Teacher’s Sticky Note ‘Check-In’ Board Is Grabbing the Attention of Educators Everywhere

It’s easy to think that the job of raising kids falls on the shoulders of the parents. It does, largely, especially in the early months and years when parents spend a bulk of their time with their kids, but as children get older and go off to school, or as working parents go back to work after maternity leave and send their child to daycare or hire a nanny, the responsibility becomes shared.

There are some things kids can’t talk to their parents about, or simply won’t talk to their parents about. Let’s be honest, sometimes there are parents who don’t want to listen to what their children have to say or who simply don’t understand what they mean.

It can be helpful to have another trusted adult for children to confide in and learn from. Maybe this is the cool aunt, a long-time nanny or a teacher who is exceptional at his or her job.

One teacher has made it a priority to check-in with each of her students. We don’t know her name, but we do know her method. In a Facebook post by Tara Mitchell Holman, we see a very simple and effective technique that one teacher is using to have thoughtful conversations with her students.

Holman posted a picture of a dry erase board in a classroom. There’s a chart that reads “Monday Check-In” at the top, and down the left side it has options ranging from “I’m great” to “I’m not doing great.” There are sticky notes in multiple colors all over the chart.

Along with the picture in her post, Holman wrote,

Wow. This teacher has her students write their name on back of a sticky note and place it on the chart each Monday. She then talks privately throughout the week with each child about where they placed the sticky note and if they need to talk. A weekly check in on her students. ❤️❤️ Maybe we could pass this along to teachers.

We love this idea. We love that it’s anonymous by having the child write his or her name on the back of the sticky note. We also love that the teacher checks in with each child throughout the week.

As parents, we love knowing that there are teachers out there who care about our children’s mental health and want to help them if they’re struggling with depression, anxiety or other issues.

We’re not the only ones who are impressed by this teacher’s creative idea. Holman’s post has been shared 179,000 times.

What do you think of this creative check-in sticky note idea? Do you know a teacher who would want to copy this idea in his or her classroom?