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Thanksgiving Is Coming

A long-awaited break is just around the corner. As the break approaches, here are some activities you might implement with staff to let them know you are thankful for the opportunity to work with them.

WORDS OF THANKS

Make paper cutouts in the shape of turkey feathers. Write on each feather a personal note to a staff member; tell why you are thankful that he or she is on the staff. If these are comments that might be made public, have each teacher add his or her feather to a turkey body posted on the wall of the teachers' lounge.

Diane Hodges An award-winning educator, highly acclaimed speaker, and bestselling author, Dr. Diane Hodges' weekly Looking Forward to Monday Morning columns present a wealth of ideas administrators can use to drive staff members happy! Diane is a frequent speaker at national and state conferences, including those of the national principal associations (NAESP, NASSP). In high-energy, humorous sessions, she unleashes dozens of ideas for promoting staff recognition and appreciation and for creating a climate of fun in the workplace. In addition, schools and school districts frequently call on Diane to share ways in which staff members can create more fun and appreciation for one another… in just minutes a day. Diane is the bestselling author of Looking Forward to Monday Morning, Looking Forward to MORE Monday Mornings, Quote This!, Laugh Lines for Educators, and Grin and Share It! -- all published by Corwin Press. You can learn more about Diane, purchase her books, or book her for a presentation in your school or district at dianehodges.com.

SURPRISE PIES

Have an assortment of pies (pumpkin, squash, blueberry, apple…) in the staff lounge for members to enjoy. You might even do this a week in advance of Thanksgiving and give each staff person the opportunity to order a pie for the holiday. Make the pies available on the day before the break.

"TALKIN' TURKEY" BINGO

On the morning before Thanksgiving break, give each staff member a BINGO card containing 3-6 games. Call numbers during student passing periods so that time is not taken away from instruction. When a staff member gets BINGO, the winner calls the office and a student runner carries the card to the office to be verified. The student selects a prize donated from local vendors for the winning staff member.

LEFTOVER LUNCH

What to do with all those Thanksgiving leftovers? Plan a "Leftover Lunch" for one day the week after Thanksgiving.

GRIN AND SHARE IT

It was the day before Thanksgiving, and the butcher was just locking up when a man started pounding on the front door.

"Please let me in," the man said desperately. "I forgot to buy a turkey, and my wife will be furious if I don't come home with one."

"Okay," said the butcher. "Let me see what I have left."

The butcher went out to the freezer and discovered that there was only one scrawny turkey left. He brought it out and showed it to the man.

"That one is too skinny. What else do you have?" the man asked.

The butcher took the bird back into the freezer, waited a few minutes, and brought the same turkey back out to the man.

"Oh, no," the man said, "that turkey doesn't look any better. You had better give me both of them!"

Find more smiles, chuckles, and grins in my books Laugh Lines for Educators and Grin and Share It!

Drive your staff happy!
Diane

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