The Power of Happy

The Power of Happy

How much power does this little yellow paper have?

It’s magical! I’ve seen it bring a smile to the grumpiest face. I’ve seen it get carried proudly home by the child who hasn’t made it out the door with mail once all year. It even has the power of proximity! The child sitting next to the lucky Happy Gram recipient suddenly starts being noticeably more kind, more studious, not-so-sneakily trying to catch your eye.

 My first and second grade teacher, Mrs. Summers, used to write these Happy Grams and leave them on our desks in the morning. It wasn’t very often, so it was pretty special. It was always handwritten in fancy looking handwriting, which made me feel so grown up. It was always signed “your friend” which felt so personal. I would think in awe: my teacher is my friend?! She likes me! She thinks I’m special!

It seems almost laughable now that a little yellow note can make a child feel so big, but that’s exactly what it does. Everyone wants to be liked. Everyone wants to be special.

I couldn’t wait to use Happy Grams as a teacher. I worriedly looked through the teacher supply stores, seeing all the cute and trendy postcards, stickers and stationery. Sure, everything looks cuter on Chevron cardstock. Yes, cacti cards are darling (you really stuck to it!); and who doesn’t love llamas right now?  But I wasn’t looking for cute. I needed to be basic here. A yellow paper with an old school smiley face. Where was the good, old-fashioned Happy Gram? When I couldn’t find it online I started to panic.

I was thrilled to find the supply closet stocked with a few pads at school. I jealously hoard them, afraid they are a relic of the past, incapable of being reordered.

I send Happy Grams any time a student, current or former, really stands out. Sometimes I notice a student needs a little boost, so I might embellish a bit. We all need to feel success now and then to keep playing the game.

Here are the rules I follow:

•   It must be handwritten
•  It should be fancy handwriting (cursive if they can read it!)
•  It must have the closing “Your friend,”

After that, you only need a short message to convey that you see the child and think they are special.

My students and I even write Happy Grams to one another during our letter writing unit, and send some to other teachers and staff in the school. Every year it’s one of the kids’ favorite writing activities they beg to do again and again. The adults who get the Happy Grams can’t help but smile, too.

Who doesn’t want to know that they are seen, and that they are special?  We all do.