Pencil Flag, Chore Chart and Behavior Reward Chart Stickers: The Destiny of Things, Story #151

Pencil Flag, Chore Chart and Behavior Reward Chart Stickers:  The Destiny of Things, Story #151

A repeat customer turned friend or etsy shop owner turned friend or friend turned repeat buyer?

 photo via Hoarder Rehab, pencil sticker flags, available here

It's Etsy shop owner turned friend and then she bought "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" and emailed me her story with tons of photos! (Read the story, here) and then repeat buyer, however now she's a long lost friend!  She's quite busy now with her Grandkids and using all these reward stickers to get them off computer, video games and TV!

 photo via Ali of HeyAlleyCat, visit her Etsy shop here

It must have worked because I haven't heard from her since the holidays, so she must be busy with the boys now that they are off the computer, video games, etc and must be playing and doing all kinds of other alternative activities, like pretending all things great and small in the tree house her husband built for them!

photo via Hoarder Rehab, stickers like these available here and here

Here's her email with her plan of attack!

Listing: www.etsy.com/listing/160034668/500-stickers-80s-90s-teacher-destash-lot

Good Day Ms. Kitty Kat,

Hope your going strong! I'd like to order 2 sheets of these stickers. I'm going to be using them as a reward system for my 6 and 8 year old grandsons. I wish I had your "teacher brain" I want them to earn rewards before they can play on their computer games.

 I'm worried about the eldest boy especially, he will stay on his pad for hours, and then moan and complain when he's not allowed.

I'm sure this is a rampant problem due to the electronic world we live in. I need to order something else sticker wise. I'll send you a message from there. Thanks for being such a great shop owner and a wonderful BFF in California.

Ali

P.S. I got the idea from your blog when you described how you were using the stickers to keep your dehoarding on track. Great idea ..(.there's no rush on delivery so take your time)

(I got the idea that she got from me from an Etsy buyer.  Read about the story, here.)

photo via Hoarder Rehab, 500 mini sticker sheet, available here

She didn't need my help one bit and it must have worked because the last time I heard from her she said:

ali haislip

Dec 17, 2013

 

Hi Dear,

The reward card is working well, it's fun because Grandma gets to make the rules and the boys don't seem to mind that! I've only had them over night once, so when they were up for a while I gave them stickers for things they had done with out even knowing, like playing outside, eating their breakfast, not fighting with each other, and they were so eager to fill their index cards. I'll tell you more about it later!

XO
Ali

 photo via Hoarder Rehab, 500 mini sticker sheet, available here

She bought two sheets of these, but I think she's a natural teacher and probably only needed one.  I'm so happy that's she and her grandkids are off doing activities together and making memories rather than  being isolated with electronic gadgets.

As an inner city teacher, I used behavior charts in many different ways in the classroom, but the one I remember the most is when we used it for "NO TV WEEK" which if you are a teacher happens in April or at least it used to be, but I used "NO TV WEEK" before it became a National April happening,

I used to do "NO TV WEEK" anytime, especially when I found out my students were watching late night shows, like Arsenio Hall and when ever it got in the way of homework, like doing homework before school with breakfast and morning cartoons because it got in the way of the afternoon shows, like the Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles!

We made it a big event and I started to have them keep detailed records and logs of their TV watching.  Usually time started, time ended, duration or time spent, titles of the shows and a short review of the show and guess what?  Many of them admitted to not liking what they were watching!

This went on until they got tired of keeping records, but I'd start a month ahead of when we pledged to stop watching TV for a week to get them used to the idea without panic! I have I got some stories to tell about their TV watching habits!

Anyways, I do have books about No TV and it's a great history lesson of how society spent their time before TV was invented and it's a great lesson that can be used through the curriculum.  

I taught third grade so it was could reinforce or introduce time, especially minutes, hours, analog and standard.  Group oral lessons and debates on certain shows or cartoons using summary, evaluation reviews from the point of view of entertainment, educational, informational, etc. value.  It has countless lessons in reading and writing!  I even let them read the TV Guide as homework!  Any teachers out there remember theme teaching?

Remember TV Guides?  Are they extinct now? What about "theme" teaching?  Cell phones and computers were just becoming household affordables, so I think towards the end of my teaching career we started calling it "NO SCREEN WEEK"

 photo via ebay

Anyways, the grand finale preparation was giving everyone a packet of post its or sticky notes and on it we wrote as many of the tv alternatives we could think of and placed them all over our TV screens until it was yellow full of them!

When anyone was tempted to watch tv, they'd just find a pre-written alternative sticky note on the tv and try one out and we logged and recorded those too!

I had everyone sign their own pledge too and a class one because we were all in this together, yet separate. and it looked very official with a gold notary star sticker with ribbon and signed with everyone's John Hancock!

In the end, a few stopped watching TV for better endeavors, but many if not all cut down on their TV viewing.  I'm not sure how many more spent it on homework, but their alternatives to TV were a positive choice in the right direction.

And me?  Well, they were all shocked that I didn't even own a TV and back then hadn't owned one for over 10 years!  And when students visited, it was the first thing they went searching for!  HA!

Saying Goodbye:  These stickers were easy to let go, but it's because I have tons of stickers still.  And many of my teacher tools, toys, learning realia, etc has been a difficult process, but I am ever evolving about it and it is getting better, even if I do go backwards at times.

 photo via Hoarder Rehab, 500 mini sticker sheet, available here

What I Learned:

1.  I like the idea that ideas are being passed around on this blog and are turning into bigger and different ideas!  

Like how an Etsy buyer bought stickers to motivate herself with her chore chart and I used her ideas as a way to track how much time I spend dehoarding the music art room in my planner and then how Ali used the basic idea to get her boys doing other activities, besides electronic entertainment or passing time.

2.  I do miss teaching "NO TV WEEK," but by the time I retired I hadn't used that lesson in years!  I had to sneak in a very short version of it.  Which reminds me of another popular "theme" lesson I had with students, I called, "Baby Eggs."  Students adopted a baby egg for a week and took care of it like their own....but that's a whole other story....

How much TV do you watch? Which shows are your favorite?  and one movie? and past favorite shows?  I don't own a TV, but I do watch movies and shows.  Netflix was one of my best friends when I was bedridden for a year! 

I have a lot of favorite shows now, Hannibal, Mad Men, Walking Dead, Homeland, Orange is the New Black, Orphan Black, Boardwalk Empire and Treme to name a few off the top of my head!  and my last favorite movie was Mud.  Maybe it's time I keep a log of my own screen time!  Anyone out there want to join me?

When I was sick my favorite shows were Deadwood, The Wire, Life (where I got Hoarder Rehab's shop quote) and Stargate Universe where I got the name for our third shop, The Destiny of Things.  Listen to Dr. Nicholas Rush on utube here.

Thank you Ali of HeyAlleyCat, for returning to my shops to buy more of my hoard, sharing your story and using it in such a productive and fun way!  Check out her shop, HeyAlleyCat for decor. like my favorite 20s tin boxes from her Grandmother, here, American style Western 60s Year of the Horse porcelain here and Donald Duck Disney toy, here!

Thank you Etsy for sending me some kind and positive buyers who leave their stories and become my friends as well!  As a recovering hoarder, it's such a comforting reassuring relief to know what has happened to one or many of my cherished items!

Yes, I cherish stickers and actually have a collection that is vintage by now and can't decide to part or keep them!

Thank you US, China, Slovenia, Poland, Germany and France for you visits since Monday and joining me in my  HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things!  

Click on the shop names to visit my hoard listed daily: HoarderRehab,  The Destiny of Things, VintageToGoEtsy and now JunkDrawerLoveEtsy!  There are about 105 items listed on JunkDrawerLoveEtsy and am adding new listings to each shop daily and will continue to relist 1-2 items at the other shops!  Thanks for looking!  Maybe you'll find something to take home and share your story too!

And thank you Ivy for using the invite to open your new Etsy shop, Love Lotus Vintage!  Visit her newly opened shop, Love Lotus Vintage for some 80s to 90s romantic wear!  She'd like to clear out her closet and have less stuff for her big move!  She's having a sale right now, so check it out here!
 

If anyone else would like an invite to open their own Etsy shop and get 40 free listings, let me know how I can help you! 

 

Related Stories:

 

1.  The story that started this story,  400+ Chore Chart Stickers, read it here!

 

2.  Ali from HeyAlleyCat's, first story,  More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark inside the Tree House, read it here!

 

3.  Ali from HeyAlleyCat's, UPDATE on the More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark with many photos of everyone in the tree house!  Read and see here!

 

"If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old"---Lord Chesterfield