With the school year starting in just a few short weeks, it is essential to remember to take the time to build rapport with your students. We want to be a reinforcer to our students to increase the likelihood of them wanting to work with us, especially when demands increase, by pairing ourselves with things that our students like. By creating pairing boxes, you can be ahead of the game and be prepared for your students when they walk into your classroom on the first day. These boxes aren’t only useful at the beginning of the year but daily to continue building a positive relationship with your students.
Get Started Now:
- Grab items from around the classroom, Dollar Store, Target Dollar Spot, your house, or ask friends/neighbors for things.
- Pack a container/box with all the fun toys, candy, etc.
Ideas for Pairing Boxes:
- Legos/Duplos
- Cars
- Bubbles
- Balloons
- Candy/Crackers/Cookies
- Animals
- Music Toys
- Fidgets
- Balls
- Character Toys (Barbie, Paw Patrol, Mickey, Bluey, etc.)
- Coloring Pages
- Stickers
- Play-doh
- Kinetic Sand
Tips for Pairing Boxes:
- Conduct preference assessments with each of your students to find their high-interest reinforcers to gear pairing boxes more to the student’s interests.
- Smile and make eye contact with the student.
- Hand the desired item directly to your student rather than giving them the full range of the box. This will help with pairing the adult as a positive.
- Play with your students! Get down on the floor and interact with them.
