6.09.2012

TEN! NINE! .... THREE! TWO! ONE!

Friday was the first day of our End of the Year Countdown :)

I put up the balloons for our countdown last week...and boy-oh-boy were my students anxious for Friday to come!
our balloon countdown
each day we will pop the balloons and read the surprise inside

 we needed a written countdown, too!

the balloon we are all waiting for!!!!

Friday's balloon told us that we got to use markers ALLLLLLLLLL day!  My students were pumped!  This class loves markers...they are always asking me if they can write in markers and I always say no... we have a neat penmanship goal in our class and markers make that nearly impossible!

So all day (except for our end of the year spelling challenge/test) my students wrote in markers.  And they loved it.  

UNFORTUNATELY they were a little too excited and the day ended up being a rough day.  By lunch time all the chatting and not following directions Monday's surprise was taken down.  After lunch I let my class know that they could earn Monday's surprise back by showing me they could follow directions and do their job (be safe, eager, accountable, respectful, cooperative, friendly students), but they just could not turn it around. 

So no surprise Monday :(

We had a long talk after we packed up for the end of the day about how sad I was that we would not get the surprise Monday because I planned these fun surprises for all of us to enjoy.  They were definitely bummed.

We will miss out on the TAPE BALL  :(

Tuesday will be the paper airplane contest.  $0.00

Wednesday will be sidewalk chalk.  We have been learning about our state (mapping, symbols, emblems) and practicing writing our address so I was thinking I would have them practice drawing our state bird or draw what their house looks like...something that will keep this activity a little more structured.

I think that was the problem on Friday...the structure of our day they are used to wasn't completely there with the beginning of our countdown.  Lesson learned by ME!

Found at Target in the dollar isle.  $4.00 for 48 pretty big sticks of chalk!
That = about $0.19 per student :) PERFECT!
I was SHOCKED to find the big chalk that kids can easily hold in their hand in the dollar isle!

Thursday is SHAVING CREAM!  We will practice our cursive in shaving cream instead of doing cursive worksheets :)  I have left over shaving cream from last year so... $0.00

Friday is Mystery Reader and a surprise.  Our mystery reader is my dad!  Each week throughout the school year my dad has come to read with my students and record their reading fluency score.  I am so so so so thankful for him and all his hard work with my students!  He wanted to do something special for my students so including him in the end of the year countdown seemed perfect!  $0.00

Monday is lunch in the classroom with a movie.  I expect this to be a HIT with my students because we eat in the cafeteria/gym...so this will be a fun change :) $0.00

Tuesday is make ice cream in a bag day.  I have not done the shopping for this one yet.  If you have a recipe that you like using for this, I would love to see it!

Wednesday is Bubblegum and Books.  Weather-depending, June is officially being called June-uary by our weather guy here in Washington State:(  As long as it is not raining we will be reading and blowing bubbles outside.  If it is raining, we will be reading and blowing bubbles inside.

Another awesome find in the Target dollar isle!  They are extra sour...I wonder how that will go :)
$2.00 = about $0.09 per student

Thursday is our last day of school!  For our last day my students will get their "Kool" surprise.  Another great find in the dollar isle at Target!

 6 crazy straws = $1.00 ($4 total)
5 packs of KoolAid = $1.00 ($5.00 total)
$9.00 total = about $0.43 per student

I will tie a crazy straw, KoolAid pack, and a cute "Have a KOOL Summer!" tag together with ribbon I had left over from my sister's baby shower planning :)

And that's it!  If you would like a PDF copy of the tags, message me with your email address and I will send you a copy!




6.04.2012

Thinking about next year

As this year is quickly coming to an end I am reflecting on what I liked about this year, what I didn't like so much, and what my goals for next year are.  Two goals that come to mind right away are: PENMANSHIP!!!  Ahhhhhh, I will spend more time focusing on neat, nice, finger-spaced handwriting.  I also want to spend more time getting to know my students as kids, not just students.  I find that I enjoy my job so much more when my students tell me something random and funny about home, a friend, recess...something that has nothing to do with math, reading, writing...learning.

I came across the below blog a while ago.  It looks like two teacher's share this blog (Rachelle and Natalie) and they have some wonderful ideas.  On a recent post they referenced a past post (from July 2011) about passwords... you have to check this out!  What a great way to connect with your students first thing in the morning :)

What the Teacher Wants!: Sight Word Ideas

Oh :)  and my world got a little brighter this weekend.  My first nephew, Nolan Benjamin, was born Saturday morning (6/2/12 @ 4:37, 7lbs 7oz, 18" long, and perfect).

Here he is :)  About 4 hours old in this picture.

He is the sweetest, calmest, most content baby I have ever held :)  I love him!!