looked on Pinterest, I realized that no one really has a step by step process of what their Star Student of the Week consists of. This week will be the first Try This Thursday.
First I went to Target and spent a whopping 15¢ on a red folder.
Then I took out a black Sharpie and had my way with the folder. I
decorated {not gorgeous} the front of the folder. It says {wanna guess?} STAR STUDENT OF THE WEEK!
On the inside of the folder, I created a very nice Congratulations for the student who won the Student of the Week. This allows the student to see a personalized note from me.
Inside a plastic sleeve, I placed a letter to the student and the parent to inform them of what is expected as the Star Student. {They are not getting off that easy.} The week will be all about them. They will have something to do every day.
Inside the folder will be the “Read All About Me” Poster. Of course, the first week will be all about me so that the kids know who I am. They will also see how it works.
The folder will be located inside a bag. The bag is from Target and it has Dr. Seuss characters on it. Inside the bag will be markers and colored pencils. This will help them color the “All About Me” poster.
Now, I didn’t just leave it at the folder. I kept going. I made them a Star Goody Bag. I went to the dollar store and bought a ton of “stuff” for the bag. I put sharpeners, erasers, a pencil, a book mark and a dinosaur grow toy. I spent $8.00 on the entire goody bag. They are allowed to keep this bag of goodies.
The folder, the markers, the colored pencils, the goody bag, and the poster will all be located inside the folder.
Here are some basic questions that I have been asked previously...
How do you pick your Star Student?
To be quite honest...I don’t pick the Star. My kids do. My kids know to look out for people being extremely nice and helpful. To be on the lookout for people using nice words or helping people who have had mean words thrown their way. I have my students write who they chose and WHY they chose them. It cannot be just because they are their friend.
What do the days looks like?
Monday - Sharing bag. They take home a brown bag and share some of their favorite things from home.
Tuesday- They share the All About Me Poster.
Wednesday- Bring a favorite book {Usually, I will read it to the class}
Thursday- 20 questions. They students who are not the star get to ask 20 questions to the Star.
Friday- The students make a book or a card and compliment the students.
I do try {I don’t always get it right} but I try to make it during the week of their birthday. It makes them feel wayyy better.
Don’t you have other awards?
I do have other awards. I have a reading award and a math award that I do every Friday. I usually base this off who has made the most amount of progress and Fasttmath and Reading Counts {or Accelerated Reader}.
I hope this has helped you create an awesome Star Student of the Week. If you create something, try to link it back to me so I can see all of your creative ideas. :)
If you want the document to be sent to you, then leave a comment and I will send it as fast as I can. I can also personalize the name for you when I send it. I do not send it in a word document because then things become altered, so if you would like me to include your name, then please leave it in the comment box.
Thank you so much for reading my first Try This, Thursday. I cannot wait for more posts.
Happy shopping and Happy Pinning.
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