Click above to download this free Thanksgiving activity.

How many words can your kids make out of the letters in the phrase “Happy Thanksgiving?”

This is a great Thanksgiving activity that your kids or students can do alone or in teams.

For younger kids, let them find words that have a few as 2 letters in them. Words like: is, an, in.

For older kids, you can challenge them to look for words that have 4 or more letters in them like: tank, hang.

You’ll find instructions printed at the top of the page, but don’t let them hold you back from finding creative ways to use this Thanksgiving activity sheet. The whole point is to have some holiday fun.

If you like word games like I do, you might print one out and fill the whole thing out by yourself when you have some down time.

And if you come up with a cool way to use this Thanksgiving activity, leave a comment and share it with us…

Click above to download this free Thanksgiving activity.

Can your kids unscramble these popular Thanksgiving words?

Have your kids work in teams or on their own…

Don’t worry, the PDF comes with the answers so there’s no need for your kids to squabble over the answers.

For older kids you can time them to see who does it the fastest.

If your kids go through this Thanksgiving activity quickly, have them think of some more words that they can scramble up and then give each other to unscramble.

Enjoy!

Click above to download this Valentine's Day activity. Instructions included.

Well, they’re really going to love this FREE Valentine’s Day version…

This game comes with the playing board AND the instructions as an easy download.

There are also instructions for how to play in QUIET MODE.

I created this game for my third graders when we were learning about math coordinates and graphing and they had so much fun with it.

Click on the image to download the game board and instructions right away.

Be sure to share this game with your friends, colleagues and school teachers too. They’ll be so glad to have an extra Valentine’s Day activity to play with their kids.

—> Leave a comment and let us know how your kids and students liked the game!

Click above to download this FREE Valentine's Day activity.

VALENTINE’S DAY?

Each letter can only be used as many times as it is in the phrase already.

So they could find the word: NEED (because there are 2 e’s)

But not the word: TALL (because there’s only one l.)

This Valentine’s Day Activity is great for kids of all ages because they can work in pairs…or they can work individually and find words with just one letter in them (like “a”) or many letters like: “DENTAL”

Download the free Valentine’s Day Activity right now by clicking the image to the left.

—-> Leave a comment and let us know what your kids and students thought of this free Valentine’s Day Activity…

Follow these 7 tips and it'll be much easier to make behavior charts work for you and your kids.

Behavior charts are a mystery to many people. But they can also be very effective when used properly. These 7 keys will help you make the behavior charts work so that your children can be happier and better behaved.

Key #1: Use a single measurable goal.

If the behaviors you want your child to start doing aren’t measurable, then how will you (or your child) know when the behavior has changed?

Go for measurable goals you can see with your eyes like: Make your bed every morning. Do your homework before watching TV. Take out the garbage.

Key #2: Express the desired outcomes in positive language.

Instead of focusing on what you want your child to stop doing, focus on what you want them to start doing.

Say, “Put your dishes in the sink,” instead of “Stop leaving dishes around the house.” This small distinction will make a big difference.

Key #3: Start with small expectations…

If your child has been misbehaving or not doing her chores for several weeks, months, or even years, remember…old habits die hard.

Don’t expect her to turn into your version of a perfect child over night. Focus on just one specific action you’d like her to start doing and stick with that goal until it is reached. Think baby steps and focus on only one behavior change at a time.

Key #4: Involve your kids in choosing the rewards.

Your child isn’t going to respond to the behavior chart if he doesn’t enjoy or like the reward. Think about it. Would you like to go to work if you were going to get paid in peanuts? Might work for an elephant, but not for you.

When your child is involved in selecting the reward they’re working toward (and agrees to it!) he’ll be more willing to participate in using the chart.

Key #5: Be patient.

Even if the behavior changes over night, you need to give it some time to become a new habit. Don’t stop using the chart just because your child has made her bed 7 days in a row.

Keep using the chart for at least a month on the same behavior to make sure that the new behavior is firmly in place. As your child gets better at it she can experience some “wins” for reaching her goal and that’s going to feel great.

Key #6: Take care of your own stress levels.

If you’re expecting your kids to be on good behavior, you need to be a role model. If you meet their temper tantrums and defiant behavior with your own style of tantrum, things are going to escalate…quickly.

Find out what keeps you calm and centered so that you can be available for whatever happens as your child is learning to respect themselves and the behavior chart system.

Key #7: Be consistent.

Behavior charts don’t work by themselves. They’re fueled by responsible parents and teachers who act as the backbone of the whole process. Consistency will help build trust between you and your child and will allow your child to feel comfortable trusting the process of using the charts.

If you say you’re going to use the chart daily, do that. If you tell your child she can have a friend spend the night as a reward for filling her weekly chart, by all means, have the slumber party.

When in doubt, put yourself in their shoes: If your boss said you were going to get paid on Friday and then Friday came along and he said, “Nope, no paycheck for you,” you’d start losing respect for your boss and your job.

Being consistent can be hard – but if you can pull it off, you’ll find a lot more success with the behavior charts.

For more information about making behavior charts work, check out the Behavior Charts To The Rescue Manual. You’ll get the complete system for making behavior charts work with your kids and students.

Which one fits your situation?

Behavior Charts To The Rescue Manual for PARENTS

Or the…

Behavior Charts To The Rescue Manual for TEACHERS