100th Day of School!

We celebrated our 100th day of school on Tuesday! I wanted to celebrate the 100th with a character education twist. Taking inspiration from a project I love, The Birthday Project, I decided that we would celebrate by doing 100 acts of kindness. Since I wanted this to be done in one day, each student had to complete at least five kind acts, and we had to brainstorm things we could complete at school. The students were creative in their ideas, and the discussion got them very motivated. I sent them off to recess and most returned having already completed three kind acts. Many of these were small gestures (I smiled a student from a different grade, I told a girl on the bars she was good at flips, I helped my friend up when he fell, etc.), but it was exciting to see the pride they felt about their kind deeds.  By the end of the day, each student had completed at least 5 kind acts, giving us a grand total of 110 acts of kindness. 

To finish the project off, the students wrote down all 5 acts on a piece of paper. They chose one to turn into a work of art. I found this cute 100 day project on Pinterest where students used the numbers 1, 0, and 0 to make a picture. For my students, they had to use the numbers to make a picture showing their kind acts.

Life in a Snow Globe

This was one of my favorite projects so far this year. I found a few ideas on Pinterest, and used Mrs. Hall's Fabulous in Fourth blog for a great resource (check it out here). We don't get any snow in sunny CA, so setting the students up for what life really would be like in the snow was an important part of our lesson. I found this Pixar short (it came out with Finding Nemo) to play for the students to set the scene. It's a cute video of a snowman in a snow globe that desperately wants to get out and enjoy life with the other travel souvenirs. There are many versions on YouTube, but you have to be careful because there is an original version that is not appropriate for young students.

We talked about what life might be like in a snow globe, and then read the book The Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Connor. While we read, we looked for descriptive words and figurative language. The students filled out this graphic organizer:

They had a blast writing about life in the snow! They published on snowflake paper, and I brought in a few hats and scarves for the craft part of the project. The students used glitter and construction paper to create a wintery scene in their globes. I bought Chinet plates at Target and attempted to glue them on with white glue - it didn't work well! I should've paid closer attention to Mrs. Hall's blog and used hot glue. Next year. :) Overall, the final products looked great. The students were proud of their stories and their artwork. 

Friday Reports

This is my first year at a new school and in a new grade level. In August, I was told that I would have to fill out and send out a 'Friday Report' each week to the parents that told them about their student's progress. My first thought was that it would be far too time consuming and stressful. While this is true, especially for those crazy Fridays (nearly every week!), I have found the Friday Reports to be far more beneficial than not. Forcing myself to communicate with each parent every week is helpful for many reasons: 

1) There are never any surprises when report cards or conferences come up 

2) Parents see exactly what we are working on in class

3) Behavior and academics are addressed 

4) Positive communication happens more often than communicating concerns

I have modified the format from what it was in August. The most recent version is a self-evaluation with room for teacher comments. The students start with a description of what they have learned for the week. The idea is that by them filling it out, they will actually remember when mom or dad asks them what they did in school. ;) Then, they fill in a brief table about their behavior and homework for the week. The last part (and my favorite) is where they acknowledge a strength they had during the week, as well as a challenge that they will work towards the next week. All in all, it takes about 10 minutes for the students to fill out. I spend about 20 minutes checking to make sure they are accurate in their evaluations and writing positive feedback or concerns where needed.

The un-editable version is available for free on my Teachers Pay Teachers store here. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Back to School Bulletin Board

Better late than never on a back to school post! I wanted to have my students set goals at the beginning of the year, but also display it in an artistic way. I found a great resource from Art Projects for Kids that involved goals and a self portrait. I gave them all mirrors to look at their faces carefully while they worked. The final products looked great! There were quite a few where the portrait looked strikingly like the student. (My favorite is my cutie with the unibrow on the left, 2nd row :))

Space Themed Room

What better way to start off my new blog than with some pictures of my space themed classroom? After having to cutback on my classroom creativity last year in middle school (I had a creative room, just not too cute-sy for my 'grown-up' students. ;)), I let loose this year! I chose a space theme, and after many Google and Pinterest searches, I came up with this. The students LOVE it, and it makes for a fun learning environment, which is one of my must-haves as a teacher.

 

There are 9 paper lanterns: 8 planets and a sun. :) 

 

The green containers are for their Moon Rocks, which they earn for exceptional behavior.

(Ignore the random capital letters and lack of apostrophe...I ran out of letters)

The students are working towards reading a certain number of pages, and their rockets move through the layers of the atmosphere as they read more. Can you tell I'm a science geek?? :)