They're funny.

We use amusement park style bracelets to identify our kids.

One reason is that there are occasions when a person or people who don't know the kids are working at site, it's easy to tell which kids belong to the program and are therefore our responsibility. Sometimes there are members of the general public on the playground or in the building while program is going on.

When the kids check in, I mark their attendance in the app, peel the little adhesive cover off the end of the bracelet and place it on their wrists as I welcome them to the program.

I make sure to say each person's name, ask them how their day was or how the puppy is doing or did you find your stuffed animal or comment on the cool tattoos or interesting shirt they're wearing.
I make sure each one of them knows I see them.
That I care about how they're doing.
Those connections are important.

As I peel off the little adhesive tabs, I drop them on my table next to the tablet I'm using to check kids in and then throw them away after I have all my kids.

James is in Kindergarten. On Thursday, he got there after most of the other kids were signed in, so there was quite a stack of paper tabs from the bracelets.

"Hi James! How's your day going?"
"I learned to read some words today. I learned bear and wear and tear!"
"Awesome!"

Then I narrowed my eyes at him. "Wait. Do you talk in rhyme all the time?"

"Hey! That rhymes!!"

I smiled at him. Overlapped the ends of his bracelet, stuck it together, and added his tab to the pile.
He picked up the little pieces of paper and let them sift through his fingers back onto the tabletop.

"Do you have emergency confetti?" he asked as he watched them flutter down.

"Um, no? What's emergency confetti, James?"

"You know! For when something really good happens! Then you have it and you can throw it in the air!"

I had to admit that I did not, in fact, have emergency confetti. "I've never thought of that, James. Do you have any?"

"I used to have some," he told me. "But I left it in my pants and my mom washed it. Can I have this?"

I told him he was welcome to it, he scooped it up and then realized he didn't have pockets in the sweatpants he was wearing.

"I'll just get some next time," he said cheerfully, and went off to stow his backpack and wash his hands for snack.

How about you? Where do you stash your confetti so that it's always ready when you need it?