Positive Behavior Management with Sticker Cards

I don’t consider myself to be an expert of hardly anything, but there are a few things I can proudly boast about being pretty good at. Tripping on obvious objects and eating carbs is among the top of my talents. Coming in a close Third place is my experience using Sticker Cards as a classroom management and positive behavior incentive.

I sincerely believe that the Primary Classroom (especially Kindergarten) should be a place of happiness, fun and even MAGIC. With that being said, I also think a well-controlled behavior environment is a MUST to ensure all that MAGIC can happen. Kindergartners can be very-well behaved and still be happy and learning.  One of the BEST compliments ever given to me by and observing administrator was that kids in my Kindergarten students “resemble that of a First Grade classroom.” I need them to be as well-behaved and independent as 5-year olds can be and that is what I strive for.

My classroom environment isn’t a boot-camp-like setting either, though. I like to keep a good balance of student happiness and focus. This means keeping them purposefully engaged and motivated to stay on task. How do I maintain this balance? After the cliché trial and error process with about 20 different behavior management strategies I found on Pinterest, I found my ultimate answer two years ago. And it involves my favorite thing in the World: ----------à STICKERS.

Two years later and I still haven’t switched it out with any replacement. I do use other class rewards (like Happy Chappies for instance) but this is my never-failing, all-encompassing strategy for keeping my Kinders on task and learning. Now that I’ve reached this level of use, I’ve dubbed myself as a “Sticker Card Expert” and I want to share what I’ve learned along the way with you.

The BEST PART OF ALL? I'm sharing a FREE Starter Kit for you to incorporate this system in your own classroom. Don't begin without checking out the info within this post though. (Trust me.) :) 

How it Works

We can all say good behavior isn’t something we should reward, and I agree to an extent, but I also believe good-behavior is something that must be taught. All through their childhood, our kids are looking to the adults in their life to model and acknowledge good behavior. Acknowledging that behavior is easy with this approach. It goes like this:

-Students have a sticker card.

-Students are provided stickers when they are on task, portraying good-behavior, etc.

-When their sticker card is full, they are rewarded for their long-suffering in getting that thing full. They earn a reward along with a small collection of colorful jewels (the stickers themselves) that they can take home and show off to their families.

Sounds easy, and it is, but there are a lot of tricks of the trade I’ve learned the hard way with this strategy. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts to help you to save you time.  

DO

-Start the strategy out with an exciting introduction. Make some hype and they’ll jump on board. “Guys, you won’t believe this but I found this AWESOME way to reward you. You aren’t going to believe this!”

-Give out stickers freely in the beginning. You can tighten up your expectations as you go, but get them earning stickers as quickly as possible.

-Bring attention when someone earns a sticker. “Carley! Look how quietly you pushed your chair under! I can’t help but give you this beautiful, flower sticker for your card.” You’ll quickly notice a room full of kids striving to keep those chairs extra quiet.

-Have guidelines! Develop your own or use my FREE RULES. Either way, don’t start this out without a clear plan and expectations. Kids are clever and they’ll find loopholes in this system (or any other) if you don’t clearly define the rules.  I personally reviewed my Sticker Card Rules each morning for about a month into the school year. After that, I’d review a rule if someone tried to bypass it.

***The rule about having a "tidy" card is important to keep your kids from playing with the card. Some kids like to peel and rearrange stickers just so they can fiddle with something. If they look like this, I get a little tough (I admin) and I peel them off and require the student to re-fill the missing places. A fair warning is given before it comes to it, but it keeps the cards themselves from being a learning distraction. 

-Be organized and prep the system before you implement. I definitely have made this mistake in the past and ended up losing filled cards and having angry little people staring me in the face. Have a designated sticker-card area. Teach students a routine of getting new cards when theirs are filled. 

-Have your rewards prepped and ready to use. If you like treasure boxes, have it stocked. If you have other, non-tangible rewards in mind (like those listed here), have a list ready for them to choose from. If giving choices is just too much work for you, have a common reward that each child can expect to receive when their card is full. I used 10-minutes of technology for months one year. It works great!

-Keep parents involved. I send this explanation letter home at the beginning of the year and to each new student as they come. If their care-givers are in the loop, their little ones will be even more eager to fill a card and take it home to display. (This is also included in the starter kit!) 

-Don’t forget those “perfect” students. To keep those super-well-behaved kids motivated, have a sticker-card star display that is updated throughout the year. (Again, get this free!)  Have a BIG reward for those who reach the highest level! 

-Go crazy at the dollar tree when buying stickers! Have a colorful, awe-inspiriing assortment of colors, characters and themes. (My little boys especially love Ninja Turtles, super-heroes and car stickers.) Be sure to get stickers that fit in the little squares on the cards. I’m a little O.C.D. about them fitting, you don’t have to be though. 

DON’T

-        -Don't expect it to work like magic without you putting in effort. You are the facilitator of this strategy and any other you use. You must keep on your game. Don’t be haphazard with giving away stickers and don’t slack on it either. Consistency is key.

-       Never take stickers away from cards. You’ll be tempted when little Johnny has a bad behavior directly after earning a reward for a good one, but it doesn’t work that way. This is a POSITIVE BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.

-       -Don’t focus on undesirable, non-sticker-earning behaviors. Instead, call out the good behaviors so the others can imitate them. Sometimes it’s easier to be negative but its more beneficial to keep a positive tone with our students.

When to Give Stickers

I give stickers out at all parts of the day. In the morning, it is routine for the kids who finish their morning work (neatly and with great attention) to get a sticker before we transition to the carpet. It sounds like a tedious task, handing out 27 individual stickers that early, but after doing it the whole year, I could check work, give verbal feedback and add a sticker to every card within about 2 minutes. Students who earned a sticker knew to clean up and head to their carpet spot without me reminding them.

I do random checks for model behavior. I look around without prompting and see a student doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing and I verbally acknowledge their winning characteristics for everyone to hear. “Hey! Jordan wrote his name on his paper before beginning. That gets a sticker!” or “Way to go Jessica! I’m going to add a sticker to your card for helping Miguel pick up his spilled crayons!” Think of the behaviors you desire the most from your kids and randomly reward kids who do those things. You’ll soon notice that they naturally get the notion to continue those awarded behaviors.

No Asking for Stickers

One thing you’ll find soon enough is that kids will verbally bring to attention their own good behavior and ask for a sticker. I explained each time this happens that I must personally observe a behavior without being told about it. No one gets a sticker if they asked for it.

Sticker Card Placement

You may not be as picky as I am about everything having its own designated place, but if you are, you’ll need to decide where students are to place their card when it is out and where it is to be stored during times it should be put away.

When teaching procedures in the beginning of this strategy, I taught my students where their card belonged at various times of the day. My students were to keep their cards in their pencil box (inside their desk) when it wasn’t in use (planning, lunch, carpet time). After the first week or two of reminding them to put those away, I eventually would just take any random card sitting out on the tables and replace it with a BLANK one. Sounds tough, but I’m pretty tight on my rules and the kids expect this.

Lost Cards

If a child loses their card, it’s not my problem. If 90% of the class is able to keep up with them, they all are. It teaches responsibility. My procedure for lost cards is not to look for them. That child just gets a new one and basically lost their collection. Again, it’s pretty tough but if they know the expectation, they’ll abide with it.  

Final Thoughts

You’ll love this system, if you use it the way that I do. It produces kids that are eager to do their best work and be kind to others. I hope I have included all the information\ you need to implement is and do so in an effective way. 

Have you used sticker-cards before? Do you have any more tips for new users? Please share in the comments! <3 

God bless y’all!