February is filled with all sorts of celebrations, from Ground Hog Day to 100 Day and on to Valentine’s Day. Sprinkle in some snow days if you’re from the blizzard belt or days when your students can’t go out for recess because it’s too cold and you might have a few hyper children to deal with. 

You may be finding that your students are filled with an over abundance of energy and excitement at this time.  It’s a great month to review your rules and regulations and consequences for not following through. 

I believe it’s important for students to realize the value of behaving for the sake of behaving, however, I’m dealing with a young five and find that it’s also helpful at times to offer some sort of incentive to that end.  It also teaches my students to be team players -- cooperation, being a key life skill in the real world they’ll soon be thrown into.

Here are a few ideas that I’ve effectively used in the past.  Perhaps they’ll help you as well.

Recess Puzzle:

• Pose your class doing an activity on the playground at recess.
• Enlarge the digital print to an 8x10.
• Print it off and cut it into puzzle shapes.
• (Cut it into as many pieces as you would like your students to earn.)
• Because it’s February, I cut my photo in the shape of a heart and have a caption that says: We LOVE playing outside!
• Decide as a class how your students will earn a puzzle piece towards the goal of completing the puzzle for a free 10-15 minute recess.
• Trace the pieces onto a construction paper template and number the spaces.
• So that the puzzle goes together rather quickly, number the backs of the puzzle pieces.
• Paperclip them together in numerical order. 
• When your students have earned a piece, glue it to the template using a glue dot.
• Hang your template on the white board and keep the pieces in a Ziploc Baggie on the sill along with a strip of glue dots.
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• I have also used this technique for an individual child. Take a photo of them smiling (because of their great behavior!) We have an Ellison die cut that will quickly cut a photo into puzzle pieces, but if you don't just trace a puzzle-like design on the back of their photo and cut it out. Keep ther pieces in a Baggie. Trace a template for them which they'll keep taped to their desk.  Decide on the desired behavior and what it takes to earn a puzzle piece, what the goal and reward will be and then the child sets out to achieve that end, receiving a puzzle piece each time they do so.  I use glue dots so that we can re-use the puzzle as long as we need to.  When behavior has been modified, the student has a nice photo puzzle as a keepsake.  I also give them a congratulations certificate to take home as well.
  

Chocolate:

• During certain months, I’ll write a word or group of words on the board related to something that we’re studying or something that relates to the season we’re in.
• As a behavior incentive my students will earn letters during the day, or one for each day, depending on what it is and what I’m trying to accomplish.
• Once they’ve earned all of the letters and spelled the word or phrase, they will have earned whatever it is they have spelled.
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• For example, in November we were studying Native Americans and how corn was one of the gifts they gave us.  I put the word POPCORN on the board.
• In January, I had my students spell the words HOT CHOCOLATE because they always came in freezing and rosy-cheeked after recess.  I thought a nice cup of hot cocoa would be fun for them.  It also tied in as a nice transition to our art project mugs that we were making that day.
• As a special treat for February, I have them spell BOX OF CHOCOLATES.
• I do a mini-themed unit on chocolate.  It falls during the week of Valentine’s Day.  They try and spell all 3words by our theme day to earn a chocolate from a huge box that I buy at the store.
• Since chocolate has a yearlong shelf life, I save money by buying the large boxes of chocolate on sale after Christmas.
• They enjoy choosing their chocolate and I have a chance to review shapes.  It’s also a nice addition to my chocolate-themed day.
• I write on the board the famous quote from Forest Gump and we discuss the meaning of:  “Life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you’ll get." ( ‘til you bite into it.)  Their answers are sometimes quite hilarious.

Lip Delicious Behavior Terrific Teeth:

• Speaking of biting into something… Since it’s National Dental Hygiene Month I put up a huge set of red lips.
• They are parted, making room for rectangular teeth.
• The caption of this bulletin board is: Biting Into Great Behavior.
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• As a way to review our rules and regulations, I ask my students what kinds of great behavior do we want to see in our class? 
• As they tell me, I write them on a rectangular white “tooth”.
• These teeth will go into our red-lipped mouth on the bulletin board.
• Decide with your students how they will earn the teeth that go into the mouth, and what will be the reward after they have filled the mouth with teeth.
• You may want to have a few black rectangles to put up for a moment during the day when things aren’t going as planned.
• Quickly inform your students that they need to brush those bad-behavior “cavity creeps” away and continue with sparkling behavior.
• You know they can. You want to remove those “rotten teeth” as they don’t make you want to smile!  
• Click on the link for a lip template. Put it in front of a light source (overhead) and blow it up.

Artist’s Pallet:

• My students love easel painting.  I try to get to this once a month.
• It’s a great incentive for my students as they are always asking if they can easel paint as an extra center activity.
• With that much motivation behind it, I thought it would be a nice thing for them to work towards as a team goal.
• I cut out a brown artist’s pallet along with 8 construction paper “paint” hearts.  They can earn a color each day.
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• I put them in rainbow- order; (+ pink and white) we review the colors in English and Spanish as well as Sign Language.
• When we complete the color pallet we get to easel paint.
• I make this extra special by having them mix red and white paint to make pink.
• They brush paint all over their papers, white first and then red.
• They are thrilled at the color change, as well as the marbled affect.
• After they dry, I give the students tag board heart templates to choose from; they trace big hearts, and cut them out.
• I take pictures of them painting, tracing and cutting and staple them, along with the hearts on a b. board along with our paint pallet and an explanation of the program.  
• Click on the link for a paint pallet template.

I’m LOVING Your Great Behavior/Work:

• This can be run off on red construction paper and done as a whole group, or run off on pink copy paper and distributed to each or your students, or used for only a few that need to work on their own personal behavior.
• Simply decide what behavior or work habits you want to work on and how often.  
• Each time that child completes a task, assignment, stays focused, does that behavior etc.  they get to connect a dot until they have completed their heart.
• I have my students use a red marker. 
• Decide ahead of time what their goal will be, and what they will achieve when they complete the heart.
• You could also make less dots and use this as how many books a child reads as an incentive to read more.
• Click on the link for the connect the dots heart.
  

 We’re Hung Up On Great Behavior:

• Hang up a clothesline, and cut out as many paper hearts as you decide that you want your students to achieve.
• Hang the hearts with clothespins.
• I make red, white and pink hearts so that I can show a pattern.
• This is a nice incentive to do for a while, because you can add numbers as well and then use this as a counting and pattern math extension in your day.
• Give your students a challenge.  Throw down a heart. Explain to them that this is like a gauntlet from the days of Knights and princesses.
• You challenge them to __________ days of great behavior and you want to mark it in an ABC heart pattern on the laundry line because you just LOVE good behavior.
• Have them brainstorm of what types of behavior will earn them a heart each day.
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• I write the word HEART on the board so that they have something concrete that they can see.
• I give them a letter for completing Table Top, Centers, no one is in the Time Out-Thinking Chair or Sweet Seat, everyone is working well together etc.
• If things get a little crazy they can lose a letter, but they also have a chance to gain it back.
• I have a heart bookmark on my rocking chair during story time, which is at the end of our day, to remind me to award the heart.
• They are very good at remembering too, as clipping a heart to the clothesline and pointing at the hearts to count them and review the pattern, with a mini laser, is a coveted job. (You can purchase a laser pen at most office supply stores. Mine has a heart symbol and it's red light is perfect for February.) 

     Hopefully, your students will all be stars without that extra tri- in "triumph over frustration."  Just incase, you can feel a little better equipped with a few more behavior tricks that will be a treat for your students to take part in.  

     As always, if you have something that's working for you, I'd enjoy hearing your ideas so that I can share them with others.  Thanks in advance for taking the time. diane@teachwithme.com

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