According to AllWork.Space, ‘A Global Wellness Institute survey found that 70-80 per of US companies believe that wellness programs reduce absenteeism and increase productivity. In addition, organizations with wellness programs report ‘up to 65% lower employee turnover and 10% higher customer satisfaction.’ This is a contributed post. Please refer to my disclosure for more information. If you’re […] Read more...
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121 employee wellness program ideas that you can easily implement at your office, most of which won't cost you a penny.
In the world of staff morale gifts and activities, you may have noticed a common theme... food! Treats, meals, and other food-related events are pretty typical when it comes to showing appreciation for staff. While I think we'd all agree that food is a fun way to celebrate, sometimes you want an alternative, right? If you're nodding your head in agreement - I've got just the solution for you! Let's talk about some of my favorite staff morale boosters that are not food! Why Staff Morale Counts First off, why does staff morale matter? If you're an administrator or member of the staff sunshine committee, you already know the importance of staff morale. School staff members work hard! In today's social climate, staff morale is even more important as staff and teachers navigate tricky situations at school. Keeping staff morale high is important in maintaining a healthy school atmosphere. In turn, this benefits everyone involved. When staff are happy and feel appreciated, you can expect the daily routines in your building to hum right along! And remember, staff morale is important for ALL staff members, not just teachers. I'm talking about admin, cafeteria, tech support, secretarial staff, janitorial, security, counselors, librarians, and more! Everyone who works in the school is an important piece of the system. Let's do our part to show appreciation for school staff members with these fun staff morale boosters! 1. Staff Morale BINGO We're kicking off this list with one of my best-selling staff morale boosters... BINGO! Everyone knows and loves BINGO, right? I've certainly found this to be true in my own school building after years of using it. This game is a bit of a twist on the traditional, with a giant, life-size BINGO board for everyone to use! There are 2 options included, one for teaching staff and one for ALL staff, so you can choose what works best for your building. To set this up, you'll choose your favorite 25 prompts. There are 90 different ones, so no matter what you're looking to recognize and promote- there's something here for you! Prompts include making positive calls home, leaving for the day with an organized desk, not working through lunch, and more! The great thing about this resource is that you can pick and choose what works best for your school. Think about what will motivate YOUR staff, and choose accordingly. If certain prompts don't align with what you're hoping to target- simply leave them out for ones better suited. Once you choose your BINGO cards, you'll print them out - I like colorful Astrobrights paper, and then hang them on the wall to make a giant BINGO board. It's a good idea to put this in a high-traffic area so that staff members are reminded to add to it regularly. To play, staff will add their name to each BINGO card as they complete one of the prompts. Once someone has a BINGO, they win a prize. You can continue this until the board is completely filled, or you reach a set time. Either way, this one will energize and motivate staff to fill up those cards! 2. Random Acts of Kindness Poster This next option is a fun way to get all staff members involved in spreading kindness! This resource includes 10 different full-color posters with tear-off prompts for random acts of kindness. The idea is to print them off and hang them in areas where staff congregate. They will look through the prompts and select one to "pay it forward" to a colleague. The prompts include things like: pass off a book to a great friend plan a walk with a colleague after work offer to cover someone's duty bring in fresh flowers to brighten up a common area share a bottle of soap or lotion for the staff lounge provide a listening ear and many more! I love this staff morale booster because it's a way to get staff members thinking about how they can spread a little kindness on their own. I don't know about you guys, but when things are busy and crazy in my life, it can be hard to remember to slow down and think of others. This natural human tendency can stir us into a frenzy! Using random acts of kindness is a great way to reconnect with those around us and remember we're all facing challenges on a daily basis. 3. Windshield Messages Looking for a simple, non-food related way to show staff members you care? Windshield wiper cards are the perfect way to do just that! The idea behind this staff morale booster is to choose a heartfelt message for staff and leave it tucked behind the windshield wipers on their car. When they leave for the day, they will find a fun message to motivate and inspire them! I have options to carry you through the entire school year. By choosing one that relates to the season, you'll end up with whimsical notes that are pretty punny! Some of the fall notes include messages like: I be-leaf in you! Your students are falling in love with learning! We are totally NUTS about you! The fall notes will come in handy from August through November. The winter notes are filled with messages that are perfect for adding to staff vehicles right before winter break. The spring windshield notes will carry you through the spring months leading to the end of the school year. The notes include cute clipart and seasonal designs as well, so all you need to do is print and add a personal touch if desired! Your staff will love going home for the day and finding these notes waiting for them. 4. Self-Care Challenge I already mentioned my love for BINGO games, and I have another to share! This Self-Care BINGO Challenge is the perfect way to steer your staff towards focusing on health, wellness, and stress relief. This game is designed to be used after hours to help create a better work-life balance and get the necessary rest to be their best self at work. To play, each staff member will get a BINGO board. You can distribute these in staff mailboxes with instructions, or pass them out at a staff meeting. Staff members will work on completing the board throughout the month until the next meeting. This challenge will work for ALL staff members, so make sure to include everyone in your building! The boxes are filled with prompts such as: light a candle cut or color your hair take a bath binge-watch a new show find some quiet and enjoy a good book get your car washed go to bed early and more! As staff complete an item, they will mark it off. You can decide if you want them to complete 5 in a row, or go for blackout! Collect some prizes and distribute them to the winners. These scratch-offs are great options for winners! We all know what it's like to work ourselves into overdrive and never take a moment to rest. This process is exhausting and results in burnout quickly. Encourage your staff to be mindful of their self-care routines with this fun challenge! 5. Staff Favorites Book This last staff morale booster is a tried and true favorite! Plus, it can be used all year long for many situations. Creating a Staff Favorites Binder will pay off all throughout the year. The idea behind this resource is to have your staff members fill out a page with all of their favorite things. They will include things like: sweet treat office supply flower store hot beverage pen and more! Once you have everyone's sheet back, you'll make a few copies and place them in 3-ring binders. I like to make multiple copies so that I can place a binder in various places such as the office and staff lounge. As I do this, I let staff know that they will be available for random acts of kindness. If they notice that a staff member is having a rough week, they can check out the binder and pick up their favorite flowers. Or maybe they want to thank a colleague for something, so they grab a pack of their favorite pens. The nice thing about this staff morale booster is that it can be used all year long! There are food options inside, but there are plenty of non-food items listed as well, so staff can choose what they'd like to give. Staff Morale Boosters for the Whole Year Which of these is your favorite? It's hard for me to choose, but I will say that the Staff Favorites and BINGO were always a huge hit in our building. No matter what you choose, remember that it doesn't have to be anything super fancy or flashy! A simple thank you note, some fresh flowers in the lounge, or a new set of flair pens was always enough to make me smile and feel appreciated. The idea is to spread sunshine and kindness in ways that are accessible to you. If you're looking for more Staff Morale boosters, be sure to check out these posts for more inspiration! 6 Tasty Staff Snack Bars Everyone Will Love! Creating a Staff Morale Hub to Spread a Little Sunshine 6 Ways to Boost Staff Morale in Your School This Year Save this Post Pin this post on Pinterest to keep track of these staff morale boosters!
If you are looking for staff morale ideas in February, look no further! Staff morale ideas don’t need to be time consuming or costly. They can be no prep to low prep and still have a positive, long lasting effect on staff. February can be a hard month for educators. Most people are in survival […]
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As an administrator, you know that teaching and working in a school is more difficult now than ever. Staff morale plays a huge role in a healthy, thriving school. What's an administrator to do? Focus on those staff meetings! Engaging and lively staff meetings are one of the best ways to focus on boosting staff morale. If you're an administrator looking for ways to make your meetings more fun, I've got tons of great resources for you. Today we're talking all about how to help your teachers and staff actually look forward to faculty meetings, rather than dread them. Let's dive into some fresh ideas to boost staff morale and help your entire staff feel appreciated! Everyone from the office staff to classroom teachers, and counselors to custodial staff will all benefit from the activities and ideas. First Up, Get to Know Your Team Every school is different. As an administrator, creating a positive and engaged working environment is a big part of the job. It's important to tune into what makes our team unique, and how you can best support them. To do that, you must get to know them. What's your teacher demographic? Mostly newbies, veteran teachers, or a mix of both? What are their pain points in the classroom? This likely varies by grade. Don't assume - ask them. This will show that you are interested in helping. How are teachers and other staff members being treated by parents? Do they feel supported? Why or why not? What are their personality types? Do they know YOU? The key is to make sure you're well-educated on your faculty, gain their trust, and ensure they feel supported! Not sure how to do that? No problem, these 6 activities will help you learn more about your staff and help them feel supported all year long. 1. Staff Meeting Icebreakers The beginning of the year is hectic for everyone in the school system. This time of year marks when new teachers might be entering your school and this is an important time to make sure they feel welcomed and supported in their teaching journey. This can be a "make or break" moment. After all, if a new teacher or staff member doesn't feel welcomed into their new community it can be hard to persevere through the struggles of that first year! With all of this in mind, we also know that staff meetings are packed with TONS of things to cover. You're short on time, and while you want to ensure everyone is acquainted, you've also got a fair bit of ground to cover too! This is where simple Staff Meeting Icebreakers will save the day. These fun get-to-know-you sheets aim to have staff get another person's signature on each square. The squares list things like: Pinterest-worthy classroom taught 20+ years literacy guru long commute to work The idea behind these fun icebreaker sheets is that your staff will be presented with an opportunity to learn a bit more about their peers during meetings. They will discover commonalities, get to laugh and converse about some of the funny topics, and make newbies feel welcome! There are 4 different options, so you can use a variety of these sheets for a large group of staff, or repeat this activity once a quarter. This quick and easy icebreaker is always a hit, and easy to implement. Plus, it's a wonderful way for YOU to learn more about your staff too! 2. Staff Morale BINGO Next up, who doesn't love BINGO? This simple game is a fun option that can be used all year long to keep your staff meetings feeling a bit more lively. The object of these Staff Morale BINGO cards is to mark as many boxes off with an X (or a digital sticker on a PDF) during the meeting. Since these can be printed or sent out digitally via email, they're great for Zoom meetings too! The boxes are filled with fun topics like: I enjoyed my favorite beverage during the meeting. I received a compliment from our principal. I sat with my teaching BFF. I brought a shareable treat to the meeting. These simple boxes are easy to follow along with during the meeting and add a touch of fun to what might feel like an ordinary (and sometimes monotonous) monthly task. The boards also feature seasonal decor on the game boards as well because we all know how much teachers love a good theme, right? After the meeting, staff members can turn in their game boards and be rewarded with some kind of prize. That piece is up to you, it doesn't need to be fancy! Just a small token of appreciation is often all it takes to boost staff morale and encourage your teachers. 3. Four Corners Staff Meeting Game Next up, let's talk about Four Corners - Staff Morale Edition. Four Corners is such a great way to infuse a little bit of fun in your monthly staff meetings without taking up a lot of time. There are 20 different questions included along with 4 corner signs to hang in the room. This game helps get your staff up and moving, mingling, and getting to know each other a bit better. To play, read or hold up a question and answer choice. Next, staff will mix and mingle while moving to the corresponding corner to answer the question correctly. The format of this game makes it easy to customize based on the amount of time you have to spare. If you have limited time, choose just a couple of question cards. If you have more time, use more. This is a great starter activity for your staff meeting to get everyone started off on the right foot and set the tone for a fun meeting! It's also great as a mid-way movement break. Students aren't the only ones that need brain breaks! 4. Staff Morale Photo Hunt This next activity is really fun, and a bit unexpected from what you tend to see at your typical staff meeting. To play this Staff Morale Photo Hunt game, participants will search their phones for specific scavenger hunt items from a list. There are 3 categories for this game - school life, my work family, and work-life balance. Some of the fun things to hunt for include: an organization hack (teacher life) a student beaming with pride (my work family) a self-care photo (work-life balance) plus MANY more There are a total of 45 questions across 3 categories and recording sheets for teachers to write down their answers. This is another game that can be modified to meet the time allotment that you have. Simply decide prior how many questions you'll ask, and how much time you'll allow teachers to search. After the game is finished, have staff members turn them in and award a prize to the winners. The prize can be inexpensive (or free) too - "Jeans Day" is always a hit! 5. Gratitude Roses for Staff Morale Focusing on gratitude and appreciation for others is so helpful in boosting staff morale. The idea for these Gratitude Roses came from some of my previous administrators who had a real knack for keeping the staff feeling appreciated and motivated. My past two principals began each staff meeting armed with a vase full of fresh-cut roses. During our meeting, anyone in the building could thank a colleague for something that they did well or in recognition for something kind. For example, if another staff member walked your kids in from recess, handled emergency sub plans, covered your class, or helped unjam the copy machine, you could thank them with a rose. The idea is the same here, except these roses come in the form of notes! Simply pass these out, or make them available for your staff to grab at the beginning of the meeting. They fill out the page with a note of gratitude and pass it along to the deserving staff member. These can be used all year long during staff meetings, or placed in a central location to grab at any time. Encouraging kindness and gratitude is always a great practice for boosting staff morale! 6. Appreciation Spinners for Staff Meetings One of my favorite ways to ensure that staff feels appreciated is through small tokens of kindness. As a special way to thank your staff for their dedication and hard work, try these Staff Morale Prize Spinners at your next meeting. These spinners use fun, seasonal themes, so you can choose a different one for each monthly meeting. Teachers will spin and receive the prize they landed on. Many of the prices are free or very inexpensive which makes this feasible to facilitate. Some of the fun prizes included on the spinners are: jeans/comfy clothes day prime parking having pencils sharpened weekly having a bulletin board changed out having duty covered a candy stash a pack of favorite pens When I created this resource, I surveyed teachers to see what they would value most as a prize and many of them said to get more of their time back. You'll notice that many of the prizes on these spinners do just that! These are great to use as a final activity to close out your staff meeting. Keeping Staff Morale Up All Year Long Overall, the key to maintaining healthy staff morale is to form meaningful relationships with your team! Taking the time to implement icebreakers, games, and activities focused on building trust, be intentional about showing appreciation, and making room for socializing makes a world of difference. You want to make sure your staff feels heard, valued, and supported. After all, working in education is NOT for the faint of heart in this day and age! My best advice for making sure your staff morale stays high is to keep those meetings fun, and lively month after month. We all have a lot going on, but putting some time into this helps ensure a happy team of teachers. If you want to boost morale all year long, be sure to check out the Staff Morale Activity Bundle. Included, you'll find all 6 of the fun activities and games mentioned in this post so you can keep the fun rolling in at your staff meetings all year long! With the bundle, you'll be able to... get meetings started off on the right foot every time turn boring meetings into engaging opportunities for community building encourage teamwork and random acts of kindness among your staff recognize staff for a job well done help staff members get to know each other (and you) better gain teacher trust show your appreciation There's really no downside to organizing lively and engaging staff meetings, so make sure to check out the Staff Morale Bundle if you need some no-brainer ways to boost morale among your crew! Save This Post Don't forget to pin this post on Pinterest to keep these staff meeting ideas handy!
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Fall is the busiest time of the year if you're a teacher or a school administrator! Since we all know our time is limited when August hits, I'm a big fan of prepping things ahead of time to use throughout the year. While you don't want to spend your whole summer preparing for the school year, there are a few great ways to prepare for those busy months and start the year with high staff morale right off the bat! Here are 9 simple ways to prep during the summer months and boost staff morale this fall! Why Focus on Staff Morale? In the busiest time of the year, staff morale is something that can be easy to forget. There's an endless to-do list and limited time, so why should we spend our precious time on staff morale?! So glad you asked! First off, your staff members are in the busiest time of the year too! They also have an endless to-do list and the added pressure to getting everything ready, meeting students and parents, and pleasing you, the admin. Taking a couple of minutes to acknowledge what they are going through goes a long way! When I was the head of our school Sunshine Committee for many years, I was always looking for fun ways to engage our staff, bring people together, and share small gestures of kindness. Paying it forward with small acts of gratitude is the BEST way to set the tone for a great year! Whether you're a teacher looking to spread some cheer, a school administrator, or a PTO member, you'll love these simple ways to keep staff morale high. These ideas are inexpensive, simple to prep, and will help demonstrate thoughtfulness and kindness throughout your building to get the year started off right! 1. Stock the Fridge This is one of my favorite simple things to prep during the summer months that really makes a huge impact on staff morale! During the summer months, stock up on a variety of beverages and print off some of these fun signs. When you're ready to use this staff morale booster, fill your fridge and hang the signs. Post the signs in the staff lounge, in the office, and in other high-traffic areas around your building. These signs will alert staff that there are cold beverages provided for them in the staff lounge. I've found this simple act of kindness helps to re-energize staff and get them excited for the new year. A great time to do this is when the school opens up and staff are prepping before the kids are back. There's nothing better than grabbing an ice-cold, free drink after spending a day working in your classroom! You can also use these signs throughout the year for staff in-service days, special events, or simply to add some cheer to a regular week. 2. Prep Welcome Back Poems Next up, this is another super simple staff morale booster to prep this summer! Just print this poem off on some paper and fold the copies ahead of time. This is a great activity to do while you're watching a movie, or relaxing by the pool. I'm a big fan of multitasking things like this to help make the most of your summer break while getting ready for fall! Store them away until the first week of school. Then, the night before the first day tuck these cute little poems into every staff member's mailbox as a way to welcome them back. This is a great way to kick off the year and only takes a few minutes to prepare! 3. Build Staff Morale Welcome Baskets This next idea is perfect for the first week of school, or while the staff is preparing over the summer. I liked to prep a few of these Welcome Baskets and place them in high-traffic areas in our building. The baskets were filled with essentials we all needed during the long hours we spent at school. Some of the things in the baskets include: soap lint rollers stain remover static guard hand sanitizer dental floss hand lotion and more The ideas are literally endless! I liked to swing by the dollar store and find a variety of fun and inexpensive goodies to fill these baskets. You can shrink-wrap the baskets if desired, and add a gift tag. Then distribute them to teams, or place them in staff bathrooms and the staff lounge for everyone to share. This idea is really fun for new staff members too. Make new staff members their very own basket to welcome them to your school! 4. Make a Staff Shout-Out Board One of the best ways to boost staff morale is by simply recognizing a job well done. Taking the time to show your appreciation for kind acts of service means so much to staff and teachers alike! My favorite method for getting this trend going is with a staff shout-out board. This idea encourages staff and teachers to find ways to thank and compliment each other regularly. To prep this one over the summer, all you need to do to print off a shout-out board from this resource and hang it in a central location. If you are able, it's best to enlarge the printable to poster size and place it in a frame. I liked to leave a stack of Post-its, and some colorful markers alongside it too. Add a few shout-outs yourself to get the process going, and watch the compliments pile up! 5. Create a Staff Sunshine Corner If you're making a staff shout-out board, I highly recommend creating a "Sunshine Corner" too! This little area is a great place to hang your staff shout-out board, along with other fun announcements and information. To make a sunshine corner in your building, locate an empty wall in the staff lounge or office. Grab some cute bulletin board supplies and decorate to your liking. Add a fun heading that says "Sunshine Corner" with these letters and gather any other important info to display. In the past, I've posted our district calendar, announcements, the shout-out board, and reminders for goodies available in the fridge. Staff will love checking the board for new announcements each week! This is a great spot to place a coffee cart, or any other special treats you have available for staff as well. 6. Make a Kindness Plate Another great morale booster to start on your campus is the Kindness Plate. It's an anonymous (or not anonymous) RAK (Random Act of Kindness) activity that goes on all year long! To get started all you need is one or more kindness plates. You can make one yourself at a paint-your-own pottery store or create one through a service like Shutterfly. You can even grab a special plate from a local thrift store and tag it as the Kindness Plate. The plate is really just the starting place for this kindness activity. Here's the idea: the Kindness Plate gets filled with a special treat, lunch, office supplies, or anything really. Then it gets left for a teacher or staff member. That person gets to enjoy everything on the plate. Then it is their turn to fill the Kindness Plate and share it with someone else. It's a great way to encourage a fellow staff member, say thank you to someone who went above and beyond, or just spread some kindness. You can start the "train" of kindness yourself or have them available for staff to grab when they want to use one. On my campus, we had 5 Kindness Plates that stayed in rotation all year long. Our general rule of thumb was that once received, the kindness plate would be filled and passed on within a week. It was always an uplifting and encouraging surprise to find the Kindness Plate on your desk or in your mailbox. If you are looking for an easy way to spread kindness and encouragement on your campus, this is a great one. 7. Plan a Teacher Yard Sale Looking for a way to help teachers prepare for the school year and repurpose items around the school? Consider planning a teacher yard sale prior to the first week of school. In this event, teachers will donate unused items from their own classrooms to share with others. If they find they have a large stock of things that aren't needed, this is the perfect opportunity to clean them out! The old saying, "One person's trash is another person's treasure" applies here and is so true! This event is both fun and social for staff, while also helping boost staff morale and find some fun items to use in the classroom. This resource has everything you need to make planning your yard sale simple. Included you'll find advertisement signs, sign-up sheets, step-by-step directions, and more! 8. Book a Coffee Truck Everyone loves coffee, right?! This couldn't be more true at the beginning of the school year! As a fun welcome-back activity, I liked to book a traveling coffee truck to visit the school. This one will require some funding, but planning ahead during the summer usually makes it more feasible! Look in your local area to find a truck that's willing to visit your school. Your administration or PTO can pre-pay for each teacher and staff member to be able to get a beverage of their choosing. Our staff purchased their own drinks. The opportunity to get coffee at school was a treat in itself. You may need to arrange for coverage as staff members go get their coffee treat, or send the menu out ahead of time and have volunteers bring orders to each person that morning. Alternatively, the truck can arrive at a designated time before the first bell rings. I liked to arrange this event during week two of back to school. The first week is chaotic, and everyone is just trying to find a groove. The second week is a great time to show staff they are appreciated after the dust settles a bit. No matter how you structure it, this one will be a BIG hit, and make all of your staff members feel appreciated as they fall back into the school routine! 9. Grab Some Chalk Markers Last, but not least - this is a SUPER simple tip that makes a big impact. Over the summer, keep your eyes out for some chalk markers. Stock up on these or grab them on Amazon. At the beginning of the school year, spend some time leaving messages for staff on bathroom mirrors, or windows in the staff areas. You can leave encouraging notes, jokes, or other positive messages. Set a note in your calendar to swap these out from time to time to keep it interesting and fun. You can also make the markers available for others to join in the fun. This is a simple way to make your staff members smile and start the year off with great staff morale! Even More Staff Morale Resources Are you feeling energized and excited to try some of these staff morale-boosting activities this year? I sure hope so! Taking some time to prep a few of these over the summer will have a big impact come fall! If you LOVE these ideas and are looking for even more, be sure to check out the Staff Morale SUPER Bundle! The bundle includes 26 resources to help encourage, motivate, and thank staff all year long. You'll find all of the ideas included in this post and more to help inspire you and prepare for a great year. Using these activities and resources is a great way to keep staff morale high all year long! Save This Post This post is filled with fun ideas that make boosting staff morale easy! Pin this post on Pinterest to save these ideas and come back to them when you're in need of inspiration.
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If you work as a school administrator, a parent volunteer, or a member of a school sunshine committee, you probably already know just how important staff morale is. Keeping staff morale high is crucial to creating a warm and welcoming school environment. Teachers and other school staff members work hard! Let's help them feel appreciated and boost staff morale this fall with some fun and fresh ideas! Fall is a Great Time for a Staff Morale Boost Fall is a fun time in any school environment. Depending on when your school started for the year, the fall months of September, October, and November mean that students and staff have settled into a new routine. Once the hectic air of back-to-school season has left the building, fall feels like a warm and cozy hug for most of us! As a long-time chairperson of my school's sunshine committee, fall was one of my favorite months to embrace special activities and events to boost staff morale. There are so many great themes to play on in the fall, plus it's a good idea to build those staff relationships before the holiday season rolls around! Today I'm sharing some ideas that are great for any time of year, but they're especially suited to fall! So if you're looking for new ways to recognize staff in your school, here are 5 fun ideas to inspire you. 1. Apple Buffet Nothing screams fall like all things apple in the Midwest! When I came up with the idea for an apple buffet, I was inspired by the local apple orchard just up the street from where I lived. If you've ever visited an apple orchard, you know there's a certain kind of "fall magic" that you can just feel in the air. The humble apple is a most prized fruit and is used to make all kinds of wonderful fall treats. Make the most of apple season in your area with an apple buffet for staff members! I did this by purchasing a variety of apples, and putting them out with all kinds of toppings. Some fun toppings include caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, crushed cookies, chopped nuts, and coconut. On the day of, simply set up a buffet table with paper plates, napkins, apple slicers, apples, and toppings. As staff pass the table, they can choose an apple, slice it, and dress it up! This resource includes announcement signs, decorative posters, sign-up sheets, ingredient labels, and reminder tags to make setup and planning a breeze. You can also decide if you'd like to run this as a potluck-style event or provide all of the ingredients yourself. Either way, this is a fun idea to celebrate autumn, and boost staff morale! 2. Jeans Day Certificates As a teacher who worked in a school with a strict dress code, nothing was better than having a "Jeans Day"! And once fall rolls around, it's even better to be able to wear your coziest pair of jeans to school! Since I loved wearing jeans so much, and I knew my colleagues did too, using certificates for "Choose Your Own Jeans Day" was a total no-brainer. When I ran the sunshine committee, we used these certificates as a prize for staff meetings, to celebrate holidays, and more. School administrators loved handing these out when they observed great lessons being taught during observations as well! Everyone loved getting the option to wear jeans on any day of their choice, and it's a great inexpensive option to add to your list of ways to thank staff for their hard work. 3. Soup Potluck Does your school have potlucks from time to time? We had them often, and while they were usually holiday-themed, my favorite was our annual Soup Potluck in the fall. Everyone loved not having to bring their lunch to school that day! Plus, what is more cozy and comforting than soup? To host a soup potluck, I put out sign-up sheets well in advance to make sure we had a nice variety available. On the day of, I set up enough tables to hold everything and provided power strips for everyone to plug in their slow cookers. In the morning, staff would come in and set up their pot along with little tags that said what kind they brought. When lunchtime rolled around, everyone was so excited to taste test different soups and enjoy them with bread or crackers. I love the sense of community that comes with potlucks! It's always fun to host this on a Friday, or the day after a big local football game was held. This resource helps make planning and executing a soup potluck fun and simple. Included, are announcements, sign-up sheets, a timeline for a successful soup day, reminders, room décor, and more! 4. Staff Appreciation Post-It Notes Over the years, I have discovered that one of the BEST ways to boost staff morale is through small tokens of appreciation. That's why I love these Post-it notes so much! They're simple and easy to use, and always leave a big impact. This resource comes with 18 different messages that will brighten any staff member's day. Simply choose your template, affix your post-its to it, and load them into the printer. Add a personal touch after printing and you're good to go! Then, pop these on your colleagues' desks, on a car window, on a wall, or in another spot you know they'll find it. These are a fun and easy way to show that you're thinking of them and that their hard work is appreciated! These are also nice to hand out (unfilled) to staff members so that they can recognize each other throughout the year. 5. October Staff Boo This last idea is perfect for the month of October, and SO much fun! This activity begins slowly and picks up speed as other staff members get involved. Start it at the beginning of the month for the most fun! To implement it, you will begin the chain by making 2 copies of the BOO sign included in this resource. You'll choose colleagues to BOO and pick up a special treat for them at a drive-through, or grocery store. Finally, you'll leave the signs and treats at their desk and place another sign on the door. When the staff member finds their sign and treat, they continue the chain by doing the same. The pace picks up as more and more staff are BOOed throughout the building! This is always a staff favorite and such a wonderful way to boost staff morale. This resource comes in handy when used alongside the Staff Favorites Book as well. That way everyone will have plenty of treat ideas to get for their colleagues! Have Fun Boosting Staff Morale this Fall Which of these staff morale-boosting activities was your favorite? It's hard to choose, and the good news is that you don't have to! In fact, I have found that including lots of activities like these throughout the year is the best way to help ensure that staff know they're appreciated and keep morale high. Plus, activities like these make any school more fun to work at, which was always reason enough for me! Have fun planning your own staff morale events and activities this fall! If you'd like to take a closer look at these resources, along with lots of others, you can check them out in my TPT shop!
Man oh man, do teachers ever work hard. While I’m no longer in the classroom full time, I’ll never forget my classroom roots and the time, energy, and dedication that being an excellent educator demands. There’s just no end to the amount of mad props these teacher-heroes deserve. And as coaches, that’s what we’re dedicated to doing […]
