Lunch Choice Board

Hey yall! Happy *almost* Friday!

 

Has it really been almost 2 weeks since I've posted? Yikes!

The time really does get away from me lately.

 

I meant to post about this last weekend for the Bright Ideas link-up, but I spent the weekend in Atlanta instead :)

 

Better late than never, right?

 

So every year, I try to do attendance in a way that is easy for me, but also a huge reminder that it needs to get done. Because sometimes a girl just forgets.

 

I've had pretty good success making it a classroom job, because those kiddos definitely won't forget to get it done! In the past, I used a transportation board to do attendance, but I didn't feel like that would be good for 3rd grade.

 

I mean, they know how they get home everyday, so they don't always need that reminder.

 

When I went into my new coworkers classroom at the beginning of the year, I found a simple, yet genius, way to do attendance PLUS lunch count at the same time.

Bonus!

 

She had some cheap little plastic plates glued to her cabinet, alongside a bucket of clothespins.

Each plate had a lunch choice written on it and the students just move their clip to their choice for the day.

 

Well, this may be something you've been doing for years and years, but it was new to me!

I ran to the dearest Dollar Tree and snagged some cheapo plates.

 

I put all the kiddos names on some clothespins, stuck 'em in a bucket, and threw in a dry erase marker and eraser. I also put the lunch menu above the plates, so that my helper can be responsible for writing the lunch choices each afternoon.

 

 

In the mornings, after everyone has made their choice, my lunch count helper tells me who is out for the day. This reminds me to plug in my attendance online and then its DONE!

 

Seriously, this system is super easy and completely run by the students. They are responsible for moving their clips, writing the lunch choices, and seeing who is absent for the day. That student also writes down the number of students for each choice and takes it to the lunchroom.

 

Student responsibility = happy teacher :)