Tips on Tuesdays – Popsicle sticks

January 31, 2012 by amymunns 2 Comments

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Today’s Tip – Popsicle sticks?  

 

The other day I was volunteering in my son’s second grade classroom.  I was working off on the side of the classroom and the teacher was working on a worksheet with the entire class.  I noticed she used popsicle sticks marked with each student’s name to keep track of whom she had called on to answer her questions.  How brilliant is that?

I love this idea – by picking a popsicle stick with a kid’s name on it – she keeps it fair.  With this system, she calls on her students an equal amount of time because she simply rotates though the sticks and starts over.

It got me thinking – could this system be used in different situations?

Here’s what I came up with –

• Write names of games and activities on sheets of paper to combat the “I’m Bored” comments that see to happen by 9:30am on Saturday mornings.   Set the rule that anytime you want your children to play a game or do an activity, they draw one of the suggestions from the bag – and then they have to do what is on the slip of paper.
• Similar ideas for date night suggestions.  Brainstorm ideas and then pick from a jar and enjoy some special time with your Honey.
• Keep track of your employees or clients and how you recognize and reach out to them.  Write a note of encouragement or thanks by randomly picking one each week.
• Submit some of your favorite charities to the jar and chose one each month to read more about and possibly donate money or volunteer your time.
• Tired of the same old workout routine?  Write different activities, classes or jogging routes – pick one at the beginning of each workout and it takes the guessing out of “what do I do today”.
• Want to try new recipes?  Keep printed recipes in a pile and then shuffle them around like a card dealer, face down  – this randomly select your next dinner.

I love the idea of brainstorming at one time and then using this system to take the thinking and guess work out of trying to come up with an idea of what to do – when the pressure is on.  

As I think about it – the ideas for this system are endless.  And I love the idea of popsicle sticks because you can use them over and over without them getting wornout like a piece of paper would from being handled so much.

Today’s Question – what other ideas could the popsicle stick system work, be it personal, professional, or other?  Today’s question has a prize – the third person to submit an idea gets an email copy of my e-book “What’s for Dinner.”  And yes – you can submit ideas – one and two and be the third person.

Happy Tuesday – ~Amy

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