Fun Fridays ~ Wait for it Wednesday Series

Fun Fridays ~ ~ ~ Do you have them?  Have your heard of them?  Well….we’ve done them for years ( I’m talking 15+ ) at our school.  For some reason 2nd grade isn’t a fan and doesn’t do them but most  grade levels do.  Basically the idea is this:  Students that are on task and finish assignments in class, turn in homework and behave appropriately all week = earn Fun Friday.  The kids that don’t do these things go to :  Study Hall.  The teachers LOVE study hall…the kids NOT so Much.  Although we do get kids each week that choose Study Hall to read quietly or help that teacher.  Every teacher is a bit different in what is acceptable. But it’s mostly consistent if that makes sense. For instance, if student A forgets their homework on Tuesday I give them until Friday at noon to turn it in before I take Fun Friday away.  Also if Student B misbehaves but turns it around by the end of the day during the week I will not count it against them.  Although a referral at recess is automatic Study Hall.

So what do we do and how does it work?  Well each week the teachers at my grade level rotate through a Fun Friday ‘clubs’ schedule.  2 of us choose fun activities { chrome books, outside games, free play, pin art, heads up 7 up, directed draw, movie, etc. }, the other teacher is Study Hall.  That is the quiet room where the study hall teacher gets to grade, clean her room, etc.  Kids get the opportunity to catch up on work , read quietly or when appropriate write in their journals about their behavior reflections.  One of the more popular choices for Fun Fridays is always pin art.  Have you tried it?!?  Kids LOVE it!   What is it you ask?  Well it takes a little time to prep but not much.  You would run off a paper like you see later in this post and tape it to a piece just a tad bigger of construction paper.  So there are 2 layers of paper with the pin art taped on top. They lay on the ground with a pin – obviously rules apply here so they aren’t stabbing each other and they poke the marks on the paper.   HINT: It takes a while and they are quiet while doing it… When they are finished ~ ~ they take off the first poking paper and they have a beautiful pin art picture that looks extra special hung on a window with the light shining through it.  If you want to give it a try I have 2 pin art packs you can check out: { click the pictures to visit the packs }

This has to be done on carpet and each child receives a thumb tack as they are easy for little hands to hold.  The poke each dot and will have a neat pictures when they are through.  They usually like to create their name out of pin art too which is always fun.

I have an alphabet one in the works too that should be ready sometime this weekend. 

Do you have anything at your grade level that’s like Fun Friday?  I think 5th grade at my school does something like this but once a month.