Reading and Writing Love

Five quickies on this almost-to-the-end-of-school Friday. We get out in three weeks. Am I counting the days? Am I counting the minutes?? Thanks Doodle Bugs for the Five for Friday linky. I include a Funny Kid Friday below, too.

1. We wrapped up our Mo Willems unit today. Ya gotta know about Elephant and Piggie, Knuffle Bunny, and Pigeon books, right?? If you don't, go look them up RIGHT NOW. We own several copies of ALL twenty five E&P books (book lingo in my classroom). I save them for the end of the year, not only because they are a happy note to go out on, I mean funny even for adults, but because at this point ALL my kiddos can read them... well, read them after they've heard them, and read them with a partner. And they do love to read them. From the teacher perspective E&P are especially good for teaching dialogue, talk and thought bubbles, reading details in pictures, punctuation... so much. We've made Mo hats to celebrate his unit before, but only with Pigeon. This time all the characters prance across the front with a little directed drawing help.

Mo hats!

To show just how much we connect with Mo and his characters, I share what I found inside one little guy's hat.

Mo love

Cracked me up. I have about seventy Mo books altogether and they were worth every penny of investment. Most are available in paperback now, so they are a bit cheaper than when they first came out. Our school library is well stocked, too, as they fly off the shelves during our unit. Ya GOTTA do Mo if you don't already.

2. When the kiddos have the whole room to choose from at free choice and they choose this, you know something is going right, eh?

They LOVE the window seat!

3. Speaking of books and reading, I am going to be doing a book linky this summer so we can share the book love.

Teachers can share favorite kid books, teacher books, and books they read for pure pleasure. I've started my list already. It's going to run on Tuesdays for twelve weeks from June 6 thru August 22. Please spread the word and remember to stop back here when it starts in less than two weeks now. Keep your eye open for the book button!

4. I found these at Target this week.

Fun, cheap, and LOOK what you can do with them!

They make the CUTEST little first day of school gift for incoming students! I know it is early to be thinking about BACK to school, but you want to do this. I include a letter to students on how to use the wishing star that goes out to incoming families in their school start-up packet. I am especially proud of this idea because although you find great ideas all over the internet, the wishing star came out of my own little head. I happily share it because it brought me big kuddos with my new students and incoming families this past fall.

And people, my resource is FREE! You can read about how I use it by clicking on the family letter below.

Then grab the FREEBIE at my TPT store by clicking on the pack.

5.  We wrapped up a letter writing unit today... not letter, as in alphabet letter, but letter as in written communication. Letter writing for my class is a "bend in the road" mini-unit in writing workshop. In the past I have done this unit earlier in the year, but I found it to be a great end of year unit to do right now, too. The kiddos are getting just a bit nostalgic... if five year olds can get nostalgic... as it slowly sinks in that our year is coming to an end and they are not going to see all their friends over the summer as they do now. We spent the last three weeks writing to all sorts of people, but especially to each other.  The classroom mailbox has taken on new meaning.

For our celebration we played with our food, so to speak. I gave the kids licorice strings and they "wrote" the two most useful words in letter writing– Dear and Fondly. They loved it.

I really relied on my Let's Write to Someone letter writing resource, one of the few products in my TPT store. It helped me remember what I do in this unit, and the anchor charts, stationery and postcard are really helpful. You might check it out if you are looking for a way to refresh writing in your last weeks of school. You can find it by clicking below.

Along with this unit came a little Funny Kid Story I share in closing.

A favorite guest teacher was in our classroom during writing time this last week. Even though she knows our kids well she was rather taken aback when one of the littles asked, "What is the F word?"

She got quite a chuckle when she realized he was after the word Fondly!

Have a great last few weeks, OR congratulations on finishing another successful year of teaching, whatever your case may be.

Click on back to Five for Friday! Thanks, Kacey, for helping us find each other!! And I sure hope that Five for Friday will be back next Fall!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

That's a Wrap and Some Little Freebies

Whoot. I'm Out! I link with Doodle Bugs Teaching Five for Friday to give you five little tidbits from our last week, and some freebies.

1.  My class is really into dragons... well, along with monsters as my regular readers know. We sing and read Puff the Magic Dragon and do various dragon things throughout the year. DH Jonathan was just in a dragonish mood a while ago and drew up this dragon for me. I used it several ways in our last weeks– as a counting mat, and with words to a dragon poem for the kids to put in their poetry notebooks. I thought some of you might like it for those or other reasons. You can download it by clicking on the image.

2.  I took adorable photos like this one of each kid.... well, the real ones weren't weirdly blurry, of course... the joys of posting on the internet.

I found the talk bubble mini bulletin board at the Target Dollar Spot. Oh, yeah! I wanted to highlight the photos and not just send them home loose, so I glued them to the front of my goodbye cards which I write for each student.

Jonathan worked up the word bubble phrase in big fat letters so I could cut out the words in one clump as opposed to each letter individually. You may have it if you like. The downloadable freebie has "I am a kindergartner" thru "I am a fifth grader" so it can be used by teachers in preschool on up. Just click on the photo above to get it.


3.  I have a very precisely planned last half day with my kiddos. There is our end-of-year assembly, the backpacking of special things that can only go home on the last day, and then the completely unpredictable last minute "thing" that pops up no matter how much you plan, which I've come to count on (this time, a gigantic double chocolate milk spill... no, we don't usually drink chocolate milk but the lunch lady kindly gave us the leftover cartons.) If all goes as planned (rarely) I have a special craft activity in my back pocket, and this year we actually got to do it, in spite of the chocolate milk.

I told the kids we were going to make popsicle bookmarks and that I was going to take a bite of each one. Hee. The kids colored and cut two of them. Then we glued in the popsicle stick. I used one of those flower shaped paper punches to take a bite. I found the downloadable years ago at Lisa Storms' site. You can have them for free, too, by clicking on the image above.

4.  On the first day of the year I have the kiddos draw a self portrait and write their name. On the last day I have them do it again (and no, they don't see the one they did at the beginning of the year before hand). As they are writing their last day letters to me– sob– I paste the first and last day into a construction paper folder. I use this folder to send home their work from our Writers' Wall where we collect and display their best piece from each writing unit. I took some shots of the folders before sending them home. Fun to see growth, eh?

Sure can see growth, can't you?

They got the idea of adding details to drawings, I think?

And adding dialogue.

And she's pointing, right? I think she's pointing. Surely, she is pointing...

When I look at them I smile... okay, I chuckle. I must work in a kindergarten class... or a looloo bin... Ah. I love my job. I'm gonna MISS my little loonies.

5.  I had one more... but I can't find it... on my camera... or in my bag... or in my brain. I really am pooped. You know that old saying, "There's no tired like the end of year teacher tired." I guess that's me. I'll tell you next time.  For now... have a GREAT SUMMER!!!!

Scoot on back to Kacey and see what the rest of your teacher friends are up to.

Five Fresh End of Year Tips for Teachers

Hey! It's Friday. Evening. Smile. The day is over and there are very few Fridays left this school year. For me, only five and a half. I'm not quite in End of Year (EOY) mode yet, but I know many of you are, so I share what I hope will be helpful to you in your last weeks.

Pin to find some new ideas about the end of school year!

I warn you that not all of my advice is typical, but it is all tried and true by me. I link with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching and thank her for her Five for Friday way of sharing.

1.  Student Gifts  I've seen lots of EOY student gift ideas, but I don't think I've seen this one done just this way. It has been my EOY gift of choice for quite a few years now. I love giving it to my kidpeople because it takes a bit of group effort, it is all about writing which is near and dear to my heart, and parents report that their children cherish it and use it not only over the summer, but carry it around with them so long it falls apart.

I buy the journals at the dollar store for a buck apiece. I take a group shot– I happen to love this pose with the kids all heaped on top of me. Then I print this sentiment out on the top of a cardstock sheet–

Once a kidperson, Always a kidperson!

This is for holding small moments and big memories!

I cut the sheet so it fits the journal cover and glue the photo to the sheet as seen above. Then I put a green, purple, blue, red, and usually orange marker on each table.

The big sign-off goes like this: I tell the kids we are doing a special end of year activity and they will get a little present in a few days. This sets a giggly mood and everyone is ready for whatever it is... and I tell them they are going to sign their name twenty-something times. They gafaw but they're still with me. I mean, I said the word "present." I then hand out the readied sheets and ask everyone to sign their name on theirs. I tell them to watch carefully, say rotate, and at one table help them rotate the papers by just one person around the table. The rest of the tables do the same thing, with a bit of help. Then I tell everyone to sign again. They rotate, sign, rotate, sign, etc, until the five sheets have been around the table to every student.

Then BEFORE the kids switch to the next table, I check to see if the number of signatures is correct on the sheets. For the first rotation, there should be just five, for the second, ten, etc. PLAN on somebody having missed doing a sheet– I don't know how it can happen when we are being so careful, but in kindergarten it does. If you check the sheets each time before the kids change tables, you'll catch any missed signatures and can correct it right then. The kids switch tables, taking their same marker, and sign all five sheets again. This process continues until each book cover has the correct number of signatures. If anyone is absent this day, they have a lot of signatures to do when they get back!

Once each sheet has been signed by the kids, I sign them all, too. Then I laminate and cut out. I attach the sheet to the cover with a wide swath of clear packing tape across the top and the bottom making sure to cover all four corners with tape. I write each student's name inside the book, and some years, if time allows, I write a little EOY sentiment to each student, highlighting some of our best memories. Ta-da!

2.  The Magical Send-Off  On the last day of school, in the very last minutes of kindergarten when the kids are all packed and lined up, I give them the MAGICAL SEND-OFF and tell them I am going to turn all of them into FIRST GRADERS!

Aren't these cute pens? Found them at Costco in a set of twelve.

Ahead of time I purchase silly pencils or pens, enough for each student, and put them in a bucket. With bucket in hand, starting at the back of the line, I take a pen and using it as a magic wand, tap each little person on the head as I say, "Bibbity, Bobbity, Boo, a first grader now are YOU." Then I give them "a magic kiss" on the top of their head so they can't come back to kindergarten except to visit me, which they must do for the magic to work. The wand becomes theirs.

By the time I've made my way to the front of the line, doing magic with each child, tears are glistening, but each child and I got a few special seconds together. The kids are happy as they walk down the hall for the last time waving their magic pens. It is a grand way to start the summer.

After they are all off on busses or vans or feet, I come back to the classroom and ball my eyes out. Such is the job of teaching. I get over it though as I pack up, go home, and fall in a dead heap on the couch with a very happy smile on my face and the summer stretching ahead. Such is the job of teaching.

3.  Cherished Words  I involve the kiddos in packing up, too, but not until the last week, when it is okay for the room to look a bit naked. Helping pack up is truly more for them to get a sense of closure, than it is to help me– let's face it, five and six year olds are only so helpful with such a process. I let them clean the toys with wipes, put like toys together in boxes, and bag up the stuffies and book buddies.

One ritual that we do each year is taking down the Word Wall. I posted about this last year but I think it is worth posting again. In the last week I sit everybody down and with the help of my laser pointer, read the word wall one last time. We remember the poems that helped us learn particular words. We talk about the tricky words like said, was, they– why are these words so tricky, anyway? And then I tell them it is time to take the word wall down. That statement is met with a sad "Whyyyyyy?" I tell them that just like we built the word wall this year, next year's kidpeople will have to build their wall, too.

I ask if anyone would like to take some words home. Oh. my. gosh. You would think I just offered them candy, the resounding YESSSS is so loud. I take down each word and ask, who would like 'the' then 'and' then 'we,' and I make sure everyone gets some words they really want. I do it very ceremoniously, trying not to let my inner grin come out. They are joyous as they put their words in their backpack, and I am filled with joy because I teach little children who get so attached to their earliest known words. Life is good.


4.  The Last Day  The last day of school with my students always include three MUST DO activities. The magical send off, described above, happens in the last couple minutes of our last day, but there are two more must dos– the last day of school self-portrait, and the last letter to Mrs. Wright.

On the first day of school we draw ourselves and write our name as best we can. I put this up as the first writing of the year on our Writers' Wall. Our best work from each writing unit and mini-unit then goes up on the wall, all work for each student layered in their spot on the wall.

The last week of school, I take down all the work. I paste the first day portraits into the front cover of our portfolios and place the rest of the student work inside. The portfolio is simply a large piece of construction paper folded to make a folder– nothing fancy. On the last morning of school, I give out the paper to draw our Last Day of School Self Portrait. This is one of our first activities of the morning so when we go to recess I can paste the Last Day Self Portraits into the back covers. It makes a very nice packet to show off their best work throughout the year, and boy, can you see progress as you flip through. Terrific.

These are the sheets I use on the first and last days. They are very simple, as you can see, but if you would like to have them, click on the image. They are completely editable documents..

For Writers' Workshop on the last day I hand out stationery and tell the kids this. is. it. Their last chance to say to me what their kindergarten selves want me to know. They take this assignment very seriously each year. I put on our favorite writing music and they write their little hearts out. And yes, when I take them home and read them at the end of the day, I once again sob my eyes out... even DH Jonathan gets a little melancholy... when he is not cracking up at the kindergarten spelling. Those letters remain very precious to me. for. ever.

I'm betting you have lots of kindergarten letter writing stationery, but if you need some you can pick some up in my little... and I mean little... where more is free than for sale, TPT store. Click on picture below to go there.  It is one dollar.

5.  The Big Dump Okay, so this is a bit of a true confession, but I can honestly say I learned it from a colleague. You know how you pack, and haul, and stack, and shove to get your room packed up, and then you come to your desk, or some shelves, and there are just so MANY TINY THINGS like pens, and tape, and brads, and dice, and little plastic thingies that have been breeding all school year there in front of you when you weren't looking?? And which you dumped in a heap as you packed up the rest of the room??

Well, one year, my room was packed up EXCEPT for this last time consuming task of sorting and deciding what to keep, what to trash, and whether it was even worth putting the thing in a place where I might or might not ever be able to find it again. A fellow teacher (who shall remain nameless) stopped by on her way out. She took one look at me and the task at hand and asked if I still had a big empty bin? I did, in fact. She said, "Just dump all of it in there."

I looked agog. WHAT? There was no way this neatnik teacher did that herself! Did she think that I was such a slob that I should do THAT?? Granted, I had indeed somehow allowed this MESS to accumulate, but still, what kind of weird advice was she doling out.

Then she said, "That's what I do."

Again, agog. Yep, she went on, she spreads her arms out across the table and sweeps all the stuff into a big bin. Done. Gone. Out of sight. She said when she gets back in the fall it is somehow magically easier to decide what to keep and where to put it. She is able to throw away more and she knows where the things are, when she puts them away then instead of back in June. And you know what, I took her advice. I dumped it. When I got back that fall and straightened everything back into it's place, that big bin was indeed magically easier to sort through, just as she said it would be!

So if you find yourself in this particular situation and can relate at all to the feeling of just wanting to be DONE in that last hour in the building, then I suggest you, too, with my blessing,  JUST DUMP IT. It will be right where you can find it again when you get back in August!!

Thanks for stopping by. Hop on back to catch what is going on with others.

 See you next time!

Give Them the Words

I am inspired by Christina's Wordless Wednesday question over at Sugar and Spice.  I haven't posted in weeks because at this ending time of year there is so. much. to. do. I admire those teacher bloggers who can blog now. I'm going to dash this little post out because it might be useful to some of you in your last week.

Christina asks, "What do your students just LOVE getting to take home?"  Each year, although my kidpeople get to take home all sorts of stuff, their favorite items are the words from the word wall.

Yep, that's right. See those not at all fancy, handwritten on index card strips, words up there in the photo? Those become precious treasure in the last days.  I hand them out very ceremoniously, taking one down at a time while asking, "Who would like the?  Who would like with?  All the hands shoot up.

I think the biggest reason these words are so popular is that they represent so much of the kids' learning. The word wall is a resource they look at and use every day. The kidpeople help me build it when we do our word routine each week. Those basic words were the keys to reading and writing and the world that opened up when the kids could do both.

I stumbled upon this idea quite a few years ago when I decided to incorporate the kiddos into the clean up/take down process in the room. I used to resist this, doing almost all of it after they left for summer break because I didn't want the room to seem empty and sad. I've come to realize that it is a way for the kids to say goodbye to the year, and to ready themselves for first grade that lies ahead. They ponder the idea that brand new kidpeople will be in their space next year... which brings up some mixed feelings. We share lots of memories and laughs. And it does have the added bonus of getting just a bit more of the room packed up for summer.

I ask my readers, What do you do to ready the kids for next year? Do you pack anything up with them?  Give them things?  I'll be happy to hear.

Click on the Wordless Wednesday button to find more ideas.