Desk Fairy

Usually I have my students clean out their desks every few weeks. I have several students that naturally keep their desks very neat but most 1st grade students need to be taught how to be neat. We usually clean out our desks one step at a time. For example, I have the students start with everything on top of their desk so they can clean out little bits of trash, crayons, glue, etc. Then we all put our math books in, then our reading books, and so on until we have just the ketchup folder and art box left. We clean out our art boxes so that they don't have 15 pencils in them (we have communal pencils that I sharpen every week) or other random trash. Then we clean out our ketchup folders. I have them put work in their ketchup folder that didn't get done but wasn't extremely important or graded. I tell them what things should be in their folder and anything extra they have can be taken home to be finished or it can be recycled. 

Now, they all know the procedure and can clean their desks on their own. They are getting way better at keeping their desks more clean in general. Friday when they were cleaning their desks I mentioned that the desk fairy might visit sometime soon. I have mentioned "her" before and "she" has left gold tickets in clean desks already. However, they all heard this announcement and for some reason they all went crazy. I then had a little discussion going between a few boys and whether or not Mrs. Reed was the desk fairy. One student asked me if the desk fairy was real and I said "Of course!" Another student said that it was just me. I told them that the desk fairy only comes on the weekends and I am not at school then so of course she was real! The 2nd student asked "So if I look in the window during the weekend when no one is here, I'll see a little fairy lady flying around?" I said yep!