I began using a classroom economy several years ago as I transitioned from 4th to 3rd grade. Some of my co-workers were implementing this system in their class and I decided to give it a try. I began paying students for jobs in class, good behavior, grades, participation...you name it. Students could also lose money by poor decisions, incomplete homework, not returning items, etc. My kiddos were very responsive to this management. Let's just say that I have never been happier with my classroom management. So paying my students and taking their money turned out to be quite a game changer.
Once this economy was established, I began to brainstorm how they can spend their money. Purchasing prize bin goodies would have put this teacher out of business...so I started offering other rewards for their money. Students could buy "sit in the teacher's chair", a hat pass, a coupon to take their shoes off...etc. I find these to be SO much more meaningful to my kiddos and BONUS--they cost me NOTHING!
If you have never used a coupon reward system, you are going to LOVE it! You will save money and your kiddos will be happier than ever with your "prizes". I allow my kiddos to cash in their classroom cash 2 times per month--on Fridays. The cashing system is a classroom job so it makes it easy for me. I supervise students who are running the "coupon store". In previous years, I used a binder to hold the coupons, but flipping back and forth was tedious, time consuming, and frustrating...
SO... a teacher toolbox saves the day once again! I purchased this one on Amazon. Here's the link if you would like to grab you one.
http://bit.ly/amazonteachertoolbox
I designed my coupons to fit perfectly on the outside. I attached the card with 2-sided tape and then threw the rest inside the drawer. As you can see, I chose to print mine on colored cardstock. I also laminated them for durability.
Now, when my "coupon cashiers" run the store, they can easily access all the coupons and it takes less than 10 minutes for all my students to cash in. I require my students to "know what they are buying" before they come to the store for that day. In order for them to do that, I provide them a coupon list that they keep in their binder all the time. I find this also motivates them to work towards earning cash for a specific reward.
Here's my FREE coupon list if you would like to use it in your classroom. It is also editable so you can customize for your coupons.
http://bit.ly/gumboeconomyfreehandout
If you do not currently have reward coupons, you can download mine from TPT. They are editable so you can create additional coupons that you would like to use in your classroom. You can also change the price so that it fits your personal management system.
If you would like to watch the tutorial on how I set up my coupon toolbox, Use the link below to head over to YouTube to see it in action.
Happy Organizing!
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