School's Out and I'm Baaaaaaaaaaack!

I am officially freeeeeeeeeeee for the summer!

I am feeling giddy that tomorrow I don't have to go to work and can do whatever I want, when I want!  I'll most likely spend it working in my gardens and yard, running to Home Depot and maybe even taking a nap. . .

This year I switched grade levels (up to 2nd), renewed my National Boards in Literacy and had the largest class ever in my 17 years 

(and 90% of my boys were 'squirrels at a rave').

The last few weeks were CrAzY, with everything winding down, putting on a triathlon for kids in our city, creating and distributing our school's yearbook and being DJ for our annual end-of-the-year DJ party. . .all while my husband was in Japan. . .thank goodness my mother-in-law flew up to help me out!

But I LOVE all the FUN things I'm involved with at my school!  Time to have fun in the classroom and at school continues to dwindle and I've had enough so I'm bringing the FUN back in any big or little way I can.

Speaking of fun, have you read the book "The Day the Crayons Quit" by Drew Daywalt?  HILARIOUS and clever!  I read it a few weeks back and as I was reading it I said out loud "This story would make a great Readers' Theater play." and everyone cheered.  So I whipped up a script and we performed it for parents in the music room with microphones and a black, velvet curtain...so awesome!

Click on the image below to get it for FREE and use it with your class, your RTI group, your summer school class, etc.

If you are not yet done with your school year, my thoughts go out to you:

Class Yearbook FREEBIE

Class Memory Books are soooooo cute...I don't do them though.  I can't wrap my head around how to do it throughout the year.

Instead, I like to make a class yearbook during the last two weeks of school.  Our school sells yearbooks, but not everyone buys one.  So kids are thrilled when they get their own class yearbook to keep, and it's FREE!

I updated the class yearbook that I have in my TPT store because, as usual, I found a way to improve upon last year's creation.  This year I added a class word find and telephone numbers pages.  I also found a FANTASTIC website called fotor (www.fotor.com) that creates picture collages for you for free.  So I used the "faces" feature in iPhoto to gather 9 pictures of each one of my students and then upload them to this website.  The collage is then saved as a .png file and I can insert it into the class yearbook (across from their writing) and send parents a digital copy if they ask for it.

Click here to get it!

If you're already done with the school year, like me, soak up the sun and summer freedom!  If you're almost done, hang in there and you'll soon cross the finish line too!

Class Yearbook

The last writing project I do every year is a class yearbook.

Our school has a yearbook but not all of my students buy one.

So we create a yearbook together that they can take home and cherish, and it's free.

The first few pages are done by me:

                               * letter to students 

                               * weekly schedule 

                               * class list 

                               * list of special things our classroom does/has 

then each student has their own page.  
I add photos that I've taken during the year too.

Lastly, I add an autograph page at the back and voila!

I still have my own Junior High and High School Yearbooks and keep them as if they were treasures...and I hope my first graders do the same.

Class Yearbook

Quite a few teachers at my school create memory books for their students. They take pictures and collect items throughout the year....and then frantically glue and laminate everything at the end of the year.  I'll admit that these memories books look fantastic (and I hope my daughter gets to do one next year when she's in Kindergarten) but I've never been able to do them myself because it seems like such a HUGE time consuming thing I can't wrap my organizational head around.  So I came up with something else: a class yearbook that we create and put together the last week of school.   

Every student gets a page on which to write about themselves, I include photos that I've taken during the year and include a few pages about our classroom (list of students, list of special memories, our weekly schedule, etc.).

Click on it to get it! 

Or visit my TPT store to get it!

Our school creates and sells school yearbooks, but having a class yearbook is a special keepsake that celebrates and remembers our year together.