Back to School Pineapple Bulletin Board

Develop more CONFIDENT student leaders who build a POSITIVE community filled with respect by sharing these 3 POWERFUL LIFE LESSONS with your class!

Whether it's the beginning of the school year or the end of the year, using the Pineapple Poem as a metaphor is a great way to teach important life lessons to your students!  My advice is to chunk this up into digestible bites for your class.  Read on to find out more about the pineapple-themed life lessons I share with my class to help them develop into better leaders.

Pineapple Life Lesson #1: Good Vibes Only!

I'm a big believer in the power of STAYING POSITIVE!  Each school year, I love building class community and relationships off this idea of GOOD VIBES ONLY!  I say, life's too short to go through it as a grouch - lighten up and be aware of your energy!  Before my obsession with pineapples, I used the "smart cookie" metaphor, and I would frequently remind, "You can't be a smart cookie with a crumbly attitude."  Basically, you can't grow & get better at something if you choose to stay in your fixed mindset and just complain & groan.  Positive energy raises the vibe up and keeps your emotions happy and the stress level light.  Instead of freaking out, I teach my students to stay calm & focus on the positive.  This isn't just a school strategy, but an applicable lesson for life!

Pineapple Life Lesson #2: Stand Tall

It's a fact of life, not everyone is going to be your biggest fan in life.  In fact, you will run into your fair share of haters.  (The kids always giggle when I use this term, but it's the best word for me to get the message across.)  It is important to remain resilient and STAND TALL: not giving up or quitting when the going gets tough.  Don't let the haters bring you down to their level and turn it into a war of low-blows, but be the BIGGER person.  I remind them, you can't control other people's thoughts, feelings, or opinions - all you have control over are TWO things in this world: YOUR attitude and YOUR actions!  Don't let someone tear you down with their hurtful comments.  

Often, the best medicine you can show that person is to RISE UP and go on with your day minding your own business & staying HAPPY WITH YOURSELF (all while showing kindness and not being mean in retaliation because SECRETLY they are trying to STEAL your HAPPINESS. If your emotions show you're sad or mad, it means they won and you just lost.)  This is also a good time to briefly touch on bullying - this word is so overused and confused and misunderstood.  So, I find it's easier for me to clear up these misconceptions early on. Often times, kids overreact and think one act of unkindness means that someone is bullying them.  Repeated and intentional acts to pick on someone over a consistent basis is how bullying is different than a single, senseless act.

Pineapple Life Lesson #3: Be TOUGH on the outside, but SWEET on the INSIDE!  

This lesson is the perfect follow-up to the previous lesson on Stand Tall.  Having tough skin like the protective skin of a pineapple is important to protect your brain from believing the untrue comments your haters will tell you.  It truly helps you protect your happiness to realize that you are in control of your emotions and STOP giving that power to others.  Being sweet, like the tasty fruit found inside the pineapple, is just a way to remind you to show kindness to others.  We are in this world to make it a better place, and we do that by sharing love to each other.  Kids often connect this idea easily to the "Golden Rule" or "Do the Right Thing Even When No One is Watching." 

How do I keep these pineapple LIFE LESSONS on my students' mind?  

I post a Pineapple Welcome Board outside my classroom that students pass by each morning before they greet me at the door.  In addition to the kids delighting in seeing their very own name on the pineapple outside our door because it adds to a sense of belonging, I also keep the Pineapple Poem posted on this bulletin board as well.  Additionally, I typically ask an applicable question during read alouds or novel discussion about a character.  Was The BFG doing a good job of standing tall when his giant brothers picked on him for his small size?  Tell your partner 2 ways you know the BFG is someone who stays sweet on the inside.  This easy strategy can be used with any character traits program your school may follow, or the one you've chosen to be your own class theme!

 

This clipart by Prettygrafik had me at A-LO-HA!  When I saw it was on sale, it was an even SWEETER deal!  I knew it was the perfect way to give my best-selling Editable Pineapple Welcome Bulletin Board a makeover for the back to school season!  If you're curious to see what the original design looked like, click here.

Stay Sweet & Stand Tall🍍 this School Year!

Tropical Vibes (EDITABLE labels & name tags)

Getting ready for the new school year, means it's time to get "OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW!"  I hope you enjoy adding this product to your classroom as much as I have and most definitely this will bring GOOD VIBES only as you decorate with tropical flair when you go BACK-to-SCHOOL this year!

 In previous school years, I've been content with my black & white polka dot name tags to achieve a streamlined look that did not VISUALLY ASSAULT my eyes all day long as I taught... *ahem* CHEVRON & LOUD COLORS such as RED which are not used in high doses in my room.  It seemed that this year as I am switching out DESKS for TABLES, that I'll also be switching POLKA DOTS out for STRIPES!

 This resource is an editable PowerPoint file so you're able to insert your student names or desired text into the textbox fields.  Another benefit of working with an editable file, is that you're able to duplicate a slide so you don't have to repeat your formatting over and over again for a FULL CLASS set!  Are you a fan of the font shown in the example nametags above?  If so, you can be like me and use the font, CCQuitBaconMyHeart which is an adorable Cara Carroll font available here.

 Have you ever seen those adhesive square pocket labels in the Target Dollar Spot before?  Well, let me tell you that these trendy, little bilingual name tags will fit perfectly inside of them.  I like them because they are durable and will last all year long on student desks, cubbies, bins, etc. but also do not require that you laminate the item that goes inside.  The sleeve protects whatever you're sliding in or out!

All of the name tags in this set come in 6 different color varieties, which makes it super SIMPLE to form groups.  For example, tell your students, "Go form a group made up of those who share the same color nametag as you."  In a class of 24 students, you can easily put them into mixed groups of 4.  Or, "This time you're group will need to be made up of ALL DIFFERENT colored name tags."  If you have students already sitting in tables with different colored name tags, then randomly assign various tasks, "All purple nametags come collect the materials for your team."  "Black nametags will stand to be the spokesperson for their team," the possibilities are endless.  You can also add an image or colored dot/shape of your choice in the editable PowerPoint file to each name tag so you can easily incorporate more cooperative learning strategies into your classroom!

Finally, before you open your doors to new students this school year, protect your personalized labels by laminating anything that comes across heavy traffic or daily use.  For example, all of my table baskets and bins are labeled by the table number they've been assigned.  These community supplies get frequently used and get cleaned by Clorox wipes from time to time, so they must be built to last the school year. Check out this BRAND NEW, HEAVY-DUTY HeatSeal PRO Laminator from Mead I used to protect my tropical labels!  Read more about my review of this product's overall quality in my previous post.