4-Step Plan to Successfully Motivate Students
Read 350 Testimonials for our Motivational Reward Patches
We Believe EVERY Student Can Be Motivated to Improve
An Inexpensive, Effective Positive Reinforcement Program for Schools
Improve Student Grades, Behavior, Attitude, Effort, Attendance and More
Your School Can Define and Achieve the Behavior You Want
Our Program Creates Positive Peer Pressure
As low as 30 Cents per Award
We Can Handle P.O.'s and Bill Your School - Call 1-888-373-7745 or Email Us
Order or See Photos of All our Motivational Iron-on Patches
Why We Developed a School Motivation Program You are probably wondering why a School Motivation Program is on a Soccer website? Motivation is very important in youth sports and over time our soccer business evolved into a motivational business. Today we sell our motivational patches to every sport, schools, churches and even businesses. That happened because our program works and word spread from one customer to another. It is impractical to have more than one Shopping Cart, so we have the Shopping Cart on SoccerHelp. We also, of course, have www.schoolmotivation.com. We invented the idea of using iron-on patches to motivate kids - the idea started with us.
If Your School Wants to Start an "Every Student Can Improve" Program, We Can Give You Special Pricing as Low as 30 Cents per Award. U.S. Shipping is only $3.95 per order and we will send orders over $100 by Priority Shipping at no additional cost. We keep a million patches in stock ready-to-ship. Our patches are 100% embroidery and are our original copyrighted designs - you won't find our designs anywhere else. Our designs were created specifically to motivate kids in school and sports and our patches are manufactured for us and are only available through us. This approach REALLY WORKS and we are excited about it - it can make a difference.
We Can Invoice Schools and Offer Free Samples: We will gladly set up a billing account for your school and send an invoice with the patches. Call 1-888-373-7745 to set up an account, or email us. Schools can call our toll-free number to place an order. We qualify as a Sole Source Provider and most schools can order from us without getting bids because our designs are copyrighted and no one else sells them. We have a special offer for schools who are interested. We want to help you succeed. Your success is good for you and also for us. We want to triple the number of schools using our program. If you are a teacher, PTO officer, or are in an executive position at a school and are interested in a program to motivate EVERY student at your school (not just the very best students, but ALL students), contact us and we will send you FREE samples, and are glad to discuss it on the phone with you or the Principal or the PTO President.
Below are Ideas for a Program to Motivate Every Student to Improve. You can adapt these ideas into handouts for teachers and parents. You can copy photos of our patches at www.soccerhelp.com/Patch_Photos.shtml
The Benefits of a Motivational Program that Allows EVERY Child to Experience Success and that Teaches that Improvement is a Journey of Many Small Steps. The program described below is designed to motivate the improvement of EVERY student and gives EVERY student the chance to EARN a patch. Every child isn't a genius and every kid can't be the best student. But every child can improve in some way - it might be in one subject, or attitude, or effort, or attendance, or whatever is important to your school. In sports, MVP awards can be counterproductive because the same gifted kids win them and lots of kids (including me) could never have won one. Only rewarding the students who make the best grades can also be counterproductive and can cause resentment among the other kids. I was one of the kids who won all the academic awards in Middle School. My school had award programs in front of all the students where only the very best students were rewarded. I was one of the few who won those awards and I was taunted by the other kids for being a smart kid. I think there is a better way. EVERY student can be encouraged to do their best and improve. We all know that continual improvement and a desire to improve are very important in school and in life. This approach will teach kids that improvement is a Journey of many small steps and that the key to success is continuing improvement. If your students can be taught to try to continually improve, then you have taught them something that can change their lives for the better. Those incremental improvements will add up to better students and a better school. Pride or Spirit Shirts to Iron the Patches On So They Are Visible Awards to Be Worn On Pride Day. Buy cool cotton shirts for the student's parents to iron the patches on. (Obviously, the parents - tell kids to NOT use an iron). The kids can help decide where they want their parents to put each patch on their Pride or Spirit Shirt. (In some low-income areas, the schools arrange to iron on the patches). When ironed on a Pride or Spirit Shirt, the patches are more effective because the kids can show them off and the other kids see them. The Pride or Spirit Shirts become a form of Positive Peer Pressure. The kids will ask each other "How did you EARN that patch?" That makes it clear that the patches are EARNED by doing the things the teachers want the students to do. The Patches are VISIBLE AWARDS that the kids have earned and get to show off. The Pride Shirts and Pride Day are a way to celebrate achievements and encourage kids to want to improve so they can earn the Awards. We don't sell Pride Shirts, you can buy them locally. To Get the Most Positive Reinforcement Out of the Patches, Present them in a Patch Ceremony in Front of the Class - Use Praise and Self-Fulfilling Expectations: Give the patches in a Patch Ceremony in front of the Class. Give them to the students one at a time so each student gets personal recognition and to be in the spotlight and to feel like a success. Make it somewhat formal and a Big Deal. Call the name of the student who has earned the reward and have them come up one at a time. Hopefully, every child has done something to earn an award. Explain to the student and to the class what the student has done to earn this award and PRAISE the student before you give the student the Patch Award so the student AND the class know how that Award was EARNED. Maybe even shake their hand so they know it is a big deal and special. Use Praise words and phrases like "Great job" or "I am really proud of you" or "I love your effort and attitude". or "You are really improving." Encourage the other kids to clap when each patch is awarded and to be happy for each other's success. That way every child can see what it takes to EARN a patch and can see that improvement, effort and attitude will be praised and rewarded. Remember - Praise and enthusiasm will make it special and memorable. Set up "Self-Fulfilling Expectations" - kids tend to become what we expect and what we tell them they are. We all know that hard work, effort, perseverance, self-esteem, and a great attitude make a difference in school and in life and those traits are good things to encourage. If a kid wants to be successful and believes that he or she can be successful and is taught what it takes to be successful, then they are more likely to become successful. If you tell a kid "I believe you can do it", most kids are much more likely to successfully achieve what you want than if you say "I don't think you can do it". That is teaching Positive Thinking and is setting up a Self-Fulfilling Expectation. You can copy photos of our patches at www.soccerhelp.com/Patch_Photos.shtml
The V Patch can be used for Personal Victories (Individual Improvement) so EVERY student has the chance to be a Winner. This is a perfect patch to teach kids to continually strive for improvement and it starts to teach the concept of having goals. The V Patch can be given for any type of improvement that the teacher considers important -- grades, attitude, effort, improvement in any subject, or whatever the student needs to work on to become a better student and a better person. This approach gives EVERY student the chance to EARN this patch AND to see what it feels like to experience SUCCESS - all they have to do is to improve in some way. A good way to implement this is for the teachers to write down Goals for each Student and to identify ways every student can improve - the teachers can then tell each student how the student can earn the V Patch.
The C Patch can be used for doing something "Cool" like being polite or helping the teacher in some way, picking up trash in the lunchroom, holding open a door for a kid who is carrying books, helping someone who is hurt on the playground, etc. The Teachers or the Motivation Committee can define what is "Cool". This is a positive reinforcement approach where the school defines what is "Cool" and rewards that behavior. Example: It isn't Cool to be mean, but it IS Cool to be nice.
The B Patch is for Bravery. Every kid wants to be Brave because heroes are brave. "Brave" is another word for Character, mental discipline and willpower, but is a much more motivating word to kids than "Character", "mental discipline" or "willpower". Bravery can be many things. It is Brave for a kid to accept a challenge from the teacher to change behavior or to try to do better. Not giving in to Negative Peer Pressure is Brave. Overcoming an obstacle is Brave. Doing your homework even when you are sick is Brave. Falling down and bouncing back up is Brave. Standing up for a kid who is being picked on is Brave. There are many ways to be Brave. All kids want to be Brave and you can define what is "Brave" at your school and use the desire to be Brave to encourage the behavior you want. For example: Consider challenging students to be Brave and consider trying a Self-Fulfilling Expectation approach by asking a student if he or she will accept your Challenge (challenge them to do something you want that is Achievable) and IF they do, privately give them a B patch to keep at their desk as a source of motivation and to look at every day for inspiration. Tell them to save it and WHEN they have accomplished the Challenge, that you will present it to them in front of all the students and that they can iron it on their Pride Shirt that shows all their patches. Remember - If you give a student a Challenge, be SURE it is ACHIEVABLE and not too difficult - you want to build their confidence and let them see that they CAN succeed. Start with something the student can DEFINITELY achieve.
Happy Face Patch. For doing something that makes the teacher OR the staff OR other students happy. It could be a good deed or having a great attitude or anything that causes the teacher or the staff or other students to be happy. This is obviously MUCH better than making the teacher or the Staff or other students sad. The Teacher would administer this and can accept nominations from Staff and from other students for this Award (you might want to require that more at least 2 students make the nomination unless the teacher feels it is deserved). SO, this award can only come from the teacher OR from a nomination made by a Staff member or from a nomination by other students. It is a form of recognition and positive motivation. The nomination process is in itself a character-building process that creates Positive Peer Pressure. We suggest you encourage students to solicit nominations - that will teach students how to take actions that can lead to success. Your school will be a happy place if your students EARN lots of Happy Face Awards.
Red A Patch for Monthly Perfect Attendance (or for 2 months of perfect attendance). Perfect attendance for a month or two is very possible for every kid, so every kid has a chance to earn one of these awards. This award should result in an improvement in overall attendance. If a kid starts out the semester by earning this, the odds are that they will try to earn the Golden A for perfect attendance for the Semester.
Golden A Patch for Semester Perfect Attendance. Obviously, this is harder to earn but it is still a great goal.
Star Patches. We sell 9 different colors of Star Patches. You can use the Star Patches to motivate anything else you want to encourage and reward.
Lightning Bolt. The Lightning Bolt Patch is another patch that can be used as part of your motivation program.