As a child, I loved school and I loved to learn. I don’t remember all of the lessons my teachers taught and planned for, the homework I did, or the tests I took, but I vividly remember the way my teachers made me feel. Whether it was through words, a simple look, or a smiley face on my paper, I knew that my teachers cared about me and that I was important. Throughout my experience working with children, I find comfort in this philosophy: My classroom is a positive space that makes children feel safe and supported.

As an early childhood teacher, I have students who have never been to school before, students who don’t know how to write their name or hold a book. But all of my students get a universal language that everyone understands: positive reinforcement.

Enter Magic Marbles, Secret Student and the Kindness Jar. These are various incentive and reward systems I use in my classroom.

Magic Marbles: My students truly believe that these marbles are actually magic. If you could see the way their faces light up when they earn them, you’d wish that as an adult, you believed in Magic Marbles, too. I make my expectations very clear about what students can do to earn a marble — like sitting quietly when the teacher is trying to get the class’ attention, following directions and quietly completing work to the best of their ability. Marbles are earned throughout the week and counted on Fridays together as a class. The table with the most marbles goes to the prize box. Yippie! This system emphasizes how important it is for students to work together and shows them what can be accomplished when they do.

Secret Student: Making children wait a whole week for a reward is torture, right? Children of any age need something a little more instantaneous, something that can be achieved in one day. I also want my students to be accountable for their own behavior throughout the day. The Secret Student incorporates all of these things. A Secret Student is someone I choose at the end of the day who was a good listener or good friend, followed directions, walked nicely in the hallway, etc. I give reminders throughout the day that I’m watching closely to see who is demonstrating “Secret Student behaviors.” At the end of the day, I announce in front of the class who the Secret Student is and why. That student goes to the prize box, their name is written on my Secret Student chart and they get special computer time the next day. I secretly love when my students guess the Secret Student before I announce it. It shows me that they are able to recognize good behavior and know my expectations.

The Kindness Jar: We’re taught at an early age the importance of being polite and using kind words. Somehow this concept is lost once someone “steals my pencil” or “plays with my hair on the carpet,” to name a few of my students’ complaints. Instead of emphasizing the wrong in a situation, I try to recognize the good. In the first few weeks of school, my students and I take time out of our day to model how to treat each other, as well as act out situations we may find ourselves in and how we can respond in a positive, polite way. I try to catch moments when students treat each other kindly. I recognize those students in front of the class and they put a marble in the Kindness Jar. When the Kindness Jar is full, the class gets a special treat.

Sometimes verbal praise is a reward in itself. If I had a nickel for every time I said, “Thank you for doing the right thing,” I’d be a very rich teacher. I’ve found that when students see their friends being recognized by the teacher, they want to be recognized too.

No matter what forms of positive reinforcement you use in your classroom, it is important for us to celebrate and recognize our students’ accomplishments, big and small. Things that we as teachers deem “easy peasy lemon squeezy” are not always as simple for them. I celebrate that moment when a student holds a pencil correctly for the first time and writes his name. These moments pass quickly; catch them when you can.