Monday Management: Patriot of the Day

In preparation for Constitution Day and Patriot Day (9-11), I have been working patriotic themes into our classroom through word work (just wait til tomorrow!), brain breaks, and fun read aloud books. I've noticed that my students have become fixated on the flag. Certainly not a bad problem to have, so I decided to run with it. (Please note that Bill O'Reilly may have provided some of the inspiration for this idea.)

My classroom now features a "Patriot of the Day". This privileged individual is chosen based on their behavior the day before. A kindergarten patriot is someone who listens, follows directions, shows kindness, helps others, and generally proves that they are going above and beyond to do their very best. The Patriot of the Day finds the small flag in their pencil pal in the morning, as well as seeing their name on the Patriot Sign.

The sign is laminated and attached to my whiteboard with magnets so I can easily change the name each day.

You may notice that I referred to the Patriot of the Day as a "privileged individual." Allow me to explain. One of our favorite brain breaks during the school day is listening to "You're a Grand Ole Flag" (follow this link for our favorite version) while marching around the room patriotically.

The Patriot of the Day has the esteemed honor of leading the line and carrying the flag. The kids eat this up! They're all trying their best each day to earn a turn as Patriot. I definitely recommend trying this in your classroom. Let me know what your students think! And as always, keep it class-y, ya'll.