Looking for an easy incentive for some of your students who have met a goal, accomplished a task or just demonstrated stellar behavior? Host an easy Lunch With the Teacher where a small group comes in for some fall and Halloween crafts, activities and snacks with the teacher.
One of my focuses this year is to connect with my students in smaller settings so I can get to know them and to form better connections. This helps create a classroom community which always translates into meaningful teaching and learning. This year I'm setting up monthly lunches with different groups of students who meet a new goal. The goal can be an academic or a behavior goal. I hosted my first Lunch with the Teacher and incorporated lots of fall goodies and crafts. To keep the groups small, I hosted two lunches; one inside the room and one outside.The students I invited to this month's lunch were students who met their math facts goals. Since Halloween is right around the corner, I used the holiday as my theme for this month's crafts.
To make our small group table have a different feel, I set the tables with the classic Buffalo Check Placemats along with these super cute Ghoul Gang Paper Straws and Skeleton Paper Snack Cups. We used the Ghoul Gang Paper Dessert Plates as the base of our crafts. The kids loved snacking on Lil' Pumpkin Party Frosted Lollipops while they were crafting!
The girls were wild about putting together the Pumpkin Unicorn Magnet Craft Kit. Students followed the simple instructions and were so pleased with how their crafts turned out. For those students who weren't keen on unicorns, I also had the Ghoul Gang Magnet Craft Kit as an option.
While they made these simple crafts, I was able to walk around and chit chat with the students about what they were going to dress up like for Halloween and what fall traditions they have with their family. It was a great time to bond and learn more about them and their life outside of school.
I also had some parents donate a few pumpkins for the students to decorate with silly faces using the Goofy Jack-O-Lantern Face Stickers.
These stickers were a quick and mess-free option for decorating pumpkins. Instead of carving or painting them, simply peel and stick!
These goofy, decorated pumpkins were a great party favor for students to take home since there was no mess. We were able to fit in one other activity before the lunch bell rang using Color Your Own Large Halloween Tote Bags and one of my top teacher items, the 24-Color Sharpie® 80s Glam Marker Pack. My students and I were so pleased with these Color Your Own Large Halloween Tote Bags. The students loved creating their own trick-or-treat bags because they were able to customize them to their liking. I liked it because they came in a pack of 12 and are super durable. I know they will withstand the pounds of candy from trick-or-treating.
While students were crafting, coloring and munching on snacks I made sure to remind them about some Halloween safety tips. I also handed out these Mini Halloween Flashlights. I am looking forward to doing this again with a new group of students each month and I've got my eyes on a few cute holiday crafts to use too!