Have I mentioned that I’m tired of all the junk food at my daughter’s elementary school? And I am not talking about what they’re serving in the cafeteria. I am talking about the junk food that’s constantly being used for rewards, parties and activities. Here are just a few examples…
- “Box top” prizes where winning class gets a donut or cupcake decorating party
- Skittle sort (why not a button sort, which could even be reused the following year?)
- Cake for the entire class (from the cafeteria) almost every time a student has a birthday
- School “spirit” events at fast food restaurants and pizza places
- “Popsicles with the principal” for top fundraising students
- Celebrating the 100th day of school by stringing 100 fruit loops onto a necklace (cute idea, but I’m confident some healthier alternatives could be just as much fun)
But rather than just sitting here complaining about these issues, I thought why not do something about it instead?! As you may know, another mom and I teamed up to offer our school a healthier “nut-free” snack list so now we are doing the same when it comes to student rewards. And I’m finding that there’s no better place to brainstorm for ideas than my facebook page (thank you everyone for your wonderful ideas). So without further ado here’s a long list of student rewards…that aren’t junk food! We plan to submit this list to our school administration and PTA and hope you’ll consider doing the same by downloading the printable version. And as always, please leave any additional ideas in the comments below.
Student rewards…that aren’t junk food!
Group/Class Rewards
- Extra playground time
- Pick different seats to sit in for a day
- Teacher wearing a silly outfit or hat (let the class decide…one reader even said a teacher wore her wedding dress to school!)
- Afternoon movie (as an individual reward one student could be allowed to select and bring in the movie for the class)
- Lunch in the classroom
- Dress up days…let the class vote!
- Pajama day (can also incorporate sleeping bags/blankets)
- Crazy hair day
- Farmer day
- Stuffed animal day
- Backward day (wear clothes backward and even follow the class schedule backward!)
- Camp out day (kids bring sleeping bags and teacher brings a tent)
- Hat day
- Book swap party (each child brings a book they no longer want and “trades” with their classmates)
- An art or craft party
- A game the class plays together (like bingo or kickball)
- If it’s warm outside…water play in bathing suits
- Plant some flowers or plants together at the school
- Paint birdhouses together to put up at the school
- Dance party with music
- Film a short digital video/documentary as a class (for e.g. each student answers a question for the camera) then watches it together afterward
Individual Rewards
- Lunch or recess time with the principal
- Books donated to the school library in the student’s honor with a guest reader to read them to the class
- Extra computer time
- Go to “specials” (like gym or Spanish class) with a friend’s class instead of your own
- Sit with a friend from another class at lunch
- Gift certificate to the school store
- Lunch with the teacher
- Sit in the teacher’s chair or at their desk for the day
- Use a rolling chair/stool at your own desk for the day
- Sit next to a friend instead of in your own seat for the day
- Be the “special helper” for the day (running errands to the office, line leader, etc.)
- Name read over morning announcements
- Student asked to actually read the morning announcements
- Choose the story for story time
- Let a student be the “principal for the day” or the “assistant principal for the day” or even “teacher for the day” (or just for an assignment)
- “Stinky feet” which means you get to take your shoes off in class
- Pick something out of a treasure box with prizes like stickers, pencils, erasers toothbrushes, silly bands, etc.
- Give out “play money” to students that they can spend in a class-wide auction later in the year (auction items can include games, books, etc. and be donated by parents)
- If students wear uniforms a “no uniform for the day” pass
- “Family night” bags that kids get to borrow from the teacher for the evening including “lego night” and “movie night”
School Fundraisers
- Principal can be duct taped to the wall (our school actually did this last year – students had to buy pieces of tape)
- Principal can kiss a pig in front of the school if a certain amount of money is raised (another example that really happened at a reader’s school)
- “Teacher car wash” where kids can “buy” buckets of water and wet sponges that they can throw on teachers in car pool line
Birthday Celebrations
- Class makes fruit smoothies together
- Small goodie bags with stickers/activities given out to classmates
- Each kid is given supplies to a make small craft together
- Birthday card(s) made by the other students
- Popcorn birthday parties (popcorn is a whole-grain food) served in “popcorn cones” that the kids make themselves out of paper
- New book donated to class library by birthday student with their parent as the guest reader
Great ideas here! Our kids’ school is over 100 years old and they have an old fire escape slide (it’s a spiral slide in a metal silo.) Classes can earn a ride down the fire slide as a reward.
My question is about “treats” for sports teams. We have kids playing soccer and football and are regularly responsible for bringing treats for the whole team to be given out after the games. It needs to be food, but I don’t want to bring JUNK. Other than orange slices, do you have ideas for me? I really prefer easy-to-prepare ideas, as I work outside the home full time and don’t have the time to spend hours making something from scratch. I am thinking about watermelon slices or fruit kabobs for tomorrow’s game. Ideas, anyone? Thanks! I am sure this has been covered before, as I am new to the blog, so feel free to post a link to an older discussion.
I saw a recipe on another site called realfoodrealdeals.com for Mac and cheese baked in muffin tins so they end up in small individual servings that hold together. She would also hide veggies in the middle of the pasta
Any kind of fruit is always good, nuts for protein, lots of choices!
Maybe try some organic popcorn. I was “snack” mom once for my dd soccer game and brought sliced oranges for half time and packed organic fruit leather, natural fruit snacks (both of these from Trader Joes) and some organic “juice” that resembled capri suns. Normally we don’t eat that stuff, it is what I call organic junk food, however, compared to what the other moms brought it was heavenly!! Also, like Jessica said, fruit and nuts (so long as no allergies) are great options! We dry our own fruit leather and make apple chips at home, but they don’t taste like the sugary stuff from the store and altho my kids love ‘em, some won’t.
Hi Joy. I find apple slices are usually a good option. If you don’t have nut allergies, you could always try a Lara bar or Clif makes a similar one called Kit’s Organic – they are bars as well. Good luck, I agree this is a tough one and something I struggle with as well. Jill
I love *most* of these suggestions, but think the movie one is not a good idea. As far as I am concerned, screen time in school is just as bad as getting cupcakes full of junk!!
TOTALLY AGREE. There is NO place for movies in school. I actually don’t care for this list because I disagree with the notion that the kids constantly need rewards for doing what they are supposed to do and all of the parties take away WAY TOO MUCH instruction time. I mean I know your intentions are good, but we really need to start examining what we are modeling to kids about their needing constant parties and breaks from school and learning. LEARNING IS FUN! KIDS BRAINS ARE HAPPY WHEN THEY ARE LEARNING!!
My favorite reward I remember was way back when in 1st grade…we had a chart with foil stars each time we answered a question correctly or helped out in some way, and after about 25 stars we got to pick a prize from the goody box, which was full of fun toys and pencils and stickers. I remember how excited I was when I finally earned my time to rifle through it!
Glad to see some alternatives. The sheer amount of candy given to my daughter (now in 4th grade) is stunning. She came home with her bag of counting M&M’s just the other day. I don’t know why even she would want to eat them after they’ve bounced around her desk and no doubt moved with dirty playground fingers. BUt still, reinforcing good behavior with food is a slippery slope. While I appreciate the intent, I think that good behavior should be its own reward and that if you must give “things” try stickers, recess, fun activities, whatever. But no more sugary, food colored foods please. I am a Farmers Market Manager and have volunteered to bring healthy snacks for the kids who don’t bring them. The teacher buys chips and other non-healthy items out of his own money, I would gladly substitute some food for him. Thanks for the great list, I can definitely share this with my principal.
What great timing for this post! My 3 yr old just started at a new preschool that we love, but I noticed this week they hand out a ton of candy for rewards…. All of her homework papers have a starburst taped to it, I think the teachers hand out “treats” at the end of each part of their day… Worse yet, no one even asked me if I was ok w her getting candy! My daughter is Very picky and already eats her fair share
Of convenient/junk food…. We don’t need more!
These are all good suggestions, any ideas for way younger kids besides stickers? I’m nervous to say something I feel like everyone else must be on board w it and I’m the “new mom” on the block… Thx
Wow, for 3yr olds??!!
Hi Chrissy. I have found that pencils go over well – you can usually get them in a big bag (many times at the Dollar Store) and often you can find them for whatever season you are in – I just bought some Halloween ones. For the girls, any of the plastic rings or necklaces are always a hit and again you can usually find them pretty cheap. I would just check out either a dollar store or even the Target $1 bins. Jill
My children attend a private school that doesn’t allow junk food. At first I thought it was odd because they are so strict about it and I was bummed my kids couldn’t have cupcakes for there birthdays. Now I’m relieved they eat healthy all day!! We are much healthier at home now too.
Our school has a special ceremony for each birthday child and that child brings in snack (usually a whole food). There are so many cute things you can do with their snack!
Our school also insists the kids wear tennis shoes and sun hats, which is much much better than trying to be stylish!
Communtiy service raffle
Have each class present themselves to the community and have local business “bid” on each class to do a predetermined community service activity. EX: Joe’s plumbing won in the auction for $25.00 towards the school to have Mrs. Wrights class pick up trash at the local park for an hour. This can also constistitue as a field trip too!! Include a seminar on keeping green and our planet healthy and you have three objectives in one!! This can be published by word of mouth and flyer, we all know how competive we parents can be!! Especially if our child is in that class!!
I applaud your efforts to make a change! As a teacher (who eats a whole foods diet and doesn’t give treats to the kids), though, I understand why many of my colleagues aren’t willing to give up the candy treats. It’s just so much easier, and quicker, and requires less planning than many other rewards out there. Teaching takes so much time/planning, and setting up reward parties and events is just one more thing on teachers’ plates. I’ve talked to other teachers about how I use non-candy rewards, but most aren’t interested. Although it makes me sad, I totally get it.
I love these alternatives however the movie is illegal. Unless your school has received written permission to show the movie in a school setting it is a breach of copyright. The school will have a list of movies that they have received written permission to show, however a student cannot bring a video from home.
You have a lot of great ideas for nonfood rewards. However I strongly dislike the ones that are encouraging the students to vote for making a teacher kiss an animal or throwing water on the teacher. We work hard each and every school day to teach kids to have great character. Ideas like those go against what we teach. Even though they are doing this for a fun reward they will carry it over as a memory of how they treated someone. Not all children can discriminate fun joking time and how you treat someone every day. So there are ways to have fun without embarrassing anyone and teaching that it is ok even if that person is ok with it.
One that is fun is students vs. teacher softball game. Or a kickball game. Any game where the kids get to play against the teachers they love it! Thanks for all of your great ideas!
Being a special ed teacher and a mom I can see both sides of this coin. I did leave a candy math activity last time I had a sub. I have two behaviorally challenged children who leave school, plug in, and open a bag of junk food. When I am present in my classroom we do a lot of physical activities in conjunction with our OT and intermittent rewards and scheduled breaks(do this, then earn something off the break board). I worked very hard and took some blows and pinches to get to the point where the students have a rapport with me. For the sub, I knew this would be easy and fun and the kids would cooperate because it was motivating for them and I knew in one day they wouldn’t get to the point I was with my little friends.
I personally do not give out food rewards in my room. We get “tickets” when they are caught being good or going above and beyond. Usually the ticket reward is associated with the character trait we are working on (cooperation, responsibility, etc). They put their name in the bucket and I pull five on Fridays. They can choose from my prize box. It has stickers, tattoos, jelly bracelets, pencils, bouncy balls, and those rubber hands.
The only reason I can maintain a prize box is because my school has provided the prizes. Previously I was spending hundreds of dollars at Oriental Trading Company…out of my own money. I generally spend about $500 of my own money on my students. I love them and I know its my calling to pass on the blessings I have received so I try to do it quietly.
I have been the recipient of a pie in the face, from two students and once from my son as a fundraiser. It was for fun and I didn’t mind. I however ended up confiscating most of the stuffed animals on “bring your stuffy to school day” and pajama days are a waste of a day in school as far as focus is concerned.
It is such a fine line but I am glad to see people discussing options and possible solutions. I am going to pass this on to my team members and bookmark it for myself.
While I understand what you are trying to accomplish, a huge majority of your ideas promote even more time out of the classroom, violations of dress code policies, or expense on materials when funds are already low.
I’m not trying to be a downer, honeslty I’m not, but I do want you to realize there are pros and cons to everything we try.
PLEASE LISTEN to this teacher. Kids need every second they get in the classroom for learning. The school day and school year are too short as it is. They hardly go a single full week with all the half days and breaks today. And instruction is constantly interrupted with school events.
My daughter just received 4 homework passes from her teacher as part of her Christmas goodie bag. I think this was her favorite gift! She can only use 1 per week, but she can choose one assignment to “skip”. 4 homework assignments to skip over the entire semester doesn’t seem like a big deal to me, but it was huge for my 2nd grader! We parents could use “chore passes” as occasional rewards, also!
It seems you actually understand plenty related to this subject matter and that demonstrates as a result of this particular posting, labeled “Student rewards…that
aren’t junk food! – 100 Days of Real Food”. Thank you -Lavon