Adding a little quirkiness to the classroom

I love adding whimsy to my classroom. From a football shaped key holder to the Batman "Ms. Vice" sign, I'm all about adding a little fun and joy into our school day. I found these ideas online and am excited to give them a try.

Idea one: student helpers

I have table team captains and group leaders, but I like the idea of specialized lanyards for students to wear, especially during small group time.

 I could teach one center to each group, then have the groups teach each other the rules, leaving me free to pull small groups or do beginning of the year diagnostic assessments.  Plus, Bed, Bath and Beyond always carries some pretty blinged out lanyards.  By releasing responsibility to the students, they feel more ownership over the classroom.  This in turn empowers them to make better behavior decisions because they feel they have a say in how things go in our classroom :)

Idea Two:

Wasabi Tape

I just like the idea of making my white cords look a little more fun :)  Plus, there's always some on sale at Hobby Lobby and I'm sure I could find lots of uses!

Idea Three:

Phone Prison

 Luckily, cell phones aren't a huge problem in fifth grade at my school but every so often, one goes off.  I usually take the phone and turn it into the office to have a parent come pick it up, but I like the idea of phone prison in the classroom instead.  Once the parent or guardian comes in, we would have a chat with the student about making better choices.  I fully understand the need for some students to have phones to let their parents know they're home safe and that's a family decision, but there's no need for the phone to go off during the school day.

Idea Four:

Classroom mascot 

 This one is perhaps inspired by the gnome of DENSI, but I like the idea of a classroom mascot.  Similar to a Flat Stanley approach, I'd like the mascot to go home and write about his/her adventures.  (On a side note, I'd also like the mascot to be washable).  I like the idea of having the mascot share important reminders with the class.  Perhaps the mascot needs his/her own Edmodo account? Or if nothing else, to make guest appearances on the classroom blog!