Five for Friday - The Last Week of School

School is officially out for summer.  (Well, at least for kids.  I still have 3 teacher workdays next week.)  But I'm happy to say that I survived my tenth year in the classroom.  This weekwas crazy busy but a ton of fun.  So here is my Friday Five....

1.  Field Day
Tuesday was field day.   The kids enjoyed all 16 stations including the two water stations in which most of them got drenched.  It was an amazing day, despite the irate parent who caused a scene in front of my entire class by trying to start an argument with me. Thankfully my principal was there because of the possibility of this occuring.  She was escorted away from the area an banned from the school for the rest of the year.   I was extremely proud of how my students remained calm and focused on their activity while thiswas going on.

2.  Staff vs. Fifth grade Soccer Game
After a long, but fun field day, we held our 3rd annual staff vs fifth grade soccer game Tuesday evening.  There was a great turn out with about 35 kids and 10 staff members.  After all was said and done, the staff remained undefeated by winning 4-1.

3.  Fifth Grade Dance
Wednesday was a very busy day.  We had our annual fifth grade dance Wednesday morning.  This was the best dance we've had in the four years that I've taught fifth grade.  Most of the kids danced most of the time.  We also had a dj.

This is one of our former teachers and who currently tutors.  He also happens to dj part time.  He graciously offered his time to give the kids a great dance.

4. READ, READ, READ
I've mentioned in a couple of previous posts that my school had a book drive with the goal of collecting enough books to ensure that all of our kids would take home at least 5 books to read over the summer.  We exceeded our goal by collecting close to 7, 000 books.  Throughout the day there were guest readers who volunteered to read to various classes. We also had an assembly on Wednesday afternoon as a kickoff to summer reading.  There was music, cheering, dancing, mascots, and more.  At the end of the assembly we passed out the bags of books.  The kids were so excited to get their books.  It warms my heart to see kids so excited about reading.

5.  Saying Goodbye
We had our Fifth grade promotion ceremony on Thursday morning.   Many students left early so I said some final goodbyes then.  A few others knew that they would not be at school today so there were some final goodbyes yesterday afternoon as well.  All of those were easy compared to today.  After a pretty uneventful day, it was time to make our final walk to the buses.  After I had given each student a big hug, I was headed out to our usual spot where the staff waves goodbye as the buses pull out of the lot.  Another teacher walked up to me and said that three of my boys were crying.  Yes, 3 now sixth grade boys, two of which were behavior issues were crying.  I went back over and gave each of them another big hug and I started to tear up.  (This was the first time that I've cries on the last day of school in ten years.)  I just couldn't help it.  Seeing two of those students crying just broke my heart because I know how far they have come and despite how hard of a time they gave me this year, they really do care and relied on me.  It breaks my heart and yes, I'm starting to tear up again.  After getting them to calm down a bit, I head over to my coworkers to wave goodbye.  As we are walking back towards the building, I see another student who was a behavior issue crying while he's waiting for his bus to come.  I couldn't believe it.  I teared up again.  I'm really going to miss this group of students despite the difficulties that they gave me.

TIME TO PARTY!!!!
I know this is officially number 6, but I couldn't stop at just 5.  Once back in the building, it was time to party.  Yes, we dance in the halls each year once the kids are gone.  We did all the line dances: The Wobble, The Cha Cha Slide, The Cupid Shuffle, and The Electric Slide.  I always look forward to this.  Many of the staff then headed out to continue the celebration with a few drinks.  Always a fun time!!

It was a bit of a rough school year, but I learned a lot about me as a teacher.  I will be writing a post soon to reflect on the school year.

Well that's my Friday five (six) for this week.  Stop by Doodle Bug Teaching to link up.

Currently June Goals

Today I'm linking up with two different linky parties for the first time.

First up is Farley at  Oh Boy 4th Grade with the June Currently.  I've seen this link up for several months so I'm finally taking the time to link up.

Listening: I'm listening to the Cincinnati Reds gam.  Baseball is one of my favorite things about summer.

Loving: Last week, I was issued a iPad from my school.  I'm loving the time "playing" with it.  I'm looking for some usefuk apps to use.  All suggestions are welcomed.

Thinking: I'm thinking about going to Walmart, but I'm struggling with leaving the house.  It's so hot outside.

Wanting: I really want to stay on my couch and do nothing for the rest of the day, but unfortunately I have some stuff that I need to do.

Needing: I desperately need to do laundry.  I have no clothes to wear this week.

3 Vacation Essentials: I love reading a few good books during the summer. I also ccouldn't do without my phone.  It serves multiple purposes especially as a camera.  I definitely need my camera when spending time with friends this summer.  I love recording the memories.

Secondly, I'm linking up with Jess from  I Heart Recess to share my June goals.

Personal: My closet is a disaster area.  I will take everything out and reorganize it.  

Family: I just finished talking to my mom on the phone.  With our busy schedules, we hadn't talked for over a week.  I will make the effort and time to talk to her more often.

Health: In an effort to live a heathier lifestyle, I will walk at least 3 days a week.

School: I am teaching summer school starting in a couple of weeks so I need to start preparing for that.  I also already have an extremely long to do list to prepare for teaching 3rd grade next year.  I have already started tackling that list.

Blog/TPT: I will blog at least 3 times a week.  I don't want to forget about my blog over the summer.

Read: I've heard great things about the book Wonder so I'll definitely be reading that this simmer.  I've wanted to read The Book Whisperer since last summer, but I haven't had the time.  It is a must read this summer.  I'm sure I will also be reading many other books this summer too.

That's all I have for today.  I guess I'll put on some real clothes and head out to Walmart now.  Well, I'll do that after I start a load of laundry.  

Don't forget to stop by Oh Boy 4th Grade and I Heart Recess to join in on the parties.

Five for Friday

Happy Friday everyone!  I survived another week.  Only 1more week left before summer vacation.  That's 5 days, 35 school hours, 2,100 minutes, 126,000 seconds!  Can you tell how excited I am? Although I am definitely ready for summer break, I will miss mu students.  This was a rough year, but I will miss each and everyone of them.

Since it's Friday I am linking up with Doodle Bug Teaching for her weekly Five for Friday linky party.  (This is the first time in about a month I have actually posted on a Friday.)

This was a great week so here we go.



1.  Book Drive
About 6 weeks ago, my school initiated a Book Drive with the hopes of collecting enough books to send 5 books home over the summer with each student.  We sent flyers home with students, placed boxes around the building, and reached out to the community and our friends and families.  After all of the books were collected and counted we had a grand total of over 6,000 books.

This week, each teacher "shopped" for the books for their students.  We are going to have a Summer Reading Kickoff Assembly next Wednesday and students will receive their books then.

Here are the carts of selected books ready to be delivered.

After all 36 teachers had shopped for books, there are still a lot of books left over.  Therefore, students will be able to take home two extra books.

I'm super excited to pass them out next week.

2.  Puzzles
After testing each year I pull out puzzles for my students to work on.  This year the selected a puzzle of all the  Disney villains.  Here is our progress.

3. Summer School
I was interviewed and hired to teach summer school this summer.  I'll be teaching a third grade transition class.  Ideally I'd love to take the summer off but since that's not possible, I'm happy I'm working with an age group that I love.

4.  Third Grade
Speaking of third grade.....It's finally official,  I'll be teaching third grade next school year.  Words can't express how excited I am.  Third grade is where my heart is and I can't wait until next year.  I do have a lot of work to do over the summer to prepare for the change of grade level but it will be well worth it.

5.  IPad
My district is starting a new program to test the reading levels of our students in grades K-3. In order to use the program we have to use Ipads.   We are all required to go to a training this summer, which means that the Ipads had to be issued prior to vacation.  I received mine yesterday.  Although it technically belongs to my district, I am allowed to use it personally too.  I love that I have the entire summer to learn how to use it.  However, I did allow a few of my students use it today.  Here they are working on it instead of playing at recess today.

Now I need some help from you.   What are some free apps that you use on your iPad?  I'm looking for both professional and personal suggestions.  Thanks in advance.

I'm off to enjoy a relaxing weekend before a hectic last week of school.  There's so much paperwork and packing that needs to be done but I also want to spend the last few days enjoying the time with my scholars.  I'll have to find the balance.

Don't forget to join the party by stopping by Doodle Bug Teaching to link up.

Five for Friday

Happy Saturday!  This week has been crazy busy and I got home yesterday and passed out so I completely forgot about creating this post.  I also never wrote a Five for Friday post last week so I'm combining the last two weeks in this post.

So even though it is Saturday, I'm linking up with Doodle Bug Teaching for Five for Friday (two week edition).

1.  Testing, Testing, Testing
We took our End of Grade Tests this week. Reading was Tuesday, math was Wednesday, and science was Friday.  For the most part, my students worked really hard on their tests and I'm extremely proud of their hard work.  Unfortunately we won't find out how well they did until October.   Fortunately I don't have to see the disappointed faces when delivering bad news of any students who may not have passed.

Now testing is over and its time to have some fun and enjoy the last two weeks of school.

2.  Puzzles

After testing each year I always pull out some puzzles.  This year was no different.  I pulled out the puzzles yesterday afternoon.  This one is a compilation of all the Disney villians.  There were about 6 kids working on it and they loved it.  Unfortunately we will be working on this puzzle blind, I can't find the picture of the puzzle so it may be a little difficult.  I love doing puzzles so I love sharing this love with my students.

3.  End of School Year Activities

This week my team and I planned the end of year activities for our fifth graders.  Activities include  staff vs. fifth grade soccer game, fifth grade dance, talent show, and fifth grade promotion ceremony.  There are a few other activities but thankfully my team isn't in charge of those.

4.  Mother's Day Weekend

I know this was two weeks ago but I wanted to share my weekend with my mom.  This yearwas the first ttime in about 10 years that I spent Mother's Day with my mom.  It was an amazing weekend and I'm glad she was able to come visit me that weekend.  I don't get see her as much as I'd like to so any time I get to spend with her I

is great.  Here's a picture of my mom and I when I was 4 years old.

5. Now for the best news of the week...
My principal has been working on grade level placements for next year. And I'm finally getting my preference. I'll be teaching 3rd grade next year and I'm extremely excited about it.  I already have so much floating around in my head that I want to do next year.  I've learned a lot while teaching fifth the last four years but my heart is truly in third and I'm happy to be returning.


Well that's my Friday five. I'm ready to enjoy the long weekend and then the final 9 days of the school year.  Don't forget to stop by Doodle Bug Teaching to link up.

Five for Friday

I know it is Saturday and I'm a little late but yesterday was pretty busy.  (I'll explain later.)  So now it's time for my weekly Five for Friday with Doodle Bug Teaching.

1.  Teacher appreciation week waFriday and I really did feel appreciated.  I hope everyone enjoyed their week as well.  As part of Teacher Appreciation week, we had a drawing for massages. A massage therapist will be at our school next Tuesday and only 15 teachers won a twenty minute massage.  I was one of the lucky 15.  I'm super excited about it.

2.  I've mentioned before that I have had a lot of behavior issues in my class this year.  Let's just say that I have a very needy class this year and it has been a struggle.  Well,  yesterday a student surprised me.  He brought me this watch.

It's hard to tell from this picture but there is no glass on the face of the watch and the hands don't work.  But this was the most precious gift I received this week.  This child and i have a long way this year and this present symbolizes the hard work that we have both put in this year.  He was so proud when put it on and wore it the entire day, even though it was my least favorite color.  And I plan to wear it for the next 19 days as well.


3.  Wednesday we had our final orchestra concert.  I'm so proud of thr 2nd-5th graders who played.  Here are pictures of some of our violinists and our bucket band.

Three of my students are in the orchestra.  Their playing has come so far this year.  I'm so proud of their musical growth.


4.  My school is holding a book drive wirh the attempt to send five books home with every child over the summer.

One of our teacher assistants told her mom about the drive and she jumped in to help.  She held a drive at her school in Mississippi and they were able to donate almost 3,500 books.  Rhe books were delivered on Friday morning.  With that donation and what we have collected at our school, we are extremely close to our goal.

5.  My mom is visiting me for the weekend.  This is why this post is late.  Last night I had to finish cleaning my house and then headed to the airport to pick her up.  We had a great day today and I'm looking forward to enjoying the day with her tomorrow as well.  I don't get ro spend as much time with her as I would like so I will cherish every moment while she is here while celebrating her for Mother's Day.  Here's a picture of us goofing off today.

Well, that's my five random things from this week.  I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend and Happy Mother's Dat!

Five for Friday

Happy Friday!! Two more weeks until testing and onl. 5 more weeks until summer. This was a strange week so I'm glad it's ovet but we did have some fun along the way.

Therefore, I back to share five random things from my week by linking up with Doodle Bug Teaching for Five for Friday.

1.  This week was spirit week at my school.  On Wednesday we had Bring a Stuffed Animal to School Day.  Here are the stuffed animals brought in by students.

All but 5 of my students brought in a stuffed animal.  I lent out the rest.  (I'm a bit of a collector.) The Cincinnati Bengal bear up front was my contribution.  The students kept their friends with them all day, except for lunch and recess.  There's nothing like a line of fifth graders walking down the hall with stuffed animals.  I loved it.

One of my students wanted his animals to read for themselves.

So cute.

2. Thursday was Wacky Tacky Day. Here is my outfit for the day.

3-5. We've been in test prep hell all week. (I obviously hate testing.) Therefore I try to do many activities yo break up the test prep.

3. We did a sort of gallery walk to work on math problems. Several problems were posted on the wall. The kids walked around the room and solved them.

It's funny how allowing them to wonder room makes solving math problems more fun.

4. I also pulled out the tangrams for the first time. They got a kick out of making the different shapes.

5.  We made acrostic poems using our names to give test taking tips.  They turned out really good.

I originally saw this idea here.


Well,those are some of the highlights from my week.  I'm glad the weekend is here.  Don't forget to stop by Doodle Bug Teaching to join in on the fun and share your five random things.

P.S.  I just realized that this is my 50th post. I can't believe it's been that many.

Workshop Wednesday: Favorite Reading Group Book

Happy Wednesday! I can't belbook  it is already May.  Only 12 more school days before End of Grade testing begins and only 26 more days of school.  I can't believe we are so close to the end.

Since we are still in full test prep mode, things have been really busy but I'm still finding time for small groups to participate in book clubs.  Therefore, I'm linking up withJessica from Ideas by Jivey for her weekly Workshop Wednesday.

A few years ago, I read the book Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan for a grad school class.  I instantly fell in love with the book.  It's about a little girl who lived in a wealthy Mexican community with her parents and grandmother.  They had servants who took care of their every needs and Esperanza gets what ever she wants.  Then tragedy strikes and he r father is killed.  Her entire life gets turned upside down.  Esperanza, her mother, and their former servants must flee the country to America and become migrant workers.  The book focuses on her struggle to adapt to het new life in America.  This book is great for theme and context clues.  I've read this book with my highest reading group for the last three years.

This year I decided to do an author study on Pam Munoz Ryan.  I wanted to allow my students to discover the connection between the various books by an author.  So I had them read Becoming Naomi Leon which was another greay book about a little girl of Hispanic decent who had to relocate and learn to adapt to her new life.  (Just like Esperanza.)  This book was also really good for theme.  My students were able to make so many connections between the two books. I was actually amazed.

While they were in the middle of reading his book, the kids found Paint the Wind in our classeoom library.  I was only planning to have them read the two books, but they were eager to read another Pam Munoz Ryan book.  (I love their eagerness to read.)

Paint the Wind was also about a little girl of hispanic decent who was forced to relocate and had to adapt and adjust to the changes in her life.  They were immediately able to identify this common theme.  This book is good for teaching kids to follow multiple story lines.

Finally, my kids saw an ad in this book for Stealing Freedom.  Luckily I was able to find this novel set in my school's bookroom.  Although it was an easier reading level I knew they would love this book too.  And I was right.  This book also focused on change in a young girl's life.  More connections were made after reading this book.

Through all these books, students were able to see how similar themes are developed differently.

As a culminating project they are researching Pam Munoz Ryan to see if they can find out why she has the tendency to write novels about girls who must relocate and figure out how to adapt to the change in their lives.

Over the past couple of months, I have grown to love Pam Munoz Ryan and I will definitely use her books in future years.

What books do you love to use with your small reading groups?  Link up with Jessica from Ideas by Jivey to link up and share.