Carton Box Pencil Holders

I was amazed when I saw my Kindergarten pupils' creations: recycled pencil/crayon holders.

Resourceful Ideas from 5-year-old Children

Biscuit carton box turned into a pencil holder

You may let it stand on your desk, or hang it.

Materials used:

Hello Panda carton box

Packing tape

How resourceful! My pupil's pencil holder :)

But wait, there's more...

Enjoying Spelling

I'm enjoying this Spelling thing in class. Yes, the teacher is the one enjoying the class activity! ;) The Spelling exercise itself is very simple. But I was surprised with the turn of events in the two Kindergarten class that I am handling.

Yesterday, I gave away the prizes that I promised those who got a perfect score in Spelling last week. They received the reward pencils I bought the other day. I got different reactions from my pupils upon 'awarding' the prizes. One pupil got disappointed, saying that the prize was boring. One said that she did not like the prize. There was also this pupil who cried when I gave the pencils to her classmates who got perfect scores.

I'm enjoying this Spelling thing because it seems to have affected my pupils, in positive ways I just hope. The pupil who cried, whenever she sees me, keeps on asking if I still have many pencils to give away. Many of my pupils are asking when we will be having the Spelling Quiz. One of the pupils who received a prize kept the pencil with her since yesterday. I asked her a while ago why she was holding it all the time. She answered, quoting her exact words, "I can't let it go." How cute! :)

My pupil copied the words for the week to study them!

I hope I am really achieving my goal in giving rewards to my pupils, which is to motivate them to desire and enjoy learning. I was so delighted a while ago when I observed that the children showed more interest in reading and spelling words than before. One of my pupils even copied the words for the week that I wrote on the board. He seems to be really determined to perfect the Spelling Activity on Friday! This is what I want to see. I hope children would develop a love for learning. I pray that they would enjoy learning and have the initiative to help themselves learn. After all, I think that's the goal of education. To train people to desire learning and apply all that they are learning wisely.

I hope that as my pupils enjoy our Spelling activities, they would also learn to enjoy learning.

Awesome Reward Erasers and Pencils, and Star Stickers

I finally found perfect prizes for my pupils who got perfect scores in our Spelling Activity last week!

Reward stars, erasers, and pencils!

We started doing something new in Kindergarten Senior Class last week! A list of words was posted on each child's handbook for their parents to see. They were to help their children read the words and practice spelling them. At the end of the week, we had a spelling exercise. I dictated each word for the children to write. Spelling exercises help children practice the skill of recognizing the sounds of letters and associating them with the printed letters.

I felt so happy last Friday that there were some who got perfect scores! I was excited to shop for prizes for them, but couldn't make up my mind what to buy specifically. Thank God, I found cool items a while ago: erasers and pencils with prints of affirmation, and buy 1 take 1 star stickers! The pencils and erasers are perfect items to give away to my pupils, since they have been doing a lot of writing and erasing lately. :) And oh, the stars, I won't forget of course. I will stick a star on the child's handbook for his/her parents to see. :) I'm sure the parents' efforts would get paid off once they see the shining star.

On Rewards

Giving rewards is a means of positive reinforcement. In my case, I give rewards to motivate my pupils to excel, and to desire to learn. Am I achieving my goal?

When I told my pupils last Friday that those who would get perfect scores in the Spelling Exercise would get prizes from me, I observed that most of them felt both excited and challenged. They kept asking what the prize would be. I told them it's a surprise. After the exercise, one of my pupils approached me.

Pupil: Teacher, what's the surprise?
Me: You'll see on Monday.
Pupil: Teacher, let's do the spelling quiz again!

It seemed that he knew that he was not able to perfect the exercise and wanted to do it again in order to get a prize! It was as if he wanted to tell me, "Let's do the spelling quiz again and this time I would really give my best."

Is giving rewards really effective for children to be motivated to give their best? Will it help encourage children to desire to learn? Thinking... ;)

Hello Kinder Seniors! :)

Yes, I said hello to Kinder Seniors two weeks ago. And saying hello to Kinder Seniors meant saying goodbye to Toddlers. :( This change is really challenging. Last year, I was teaching the youngest children in the preschool department. Now, I am teaching the oldest ones. How do I adjust? Thank God, He is teaching me how to.

Last year, I focused on helping children socialize with their peers. It was fulfilling to see the toddlers learn how to share, take turns, say "please" and "May I borrow?", line up, go to the comfort room, and things like these. Now, without forgetting the children's socio-emotional development, I should focus on helping them learn important academic skills such as reading and writing, etc. It feels fulfilling seeing the Kinder Seniors figure out how to write words by sounding the letters, blending them, and finally forming the words. The things I do now may be different from what I used to do last year, but one thing never changed. I am still teaching and learning from children. And that's what matters most to me. 

With Teacher Daisy and the Kinder Seniors (Kindness), having fun with letters! :)

Life won't be meaningful without challenges. Once you feel that you are in your comfort zone, you need to get out of it or else you won't grow. Most of the time, most of us are just too stubborn to leave. Thank God because He intervenes by providing a way for us to move out. I thank God that's what He does in my life.