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Sunday, March 9, 2014

Bright Ideas Blog Hop: Magic Trash



It's time for another Bright Ideas Blog Hop!!! Lots of awesome teacher bloggers are sharing some great ideas!

Do you ever feel like your classroom won't ever be completely clean? If you're like me, there is always a pencil or crayon on the floor, jacket that fell from its hook, or snack trash on the carpet.

All those crafts and activities can create quite the mess!

In comes one of my favorite classroom "games" - Magic Trash! I can't remember how I learned about this game but if I did, I would hug the person who came up with it because it's that great! I tell the kids that I see a few pieces of "magic trash" on the floor. If they pick up the magic trash, they get a prize. I usually give them an "eagle buck", part of our school's reward system.



My kiddos eat this game up. As soon as I say "Hmmm I see some magic trash" they are down on the ground looking for every speck of dirt. I will wait until ALL of the trash is off the floor until I say who found the magic trash and reward them.

Teacher Secret: Sometimes I don't pick the magic trash until the end of the game. I may even just reward the students that I saw cleaning up the most.

By the end of this game you will have ZERO trash on the floor. A nice clean classroom. :) Pure teacher bliss!

For more Bright Ideas hop on over to Teaching Maddeness to see how Amanda organizes her craftivities.


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9 comments:

  1. Primary PlanetMarch 9, 2014 at 1:40 PM

    I love this idea as well! We use it everyday and the custodian always comments on how clean my floor always is! Thanks so much for sharing!
    Hilary
    Second Grade is Out of This World!

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  2. UnknownMarch 9, 2014 at 3:38 PM

    I've done this before as well... I don't like to use it all the time because I really want the kids to pitch-in as part of the community not just because there's a prize involved. So sometimes I surprise them and announce that I was watching AFTER the clean-up process... keeps 'em on their toes. ;)

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  3. Teach It TodayMarch 9, 2014 at 6:19 PM

    Funny! I learned this from a friend early on and it's awesome! The room is clean within a couple of minutes and kids are excited to see who found the magic piece of garbage.

    Heather
    TeachItToday

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  4. AllysonMarch 9, 2014 at 8:43 PM

    I learned this game when I was student teaching and used to play it in my own classroom, but had forgotten about it! Thanks for posting this tonight as I definitely need a way to get more of my kids helping to clean up the classroom!

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  5. KristinMarch 9, 2014 at 8:59 PM

    I do this almost every day! Love it!! :)

    My Carolina Classroom

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  6. Laura V. ~ A Grace-Filled ClassroomMarch 9, 2014 at 9:05 PM

    This is a fun idea! Always comes in handy to have these little tricks of the trade!

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  7. Growing FirstiesMarch 9, 2014 at 11:10 PM

    Bahahaha! And...soooo smart!!!!

    :) Lisa
    Growing Firsties

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  8. Mrs. GriffithMarch 11, 2014 at 9:15 PM

    We play this game too and they are like professional cleaners let me tell you! Loving the name you gave it!

    Lindsay
    For the Love of First Grade

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousApril 21, 2023 at 11:35 PM

    How is this done?

    ReplyDelete

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