Saturday, June 9, 2012

That's a wrap!

Hey everyone!  I'm so sorry I was MIA for a bit... wow is the end of the year CrAzY!  We packed in so many things in the last week that I completely lost track of the days.  Here are some highlights...

We began the week talking about the importance of reading over the summer.  We made the ADORABLE books included in this craftivity from The Teacher Wife.  On the books the kids wrote a summer goal ("I will read for 16 minutes" was a popular one... why 16... not sure!  I had a bunch of comedians in my class this year).  Also included in the pack was a letter and a grid for the kids to color in for every 10 minutes they read over the summer.  I included this in our summer packet.               LOVE          LOVE           LOVE!!

It's the end of the year!
I know I mentioned this one before... but after actually doing it, it is worth mentioning it again!  It's by Kelly McHaffie and it's ONLY $1.50 at TpT!  There are fun awards to give the kids like the Jeff Gordon award (for racing to the front of the line) and Mother Earth award (loving all things nature).  Since I have second graders, I had the kids vote on who should get each award.  They LOVED this ... I gave them a secret ballot and they filled a classmate's name on the line next to the award they wanted to give.  It was amazing to see how nice they were to their classmates and how it all ended up.  My favorite was the kids giving the "Bermuda Triangle Award" (things go in the desk but never come out) to the kids who ACTUALLY needed to get that award!  FUN!
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together
Amazon
We also did a HUGE Fairy Tale Unit with the kids comparing and contrasting many different versions of fairy tales, reading traditional and fractured fairy tales, writing their own fairy tale, and finally, performing fairy tales to their parents.  This was a TON of fun and I enjoy doing this every year.  The short tales are very humorous and the parents love it, they are short enough for your whole class to do and the kids love to make their own props!  I highly recommend it!

These were just some of the highlights!  We also had a plant lunch to wrap up our build a flower reading incentive and we had a buffet of fruits and vegetables for the kids to eat.  We took field trip to the Arboretum and when on a plant scavenger hunt.  It was a great end of the year!

I am super excited for the summer projects to begin.  Personally, I will be on the hunt for a roofer to replace our existing roof (that's my Monday project) and to read The Hunger Games that has been sitting on my nightstand for months.  I am also excited to start some great things here on this blog (including a BIG BIG 100 follower giveaway soon!!).  AND work on some fun units and fix up some units I already have in my store.  I will be talking a lot about math in the next few weeks-- math facts -- so please stop back!

Have a GREAT rest of your weekend!  I'm off to a movie at a new Movie Grill that was just built in our town... can't wait to be doing something so adult (not "teacher" or "mom" things!).       :)


4 comments:

  1. The end of the year can get so hectic can't it?
    I hope you enjoyed your me time.


    Yearn to Learn Blog

    ReplyDelete
  2. You will love "The Hunger Games"! Enjoy the summer projects! :)

    Lisa
    Learning Is Something to Treasure

    ReplyDelete
  3. I LOVE the 'You Read to Me I'll Read to You' Series. It's a great way to practice fluency. Oh and you will LOVE the Hunger Games. Once you start reading them you won't want to put them down! By the way I'm your newest follower. Love your blog.
    Petersons-Pad

    ReplyDelete