Camp Learn Some More

Perhaps I am one of the few teachers who LOVES the last week of school. 

Assessments are done. The pressure is off...well sorta...

I make a commitment to my students that the last week of school we have FUN.  That's right....I said it.  The "F" word.  Fun. 

Fun in school.  Can you believe it?  It can be done.

Every year I do a camping theme for the last full week of school.  My students love it and I love it.

It's kind of adorable how the kindergarteners ask "Are we going to do that camping thing this year?"  They walk down the hall and see our classroom dark, lit by only the glow of camping lanterns and campfire on the SMARTboard and it becomes a big mystery....

What exactly are we doing?

Since we have tables in my classroom, I cover them all with plastic "picnic style" table cloths I find every year at the Dollar Store. I don't try and save them.  Some things are just not worth it, in my opinion.

I found this campfire by googling "campfire" on YouTube that I keep playing all day for added ambiance.

We leave the lights off, and camping lanterns also help "set the mood." 

The kiddos love bringing in flashlights and sleeping bags too. Inside the tent, I placed a cooler filled with camping themed books. Charlie, our beagle and classroom mascot really enjoyed being "read to" throughout the day.

I borrowed 2 tents from parents since I'm not a camping type of gal.

My first graders really handled the freedom and flexibility of having various tasks at "campsites" well.  We went over the rules and expectations beforehand and this helped to set the tone for success.

The classroom was set up by various "campsite" or themed academic tasks. Such as...

The Math Mountain campsite has time to the hour, half hour and a few time to the quarter hour task cards.

The campsite also has a Trading post where students can "purchase" various camping supplies by showing the coins needed to make each purchase.

The Social Studies Campsite is a popular choice for a great review of mapping skills and cardinal directions.

Here, students use a map to "find logs for the campfire."

The Science campsite has us venturing outside.  You can't go camping without being outdoors, right?

By far, creating a boat out of tin foil and filling it with pennies for a fun STEM project is a favorite with the campers! We made predictions, weigh, measure, plan, work collaboratively, and make comparisons with this super fun activity!

The campers also enjoy a scavenger hunt...

and some dot-to dot- constellation work to review counting by 5's.

Of all the campsites, as I'm sure you can guess, the tent is the favorite, so I save that for the reading campsite.  We call it "Reading River."

At Reading River, students enjoy close reads on camping, bears, squirrels, and ants by flashlight inside the tent.

At the Writing Ravine, students can write about their camping adventures for the week in their camping journals as well as how to make s'mores

Campers keep track of which campsites they have visited with this handy checklist:

Campers can earn badges when they complete the activities at each campsite.

So.....Are you ready to go camping?

You can find this Classroom Camping Resource here.

Do you do any fun end of the year themes in your classroom? I always love hearing from you!

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My Embarrassing Teacher Moment...

Have you ever had one of those embarrassing teacher moments?

You know the ones I mean...the kind where your admin sees something that was not so....well...."becoming" and you just want to yell out, "Wait!  That's not what it looks like!"

Well that happened to me last week.  My school is super big and brand new. Music class is wayyyyy down the other end of the building. Like...in the next town. Well, not really, but it might as well be. 

Let's just say that walking my class of 21 up and down the hall (and especially to music) is not my favorite part of the day.

Anyway, we were walking back from music and this is what I see when I look behind me and my line of first graders.

Students have been photoshopped in "Silhouette" to protect their identity.

Not pictured here is the one student who was looking out the window, the other who was skipping over the tile, the other who was spinning around and around the column, and the other who was sitting...yes, sitting...on the ottoman in the lobby.  And as if that isn't bad enough...around the corner comes....Mr. Mulkerin, our principal and....the superintendent.  I mean...REALLY?!!  This is my defining moment?  How wonderful! 

Of course you know what happened when we got back to class. 

I'll spare you the details.

Something had to be done.  Aside from dressing like Miss Viola Swamp, this was about to get real up in here!

I thought about it in the shower and in my car. At my son's baseball game and while walking the dog- you know, all those moments when you can't possibly write down your great ideas. I did manage to remember most of them and I'm pretty excited about this.

I'm excited about it because...it WORKS!  It really works!

It's May. Let's keep it real here, the kiddos are maybe listening to about 25% of what I say a day. Ok...more like 15%. So this system had to be "fast and furious."  It also had to be easy because- since we're keeping it real- who has time for anything BUT easy!

Here's how it works:

 I line the class up and then I walk behind them, not in front of them, with them leading behind like I used to do. They think it is so I can look for a Hallway Hero, and in essence it is.  I get a much better view when I can see them all in front of me instead of when I am leading the line and they are all behind me doing goodness knows what! At about 2:30 every day they start asking me “Who’s the Hallway Hero today?”  So let me share the magic because in my mind…that’s exactly what it is!

I tell the students the following:  “I will be looking for a “Hallway Hero” throughout the day as we walk in a line. A Hallway Hero is a student that shows responsibility and respect when walking in the hallway.  A Hallway Hero is a walker.  It is someone who has their hands by their side at all times and their voices off.  If they are in line and their friend behind them is not making a good choice, they have the right to make a better choice for themselves and move themselves to the end of the line.  I would definitely notice that in a Hallway Hero. A Hallway Hero is someone that I would be able to choose to go on an errand because they are showing me that they are polite and respectful citizens in our school.  Are you a Hallway Hero?  I will be watching.  If you are identified as a Hallway Hero, you will be given a Hallway Hero Award to take home.  You will also be able to choose a reward to cash in and use for the last 10 minutes of our school day or to use the next morning. It's up to you."

The rewards are made to be quick and easy to implement in the last 10 minutes or so of the school day. They are simple. So simple, they may seem silly, but to a 7, 8, or 9 year old they can be pretty great.  Coloring on the white board is pretty fun, after all, isn’t it? Now instead of telling them NOT to do it during math time, they can earn it as a Hallway Hero!

Here's what it looks like...

The above rewards are editable so if you can adapt them to fit the needs of your classroom.

You can find Hallway Hero here or by clicking on any of the images above or the image below.

What tips and tricks do you have for teaching respect and responsibility in your classroom and in your school hallways? I always love hearing from you!

Teacher Books vs. Student Books

My husband and I had a wild Friday night.

It started with take out and one thing lead to another.

We ended up here....

I know right?!!!!

What could be better than this!!

It's a used book superstore.

I was on the hunt for Mo Willems' books.

When I arrived I knew exactly where they where and this is what the shelf looked like:

 

Now it looks like this...

 

 

That's because I bought them all. Yup. All of them.  When I when to pay for them I noticed they were the full price of $7.99 for the hardcover books instead of the reduced price of the used books.  The sales lady told me that they can't keep Mo Willems' books on the shelf. They sell them new because they are in such demand.

 

I should say that I hemmed and hawed about the price but I didn't.

 

The truth is absolutely no other series of books has inspired my first graders to want to read like Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie Books. None.  They LOVE them!  My highest readers love them. My lowest readers love them. My average readers love them. I love them.

 

We love, love, love them!

 

That is why, this display of Mo Willems' books has been on display all week in my family room until I bring them into school on Monday.

They make my teacher heart so happy. That cute little card on top?  That came in the last book in the series.  That's right....last. Mo wrote his last book, The Thank You Book and it was just published.

 

Folks, if you buy no other book in your teaching career....BUY. THIS. BOOK. I laughed. I cried. I felt all the feels. It was just.....sigh.

 

I'm going to frame the card and put in on a shelf in our reading center to remind us all that we....are readers.

 

I'm promising myself I will not hoard these books. I will not put them on my "teacher shelf." They are for the kids. I will add them to our classroom library. Books are made to be read and enjoyed in the hands of readers. What better way to inspire my present and future readers?

 

I encourage and challenge you to take those books off your teacher shelves and add them to your classroom library. Teach your students how to respect and love books as much as you do and they will.

 

Then thank them for being readers.

 

Someday they may come back and thank you.