I’m looking for some good reward ideas to help keep my elementary students engaged and motivated. I’ve been using stickers and small treats but I feel like I need to mix things up a bit. What has worked well for you? I’m teaching 3rd grade if that helps. Looking for things that don’t cost too much but still get the kids excited about doing their best work.
My child enjoys making choices about dinner and weekend activities. These types of rewards seem to resonate more than treats at times. I’m curious though, can kids at this age truly appreciate long-term rewards? My little one seems more focused on immediate satisfaction.
My daughter’s work ethic completely changed when I made rewards feel like challenges. She could earn points to be ‘classroom photographer’ for a day or get first dibs on recess games. Anything that made her stand out with friends was gold. She didn’t care about getting stuff - she wanted status and recognition. Sometimes she’d earn the right to pick our family board game or help with ‘grown-up’ tasks.
My kids really enjoy earning privileges more than receiving material items. Things like extra computer time on weekends or choosing the movie for Friday night work wonders. If they’ve done well with their homework, I’ll even let them stay up a bit later on school nights.
I’ve found that giving them small responsibilities makes them feel valued, like erasing the board or organizing supplies. My daughter especially loves being “in charge” of something.
I use simple charts to help track their progress towards bigger rewards, like special outings. It keeps them motivated without requiring constant spending.
My kids at that age worked hardest for time-based rewards. Ten extra minutes of screen time or staying up fifteen minutes later on weekends was huge motivation for them.
Both my kids loved earning experiences instead of stuff at that age. My daughter went nuts for special lunch dates at her favorite restaurant, and my son worked hard for friend sleepovers.
They also got excited about picking our car music for a whole week or choosing where we’d go Saturday mornings. Barely cost me anything but felt huge to them.
What surprised me most? They loved earning “helper” roles. My youngest would bust his butt to help cook dinner or be my yard work assistant on weekends. Made them feel so grown up! 
Different kids want totally different things though. My older one cared about social stuff like friend time, while my younger one wanted to feel important and helpful. Took some trial and error to figure out what actually motivated each of them.