Create this fun food themed rewards center and classroom reading nook! This DIY rewards center will help motivate students to always do their best.
My teacher friend, Tiffany, is a total foodie and wanted to incorporate her love of all things sweet into a brand new reading nook and rewards station this year for her classroom. We came together, brainstormed and ended up creating what's sure to be the sweetest station you've ever seen! Be sure to check out the rest of Tiffany's Food Themed Classroom Decor here!
We started putting this center together by lining up a couple of white cubed bookshelves. We also laid down a cute, bright rug and added a couple of no-sew pom-pom pillows for the kids to lounge on while they are reading.
The pillows are super simple to make since there is no sewing required! Use hot glue to adhere yarn poms and pom-pom trim to pillows. Make pillows in an array of sizes and bright colors. These pillows are a great way to add a touch of home and color to your reading nook.
To keep the classroom reading corner organized, we filled the cubes with Neon and Bright Colored Classroom Book Storage Bins and labeled them. We chose to arrange our books by alphabetical title order. To ensure this area would stay organized throughout the year we wrote the capital and lowercase of each letter onto Funtastic Food Friends Nametags with Sharpie Marker and stuck the labels onto bins. The storage bins were then filled with plenty of books for the kiddos to choose from.
DIY jumbo Alphabet Letters that spell 'READ' are painted with bright yellow paint. We sprayed Elmer's Spray Adhesive over the painted letters and sprinkled Gold Glitter onto the wet adhesive. While the letters were drying, we hung Gold Mylar Balloon Uppercase Bulletin Board Letters to spell out 'Donut forget to' and also added a Donut Piñata to the wall for some more dimension. Once the letters were dry, we hung them along with Bright Tissue Hanging Fans, a Popsicle Piñata, and a Taco Piñata to create the ultimate reading nook decor.
Here's a great tip on hanging the piñatas on the wall: Use adhesive Command® strips so they hang on the wall and stay there! At the end of the year, take down the piñatas, fill them with candy or your leftover prizes from the rewards center and let students hit the piñatas at your end-of-the-year classroom party!
The rewards center is where your students are really going to be inspired to do their best every day. We labeled Tall Jars with Lids, Large Storage Jars, and Short Jars with cute jar labels. You can download the Free Printable Rewards Center Jar Labels here. Simply print them onto sticker paper, cut them out, and stick them onto the jars. Print as any as you need! Fill the jars with fun rewards like Laminated Funtastic Food Friends Bookmarks, Pizza Pens, Taco Truck Pullback Racers, Funtastic Food Friends Mini Notebooks, or Donut Keychain Squishies. Place the filled jars under a Big Top Tabletop Tent and decorate it with a Donut Party Garland.
We also added in extra incentives by filling Fast Food-shaped and Plastic Donut Easter Eggs with tickets for one free homework pass or extra reading/recess time.
Tall Jars with Lids are propped up on a DIY Wood Flowerbox Centerpiece and filled with all sorts of goodies including, Donut Keychain Squishies, Bright Pineapple Erasers, Pizza Erasers, Summer Treats Erasers, 3D Donut Erasers, Taco-Scented Bookmarks, and Pizza Scented Bookmarks. We topped the jar lids with Free Printable Food Themed Rewards Center Jar Labels. You can download the Free Printable Rewards Center Jar Labels here.
Tiffany wanted to have her own behavior bingo sheets so that kids could play to earn toys and games. But this couldn't be just any ol' bingo card, so we decided to design a Fun Food Themed Behavioral Bingo Card that you can print for free. You can download the free printable Food Themed Classroom Behavior Bingo Cards here. Fill in the bingo card using some fun shaped Star Stampers or Basic Star Stickers. We also included a completely blank bingo card so you can use it for things other than good behavior.
Once the kids have gotten a bingo on their cards, they can choose from the different levels of incentives at the classroom rewards. Get multiple bingos, fill your bingo card or save up the bingos for the higher level prizes.
Kids love to be able to choose their own rewards and having a variety of choices makes choosing that much more fun! This cutie chose some adorable Donut Party Plush Donuts that he was going to share with his mom and sisters!
Want more food themed center ideas? Be sure to check out the rest of Tiffany's Food Themed Classroom Decor here!
Find more details on the different areas of the food themed classroom at the links below:
Growth Mindset Classroom Door Decor Idea
Food Themed Classroom Organization Ideas
Taco Themed Bulletin Board Idea
Don't forget to download the food themed classroom decor free printables at the links below:
Free Printable Food Themed Behavior Bingo Cards
