How to Keep Your Sanity Until the Last Day of School!

End of School? Sanity questionable?

Testing is over, the weather urges kids to come outside, and we still have to make it a few more days until school is over. That can all lead to chaos in any classroom. Success lies in careful planning, putting lots of fun into lessons packed with content, and enjoying these last days with this years's kids. So....How?  Below are a BUNCH of ideas, posts, Websites and even a resource to help make these last days as much fun for you, as they will be for the kids!  Enjoy! Summer is coming!

1. To work on writing skills, and have a bulletin board done for next year, ask students to write a letter to the new third (second, fourth, fifth) graders. Ask them to include in their letter what the new students will learn in that grade, what they liked the best, and even give new students tips on their new teacher. Kids love to do this, and the results are wonderful!  Not only that, they really do help next years new students know a little bit about what is coming. Stress to students that their writing must be clear and free of spelling errors. They will be posted on the bulletin board (or outside the door) and must be easily read. This is a good one to use for the last writing sample! Just make a copy of the letter, and include in each student's writing folder.

2.  Coffee-House Jam.  Explain to students that in the 1960's people would go to coffee houses to drink coffee and read/listen to poetry. Ask students to write two or three types of poetry that you have studied this year. Then ask them to choose their favorite. Group desks in tables of four desks each, cover with fadless paper, and prepare to serve iced tea.  Put a stool at the front of the room and get a spotlight to shine on the stool (Could be just a lamp). Turn the lights down low or off (other than the lamp) and invite students to read their poem. Discuss that at coffee houses patrons would snap their fingers after a reading to show their approval.  

3.  Pocketful of Sunshine...This is taken from TeachHub and is a terrific rememberance of the year.

Give each student enough index cards for each student in the class. If there are 20 students, each student will get 20 index cards. Next pass out small brown lunch bags. Students first decorate the bag with fun things they remember from the school year. Next pass out a list of all students in the class. Ask each student to write one nice thing they remember about each classmate on the index cards. As they write each card, they can cross off the name of their list. Then allow students to pass out their cards to all students in the class. This helps students look for something good in everyone, even students they don't particularly get along with. Don't forget to add a bag for yourself! 

4. Need some help getting those desks clean? Just put a little shaving cream on each child's desk and they rub, and rub (make pictures, giggle) until the shaving cream disappears. Just set up rules beforehand about keeping the shaving cream ON the desk. 

5. How about those other cleaning chores? Write all of the jobs you need done (make sure there is enough for each child) on index cards and put in a bag. Then allow students to pull out their clean-up job out of the bag. Play "Yakety Yak" while they work "Take out the paper and the trash, or you don't get no spending cash!"  

6. Another way (see idea number 3) to give positive feedback to each other is to go back to back! With a safety pin attach a large index card to each child's back. Then kids go around and write nice comments on each other's back about positive memories they have about each other from the year. Stress the importance of positive comments. It gives each student a special thing to take home, and read over the summer. Yes, they read it numerous times! 

7. Write thank you notes to the support personal in your school. You can ask the class to write one note a day to the secretary, janitor, food service workers, librarian and even the principal. They'll love a bundle of letters thanking them for their help. They are just the people who often don't get thanked nearly enough. 

Great Websites with lots of great ideas:

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/activities_for_the_last_days_school.shtml  

http://www.thedatingdivas.com/100-last-day-of-school-celebration-ideas/

http://kids.lovetoknow.com/child-education/fun-last-day-school-activities

http://busyteacher.org/11603-last-lesson-10-ideas-end-year.html

To get loads of great ideas, freebies and goodies follow my Pinterest page at: 

https://www.pinterest.com/janbernard10/

Need a fun Freebie for those last days of school?  Check out:

Need a fun resource to use during those crazy last days? Filled with TONS of ideas!Check out:

SaveSave

Ideas for Fast Finishers

"I'm done!"
"Have you checked your work?"
"Yes."
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Yes."
You know it's true. She's a fast worker and knows what she's doing. Now what?

The answer is NOT more of the same. That's a sure-fire way for kids to hate school, especially kids who need lots of stimulation. If they've just finished a worksheet, they don't need three more just to eat up their time. Kids have a "junk" sensor when it comes to that sort of thing. If that kid is excited about learning, curious, and loves new things then that Fast Finisher file had better be filled with really good "stuff".  Below are some of my favorites...kids love them too!


1.  Put up three or four centers within the room each week just for fast finishers. These centers should take some thinking to accomplish. It may be a small project for social studies, science, or reading.

2.  Offer task cards. They can be kept in zip-lock bags and kids enjoy them. Use task cards that are a big challenging and may have to be visited three or four times to complete. If you need a FREE set for mental math, pick up this freebie in my store:  Mental Math Thinkers

3. Ask students to do book and movie reviewers, type them out, find a picture to go with it online, and post under a "Don't Miss!" section of the bulletin board.

4.  Create a "What's the question" bulletin board.  Put the answer to a math problem on the board and students figure out the question. There can often be numerous correct questions. Ideas include:  the answer is 12 more raccoons, the answer is three sides and three vertices etc. Post the different questions to allow students to see how others think about the problem.

5. Allow students to do mini ressearch projects on things they are interested in. Ask students to write three questions that they would like to know the answer to. Then start researching the answers. This activity could go over a week...easily. Be sure to teach a short lesson on narrowing the topic as this is critical.

6.  Provide fun enrichment activities such as a science activity, scavenger hunt, math puzzle etc.

7.  Provide an "I'm done" jar. Write a number of activities on large craft sticks (write a letter to a friend, find five words that start with "ch",  draw a picture using only shapes, write a note to your teacher, etc.) Students pull out one stick and do the activity.

8.  Science center for investigation

9.  Make a file folder game on whatever you are studying

10.  Clean out your desk

11.  Do a computer based learning game (this is always a favorite!)

12. Allow the student to do an individual project of their own choosing.

13.  Read.   It has been my experience that this one is always a winner!

14.  Provide number and logic puzzles. There are a nunber of kids magazines with number and logic puzzles. Cut them out, glue to cardboard and laminate. Students can use a dry erase marker to do the puzzle, then clean it off.

15.  Make a map of a magical land. This can take as long as needed, even weeks.

16.  Write a journal entry: If I could go anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

17.  Write and illustrate three math word problems

18.  Write a story using at least 5 different emojis

19.  Provide a listening center (story or music)

20.  Sometimes students just need down time, provide something they can "fiddle" with such as something with sensory appeal, smooth rocks, sand-filled balloons, squeeze balls etc. This is also very good for ADHD students

21.  Have a lego center (this is great for any age!)  keep a building going and students can add to it over the week.

22.  Have a "chat" corner where early finishers can go to and talk quietly.

23.  Write a letter to your future self

24.  Draw a picture, "What people will wear in 100 years"

25.  Make a popsicle stick jigsaw puzzle....put 7 (or more) sticks together side by side and draw, color a picture, then put it in a zip lock bag for other students to put together.

Do you have any other ideas? If so please add them below!

Be sure and follow me on Pinterest at: https://www.pinterest.com/janbernard10/ 

One of my favorite fast finisher activities is any fun learning game.  The resource below has tons of game boards that you can use with any set of task cards or your own questions.  It covers curriculum areas, sports and holidays!  It includes backline versions. 

Here They Come!

It's almost that time again! Didn't the summer just start???? 

Get some inspiration and great ideas for those first days of school right here! 

Getting the room ready is always, always a biggy on my list. I want my students to feel at home the first time they come through the door! Once they are in the classroom, those first lessons are crucial for setting the tone! I hope the ideas, sites, and the freebie make this your best year yet!

First is the classroom! 

Until the classroom is ready,  I'm a little crazy.  Here is a Pinterest board with every idea you will need for decorating your door, bulletin boards or classroom organization throughout the year! Get ideas, ideas and more ideas!

Click Here

Next comes those first day plans!

Do you need first day activities your students will love? Try some of these:

1. True or false? Give your students ten true or false statements about your curriculum this year. Ask them to write their guesses on a piece of scrap paper. Choose your very best curriculum ideas for the true answers (special days, special lessons etc) , and some really grueling terrible things for false, (for example "you will need to stay after school at least one hour each week to do extra work throughout the year). It's a fun way to give kids an idea about great things to come this year, and give them a laugh at the false statments. 

2.  Ask students to make a self portrait with a sentence or two describing themselves. Make sure you make one of yourself too. These are great to mount on construction paper and put into the hall for open house.

3. Sticker Pals:  Have enough pairs of stickers to cover your class. As students come into the room on the first day put a sticker on his or her hand. Make sure another student has a matching sticker. Soon after entering the room (before the stickers fall off!) ask each student to find their sticker pal. They then interview each other for about five or ten minutes to find out their partner's name, hobbies, etc. When all interviews are finished get in a circle and have partners introduce each other. 

4. Write a "Dear Me" letter. This is a letter students write to themselves on the first day of school. They can discuss their feelings about starting the new year, what they expect to learn, what they think will be hard/easy, or anything else they would like to include. Give each student an envelope for their letter, and ask them to write their name on the envelope and seal it. Collect the envelopes and put them in a special file. On the last day of school pass the letters back to your students to read and discuss. They make a great discussion for that last day, when books are put away and there is little to do. This makes that last day meaningful and memorable. Just a note: When you get new students throughout the year, have them do the same "Dear Me" letter as they enter your classroom. That way they won't be left out. 

5. End the day with a great book! I always read "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry. It's about Sam from the moment he is born and what he thinks. It is hilarious, and with a little "hamming it up" when you read it, they will absolutely leave school the first day with a smile! I read it every day before they go home. It takes about a week or so to finish. When they find out there are a lot more "Sam" books they are off to the library to find them!

6. Toothpaste Challenge. This one is to teach respect and let students know that respecting each other is a requirement in your classroom. Divide students into groups of three or four. Give each group a small travel size tube of toothpaste and a paper plate. Ask each group to squeeze out every bit of toothpaste they can. Next ask them to use only a toothpick and get all of the toothpaste back into the tube. Of course they can't. Explain that the toothpaste is like the words we say. Once they come out of our mouth, they can't be put back in again. 

7.  Ice breakers! For lots of icebreakers and other first day activities download my FREEBIE  below. Just click the "click here" link at the bottom of the pictures. 

I hope you've found some ideas that can make this year start out better than any other so far! 

For other ideas in guided reading, science, social studies and more be sure to follow me on Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/janbernard10/