Grow a Heart – Positive Reinforcement

I use lots of positive reinforcement in my classroom. Praising and rewarding students for good behavior is much more effective than focusing heavily on what not to do. I had this in mind when I created Grow a Heart.

After reading Grow a Heart in my classroom, we discuss the many ways we can grow hearts and the ways we can hurt hearts. I then provide activities to further reinforce these ideas. Some of these activities can be found in my classroom kit here. Examples of  ways to grow a heart at school are listening, using kind words, trying your best, sharing, taking turns, raising your hand, asking a friend to play, etc. 

I then use the grow a heart metaphor to provide lots of verbal praise. For example,  “I like how Jack raised his hand instead of interrupting. That grew my heart,” or  “It was nice of you to share that toy. That grows my heart and your friend’s heart, too!” I make sure to draw other student’s attention to the positive behavior as well.

Another way I like to provide positive reinforcement is using rewards. This can be as simple as handing out stickers, to using the reward slips or behavior charts I created, to working together to earn a classroom party. I like to print out a big heart for our bulletin board then hand out smaller hearts to students who I see growing a heart.  We add their heart to the bulletin board and when the heart is full, we have a party!

I just love how positive reinforcement creates an overall happier, more peaceful environment!

Click here for a free download of the behavior charts I created to be used at school or at home. Kids can color the hearts or add a sticker every time they grow a heart and work for a reward when they have filled all the hearts. I created charts with less hearts for younger children and more for older kids. 

Get your copy of Grow a Heart here!