Welcome to November!
Advice for New Educators
October 12, 2020
Student Salon Down Time Monopoly
November 2, 2020
With the arrival of November, we are welcoming the holiday season and what is usually a very busy time in our student salon. This year is probably going to be a bit different. Not everyone has yet opened their student salon to customers and the ones that have is practicing social distancing, so traffic is a bit slower. No doubt about it, it has been a rough year.
November is a time for giving and being thankful and I believe after the year we have had it is more important than ever to stop and be thankful for what we have.
Thankful that we are still in business. Thankful that we were able to continue to educator our students through distance learning. Thankful for an industry that survives the biggest challenges.
Look for ways to support you community and give back.
Start by having a food drive. For the first 3 weeks of November ask clients to bring in food and receive a discount on services or perhaps a $5.00 Haircut. Check with your local food back to determine what types of food should be collected. Then the weekend before Thanksgiving, donate the food to your local food bank to help those that are less fortunate.
If your school and state allow it, consider a field trip for students. Go and volunteer at a local Food Bank.
Spend some time each day asking students what it is they are thankful for. This would be a great way to wrap up each day and simply ask what happened today that they are grateful for. Another easy way is to periodically ask students what they are grateful for as you work the student salon. This just helps students stay in touch with all the great things in their life through the crazy busyness of the holiday season.
Now for the National Days.
There are a lot this month. As always, don’t feel you have to do all of them. Pick the 2 or 3 your students would have the most fun with and enjoy!
November 2nd – Job Action Day. This day encourages people to land the career of their dreams or make learn how to make the job they have into their dream job. On this day, have a discussion with your current students about what their dream job looks like and if they feel they are on target to get that dream job. If not, what do they need to do to make it happen? If they are on target, what do they need to do to stay on target?
November 3rd – National Sandwich Day. Let’s channel our inner Joey Tribbiani and celebrate national sandwich day. Provide lunch for staff and/or students by brining in subs from your favorite local deli.
November 5th – National Doughnut Day. You know I can’t pass up national doughnut day. Start the day off right with a motivational pep rally in class and share the doughnut love!
November 5th – National Love Your Red Hair Day. Celebrate all the gingers of the world by offering a 10% student salon discount to all-natural red heads.
November 6th – National Jersey Friday. Give your regular dress code a break and ask everyone to show up in their favorite jersey. Any sport, any level!
November 6th – National Nachos Day. November seems to be the month for food… that or I’m just hungry! Celebrate the day and ask everyone to bring in their favorite nacho toppings. Yum!
November 10th – National Vanilla Cupcake Day. Much like National Doughnut Day, it’s a sweet surprise to arrive after lunch to find cupcakes in the breakroom. Tie the day into color wheel theory. Buy plain cupcakes, vanilla frosting and some food color. Divide students into teams and see which team can create the best color wheel.
November 11th – Veterans Day. Honor the veterans in your community with free haircuts or discounted services in the student salon.
November 13th – National Chicken Soup for the Soul Day. I’m always looking for inspiring stories to start the day. On National Chicken Soup for the Soul Day, ask each student to search the various Chicken Soup for the Soul books and bring in their favorite story to share with the class.
November 18th – National Educational Support Professionals Day. Most of the time we all focus either on the educational staff or the students at the school. But the reality is, there is a whole bunch of other people in the school that allow us as educators to really focus on our students. There are admissions, financial aid, receptionists, janitorial, registrars and so many more that do so much for our schools, we would be lost without them. Take today and celebrate all the Support Staff in your school and let them see how much you value them. Give them a spa day to remember!
November 19th – National Play Monopoly Day. Last year I wrote a blog on how to play Monopoly in the school. You can check it out here.
November 25th – National Jukebox Day. The day before Thanksgiving a generally a very busy student salon day. Have some fun with National Jukebox Day and keep the place jumping! Assign students 30-minute slots to man the radio and play whatever songs they want! Of course, have a few rules in place about the type of music allowed for customs.
November 26th – Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your family and yummy food and GO COWBOYS!!
November 27th – Black Friday. Be sure to offer retail specials for customers out doing their Christmas shopping. A great bottle of shampoo makes a great stocking stuffer.
November 28th – Small Business Saturday. Roll the specials from Black Friday to Small Business Saturday and allow the community the ability to support you and your small business.
