Hug Your Heart jar

I am so excited about this post. If I were a puppy, my tail would be wagging!

When I first saw this jar on Amanda's blog, it was love at first sight. =)

Isn't that precious?

Be sure and visit her blog later and tell her Heather sent you. She is amazing. =)

She also made one with Hershey Kisses so the kiddos can kiss their brains. Adorable!

Since we are all about being helpful and kind in Our School Family, I knew I wanted to make a Hug your Heart jar. I am always looking for ways to reinforce positive behaviors. At the beginning of the year, I do A LOT of celebrating of the behaviors I want the kiddos to learn. After a few months, my kiddos are great about celebrating each other and adding helpful hearts for each other when they notice helpful and kind acts.

I have never felt the need to "reward" them for doing those things with "treats". I have seen the "treat" they get from realizing they are filling someone's bucket and heart by being helpful and kind.

There are times though where a little something extra special might need to be done.

Here are my plans for using the Hug your Heart jar.

We always talk about our heart words at the beginning of the year. We also talk about our heart promises. These are words and actions that show someone you care about and respect them.

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Conscious Discipline talks about the importance of building connections with others and how those connections wire the brain for optimal learning to take place. Those connections are made by gentle touches, eye contact, and building those relationships in an environment where you feel safe and loved.

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We are going to start off reading this book:

I couldn't find a good picture on-line so Edison helped me out. =)

A Book of Hugs by Dave Ross

You can get this book off eBay for around $6. It is an adorable book that talks all about different kinds of hugs. It talks about the hugs different animals give and the kind of hugs you can get from different people. After reading the book, we are going to come up with some "secret hugs" that only those in Our School Family will know how to give. I have done this before and the kiddos LOVE having this secret that connects us together.

I am going to tell the kiddos that there will be times when I celebrate them with bubbles when I notice a kind or helpful act. There might be times I add them a helpful heart. There also might be times when your need to hug your heart and get a *hug* from the jar. They can also choose one of the special hugs from the book for me to give them. It could be a fish hug, a porcupine hug, an arm hug, a piggyback hug, etc. You can just make up and decide as a class what a "porcupine" hug would look like. This is going to be fun and silly. =)

Here is a picture of my jar:

before the candy

with the Hershey Hugs

The picture does not capture how cute the jar is in person =)

Here is a little poem I wrote about hugs that I'll share with the kiddos.

graphics by DJ Inkers

frames by Scrappin Doodles and The 3am Teacher

Here is the H.U.G. acronym I am putting on the inside of the lid.

click here to grab your copy =)

The connections we make through our words and hugs are how we can show our little ones we love them. It is up to us to see our little ones either as a blessing or a burden.

I would love for you to take a few seconds and leave a heart note letting me know what you think of the Hug your Heart jar.

From My Heart to Yours,