Morning Messages & Their Impact

As everyone is in the middle of their new school year, procedures and routines are in full swing. I want to bring you something that I treasure and believe is one of the most important parts of my classroom's day. Morning Messages.

I know many people use morning messages, but if you don't, or you just need new ideas as to why you should keep using them, you have found the right place! Morning messages are just what they say they are, messages that are put up in the morning as the students come into the classroom. People do morning messages in many different forms, some use chart paper, some use their chalk or white board, and some use their computer. I am one who uses their computer (well my promethean board). I have compiled a list of the amazing impacts morning messages can have on a classroom.

Stops the Repeating Questions

Repeating the answer to the same question a hundred times a day could go down as one of my biggest pet peeves as a teacher. Morning messages can be a solution to help minimize the number of questions you have throughout the day! On your morning message you can give the kids the daily schedule of whats going to happen in your classroom. They become informed and ready to face the day. It is also perfect for those days where you have  a convocation, picture day, or you have a two-hour delay and the schedule is weird. I have found that including that information in the morning message prepare the kids for the day (especially those friends who are schedule oriented), whether is be a normal or wonky day.

Encouraging Words 

One of my favorite parts of writing a morning message every day is including an inspirational quote. If you are anything like me, you love quotes. I am pretty sure this is the reason some kids leave my class loving quotes because I give them a new one to think about everyday! You can get your quotes from anywhere, but I have a few favorite sources. First one is 365 Days of Wonder, it is a book of Mr. Browne's precepts (if you have read Wonder you know who this is). It is a book full of 365 quotes, some famous, and some by kids. Another book is the Kid President's Guide to Being Awesome it also has some great quotes, and who doesn't love the Kid President?

I also have a large Google Doc that I made this summer of quotes from my notebooks, planners, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. On my Google Doc, I can go easily copy the quote, then paste it in my message. My trick is once you have copied the quote, change the font color in Google and you will never repeat or lose you spot in the list. Why not start your students' day out with a little inspiration?

Simple & Quick

As I said previously and what you can gather from the pictures, I type my messages and project them on my Promethean board. That being said, they are super quick and super easy to type up every morning. When I feel like I am rushed and running around like a chicken with my head cut off, a morning message will always be written because they take that little time to do! I know as teachers we have very full plates that are constantly being added to daily, but this is one that doesn't even take up a tiny part of the plate. My morning messages are all typed on Keynote (Apple's version of PowerPoint), and I use the same template everyday, so I just type what I want to say and its done!

Celebrate Your Students

Morning messages are a wonderful outlet to celebrate the successes of your students. It could have been something they did that was amazing yesterday, they could have won a game/activity, or helped out a friend. Nothing is better than seeing their faces when their names on up on the morning message!
 Another easy way to incorporate your students in the morning message is when birthdays roll around, post a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY, and some days will be completely changed! I am using Ron Clark's house system this year in my classroom and every Monday I update who the house leader is, and the kids love it! Any chance we have to celebrate our students we must do it, and what's easier than typing it up for all to see?

Fun for Clipart/Digital Paper Lovers 

If you are anything like my and have a slight obsession with digital papers and clipart, this is just another way to use all of those goodies you purchased on TPT! I love making new combinations and showing off new clipart, and I love using older clipart I forgot I had! You can get creative! I like to think of it as a blank canvas!

These are just a few reasons why I love using morning messages in my classroom!

My hope is that you give morning messages a try in your classroom if you don't already! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!