I believe that every classroom responsibility should be meaningful. Children know when they are given "busy work." I've been in many classrooms with jobs such as "Line Leader" which serve no purpose but to encourage the idea that being first is important. Instead of Line Leader, we have "Line Manager." When it is time to travel outside the room in an orderly way, this person chooses a method for calling people up (by clothing, by favorite food, etc.), counts and ensures that

We started our day off with watercolor and mirrors. I put the mirrors out in anticipation of spontaneous self-portraits, but the children were far more fascinated with watching the process of their painting in the reflection. The children were delighted that they could see their art in the mirror as well as on the table in front of them. “Look! I put a blue line here and you can see it twice!” “Someone put my painting in the mirror!” “I have to fill both paintings up with col