Revisiting the VIP Table

Hey everybody! It's Rachel from the tattooed teacher here to talk about a little thing called management!

Last school year I needed something new to encourage my kids to make better choices. My hubs and I were driving down the road (most likely to pick up McDonald's when the kids refused to eat anything else) and I was just talking through ideas. He's great to listen and even though he admittedly has no clue about teaching, he always comes up with crazy ideas that actually [sometimes] work and it's nice to get a new perspective! We were joking about putting red velvet ropes around kids who were on task, had shown stellar behavior, etc. and it just hit! Why not make a VIP area in my classroom!

I'm not one to mess around, so the next day I went in a little early and moved all the kids' desks who really give it their all throughout the day to one area. I didn't have room for an extra table, but I did have 3 groups of desks, so one "table group" became the VIP table. I moved a small rug beside it, switched out their chairs for the Sit Balls, and put out new pencils for them. Nothing huge mind you. But I made a huge deal out of it! And I moved kids to and from the table on day one! Right in the middle of class...now I know not everyone can handle that, so don't feel you have to! But here's what we had day one.

At the end of the first day I shared the reasons I chose the students I did. We then made this chart that hung for the remainder of the year. This way there was no reading between the lines or guesswork!

As far as what to stock or add to make it magical? That's up to you! I use things I had around..which is like saying there is a Target Dollar Spot in my teacher closet. Cause there is! But if you need a few things, I've made this handy dandy list for you on Amazon! So Prime it up and get what you need super fast!

VIP Table Ideas

When the rest of the kids had to work at their seats, they could choose to work on their rug or around the room. They got to pack up and line up at dismissal first. The rest of the kids really wanted to sit there. That same day I shared a picture on my IG of our new setup, and got lots of questions! Since then I have seen all sorts of VIP Tables and great ideas. I wanted to share a few today! Of course, this idea can be as simple or elaborate as you make it! Or as you NEED it to be! I haven't even set one up this year  #notyetanyway...#godsmiledonmethisyear

And please feel free to tag your VIP Tables with #viptable or #studentviptable trust me when I say that searching through hashtag viptable is NOT something you want to do at any point with kids around! I do LOVE seeing how different people can adapt one idea! It's great!!
Thank you to Gingersnaps, Amanda Madden, Tara Eiken, Brittney Briggs, Mrs. B's First Grade, Create Teach Motivate, A Tale of Twin Teachers, Primarily Speaking, and Classroom Tested Resources for allowing me to steal your pictures and repost them!

Only 9 more days for me! Happy Monday!

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