How Many Jelly Beans?

April showers have come down more than we can ask for and the Easter Holiday is just around the corner. It seems fitting to just go ahead and get the kids into the spirit of things with the a Box Tops promotion which involves something that reminds us of this great wonderful time of the year.

Our 2011 Jellybean Challenge

The Building Blocks of the Jelly Bean Challenge
This would be the second year that I ran the Box Tops Jellybean Challenge. In 2010, the response was overwhelming, that I can't resist but do it again this year.

Materials I used are:
- Jellybeans (I purchased mine from Costco. They had a 4 lb jar of Jelly Belly for only $7.99.)
- Plastic jar or large container (I found a good tall one in Walmart for only $3.00)
- A solid chocolate bunny to go inside the jar, but tall enough to cover most of the jar's height.

When handling food, I always wash my hands before counting.....yes, you read it right, I counted every single one of the jelly beans that went inside the jar. (Best to count in groups of 50, and tallying them down on a piece of paper to make sure you don't lose count.)  Carefully centering the chocolate bunny to keep it straight. The chocolate bunny makes the guessing a little harder. These kids are taught to mathematically estimate the jellybeans in the jar, and I wanted to pose a little challenge. Last year, one kid was only a handful of jellybeans off from the right amount. This year, I vowed to make it a little more challenging.

Spring Surprise Gift Bag Ensemble

You've got to reward them.
I have found that raffles work best in stimulating hype and lots of participation. There's work to be done here, though. Gathering donations is one way to keep the costs down. Walmart and Target are my consistent, caring companies who help our school each year.

It would be nice to reward the kid who brings in the most Box Tops, but this often ends up to be the same bunch of kids all the time. A raffle makes it...well, fair. It gives those kids who only have a little, a chance to win.  With pure luck, just for submitting Box Tops using collection sheets, the kids are entered into the raffle.

Something in the Spring theme seems in order.  Target had some really nice inexpensive items in their Dollar section. Stickers, pails, pens, seeds, magnifying glass, etc. all tie in nicely to my theme. I was able to get some gift bags for 4/$1.00 in the greeting card aisle in Walmart, and I use these to package the rewards nicely.

Jellybean Walmart Gift Cards

Now, five Spring-Surprise bags, in my opinion,  are just not enough to get a student body of over 30 kids excited.  We need more.  Since it's a guessing game, We reward the kids who get the number of jellybeans right, or at least the closest to it, without going over. We will raffle  1 winner per grade level, from Kindergarten to 4th.  Walmart had the cutest gift card at their check-outs, as you can see here.  A $5 gift card will be the winning prize.  Who picks the winner?  I used to be able to have folks at the PTA pick out the winners. But this year, my family schedule has prevented me from being able to attend. Our school principal has been gracious enough to draw the winners for me with the rest of the office staff and some teachers present to witness.

Got to get the word out! 
I truly believe that there are two things that will sell this plan....advertise it and promote it.  Our principal has been kind enough to lend me one large board right outside the office that is visible to all students, teachers, staff and parents. All the children pass by the board during their walks to the media room (library), art room, and music room.  This kind of exposure can really draw a lot of attention and excitement.  (photo of the bulletin board to follow).

Sample of our Box Tops Flyer

This is the  flyer I created for our school. I used Printmaster Platinum graphics software to create and organize this. It took me a year to get this to where I needed it to be. Word to the wise is to create a universal collection sheet where the kids and their parents can adhere the Box Tops coupons to, and the other half will have the details of the contest/raffle. When it comes to flyers, it comes down to these three main factors of success: simple, with substance, and user-friendly.

We're on Spring Break now, and the Jellybean challenge will end next week when the kids get back. The response has been wonderful! The guesses are coming in, and the collection is going well. At the end of the promotion, the Principal will announce the winners overhead in the school, and the kids pick-up their awards in the office.  The one thing I haven't been able to do is take pictures of the winners because I can't be physically at the school when it happens.  Maybe next year, when my son who is in Pre-K will have 3 days of classes instead of 2...then, I can be there and get more photos and make this more fun.  

 BoxTops for Education is owned by General Mills.  Visit their website to get more details.