Staff Motivators to Survive the Winter Doldrums

If you are an educator, then you already know that January and February are looooong months. Especially if you live in a region where you don’t get any snow (i.e. SNOW DAYS)! We’ve created some ways for you and your staff to escape the winter blues.

-Fill snack size baggies with mini-marshmallows and make sticker or paper labels that say “Snowman Poop,” “Marshmallow Kisses,” or “Cloud Fluff.” Pinterest has lots of label ideas! Place them in staff mailboxes when no one is around to see you!

-Decorate the staff bathrooms. Hang snowflakes (made by your students) and quotes about happiness and being inspired. Ask your students to give you some quotes of their own. (These usually get lots of laughs from staff members.)

-Sponsor a staff scarf exchange. Invite everyone to clean through their closet or drawers looking for that scarf (or scarves) they never wear anymore. Encourage everyone to wash the scarf before the exchange. Pick a day to bring in the scarves and display them on the table. Then go shopping for a new scarf! (Also, you get to keep a scarf for every scarf you bring in. If you bring in three scarves you take three!) You can also do it anonymously where each participant chooses a name and gives a scarf to the person they choose. No matter which way you exchange, pick a day where everyone wears their new scarf to school. Take a group picture as a keepsake for everyone. If you happen to have any leftover scarves, donate them to a local charity.

-Hot Chocolate Friday: Meet up in the lounge or library to drink hot chocolate. Everyone can bring their favorite kind or ask your PTO or social committee to sponsor the event. Use your hot chocolate Friday to talk about your weekend plans NOT the stressors of work.

-Host a book exchange. Encourage staff members to clean out their bookshelves looking for books for both children and adults. Bring the books in and display them on tables. Have some browsing time then choose your new book(s). For every book you bring in you take home the same amount. Post pictures on social media to spread the book love and to inspire others to have book exchanges too.

Staff Valentines: An Act of Kindness

Valentines Day is quickly approaching. I love the little notes and cards my students make for me. I’ve had one in particular hanging by wardrobe for seven years now. This year, my class will be spreading kindness across the school by making valentines for the entire staff! It’s been a few years since I’ve done this, and I’m excited to revisit the idea.

First, I get a current staff list from the office to make sure I don’t leave anyone out! From specialists to custodians, cafeteria helpers to gen. ed. classroom teachers, everyone goes on the list! Then I make a Word Doc for the SMARTBoard so that we can all read it easily from around the room. I make sure there’s enough space next to each staff member’s name for me to write the name of the student who chooses to make a valentine for that person. (This helps kids with spelling and provides me with a way to keep track of who’s working on what.) As students pick various teachers, I try to look for connections (She was my sister’s fourth grade teacher! I go to his classroom for reading!) to make the valentines as meaningful as possible. Students trace and cut out hearts using construction paper, write a message and decorate the valentines. Then it’s time to deliver some smiles!

Random Acts of Kindness Day

Did you know February 17th is Random Acts of Kindness Day??

When we discovered this last year we knew it had to be the theme of our February bulletin board.

To get our kids thinking about kindness, we read books like What Does It Mean To Be Kind? and One Good Deed. Then we had them write their own random act of kindness (RAK). They were filled with energy as they began brainstorming their ideas. When they settled on one they loved, they wrote in down and we added it to the board. Some students even needed an extra page to fit the details of their plan.

We compiled a list of their ideas that could be done at school and I added some extras. After some intense Pinterest and Google searching I felt our list was complete. Then I created a “Random Acts of Kindness Bingo” board with items that I knew our class would complete or knew would be easily accomplished individually. (Here's the Word version if you'd like to edit it.) Each student got a board and glued the squares on randomly so that they wouldn’t all be the same. Whenever a student got a Bingo, we all applauded for their acts of kindness (no award was given because we’re focusing on kindness, not winning).

We got compliments from adults all day who were impressed with our RAKs. When kids discovered the RAKs we’d hidden or left anonymously they’d look around with smiles on their faces. My class could not have been any more proud of themselves. I also noticed that RAKs continued to appear in my classroom long after February 17th.

Here are a few of the Random Acts of Kindness that we completed:
-Smile and wave quietly to someone you don’t know.
-Write something kind on a sticky note. Hide it inside the cover of a book in the library.
-Use chalk to write positive messages on the sidewalk. (This was a real crowd pleaser!)
-Say hi to someone new on the playground.
-Make a bookmark for someone in another class.
-Write a kindness poem.
-Hold the door open for someone.
-Pick up someone else’s trash.
-Ask someone who’s struggling if they’d like help.
-Make a friendship bracelet. (We did this as a whole class and each student put a bead on everyone’s bracelet.)
-Put a picture of each student in the middle of a piece of paper. Go around writing something nice about your classmates on their papers.

How will you celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day?