Sparking Student Motivation: Kindness Challenge & Giveaway

Happy Saturday!  This week was a crazy one...no school Monday, early dismissal on Tuesday, no school Wednesday, kindness assembly on Friday.  I had one full day of teaching this week, which makes for some craziness with the end of the marking period fast approaching!  I got through it and I am enjoying a wonderful Saturday on the couch grading papers, writing lesson plans and watching TV!    Today I am linking up with one of my favorite bloggers, Joanne, from Head Over Heals for Teaching for her Sparking Student Motivation party!

Every January at my school is known as Kindness month.  Our school motto is "Obey the Law of Kindness' taken from a Psalm 31:26 (KJV), 'She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness'.  This verse and motto is all over our school.  It is painted on the walls, hung in classrooms, said during the announcements.  It is everywhere!  I love it!  During the month of January, our principal challenges the students to make a strong effort to Obey the Law of Kindness and go out of their way to be kind.  Students, if caught being kind, will earn kindness points with hopes of collecting enough for points for a school wide pizza party!  Teachers tally points in their classroom and every day or every other day transfer them onto large letters that spell ALA. 

Our filled up letters this year!

This year students were also challenged to complete kind tasks outside of school.  They were given a sheet to fill out with what kind deed they completed and they had to have a parent sign it.  These sheets were hung in the hallways for everyone to see!

Kindness done outside of school!

Kindness done outside of school done by one of my students!

On the last day of the kindness challenge, we have a celebration assembly.  We sing, here testimonies and have scripture read.  Each class also votes on a classmate who they feel goes out of their way to be kind to others.  This is not always the most popular kid, but someone who kind to all.  This year they awarded a frist place and a second place in each class.  The race was a close one in my classroom, but I am very proud of the students who were chosen.  My favorite momment of the whole assembly was when the second place winner was announced in my classroom.  This girl is not the most popular person in my class and often gets over looked in class, but she is one of the kindest students.  When they called her name, she was in shock.  She could not believe her classmates chose her.  This student was beaming the rest of the day!

  

The winners in my classroom! 

We made our goal as a school for the kindness challenge and were rewarded with a school wide pizza party!  This was the highlight of the day for my students!  They enjoyed pizza, juice and fruit snacks!

Pizza always a crowd pleaser!

This was a whole school activity, but I am sure you can modify it for your classroom.  It would be a perfect challenge during Valentine's Day!

I have something that will hopefully motivate YOU!

BLOGGING GIVEAWAY - HELP NEEDED

My dear friend, Jessica, from "Joy in the Journey," and I are celebrating some exciting blogging milestones and are planning a "These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things" GIVEAWAY!

We're donating our favorite products from our TPT store and a box filled with our favorite things!

Now here's where YOU come it! We'd also like to do a couple of electronic giveaways where the winner will receive some of our blogging friends' FAVORITE PRODUCTS!

If you'd like to donate a product you've made that you love, please fill out the Google form HERE or below:

Thanks so much!