Ever feel like the “fun” is missing from your everyday teaching? With all of the demands, pacing guides, meetings, and data that we are faced with and focused on daily, it is easy to loose sight of keeping learning fun! Teaching is the greatest job on Earth, but we all know that it can be the most tiresome and stressful too! Because of this I’ve made it a goal of mine to incorporate something fun into every day. Our students deserve to love where they spend their days and who they spend it with. What better way to create a safe, loving, and engaging environment than with FUN!
Here are some SIMPLE and CHEAP ways you can bring fun into your classroom! Trust me these won’t break the bank, nor will they take hours to plan or get ready, and you won’t disappoint your students! The smiles and excitement from these small gestures will get you through even the longest and toughest days!
Spontaneous No Homework Nights: With the recent New England Patriots winning the Super Bowl I decided we would celebrate on Monday with a no homework night! My students know how much I love the Patriots and we had fun cheering for the team up to the game and after! The smiles and cheers were heard throughout the third grade hallway on Monday!
Relaxation Station: Other ideas I’ve used to keep my students engaged, happy, and loving school include a “relaxation station” that one student a day gets to use! This station is in a cozy corner in the classroom that has a comfy reclining type chair, a reading light, and some flowers! Students love reading in this nook or completing their independent work. Every student has a chance to use this space and then we rotate through again. My students come in everyday excited to know whose turn it is to use the “relaxation station!” Finding a small spot in your classroom for a space like this will surely keep your students engaged and motivated!
Surprise BINGO: Sometimes just a game of BINGO goes a long way! In my classroom I have a BINGO game for any subject, holiday, or occasion! Just this week we played multiplication BINGO and the kids had a blast! I like to put a fun twist on it and when the students yell BINGO they have to do a happy dance or sing BINGO in a silly way. The giggles you will hear are the BEST! If you are looking for fun BINGO boards, be sure to visit Heather Johnson’s TpT Store here. She has awesome BINGO games for you to use in your classroom!
Class Rewards: These are an absolute must! In my classroom we work towards earning 10 clips for our “clip carton.” The class has to earn these clips as a whole class and many times they earn clips from their awesome behavior in specials, or walking in the hallway quietly, or their focused and hard work. Once we earn 10 clips as a class we use the democratic practice and we vote on a class reward. Four students will give ideas and then we vote on one. This year’s rewards have included extra recess, movie and popcorn, holiday celebrations, and our most recent electronic day! They were all a hit, but electronic’s day was by far the most popular. We teamed up with our library media specialist and the students got to bring in their own devices and create Stop Motion videos, Bloxels, and use Destiny Quest!
Maker’s Monday: Every Monday I start our day with a craft activity as morning work instead of a math page. This has become part of my planning this year and I plan out an art activity for my students to complete when they walk in the door on Monday. Monday’s are hard and this is a simple way to help students get back into the swing of things while also giving them the freedom and creativity to express themselves. These activities are as simple as putting a piece of construction paper and a pile of dot stickers on their table. They then create a piece of art that is unique and creative. Some weeks it is a piece of paper and a pencil. Other weeks involve scrapbook paper and cutting and glueing. Anything works for this activity and students love it. We then spend the 5 minutes we would normally be correcting our morning work, sharing our art with each other. We build in academic conversations, art, and respect all through this activity. A definite WIN WIN!
Fun Friday & Feel Good Friday: Friday is one of my favorite days of the week and not just because it’s pay day and the day before the weekend! Friday is one of my favorites because in my classroom it is Fun Friday & Feel Good Friday. Every Friday during our small group math time we spend the 30 minutes playing games in small groups. These games are math games or games that require logic and problem solving skills. Students get to practice their math skills while working together and having fun all at the same time. Doesn’t get much better than that for us teachers! We also spend time at the end giving a compliment or kind comment to a person in our group. My students are understanding kindness and how to make sure everyone feels loved and safe in our room.
Great ideas! My students would love the spontaneous no homework night!