For years I was told, "Try Class Dojo!" But I didn't do it and I wish I did the first time I heard about it.
I love Dojo for two main reasons:
1. It is motivating for kids and so fun for them.
2. It is an amazing parent communication tool.
What do I do with Dojo in my kindergarten class?
Kids get points for all sorts of things like working hard, kindness, and initiative. Every Friday they can shop at the Dojo Store or save their points. (My Dojo store menu is below). My Dojo store changes throughout the year to keep it exciting! For example, I might grab a box of popsicles then add them to the store as a "flash sale."
I do the Dojo store for my morning meeting activity. Toward the end of the year, my students see how many points they have and determine what they can buy. Awesome for number sense.
I DO take points away because I think it's important to be transparent with parents: it's not always positive in class. I do this in private. I add a note to it when possible, but not always.
I use random Dojo ALL THE TIME. It is a great management tool. If you aren't familiar with it, it picks a kid at random. If that kid is on task, ready, etc, I give them a point. I pick my student of the week with random Dojo.
I assign groups through the group maker. Takes ten seconds. You can pick how many kids per group and it automatically assigns them.
There are tons of other resources, but those are what I primarily use.
How do I use it with parents?
I post a ton of pictures and videos on Dojo. It is easy and not time consuming at all. Parents love seeing glimpses into their child's classroom. It builds stronger teacher-parent relationships.
I post a weekly parent video (I try to keep it under three minutes) with important things for parents. I pick very important topics or things that are easier to explain on a video. Parents are very receptive to this and I get really positive feedback. For example, ahead of conferences I sent home their conference forms. My video went over what each item was so I don't have to spend time at conferences explaining it, thus having more time to talk about the child specifically or the parent concerns.
I print point reports periodically for parents to see how their child is doing with behavior. This can also be a huge help to your school's MTSS/RtI process.
