Bright Idea: Happy Journals

Time for a bright idea for teaching your students to be happier!



A few years back, I worked with a student who was constantly negative. She would constantly tell me everything that had gone wrong with every day, and her very self-centered worldview made it hard for everything not to seem like some kind of personal injustice.

I worked with this student after school, and thankfully her parents understood that their child needed emotional support as much as she needed academic support.

I wanted to encourage some positive self-talk and giving the student an opportunity to reflect on the positive things going on in her day, so we created a Happy Journal!


I gave her complete control over the cover. I drew “Happy Journal” on the cover to get her started, but otherwise I let her fill in pictures and words of things she loved, and a few stickers too. I wanted it to feel like HERS- and show all the things that made her happy.

On the inside cover, I wrote her a personal note about the purpose of the journal. I’m an optimist at heart, and I truly believe in the power of forcing yourself to TRY to think positively, even when you don’t feel like it! Looking for the blessings is a powerful thing.
Every day, I asked her to write 3 positive things about her day or about life. Occasionally, she could even think of more.

Having a reason to look for those good things (and meeting with someone to stay accountable) made a huge difference in this child.

I wasn’t picky about spelling, punctuation, or even complete sentences- this was all about taking the time to notice good things in life. It also helped me (and her parents) to see some of the things that helped her mood.
After doing this as a sort of intervention for one student, I think that it would make a great end-of-the-day activity for ALL of my kids after they pack up for the day.
A Happy Journal made a huge difference for this girl. Hopefully, it’s an idea that could come in handy in your classroom, too!  : )
If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to check out another Bright Ideas post on how I organize progress monitoring data and anecdotal notes. Please consider following me on Facebook, Instagram, and Bloglovin!
You can read lots more Bright Ideas for your classroom here. Be sure to check the grade level and topics!

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Bright Ideas- Label Centers for Easy Setup

It’s that time again! Today I’m here to share a bright idea for labeling your centers to make them even easier and quicker to set up each week.



I have a ton of “center” style activities. Even when I started using the Daily 5 in my classroom, I still used these a lot for Word Work, reviewing skills, small group focus lessons, and as fast finisher activities.



When they come with a cover page or directions, I like to laminate it and tape it onto the front of a manila folder.  (A colleague of mine likes to laminate the whole manila folder and then use an X-acto knife to slice apart the opening which is even sturdier!)



I also add a Velcro dot to the flap since the brad tends to wear out. Small pieces inside go in Ziploc bags to stay organized.



This has worked really well for me, but I still have to open each center and re-read the directions each year to make sure I set out the right supplies. This year, I realized I could make that easier on myself.

Enter: washi tape! (easily removable, and also cute)



With just a little tape and a Sharpie, I am labeling each center with the supplies students will need. I also put a C in a circle if I need to copy something, like a recording sheet.




Now, when I get out a center, I don’t even have to open it to know exactly what I need to get out. At a glance, I can make sure a center is ready and kids won’t need to interrupt me.



And the best part? I can gradually add these labels as I go through the year, so it doesn’t have to be a huge one-time project!

I love sharing ideas and resources from my classroom- so if you think you might be interested in more, please follow me on Bloglovin, Facebook, or Instagram : )

Do you love finding Bright Ideas for your classroom? Check out the link-up below to see over 100 posts from some amazing, creative bloggers. Every time we have this link-up, I stumble across an idea that makes my life so much easier- hope you do, too!

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Bright Ideas- Post-It Races

Sure, we’ve all used Post-Its, and loved them- but today I’m sharing a way to use Post-Its that you might not have tried before!

Welcome to the April edition of the Bright Ideas! As always, this link-up is meant to help you discover some amazingly simple, absolutely free ideas… and some awesome new blogs, too!

Two years ago, my students were learning the names of the continents, and some were really struggling. Our map didn’t make it easy to read the continent names, so I made labels using Super Sticky Post-It Notes.

To practice identifying continents, we simply mixed up the Post-It notes and I challenged students to put them on correctly as quickly as they could. We called it the Post-It Place Race- and the idea could work for identifying continents, countries, states, etc.

This year, I started looking for ways to apply this kind of interactive practice with Post-Its in other ways. Some ideas:

• matching vocabulary to definition
• matching shape/ solid names to their pictures
• matching color words to colors
• matching number words to numerals
• labeling parts of a book (cover, table of contents, title page, etc.)
• labeling text features in non-fiction
• labeling parts of a plant, cell, human body, etc. in science
• labeling parts of a friendly letter
• labeling or matching basic classroom nouns for ESL students
• filling in “missing” spots on a hundreds chart or “missing” letters
• ordering the days of the week, numbers, story sequences, etc.
• fun test prep!
• and… anything else you can think of!

This year I’m really enjoying using this strategy on an anchor chart- so it can hang in our room as a reference, but still be used for practice at a center, during whole group instruction/ review, or with small groups who need extra reinforcement of a concept.

I do recommend the Super Sticky notes because they tend to hold up a little better to repeated placing and removal : ) but other than that, the possibilities for this simple teaching strategy are endless!

I’d love to hear your ideas for using Post-It Place Races in your classroom!
Interested in more ideas to simplify, organize, and inspire your teaching? I’d love to connect with you on Bloglovin, Facebook, and Instagram : )

Make sure you browse the rest of the Bright Ideas Link Up below, too! 150 bloggers are sharing helpful ideas, labeled by title and grade level to help you find the perfect ones for YOUR classroom. Read, pin, and get inspired for the home stretch!

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