Our Last Days

Does anyone remember the last time I actually blogged on my blog? Yea, me either. I guess that's what happens when you give a teacher a workday!

I cannot believe this year is over! My first class has been absolutely wonderful, and I have 24 beautiful students to thank for that. I honestly DID NOT want them to leave! They are each so different, but have all come together to form an amazing bond that I am so proud of.

We spent our last few days remembering our incredible year together and of course, having a little fun.

Field Day. Well...my competitive nature really comes out in these situations. I feel like there is a time and place for everything. We have spent all year learning respect and responsibility. Field Day, that's the day we can act tough, work hard, and cheer each other on. That's exactly what we did! I seriously had a sore throat by the end of the day. We only won one game but hey, we sure looked intimidating.

Group hug before the competition. One of the many things I will miss about this group-they are so loving! 

After Field Day we competed in our own Minute to Win it Games.
Game 1) Cup Stack
Partners worked together to create a stack of 21 cups. First ones to complete their stack won. We had an intense championship going on.

Game 2) Gumdrop Tower
Who can build the tallest tower out of gumdrops and toothpicks in one minute?

Game 3) Face the Cookie
Students had to get the cookie in their mouth without using their hands! This was very difficult but so funny. I eventually gave everyone an Oreo at the same time and just "GO!"

Game 4) Marshmallow Stuff
How many marshmallows can you fit in your mouth? Everyone wanted to try this game. However, I accidentally bought the jumbo marshmallows which were basically the size of their faces.

Game 5) Tissue Party
Two students were given a box of tissues. They had to pull out each tissue one at a time. The first person to remove all the tissues from the box was the winner!

Game 6) Panty Hose Bowling
This was definitely our class favorite! Students had to knock down the cups as fast as they could using a tennis ball, inside a pair of panty hose, tied to their heads. Play this if you need a good laugh or self-esteem booster!

Last Day of School

I wish I could say our last day together was bittersweet but it wasn't. Most classes were celebrating the last day of school, but we were in a state of depression!! My students can tell you, I only cry when animals die, but I was getting really close when I saw how empty and lonely my classroom looked after they left. 

We started our day by reading Last Day Blues. I love this book, and the fact that my students made a connection to our first day read aloud was even better! Then, we started our award ceremony. We rolled out the red carpet and recognized everyone for their most outstanding traits. Thanks to Mel D's perfect end of the year certificates, I had an award that fit every student! 

We took a trip down memory lane for 16 minutes (I couldn't make it shorter...sorry) to watch our End of the Year movie. I loved giving my students a keepsake like this at the end of our year. I hope they will treasure their 2nd grade year forever. I have watched it at least six times already!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0JbSvvhxruKc0FsZXl3cm92eHM/view?usp=sharing

We shared the peak and pit of our days one last time and said our "goodbyes" and "see you laters!"

Things a 2nd Grader Says

I have been so lucky to teach an amazing group of 2nd graders this year. One of the perks of being a teacher (to me) is hearing what 7-8 year olds say on a daily basis. If you haven't had a conversation with a child lately, I highly recommend it! After hearing some of the funniest things they said at the beginning of the year, I decided to start writing them down! Below are some of the hilarious comments I got to hear this year.

T: "Did you guys watch the NBA game last night?"

S: "Yes!"

T: "Oh yea, who played?"

S: "Natcher!"

S: "UK!"

S: "Jody Richards!"

S: "Principal Obama"

-During the 3rd Grade Wax Museum

-Students walked around and pressed a fake button to get the 3rd graders to talk. 

S: "We are only touching the buttons of the cute boys."

T: "Well whose have you touched?"

S: "No ones!"

S: "My dads farts kills the dinosaurs."

-On a day that it was raining really bad.

S: "Are we still going to have reading"

S: "Is Mr. Thornhill going to let us go home?"

S: "Is school going to be cancelled?"

S: "Have you heard of a place called Minute Mart?"

-While listening to a student read a book about earthquakes.

S: "Scientists measure earthquakes using the rectal scale." 

T: "What's a word that rhymes with race?"

S: "Base!"

T: "Okay, give me a sentence with the word base."

S: "I'm all about that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble!"

-On Martin Luther King Jr. Day students wrote down their own dreams.

S: "My dream is to get rid of all the cigarettes and to only have eCigs."

-I told a student she would be a car rider that afternoon.

S: "Yea, my mom is having surgery."

T: "Oh no, what's wrong?"

S: "Her energy."

T: "Her energy?"

S: "Yea, they said she has too much energy so she's getting it taken out."

S: "She tried to tell me she was a Bosnian, but I know she wasn't!"

-On the first day I wear my glasses to school.

S: "Is it nerd day?"

-I tell the class I'm going to a writing training and they will have a substitute.

S: "Why are going? You already know how to write."

-Talking about animal habitats in the desert.

T: "What animals do you know that live in the desert?"

S: "Cantaloupe!"

-My coffee pot makes a beeping noise.

S: "The clothes are ready!"

-Students wrote a letter to me in their journals.

S: "Also, I would like to know if you are EVER going to get married?"

-While eating lunch with the kids. 

S: "This fried fish is delicious!" (While eating his tater tot). 

T: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

S: "Elsa."

T: "If you could ask the president something, what would you ask him?" 

S: "Do you just sit around and watch TV all day?"

-Student crying hysterically at recess

T: "What happened?"

S: "There's something in my hand!"

T: "What did you touch?"

S: "The tree! It bit me! Awghhh!!"

T: "I think it's just wood, probably a splinter. Would you like a band-aid?"

S: "OH  YEA?!?! Does the wood have wings?"

S: "I'm too young to die!"

-Student is telling me how rich he is. 

T: "Oh really? How much money do you have?"

S: "2."

-I asked the class to make a prediction about our weekly story based on the following vocabulary words: awaken, cliffs, mountain, prize, rainbow, suffer, volcano. 

T: "What do these words make you think of?"

S: "The Wild West because there's a lot of prizes at the casinos there!"

S1: "Do animals have souls"

S2: "Yes, all living things have souls."

S1: "Noooo, plants are living things and they don't have souls."

S2: "Yea huh!! Well...only the organic ones." 

-Students are arguing about boys vs. girls.

S: "Do you know Martin Luther King changed?! He said boys can be with girls!" 

-Talking about labels in a nonfiction book.

T: "If I were to put a label on this (pointing to my nose), what would it say?"

S: "Ear!" 

S: "My daddy shaved my toes this morning." 

S1 (girl): "What's a tomboy?"

S2 (boy): "Girls that like to play outside and do boy stuff."

S1 (girl): "Do boys like girls that are tomboys?"

S2 (boy): "Yea, well I mean I do."

-Our block student on her last day with us.

S: (shaking his head) "Hmmm...they grow up too fast."

T: "What items do we know that are scarce?" 

S: "A Lambo."

-I asked everyone to write something that they wish I knew about them. There was a popular story in the news about a teacher that did this and received amazing feedback. This is what I got...
S: "I wish my teacher knew I had a cat."
S: "I wish my teacher knew my favorite color."
S: "I wish my teacher knew I had a brother."
S: "I wish my teacher knew where I lived."

May 4th Newsletter