Over the past year and a half as a teacher at North College Hill Elementary School, I have had problems with students not having a pencil when it is time for class. We also have a great bakery in North College Hill, so I began the “jelly donut” fund. Every time a student asked for more than one pencil a week, I tracked it and said they owed me a jelly donut from the bakery. I never held students to the list, but over the school year at least once a week a student delivered me a jelly donut.
After getting involved with the WeTHRIVE! program, it made me rethink my “jelly donut” list. Reading about the program made me think about the example I set for my students as well as the way I talk about food to them. They all know I love to exercise and eat right, but it was a contradiction when I asked for jelly donuts.
That is when I decided to change it from the “jelly donut” list to the “fruit” list. Every time a student needed a pencil more than once a week I told them they owed me an apple, orange, banana, or my favorite, a “Cutie.” It wasn’t long before I had fruit being left on my desk rather than jelly donuts. I even heard the students comment that “Mr. Nimmer doesn’t eat that junk food anymore so don’t give him any.”
This year I plan to continue the Fruit List as a way of encouraging students to make a healthier choice. I also plan to have a bowl of fruit in the room all of the time available for the students.
