Balloon Pop Countdown!

There are some activities that, as teachers, we enjoy and find just as memorable as the students.  The balloon pop countdown is one for me!  Every single year, it never fails, that students are enthralled by the idea of having a surprise inside each of the 10 balloons.  I tweak the ideas from year to year, depending on schedules, events, and supplies.  The idea is that each day the balloon is popped and inside is an engaging activity the students will be participating in that day.  Not only does this make lasting memories, but also creates a state of play within our classrooms that actually motivates students to keep giving their all....even on the very last days of school! 

I have done the "Treat" as a surprise reward in the past and ALL.DAY.LONG the kids asked and asked what it was.  So, I thought to change it up a bit this year and give clues throughout the day to keep them at bay: 

1. It comes in many different colors.

2. It has a lot of sugar. 

3. It is individually packaged.

4. Other than the package...you can't eat all the parts.

5. It will melt.

CAN YOU GUESS?

Our schedule just fell to where there was a field trip planned for the very end of the year. Our recreation center was having a 20th anniversary celebration and invited the schools to attend a one man circus presentation!  Jason D'Vaude put on an amazing show! Check out his site below.

https://www.dvaude.com/

 

Although kids act as if they would love to watch a movie every day of the week....it never seems to fail that when the opportunity arises they complain about the movie choice or otherwise lack attention to actually watch the movie.  Hence, the need for a super engaging movie to keep the students' interests. 

The students are astonished each year when the flour, salt, and water turn to play-doh right before their eyes. Once again, a play-state is achieved in our classroom and students are genuinely engrossed in authentic inquiry and learning. 

Shaving cream day is also one that goes down as one of the best days!  The looks on their faces when the shaving cream is sprayed on their desks is priceless!!!

Field day is one of the most exhausting days of the year....but also one of the most enjoyable!  This game is so simple and can be used for a wide variety of age groups.  I have two sets of the alphabet written on sponges the game is played as a relay.  Each student comes to the bucket, finds the next letter in the sequence, and then runs back to the team. 

On the last day of school the students each were given a Frisbee to autograph and we spent some quality play time with each other before saying our final goodbyes!

Amazing, Astonishing, and Academic Adjectives

 Adjectives lend themselves to an array of engaging and rigorous activities...WHO could resist all this descriptive fun.  I wanted to start off with giving my students some experience into the wide range of adjectives.  We created a flip book and decided on the categories as we went along.  The kids were just about to jump out of their seats with descriptive words so we switched up our procedures for this one.  I put 3-5 minutes on the timer and we all just fired away tossing out adjectives that would fit well in the particular category.  There were some sections that had over 50 words!!!  Another super motivator was having the students count how many they had written down!

   

 After getting our feet wet with the variety of adjectives out there, I brought out one of my favorite activities of all time!  I have used this bag in Kindergarten, First, and Third!  We start the lesson by adding adjectives that appropriately describe the gift bag.  Throughout the lesson the students were so excited to see what was actually inside!  The students also recorded them on their sheet.  We then had some real fun by FINALLY getting to see what was in this mystery bag! 

POP ROCKS

After the students and I finished making our individual word webs, I knew the revelation of what was inside the bag would create a bit of organized chaos.  In order to keep the students focused on the task I shared the pen for a chart we make collaboratively to describe the pop rocks outside and inside!

 This was another activity that I loved from teaching a different grade.  I wished there had been more time for the students to get actual photographs of their bedrooms for the visual part of this assignment.  Nonetheless, it turned out great!  The assignment to describe their bedrooms not only served as a grammar activity, but also a writing one as well.

 Culminating our studies, the students chose some personality adjectives to describe themselves.  Vocabulary, writing, art all wrapped into one!! You can snag a free copy of the personality adjectives below!

Happy Easter & Mother's Day!

As many educators are enjoying Spring Break and others are gearing up for Easter Break, I wanted to share some activities we have been completing to continuously develop empathy and perspective.  Spring is the time for Reconciliation at our school and we usually spend some time talking about the Greatest Commandment.  Each year these sweet little otters turn out so unique and adorable!  After learning about the Greatest Commandment, or the Golden Rule for public schools, the students complete a directed drawing and a writing activity about how they will live out the rule!  Click any picture below to find this product in my TPT store!

To fully embrace the upcoming Easter season and in celebration of Holy Week we started our week off by completing a Crucifixion silhouette.  Again, these ALWAYS turn out amazing!  I am so proud of my students every year for making their creation one of a kind!

During Holy Week we spent a bit of time reading about Jesus' last days on Earth and completed a retelling of the events!

 We also did a super fun and challenging Easter fill in activity that you can get from 

Sunday School Resources website!

Planning ahead for Mother's Day

I am planning a super quick and easy activity for Mother's Day this year!  I printed these out 2 per sheet so the kids could just fill in the blanks and make a quick and easy card to decorate for their mothers. I also have a child in my class who lost his mother so I whipped up a matching activity for his dad!