Recorder Karate Idea Bank

I took the bead idea a step further with my classes. Some of my students were progressing beyond the black belt, so I told them how some black belts earn first, second, and third degree black belts. I told them that we would do this by spelling their initials with alphabet beads. I used a colored or black and white bead for the first initial (their choice), a silver bead for the middle initial, and a gold bead for the last initial. If the student did not have a middle initial, I let them use a heart or blank bead. If they had two middle names, they picked which name to use. Plus, it was great for keeping up with their recorders. The students felt like they were earning medals at the Olympics. They were always asking, "When do we get to test for the gold bead?" They loved it!