I bought a long, hanging piece of material for an attendance chart and tacked it near the front door of the classroom. I cardboard-backed and laminated student nametags, and put velcro on the back of each. I put the other side of the velcro (the hook part) on the attendance chart to hang each nametag. I put a little piece of velcro on the top of each desk. When students came in, they would pull their nametag from the attendance chart and velcro it to their desks. I could then easily look at the chart and tell if someone was absent.
Attendance/Lunch Count
Submitted by: Debbie Dellovo,
Grade One from Massachusetts
Pre-cut oaktag circles about 3 inches in diameter. Have the students illustrate their faces on the circle and glue them to a clothespin clip. (You could also take pictures of the kids and glue them on the clip). On a large piece of construction paper (12 X 18) cut and paste an icon for hot and bag lunches. Paste them at the top (long way) of two columns. Laminate and hang in a prominate place near the entrance of the classroom. Clips are kept in a basket near the poster. When the children come in they find their clip and clip it to the appropriate side of the poster. Those left in the basket are absent. Add clips in columns for lunches. Helpers can put clips back in basket at the end of the day. Check Emotional Attitudes while Taking Roll .. Submitted by: Unknown, Elementary Grades Have students take a circle and make a smiley face on one side and a frowny face on the other. Glue to a popsicle stick. Make a pocket chart with a pocket for each child. When the child comes in the classroom each day have the faces in a can. The child selects a face and places it in his/her pocket with the appropriate side facing out.
Clothespin and your theme
Submitted by: Melissa Bradex, first grade
My theme is Bradex Busy Bees so I put a good size beehive with three strips hanging down. What the strips hang from can be whatever your class theme is. One strip says "hot", another says "cold", and the last says nothing. I have written each of my student's name on a clothespin. The morning starts off with everyones clothespin on the strip that is not labeled. As they come in, they take their name from the unlabeled strip and place it on the "hot" or "cold" strip. In less than 5 minutes I have a visual of who is absent, the names left on the unlabeled strip, and a quick count of hot and cold lunches at the same time.
Easy Attendance
Submitted by: Melissa Windschitl,
First My first graders are delegated into "color groups" from the beginning of the school year. Each day a color group is in charge of attendance and calendar. When it comes time for attendance to be taken I call the color group for the day and they count the lunch sticks, fill in the absences, and bring the slip to the office. This allows me to circulate throughout the room checking work instead of taking the attendance, plus the kids love the responsibility! Easy Attendance and Lunch Count Submitted by: Mandy, 4-5 This works if you only need a lunch count(we don't choose between hot and cold lunch). I purchased a small bulletin board, a box of small cup hooks (like the ones that you might use in your kitchen cabinets), and some of those round locker tags (the paper circles with metallic rims and a ring attached) at Walmart. I screw the cup hooks into the cork in rows, write each child's name on a locker tag, and then hang the tags on the hooks - names facing out. I also cut up 1" squares of paper and punch the top with a hole punch. It sits nicely on my chalk tray just inside my door. When "Jerome" walks in the door, he flips his name tag. If he is getting a lunch, he places a paper tag on top of his tag. At a glance, I can see whose name is showing (absent) and how many lunches we need (count the paper tags)!
File Folder Attendance and Lunch Count
Submitted by: Angela Bauer, Kindergarten
I take two white file folders and decorate one with a "lunch tray" and the other with a "bag lunch." I hang them over the edge of our sign in table. Each day the child is required to find their name/photo card and put it in the pocket. It tells me quickly who has done attendance, and what they are having for lunch. Free Parking! Submitted by: Gerl Kennedy, 3rd Grade I used decorative vinyl place mats to cut out a car shape on the Ellison die cutter. I put a piece of magnetic tape on the back of each car(one per student). I generate small labels with the students' first and last names. I put a piece of clear packing tape on 3 large tongue depressors. Each afternoon, my Lunch Counter (student helper) uses a dry erase marker to write the two lunch choices and lunch box on the tongue depressors (tape makes it erasable). I put the choices on my filing cabinet. Each morning, students come into the room and park their car under their choice of the day. The cars that remain let me know who is absent. Since the names are on the cars, the Attendance Taker can write down the absent students on the absentee sheet. The Lunch Counter can count the choices and take the results to the cafeteria manager. With this easy method, my students do the work and we spend no time counting choices over and over and if students forget what they chose, the list is still there and I've written nothing at all.
Graphing Hot and Cold Lunches
Submitted by: Unknown,
I give my students each a small index/flashcard to decorate as they choose. On the front of student closets, I put a small piece of poster board with library pockets...one per child. At the end of the closets, I have a two column "graphing" pocket chart with a card in each side--one HOT and one COLD. Each morning, students take their cards and put them into either the hot or cold column to show how they are eating lunch. Any cards not put into the chart are absent students. On the way to lunch, students put their cards back into the library pockets. One child each week gets to count the hot lunches and give the absence report to me to fill in out attendance/lunch slips. Fuss free and no hassle for me. Greeting Sticks Submitted by: Brian, 4th, St. Joseph, MO Hi! At my school we meet in the gym every morning before school starts, so I would give my kids a greeting stick (craft stick) with their name on it. The student would keep the stick until they got to the classroom where on a bulletin board, I had a box for "HOT" lunch and a box for "COLD" lunch. As the students got stuff out of back packs they would put thier stick in the correct box. All I had to do, was pick up the sticks, so who was HOT or COLD while the students were working on the Morning Task. Also, it easy to tell who is absent. I did not have to call out names ever this year, to find about lunch. I had to replace the stick after Christmas break, that is when they start to show thier age.
Learn Personal Info + Lunch Count...
Submitted by: Renae, Kindergarten
At the beginning of the school year, I get a lunch tray from the cafeteria and put two small plastic boxes on it labeled "hot lunch" and "bag lunch." I then get a tongue depressor for each child with their first name on one side and their last name on the other side with another color. I begin by having all of the children find their first name and put in in the appropriate box. I then switch to the last name side. When all students are able to identify their first and last name, I get new sticks and write the child's last name on one side and their phone number on the other. I also use the child's address, birthday, etc... I "test" a few children each day and put a sticker on the tongue depressor if they recite it correctly. It is a great way for children to learn personal information as well as do the lunch count.
Lunch Count & Attendance Secretary...
Submitted by: Jane Myer, 5th Grade
A great time-saver for me last year was delegating the responsibility of lunch count and attendance taking to my "secretary." I bought a cheap cookie sheet and some small round magnets. After spray-painting the magnets white, I wrote numbers on them in permanent marker. I also used the permanent marker to draw and label columns on the cookie sheet as follows: brought, hot, sack, absent. Each morning the kids moved the magnet with their class number on it from the "absent" column to the appropriate column. Those left in the absent column were obviously "absent." My secretary (selected by me for a 9-week period) then simply counted the magnets in each column and recorded them on the sheet for the kitchen and office and delivered the information. No more trying to get everyone's attention so I could count hands....usually several times. I loved it!
Lunch Count Graph
Submitted by: Jean M. Adams, 2nd
I have a picture of a tray lunch and sack lunch placed on a magnetic chalkboard with a dividing line of tag paper between them. Purchase some calendar squares and cut out the design (I used the apple) laminate and put some magnetic tape on the back. When students enter the room they place their apple under the correct part of the graph. All of my students have class numbers so the lunch count is also my attendance. If you don't move the apple you're absent. I have a student move these back after I do the lunch count. :)
Picture Perfect Lunch Count...
Submitted by: Trudy, Second Grade
I take a picture of each of my students on the first day of school. I display them in a pocket chart (it usually takes about 5 rows on the chart). Behind each picture is a cardboard apple cut-out that has HOT on one side and COLD on the other. Each day when the kids come in the first thing they do is place their apple in front of their picture showing whether they have hot or cold lunch. When my helpers take attendance, if a picture is still showing we know that person is absent. At the end of the day the helpers place all of the apples behind the pictures for the next day!
What's For Lunch?
Submitted by: Kim Gray, 5 year kindergarten
I am lucky to have a magnetic white board in my room. I have cut pictures out of magazines and laminated them. I put a small piece of magnetic stip on the back for each. Each child also has their name with a magnet on it. When they unpack in the mornings, they go over to the board and look to see what is for lunch. Then they locate their name and place it under the appropriate picture. I also have a picture of a lunch box
