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Memorial Day


Today is Memorial Day.

To many people, it’s a day off of work. It’s a day to enjoy a cookout. It’s the beginning of summer.

While those things are all wonderful and enjoyable, let us not lose sight of the true reason for Memorial Day.

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces.  Join us in taking time today to honor and remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

 
Some of you are still teaching in the classroom this week. Others have already begun summer break and are “teaching” in mom mode. Either way, we hope you can find a way to pass on the true meaning of this special holiday to those in your care. 
* Talk to your children/students about the meaning and history of Memorial Day.  Here are a few great links to get you started:

 
 
 
* Attend a local Memorial Day parade or community event
(Picture of my own kiddos reading the Gettysburg Address at a local Memorial Day service last year.)
 (Local Memorial Day parade)

* Place flowers on the graves of veterans at a local cemetery.
 

(Local Memorial Day service in which the children place flowers on Veterans' graves)
 

(A few pictures of our class trip to the cemetery to place flowers on the graves of service men and women, after learning about Memorial Day in class.)


Taking a few minutes of your day to honor our fallen soldiers may just make an impact on your students/children that lasts a lifetime.

 
Have a blessed Memorial Day!
Holly


 

 


 

 

Suiting Up for Next Year!

Hi y'all! It's Michelle Hudgeons from Smitten With First

Well, I don't know about y'all, but the official countdown has started in our room! #9moredays!! I cannot believe summer is right around the corner! We have had lots of conversations about how we are "suited" up and ready for summer AND 2nd grade! 
 Today, we made a list on the board of all the things we have done this year to prepare ourselves for the next grade. Afterwards, each student chose one thing that they really felt like helped them "suit" up for 2nd grade.


After they completed their writing, they decorated their suits! 



They thought these suits were too funny! I always love how they turn out. 
You can find the suit craftivity here. 




Teachers Appreciating Teachers

We all know Teacher Appreciation Week was last week...
but that doesn't mean we should stop celebrating the hard work that teachers do!


THANK YOU!
Thank you for the long hours.
Thank you for your hard work.
Thank you for giving all you have to give.
Thank you for the lesson plans.
Thank you for the sleepless nights.
Thank you for loving those children as if they were your own.
Thank you!

The ladies of Blog Hoppin' would love to show you how much we appreciate all you do with a little giveaway!



That's right!! Think of all the amazing goodies you could buy with $100!!
Entering is simple! Just use the Rafflecopter below and you're on your way!
A winner will be announced via social media on Friday!
Thank you!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summer Reading Logs & End of School Activities

Hey Blog Hoppers...It's Christy and Tammy from Fluttering Through First Grade!

Summer is right around the corner! But before we hit the beach, we always get asked a lot of questions from parents about summer learning. 

What can I do to help my child over the summer? 

How can we keep all this learning intact until school starts again? 

We're so glad they ask! 

We like to send our students off with a few summer resources that are easy to understand, quick to complete, and motivating to use. We like to keep it fun because it is summer after all!
We all know that one of the easiest ways kids can keep their reading skills fresh all summer long is to read, read, read...and then, read some more! Reading just 20 minutes a day will keep their skills strong and their confidence high. Right? To keep them motivated and reading, we provide our students with these summer reading logs. 
We've included 2 choices with tips for parents to help them support their reader at home. One is for emerging readers who need phonemic awareness and phonics support and the other is for more fluent readers who are working to strengthen their comprehension skills. Sometimes we send both!
We encourage them to work at their own pace, but to please find time each and every day to pick up a book. We even bribe them with a special treat if they bring them back to us at the start of next school year. Whatever works! 
Students can track their summer reading and keep a list of some of their favorite summer reads. 
You can download a free copy of our Summer Reading Log.
We also give each of our students this Sliding Through Summer booklet to work through each day of the week. You can read more about it {here}
Are you counting down the school days until summer? Stop by our blog to see how we wrap up our school year with a few of our favorite end of school activities!

End the Year Strong!



Hello, my friends! Denise here from Sunny Days in Second Grade.  So we're heading into the home stretch and summer is in sight! I thought I'd share some resources and freebies that might help make your planning a bit easier. The first is my Summer Printable Pack. I swear I use every single page in this pack during the last couple weeks of school. There are a lot more pages in the pack, but here's a sampling, you can see more in the preview HERE. If you're required to send home summer work with your kids, this might do the trick!


We have a writing book that we are required to use through the year, but it's pretty much done by early May. Considering we're still in school for a couple of weeks in June, I get to use my  June Writing Journal! It does my heart good to at least end the year with some writing that we all enjoy. It's also a great resource to send home when parents ask what they can work on over the summer.

This next one is a long-standing favorite of mine. It's a literature companion unit for Last Day Blues. You can check out the book here if you don't know it. If you read First Day Jitters to start the year, you've GOT to close out with this gem. There's lots of fun stuff in this unit which will keep you rolling for a few days at least. You can find the unit HERE on tpt. Don't miss the freebie from the unit HERE.


And speaking of freebies, I hope you'll enjoy this one. My kids went bonkers over this last year and I'm excited to bust it out again soon. It would also be fun for a class party with a beach theme, or maybe even camp if you're working over the summer. You can snag it HERE.


And then there's my monthly freebie Bump Game, in both addition, multiplication and a blank board for you to do with as you please!









End of the Year Countdown: To-Do List

Hey guys!!! It's Katie from Little Warriors! Can you believe it's MAY?!?! Yes, May!!! How in the world did that happen?? Seriously!! So many of my friends are on the countdown. Let me just tell you...I HATE the countdown!!! It gives me severe anxiety!! Please don't yell "We only have 3 Fridays left!!" in my ear. Or "Only 17 more days to go!!!!" YIKES!!

Don't get me wrong...I'm totally looking forward to Summer, just like every other teacher on the planet!!! But, May is the craziest, busiest time of the year for me!! Soooo many things to do! So many projects to get done! So many things to remember!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!

Here are a few of the things I've been working on...

1.  Graduation

We make our own hats and tassels. I did a post on it a MILLION years ago! But, if you want to see how to make tassels, it does the job! Ha!!!! You can read it HERE
Our tassels are done...our caps, not so much!! We still have 3 weeks and nowhere to store them, so those will have to wait :)
But here's how our tassels turned out! I bought little graduation table confetti from Dollar Tree this year and we hot glued it to the 2016 to the tassels!!! SUCH a cute touch!! LOVE!!!!


We are of course, practicing our songs!! 
Here are a couple of favorites:




2. Thank you gifts for Parent Volunteers


I buy these plates at Dollar Tree and the little stands from Dollar Tree too!!! My friend Erin from Eberharts Explorers has a GREAT tutorial on how to make these!!! You can find it HERE!! $2 for these adorable gifts!!!!! Can't beat it!

3. Mother's Day: Mommy Spa

I LOVE this day!!! But, it does take quite a bit of work! It's soooo worth it!! The moments they share and memories they make are priceless!!!



We've also been working on these crafts/cards for our Mommies!!



4. End of the year Slideshow!!

Don't worry!!! I have worked hard on this one for the past few years! I think I have figured out how to make it really simple and super cute for you!!! Click on the button below! You will get a video tutorial, find out where to get adorable pre-made title slides, music suggestions AND a freebie!


 5. Bulletin Boards!

I have this bulletin board in my hallway right now!!



And, these little motorcycles are down my hallway along with their Summer To-"doo" lists. Ha! Love their little Doo Rags!! We are Geared up for Summer! :)


6. Keepsake Boxes

Kindergarten is an extra special year and we just have so many special projects and Keepsakes to hold on to that we make these boxes. We've been making them for several years now and we get the white boxes donated to us each year!!


7. Kindergarten Favorites Photos

I started making these a few years ago and Man, when I posted them, people just loved them! I did a little tutorial post about them HERE! But, they are ALL over pinterest now! So, you might be able to find other tutorials as well :)


8. Portfolios/Memory Books

I just LOVE these portfolio/memory books!!! They were one of the first things that I posted in my TPT store. I wanted something that could track their growth and progress throughout this very important year!! So, now, I'm busy sorting pictures and gluing every child's pictures in for each month. It's sooo worth it though! They are so adorable and such an awesome keepsake!! You can read more about them HERE! It's an OLD post. Sorry! :)


9. Summer homework Packs

I also just finished updating this Summer Homework Calendars pack that I created back in 2012!! If you bought it previously, make sure you download it again for the updated version and extra goodies! You can read more about it HERE!!
Time to start copying and putting these bad boys together!!!

10. Bubble Day!!

Gotta make sure we have all of our supplies ready to go for this fun day!!!! Another one of my favorites!!!! You can read more about it HERE!!!



11. TESTING and REPORT CARDS!!!!!

All I can say is THANK GOODNESS for ESGI!!!!! Makes my live just a MILLION times easier!!!! Can I get an AMEN?!?
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So, that's what my life looks like right now!!! Ha! Sooooo many projects to get done! So much work AND so much fun! I'm trying to get ahead for the first time in 12 years so I don't have an anxiety attack at the end of this year! LOL! So, you see why I don't like count downs? T minus 17 days until I have to have all of this done! Ha!!!! But, then.....ahhhhhhhh, Summer!!!! :)