Since I blogged about incentives, there has been quite a bit of discussion in emails, comments, and other forums about what kinds of things teachers use to award their students. Many teachers want to make sure that the awards incentivize the student but are still affordable for the teacher. So for my own benefit, I decided to organize a list of all the suggestions that were given to me and others. Perhaps you’ll find something here that will work for your studio.
- Items from the Target dollar aisle (markers, gel pens, cute socks, silly puddy, trendy signs, etc.)
- Trinkets from Oriental Trading Company
- Garage sale items (I struck gold this year and found a bunch of joke books and American Girl books for less than $.50 a piece)
- Fun paper clips, magnets, mechanical pencils (many can be found at Target, office stores, and Music in Motion)
- CDs of Classical music. (You can get decent pieces for $1 a CD from Christian Book Distributors)
- End of season clearance items (Check the clearance aisle at grocery discount stores after a holiday or at the end of summer for squirt guns, water balloons, etc.)
- Items from the Michaels dollar aisle (I’ve found great gifts for students here too…pretty notecards, fun post it notes, small toys, etc. These are not available online.)
- Itunes gift cards (This is a perfect incentive for teens! I can only find these for $15 and $25 denominations, so if you know where I can get different denominations, let me know!)
- Candy (Buy bags of candy the day after Halloween, Valentines Day and Christmas for great deals. You can usually freeze the candy to keep it fresh.)
- Sheet music (Publishers will give these away free at workshops, conventions, and as thank yous for participating in surveys)
- Trophies, ribbons, and medals from Music in Motion
If you have other ideas, please comment!
