Fun Games 4 Learning: Turkey Math Games: Desire to Inspire: Chalkboard Brights & Pastels

Last year, I posted my Desire to Inspire Pack which includes some of my favorite inspirational quotes and messages that I use with my kids in the classroom. I think that one of our greatest jobs as teachers is to inspire our students to aspire for greatness. Of course, we need tons of creative strategies and resources to implement successful instruction, but if our kids are not given a purpose for learning or taught to have a desire to achieve...what progress are we actually making? The same is true for adults. I think that everyone needs a little motivational massage every now and then. It's good for the soul! ;)

Last week, I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to Dr. Maya Angelou at RCA's graduation. She definitely knows how to motivate and uses the power of words to inspire many. Here is a clip that was featured on USA Today. If you need a little motivation in your life, you definitely don't want to miss this...

What a phenomenal and inspirational leader and example!

Okay, so how can we use the words of others to inspire our students?!? At the beginning of the year, I decorated my room with several of the quotes from my Desire to Inspire Pack. They make super cute decorations, but are super awesome motivators for the kids later on. I then covered each quote with a black piece of paper so they remained top secret {which made the kids giddy!} Each month, I revealed a new quote/inspirational message.

This is what our quote wall looked like in my room at the end of the year. I covered the inside of each frame with a black piece of construction paper and would reveal a new quote each month.

As a class, we discussed what these words meant and how we could apply them to our lives both inside and outside of the classroom. Honestly, these were some of the best and most memorable conversations I had with my students...and the kids were all about our positive thoughts wall. They could hardly wait to reveal a new quote and would remind me days before a new message was revealed. It was amazing to observe and listen to how insightful my kids could be and how deep their thinking actually became after our first few quotes. After we discussed the quote, the students would write in their journals and explain their take on the message and how they would use these words to inspire their learning in the classroom and in daily life. Let me just say...it was POWERFUL. So powerful that I would even hear them discussing different quotes throughout the year and referring back to them during specific situations. I truly credit these discussions to creating a group of learners eager to achieve and ready to help others along the way. Instead of focusing on all of these things going wrong in the world, we focused on the right...on the positive! It is amazing what the power of positive thoughts can do in the minds of children. As an adult, I have been so surprised by what even the youngest of children really know, understand, and value. And THAT is why I love being a teacher! :)

If you are looking for a way that will motivate students throughout your year, you can check out my Desire to Inspire set in my TPT shop. These packs also include a set of classroom rules. You can read last year's post {RIGHT HERE}.

Now for the best part...Desire to Inspire now has another look! Chalkboard decor is all the rage right now, so I made this little pack fit in with all of the new themes!

Since this pack is now offered with a new decor theme, please make sure you have selected the set that you would like for your room before purchasing! :)

Desire to Inspire {The Original}