Let's go to The Store!

I’m so sorry I haven’t blogged in a while, friends!

I’ve been super busy and excuse, excuse, excuses...

In the Nook, I have to have a way to motivate the students to try their best.

Sadly, my kiddos lack a lot of intrinsic motivation and need something in their little hands.

My first year of teaching, my teammate told me about “The Store”. 

“The Store” has trinkets, tchotchkes, and well, junk for “sale” for the kids. The kids have to earn their buying power by having good behavior and trying their best.

The kids earned points by just coming to school daily, could earn points by following the rules, and could lose points by not following the rules.  They would flip cards to show they lost points and give themselves cards to show they gained points.

I was eager to see how the student’s reacted to “The Store”, and I loved the reaction!

THEY LOVED IT!

The kids coveted the junk no one else could possibly ever want.

I used this method for my 1^st two years and I now use it, but with the twist of a clip chart!

I use the clip chart  from a Cupcake for the Teacher.

Every day the students come to school, they automatically get 4 points. They can go up or down based on their behavior and work ethic while in the Nook.

Although the chart visually goes from 0 to 8 points, I have given 12 points on rare occasions. I believe that if they work for it, they should get it!

The behaviors chart in my room is just for my room. They don’t have to go back to class and get a second punishment, but trust me; clipping down is a hurter in the Nook! They want those points!

On Friday, and Friday only, “the store” is open for business.

They trade their points in for prizes and love it!

They have the opportunity to save points for bigger ticket items as well.

If they have a particularly awful week in my room, their classroom, or the school, they can lose the opportunity to go to the store. I tell them that whole school is a team and they need to treat all their teammates with respect.

I normally buy my prizes from the one spot at Target. You can also find good deals in the back aisles of Target! 

I love "the store" as a management technique!