I am in Australia and not currently celebrating the end of the school year, but I am about half way there and will soon be on winter break. The school year certainly does fly by and is filled with so many wonderful and special memories.
I headed back to the classroom 5 days a week this year, after several years of part-time teaching. I can say with complete confidence that there is nothing quite as special as having your own class. To say I am enjoying my time with my class is a serious understatement.
I made a fun little activity for you to help celebrate the end of the school year!
The printable is in my TpT store and can be adapted to any class as the students have to write in their grade. It is similar to the one I did for New Years.
Students can think of just one word that defines their time in class this year.
Brainstorm some examples and talk about how one word can encompass memories and feelings.
Students can use the letters on this page and the bonus letters page to create their word. Copy some in bright colours for a different effect. I pasted mine to bright paper for a nice background.
Have a wonderful day and if you are about to embark on summer vacation - enjoy!
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.
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!
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!!!! :)
Hey guys!! It's Katie from Little Warriors! Do you make an End of the Year slideshow for your class?? I've been making one for about eight years now. I used to do a paper scrapbook for each kiddo, but man, that was a TON of work and so, so expensive!!! To make a slideshow, all you have to do is buy a big pack of DVD+Rs and you're ready to go!!!
Three years ago, I was tired of putting the BORING titles in my slideshow and had this vision of making my own title slides. So, I put some together and WOW!! Did it make a difference!!! It totally cutsified my movie!!!! Well, last year, it was time for a make-over! So, I recreated all of the slides and added a TON of new ones!!
All of these slides are saved in PNG format, so they are just images....just like the photos that you will add to your slideshow!! VERY easy to use and will definitely add a HUGE CUTE FACTOR to your movie!!
Hop on over to my blog to check them out!!
I'll also help you with picking out your music!! Don't worry! It's not a big, overwhelming list! :) AND I have youtube links so that you can hear the songs I have listed :) Click on the picture below to hop on over to my blog and check that out!
I even have a full youtube tutorial on how to create your slideshow in Movie Maker! You CAN do this!!! It's NOT hard at all, I promise!!
I've also included a FREEBIE for you!!! These are little covers for your DVD cases! I just buy the little DVD envelopes that look like this:
Sorry, this is a horrible picture from last year....but I haven't made them for this year yet, so it's all I have! Ha!! You get the idea:
Click on the picture below to grab your freebie!! It comes in Kindergarten, First Grade, Pre-K, Preschool and T-K!!!
Hi all, it's Erica from Erica's Ed-Ventures. Are you stumped as to what to get your child's teacher? We have all seen this pin:
To help you out and of course as a public service to teachers everywhere, I asked my Facebook teacher fans to share with me their favorite end of the year teacher gifts! Click on the images to find the sources!
The consensus of my face book pole...It does not have to be some sort of Pinterest inspired crafty master piece. The most coveted gift: a letter of thanks from the heart! If you are so inclined to write a letter of thanks, it would be wonderful if you could send a copy to the building principal and/or the school superintendent. Teachers are modest people and would not share the letter on their own. I have made these letter templates for you to download for FREE, just click the image below!
The second most favored gift: gift cards!
Two years ago, I had a reading teacher's daughter in my class. She made me this fabulous end of the year gift card book.
I asked her mom if I could make a version to share on my blog and she said yes! Click the image to download and create your own gift card book. I have included a black line version and color.
Another clever way to display gift cards is in bouquet form:
