BITTERSWEET

The classroom is clean.  Walls are bare.  Awards and memories have been shared.  We’re playing games, reviewing, and savoring these last few precious hours together.  It’s at this time, that I fight back tears because reality sets in and I realize that I really am going to miss my kiddos.  We’ve spent the last 9 months together in the confines of a crowded classroom together…all the while becoming close, learning, and growing. 

One of the ways, we show a little love at this time of year is by creating a class book for each classmate.  We actually started this around Valentine’s Day and are just finishing over the course of the past few months!  My goal is to have each student take home a class book that we’ve made during the year.  Well, this year…we’ve needed a little extra motivation to write.  Insert…personalized books!

I made a simple cover with an alliterative title using a student’s name and provided their pals with a complimentary sentence starter.  Each friend used a plain piece of white paper to complete the sentence and illustrated it to create a book page.  As of last Friday, each friend had received a book. Yay! Well, I  thought each friend had, until one of my sweet kiddos raised their hand and said, “but we haven’t made a book for YOU, Mrs. Dwyer”….

So, this week…we’ll create the last one…..Dear Mrs. Dwyer/A Class Book of Notes for our Teacher….

                             

…and if {and I know they will be} their notes resemble the lovelies that have been left on my table lately, I’m going to have to read them AFTER they’ve left or have Kleenex on standby. Happy last few days, bloggy buddies!

IS IT REALLY THE END OF THE YEAR?

We’re heading into our last 3 1/2 days on Tuesday and I can hardly believe it!  See what we’ve been up to by catching up on our A-Z Countdown here.  It was created by one of my fab coworkers and our kids have always enjoyed it.

Check out my previous post about our pirate writing and craftivity here.  We extended our writing by collecting data using this simple glyph.  By answering each question, we stretched our thinking just a bit in order to create the super cuties pictured below.  I don’t think you’d usually describe a pirate as cute, but these sure did turn out to be!

               

It felt really good to see so many red scarves! Happy {almost} summer!  Enjoy what’s left of your long weekend!

 

GUEST BLOGGING AND A FREEBIE

Hi~ya! How are you? Making it….surviving?  How many days do you have left?  I know its completely naughty of me, but I was told today that my little countdown was 1 day off.  I thought we had 11 days left and there are ONLY 10! Whoooooo Hoooooo!!! Do I sound too excited? Can you imagine the cartwheels? Heheheeee! After reading outdoors on O Day and enjoying popcorn for letter P….I took a look at my calendar and realized they were right!  What an angel for setting me straight!

Well, this post is going to be a quickie because my little sonshine has a baseball game today…but I wanted to let you know that I’m guest blogging over at Ms. Patterson’s Pocket Full of Kinders! Yay! It’s my very first little guest blog, so please head over and check it out!  It went Live at 5! :-)

Before you go….here’s a little freebie for ya!  As these last 10 days wind down, it’s time to say thanks for all the help I’ve received throughout the year.  This is a little certificate I created to use as a small show of appreciation.  Volunteers are usually parents of a student, so I have their kiddo sign it too.

Please feel free to click and grab one for your files, if you’d like.  Don’t forget to copy or print it on something" “cutesie”. 

 

 

Ok…..NOW head on over! :-)

SO SPOILED & A FREEBIE

Did you enjoy your Teacher’s Appreciation Week?  We were completely spoiled at our school with super yummy treats all week long! I know that I must’ve gained a little, but it would’ve been just plain rude to turn down such deliciousness!

           

In addition to the yummy treats, came beautiful gifts of appreciation.  I’m a total sucker for all things pink & green and personalized.  My fab SuperMom (I think she actually wears a cape!) made sure to bless me with both!  She’s just the absolute best! There were lots more, but I have to admit….these are my faves and just a few of the ones that I didn’t eat, lol!  My kids know that I REALLY, REALLY like chocolate too…but I didn’t think you’d want to see a picture of just crumbs!!!



How cute!

Well, now that the hoopla of all things “I love my teacher” are dying down, its time to dive into some serious end of year testing and review FUN!  We’re continuing our A-Z Countdown to 2nd grade….



H was for Hat Day.  Some of us wore more than others. {Did I mention that my little sonshine is quite the comedian?}  I brought with it yummy ice pops.  J was for jumping rope, but we got rained out…until the next day.  So on K, for Kid’s Choice Day…we voted and did fun arts and crafts and jumped rope. L Day was for leaving for a field trip….again, RAIN:(.  We’ll talk about that another day. M….we monkeyed {that’s a verb, right? hehehee} around to music.

For letter N, we’ll get to pick new names for a day!  Nametags will be a must!  I’ll let you know what interesting names they come up with!  This day is usually loads of fun. 
With only 14 more days to go, we’ll be doing lots of writing to fine tune those grammar skills we’ve learned all year….{enter freebie here}.



Click the pic to grab a prewriting sheet to gather your thoughts and a writing page for your final draft.  This picture is from my classroom last year. Sadly, (Sniff, sniff, tear….I can no longer staple such cuteness.) New school = No staples! Somehow, I have managed to survive. The pirates were original cut and paste works of art inspired by Mrs. Jump’s Class.

This is an example of one of last year’s finished writing samples.  The writing page we’ll use this year, looks a tad different cuter because admittedly…this one was made very quickly, at the last minute {gasp}!



Enjoy, bloggy buddies and have a super Sunday!

SHOPping fun!

 

Did you have a chance to make it by the awesome Teacher’s Appreciation Sale at TPT?  It’s not too late…you still have time! The sale runs until midnight tonight.  While I’m laminating, cutting and prepping for the rest of the week, I thought I’d share the goodies I found to wind up our year in review {only 16 more days}! …and yes, I know…I have a problem.  Anyone with a laminator in their living room has a problem, lol!  It’s an awesome time saver though and after reading Erica’s post, I know I’m not alone.

This is what I’m spending tonight getting ready for my kiddos….

While I’m thrilled to have some new ideas to engage my firsties, I’ll also be tossing in a few of my own.  You can browse my store by clicking the pic below.

When you’re done wrapping up your shopping trip, snag the pic at the beginning of this post and link up with Erica to share the goodies you find.  She had the awesome idea to gather all of our new faves in one spot!  Yay!!! What are waiting for?  Head on over and check them out!  Happy shopping and have a wonderful Wednesday!

GRINNING & GRATEFUL

I was so surprised to check my email and find this little beauty!  I've been nominated for the Most Fascinating Blog Award!!!  I'm still pinching myself....REALLY, me?  I'm just happy knowing that there are actually REAL people out there enjoying my little slice of bloggy pie! I'm not sure how blogging could get any better, but it keeps doing just that!

Voting will open beginning on May 14th - May 21st.   Mark your calendars.  While I know there are many really great blogs out there, I'd love it if you would consider casting a vote my little newbie. Thanks for stopping by!  Come back soon and often...I'm so glad you're here!  Have a terrific Tuesday!

For all you do…

….I appreciate you!

{Thanks to Erica Bohrer for the cuteness!}

Happy Shopping!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

CRAZY WITH A CAPITAL K…

settled into my room sometime earlier this week!  Oh my goodness…I wasn’t sure that I would survive, but somehow….I’m still here.  A nap usually does the trick for me and as soon as the clock struck…you can leave….I was out and headed for my comfy couch! Stick with me, I’m going to try and remain coherent….{it might be tough considering the level of Krazy I’ve been dealing with these past few days}.

We’re kicking into review mode for these few fast and furious remaining weeks.  We have somehow managed to be productive, but whew…it’s been quite the task!  I shared our last A-Z countdown status with you on D for D.E.A.R Day.  Well, E for Experiment Day was a real hit  blast with the kids!

            

We’re really working to make these last few weeks memorable, so our experiment was a blast {literally} of soda!  We talked about the reactions that would take place and made predictions based on the type of soda we’d be dropping Mentos candies into.  If you’ve never done this experiment, give it a try…BUT be prepared for your kids to ask for more and wear your running shoes!  This experiment is over very soon after it begins! We have 4 sections of first grade, so we used two bottles and in the midst of screams chanting “DO IT AGAIN, DO IT AGAIN…”  repeated the experiment with two more bottles.  Think about the reaction that might be happening in your tummy the next time you crack open a sleeve of Mentos with that diet soda, lol!

OK…I must admit, I found this idea while blog hopping earlier this week, but cannot for the life of me remember what fab blog I found it on.  If my amnesia clears, I’ll come back and add the link for the cute reflection sheet we used for this activity.  One of my awesome little teacher helpers assisted me with laying 10 different lengths of painter’s tape onto our classroom floor.  We then reviewed how to line up our unit with what we’re measuring and rotated around the room measuring and making comparisons with partners.

                                                    

The kids had a great time and really have gotten the hang of nonstandard measurement.  Check out what we did to experiment with area below!   We talked about area being the space inside of a shape, traced four objects and charted them according to which covered less or more space.  Once traced, each example was colored in and labeled.  These pieces of paper are fourths cut from a chart sized tablet. 

Though you can definitely sense that the end of the year is near, we’re still very busy with lots  more to do!  Today, brought with it a subdued level of crazy and we settled in nicely to review story structure with our friends Frog and Toad.   Here’s a peek at the activities we used. You can grab them by visiting my little TPT shop this weekend during the big Teacher’s Appreciation Sale!  You won’t want to miss it!

Well, it’s about time to lay me down to sleep! Before I forget….F was for fruit! We ate healthy snacks and our fab team of volunteers made sure there were plenty!  We dressed up like what we’d like to be when we Grow up for letter G and tomorrow?  Tomorrow is Hat Day….love it!  That means I have one less step to take in the morning prep routine! No flat irons, combs or brushes for me….just one of my husband’s baseball caps plopped onto my head! It’s great to be in 1st grade!  Have a fantastic Friday, bloggy buddies!  :-)