It may be summer but...

Although we are a couple weeks into summer and I should be relaxing and enjoying my family time, school never seems to be far from my thoughts. As a looping teacher, I think it is even harder because we are thinking about the children we had all year and interested in how their summer is going as well. For us teachers at Chets Creek, summer is a time that many of us are planning our year. As for me, it also includes finishing up a vocabulary unit that I have been working on since last summer with some other colleagues from school. Thank goodness we have finally finished making our revisions after implementing it in our first year. Now we are planning how to make a vocabulary connection in science as well.

The summer also includes planning our theme into our classrooms. This year our theme is Around the World in 180 Days. You can catch a glimpse into our video preview on Mrs. Timmons blog. For first grade teachers our country is Australia. How great is Australia!! To begin with, this ties directly into our Mem Fox author study we do each year. Not only that, Australia is a fascinating country with many different habitats, culture, and abundance of unique animals. This is where my inspiration for classroom theme ties is for me. If all goes as planned, our room will be transformed into the Australian Zoo that was started as a reptile park by Steve Irwin's parents in the 70's. I am hoping that this journey will not only teach our students about the wonderful animals and habitats of this country but about conservation and programs that help animals all over the world. Make sure you check it to see how we work through this project over the summer to prepare our students for this new adventure!!

It's that time of year!

Well the weeks have passed and blogging has had to take a back seat to all the events of the end of the year. Somehow the last two weeks of school go by so quickly that you can't believe it. Excitement from the kids grows more every day as it does with us as well. Our end of the year is filled with many memories for our little kindergarteners. This year we had our first Wacky Olympics hosted by our PE coaches. The kids had a blast playing different field events even though it was hot, hot, hot. We also had our end of the year awards ceremony. This is a wonderful celebration of all our children as we give out awards, present the kids with gifts, and watch a movie from their first year. It always amazes me how much the kids grow and change. We also have our team celebration which this year was a Luau theme. We had seashell games, limbo, beach ball relay, and Ducky Pool Party game to name a few. The kids had lunch with hamburgers, hot dogs, fruit, and chips. Then we went back to our rooms to make leis. Our wonderful day ended with hula dancing lessons in the cafeteria. What more could any 5 and 6 year old want! As we close this week, we are able to take some time and enjoy the kids in a relaxed atmosphere as we dress silly all week. This week we are dressing in wacky clothes, wearing PJ's and having pancake breakfast, and having silly sock day. We will also have our talent show on Wed. afternoon. We can't wait to see them all perform one way or another. As with all teachers, the end of the year is exciting yet sad. We love the idea of a couple weeks to relax but we find we miss the kids as well. Lucky for me, the class will loop with me next year. At the start of next year, we will celebrate being together again and look forward to another great year!