Submitted by Denise Arthurs, South Carolina

Idea posted March 21, 2002

This is my first year to do Recorder Karate and the students are highly motivated! I bought yarn for less than $1.00 at Walmart and cut it into 7-inch pieces. I have been tying them on their recorders myself. One bad thing is that some kids don't have their own recorder, so I'm trying to figure out a way to honor them too. I think I will tie them around their Recorder Karate folder, and that way kids can see them.

I also have planned to make posters white, yellow, orange, etc., and I'm going to let them print their name on the poster as they receive their belts. I will display them in the room or right outside my door. I'm going to type a chart by grade level (one for fourth and one for fifth) and have them write their names after 1, 2, 3, etc. I'm hoping that it will get some more classes more motivated than they already are - sort of like a competition between classes!