With 20 days left of school, it’s only natural to get the summer bug and urge to countdown the days till Summer break. For me a countdown has never been my thing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to beach days, more time to read, flexible schedules, naps, late Summer nights, and all the fun that comes with Summer. But, on the other hand, at the end of every school year, I get sad to leave my current class. The students who have become a family, each one with their own special touch. I’m also highly sensitive to the energy that a countdown brings to the classroom. I never want my kids to think I’m counting days until I will no longer be their teacher. I also feel countdowns can devalue the time left we do have together.
In order to try and shift this thinking, along with keeping my class engaged, my class is participating in “Count Me In”. For the next 20 days, I will be proposing activities, that I can “count on” my students to be a part of. I want my students to be excited for each and every day. They are all aware that my favorite quote is, “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” The days we have left together are part of this school years journey. My hope is these ideas and many more not listed will add value to the culminating our school year together.
- A-Z activities- As a class we came up with fun activities for each letter of the alphabet. Some activities they can’t wait for are the Heritage Day, Outside Day, and the Reading Book Swap.
- Rock Ceremony- Last year we had a Rock Ceremony, which ended up being my most favorite memory of the entire year. Each child painted a rock with their name on it and a favorite quality about themselves. Every child also received a spreadsheet with their classmates name and a space to fill in a comment about that classmate. The comment could be about a special memory, a quality they appreciate, and/or a reason why they are special to our class. On the day of the Rock Ceremony we sat in a circle and passed one rock around at a time. As the rock was being passed around, the child holding the rock would read their comment about that classmate. The Rock Ceremony showed the students how much they are appreciated by their peers and their worth in our classroom. I can’t wait for this special day!
- Reading- With 4 full weeks left of school I want to “Count On” my kids to a book challenge. 4 weeks means they can read at least 4 more books before diving into their Summer reading. 4 more weeks means I have the time to still hook readers onto a favorite series and/or author! 4 more weeks means 20 more #classroombookaday books!
- Book Swap- Each student will bring in a gently used book from home to book talk to the class and swap with a classmate.
- Summer Book Expeditions- Over the next several weeks I will be book talking books for my readers to sign up for their Summer reading. Similar to how #bookexpedition works, readers will be given a Google Doc sign up sheet. They will read the book, include post its, and then pass the book onto the next reader!
- Multiplication and Division Practice- We will be participating in kickball games against other classes using the concept of the math game Around the World.
- Summer Reading Lists- Through student book talks and Miss. Niki’s awesome author FlipGrid, students will create Summer TBR lists. I want to send the kids off into Summer with a list of books that they will be begging their parents to go to the library and take out!
- FlipGrid- FlipGrid will be a great way to reflect on the year. Students will create FlipGrid videos in various topics such as, a video to incoming 4th graders, a video to themselves in 5th grade, speaking about goals and hopes for 5th grade. They will also be asked to create a video introducing themselves to the future 5th grade teachers.
- Parent FlipGrids- Parents will be given a FlipGrid code where they will be asked to make a video for their child. In this video they can speak about their child’s accomplishments, reasons why they are proud of them, and their ways they will continue to support their child. I did this last year and it was a HUGE success! The kids faces were priceless as they watched the videos!
- #classroombookaday- We did it!!! We read a picture book EVERY single day of the year! To celebrate, each student will be given a colored copy of all the Classroom Book a Day covers. Together, we will Modge Podge the book covers onto individual clipboards for them to take home as a keepsake.
It is my hope that instead of having a countdown, I can count on my students and they can count on me! What ideas do you have planned for the end of the school year? Please share them in the comments here or on Twitter using JoEllen McCarthy’s hashtag #CountOnNotDown!
