End of Year Madness - Tips to getting it done!

I can’t BELIEVE it’s already the end of the school year!  It seems to go by SO fast! To make things run a little easier, I always try to get as much of the dreaded “have to’s” out of the way!  You know...  ALL that assessment stuff, permanent records, writing samples, grading... anything I know that I’m going to have to disclose to parents or my principal.  I begin this at least 4 weeks before the last day of school – let’s face it, it’s too stressful to try and get it all done in a short amount of time... i.e. last minute!  We’ve all done that before... Eeeek!!!!!

Once you feel that you’ve got a “good grip” on the essentials then you can do some fun things with your kids the last week or so!  I spend probably about a week and a half making little “treasures” for my students and parents.  Here are some ideas you might want to try:

1.      Student Self Portrait (Beginning and End of Year)

2.      What I will Miss about Kindergarten/First Grade story

3.     Alphabet Book (kept throughout the year)

4.     Class DVD

5.     Memory Bag-Book (sample drawings, writing, stories that were made throughout the year)

6.     Handprints

7.     Class T-shirts

8.      The Important Thing to Remember Book (we make this for the upcoming class... I read it to my new students on the first day of school!)

In the past, my school has always had a pretty significant production for the last week of school.  There is always a Kindergarten graduation ceremony, 5^th Grade Luncheon-Walk-Balloon Release-Ceremony, and Classroom Awards.  Whew!  Tell me about it... it’s almost on the verge of being insane!!!  But, basically the kids and parents come to my classroom after the “bigger ceremony” is finished in the gym.  When they arrive, I have a gift sitting at each child’s seat... along with report cards, Class DVD, keepsakes, etc.  I also take a few moments to recognize EACH student in my class.  I give each student a silly certificate to recognize their accomplishments and their little personalities!  They love this!! (I have made these printable certificates available on TPT -Teachers Pay Teachers and I hope you’ll check them out! 

 

 

Click Here to purchase Certificates on Teachers Pay Teachers
 

 

After I give out certificates, we enjoy a cookie cake and juice boxes while playing a portion of our class DVD on the active board.  The parents LOVE this part!!!!  Finally, the kids are free to be checked-out by their parents and leave to start those GREAT vacations!  If students do not get checked out, we spend the rest of the day watching movies, playing, and cleaning!

 

I hope you all have a GREAT End of the Year!

Hey all you fellow teachers out there! 

Here’s a link to some great fonts to use in your classroom, on homework assignments, classroom newsletters, and more!

 

Graphic Organizer for Main Idea

Hi Everyone!

I have been extremely busy with my new job in Knoxville, Tennessee (more about that later!), but wanted to get this FUN FREEBIE to you!!  I don’t think that you can ever have too many graphic organizers.  I created this one for a Reading lesson to practice the main idea of a story and details that support the main idea.   I hope you can use it with your students too!

Enjoy and I’ll see you soon!

Neat Idea for Valentine's Day!

Click on the picture for the link to my TPT store.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Day 100 FREEBIES for First Grade!

Okay Teacher Friends... I’ve got two FREEBIES for you to use on Day 100!  These freebies are probably more suited for First Graders.

You are going to hear me talk a LOT about Choice Boards in my upcoming posts and I will hopefully have a SDE workshop on this topic soon.  Basically, choice boards are used for “Differentiated Instruction;” meaning, giving students the opportunity to complete a task on his/her level of ability.  But, not only are children able to complete a task solely on ability but also choosing what they LIKE to do.  So, take a look at the Day 100 Choice Board and look at the activities on it... some are more difficult than others.  The great thing about choice boards is that the teacher chooses/selects how many tasks each child will complete.  Your higher level thinkers should be able to complete more tasks than your lower kids.  I indicate how many tasks each child will complete by writing the number in the top corner of each choice board... yes, you will make a copy of the Day 100 Choice Board for each child to use while they float around the classroom (not literally.. haha!) completing the tasks.  The children will bring their choice boards to me when they complete a task and I will “X” out the completed activity (sometimes I will place a sticker on the choice board).  Letting my students use a choice board allows me to walk around the classroom/monitor more easily AND I can help the children that need it... Also, it’s SUPER activity that I can pull out of my “bag of tricks” to get the kids excited and motivated about learning!!! I have posted a picture and a link of the choice board below:

Click HERE for the Day 100 Choice Board download! :)

 The other FREEBIE is one of the activities on the actual choice board.  It’s called “Write Your Name to 100!”  You will want to print the Write Your Name to 100 Grid for each student in your class and the Alphabet Code sheet.  Make about 6 copies of the Alphabet Code (laminate each) to place at a table as a center.  To complete the “Write Your Name to 100” activity, each student will use a pencil write his/her name over and over (using each cell on the grid and writing in a left-to-right, top-to-bottom progression) until all 100 squares are full. Note: the grid will most likely NOT end with the last latter in their name.  Next, the children will use the alphabet code sheet to trace each corresponding letter with the correct colored marker/crayon.  This activity will take some students longer than others... when it is completed they may go choose another activity from their choice board.

Day 100 Pictures from Kindergarten and First Grade!

Day 100 was AWESOME!  I wanted to share some pics with you along with some of the activities we had going on... Day 100 is one of my very FAVORITE days of the school year!

 

My Kindergartners had a time sharing their Day 100 projects with each other.  This was a project the kids completed at home and brought in to share... it was a collection of 100 objects.  We also made Day 100 necklaces, a Day 100 snack, played a Hide-and-Seek game using a 100 grid, and ha finished the day off with a yummy Day 100 cake!!!!

There’s a new granny in town!!!!  Well, there were lots of grannies and grandpas around my class for the 100^th Day of School Celebration... My first graders were HILARIOUS!  They dressed up like 100 year old people.  And you know how you have that one student in your class that is absolutely fun, hysterical, and darn-right adorable?  Like anything he does keeps you in stitches because you never know what he’s going to do!  Well... meet Dawson... who decided to dress up an 100 year old LADY!!!  He was the talk of the school (in a good way) on Day 100... and you can probably see why!

Click HERE for the link to the Happy, Happy 100th Day Pack
and HERE for the Day 100 Game Pack !

 Please check out the new Happy, Happy 100^th Day Common Core Activity Pack on TPT.  It is one of my newest packets that I wrote and designed with Kim Adsit!!  It includes 5 literacy and 5 math activities that go along with the new Common Core Standards.  There are also some other fun surprises included... like a special “take-home” treat for your students and a banner!  You won’t be disappointed!  I also have Day 100 Game Pack that includes two fun games that you can use as a "filler" on Day 100.  The pack includes a matching game and a game that is similar to an "Old Maid" game....but both games have a surprising TWIST at the end! 

Hoping your 100th Day of School is Super-Fantastic and Fun!

Valentine's Day Party PAck with Kim Adsit

Oh my goodness!  I can’t believe that Valentine’s Day is almost here... it seems like it gets here earlier and earlier each year!  Of course, it might just be me getting OLD!!! LOL!  I will be posting some really CUTE Valentine ideas/freebies for you next week.  So, make sure you check back on the blog. 

Click HERE for the link to my TPT store! :)

Also, Kim Adsit and I have just finished our Valentine PartyPack.  It’s got some really super SWEET ideas and activities for you to do with your little ones.  There’s a cootie game, Valentine card holder “craft”ivity, snack, banner, board game, and more!  You can find it on the TPT website.

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!