Father's Day, End of the Year, and a Freebie

Hi again ----- hello ---- anybody still there??  

I know I've been somewhat absent the last couple weeks, but I have a little present for those of you who continue to come back for more.  I just wanted you to know that I appreciate your visits so much!  Keep reading to get your freebie :)

I'm really just here for a super quick update of what I have been doing and will be doing as our school year winds down.  Yes, I do realize that there are some schools who might be on summer vacation already.  If that's you, just know that I'm super jealous - we still have 19 days left!  Ugh!!!  

As we all know the end of the year is jam-packed.  With all the testing, paperwork, and last minute cramming to get everything in --- it can be soooo exhausting!  So if you're anything like me you start finding ways to make life a little easier for yourself.  In my last couple weeks of school I will be digging up some things from last year, using some of the new things I made, and also getting some Ah-mazing little items that I picked up from some of my favorite bloggers ready too.  

Here's a quick rundown of how I will be surviving my end of the year craziness:

Father's Day

I just finished a little pack I will be using for Father's Day this year.

It includes a gift book, tool box craftivity, and a couple printables.  My husband really liked this one so I might be making it with my little girls for him for Father's Day too!  At least I already know he likes it :)

 I also bundled it together with my Flowers for Mom Mother's Day pack for a great discount.

End of the Year

For the end of the year I will using my Farewell Firsties pack from last year.  

This pack saved my butt last year when I was grasping for fun activities to keep us happy as the temperatures were rising and our motivation was falling.  If you want to see more of this pack, you can CLICK HERE to go to a blog post from last year.   I also have a Kinder and 2nd Grade version of this pack in my store now too.  

I've also enlisted the help of some of my blogging buddies and scored these perfect packs:

  

And finally, to keep some order in the classroom I try to keep as much routine as I can.  This means that we keep truckin' along with literacy centers and math centers.  I made some buggy math centers to go over some skills that really needed to be reviewed before the year was out:

But I still needed some literacy centers and I found the BEST pack to keep us going.  Sarah is a lifesaver!!!!  Even though these are for May, they can continue right into June too.  

AND FINALLY....

One last center JUST FOR YOU!!!  

Here is a lemonade themed math center FREEBIE.  

Again, another skill that my kiddos needed to practice and maybe yours do too :)

Click the picture below to grab it.

Happy end of the year my friends!  

I hope I was able to provide one little bit of sanity for you with an item I suggested or with this freebie.  

Thanks for stopping by :)

Last full week of school-Yahoooo!

Slowly, but surely - the last day is approaching.  My mind knows it's the end of the school year.  Each day I count down the days with my students and at the end of each day we pop a balloon on our countdown.  We started when there were 10 days left.  I pick 2 students each day to pop the balloon and they get the candy inside.  Just a fun way to count down the days.  

This is not my picture, but ours looks a lot like this. 

Anywho - as I was saying...my mind knows it's the end, but it hasn't hit my heart yet.  Mentally and physically I am exhausted and soooo ready for summer, but emotionally I am not there.  This is my first year teaching first grade and I have fallen in love with these little cuties.  Each day I run down the hallway to the 2nd grade teachers to share a little story or bit of info about my little darlings.  I could write a book about each child - what they like, dislike, what they order for lunch, what color their sneakers are, when they go to the bathroom each day.  Ok, I know that's WAY too much information, but let's be honest - some kids are just regular!!!!

So yes, I know next week when it finally hits me that I am saying goodbye to these little kiddos, I will be devastated.  Four of them are actually changing schools too, so I REALLY have to say goodbye to them :-((((  I will see the rest in the hallways and get some familiar hugs, but it won't be the same and we will have all moved on.  It's very bittersweet!

Moving along so I can fight back the tears.  

Back to our Calendar Countdown!!!!  

We have had a VERY rainy week!!!!  Many of our activities have been rained out this week, but we still had some fun despite the rain.  

Monday - Reaching our Goals.  

We first started by discussing our September goals and New Year's resolutions and see how we had done now that we are at the end of the year.  They all wanted to become better readers (or just readers for some) and they DID!  They wanted to learn how to add and subtract "bigger" numbers - and they CAN!  We reviewed some of the fun projects we've done throughout the year and units we've worked on.  This was a great lead in to our 1st Grade Memory Book (you can find it in my Farewell Firsties pack).  We spent a little time each day reminiscing and filling out the information in our books.  

We also talked about our goals for next year in 2nd grade.  I read them an all-time favorite: Oh, The Places You'll Go by none other than Dr. Seuss.  

Then we made these balloons to share what we were most excited for in 2nd grade. 

The plan was to play a kickball game against the other 1st grade class for some fun, but it was raining.  Instead, we played some more Red Rover, Red Light, Green Light, and What time is it Mr. Fox? in the gym.

Tuesday - ZOO field trip

Not much to say except --- guess what ---it RAINED!!!!!  It wasn't a total wash out, but it never really stopped drizzling.  The best part was ALL of the animals were actually out and active instead of hot and sleepy.  So that actually made it one my favorite trips to the zoo.  

Just a couple pics.

The penguins were SO interactive.  They were following the kids fingers wherever they went.  So fun to watch!

This little baby monkey was unbelievably cute I had to include his picture.  Most of the time he was being carried by his mom, but here you can see how small he is.  Precious!

Wednesday - OY and OI

The kids of course loved bringing in a favorite toy and sharing it with the class.  We had cuddly blankets, stuffed animals, dolls, magnets, a guitar, Pokemon cards, and of course one kid had to bring in a video game cartridge.  During math we used coin stamps to make a little flip chart - sorry no pictures :(  We also sorted coins, played Money Memory, and Collect $1.00.  

Thursday - EE

Today we had an assembly where we honored our school volunteers in the morning.  This is always so nice because the whole school is together and claps for the volunteers while they each get a certificate.  We LOVE volunteers!!!!  We also voted on classroom awards.  First I read the book No More Pencil, No More Books, No More Teacher's Dirty Looks! by Diane deGroat.  This is an adorable book about the end of the year and how each kid gets an award in the class.  

Then I have the kids vote (privately with me) on which awards should go to each student, including themselves.  I tally up the votes.  I try to give each child the award they voted for themselves for because obviously it was something that meant something to them.  Of course, I only do this if it fits the bill.  Then I give them another award that the other kids voted for.  Each child gets 2 awards this way.  I tell them they are the two awards that had the most votes.  Here are just 2 of the 26 different awards I have (also in Farewell Firsties).  

Finally, today was supposed to be Field Days, but guess what the weather was ----- Yep, RAIN!!!!  So we have a rain date on Monday.  We'll have to see what Mother Nature throws our way.  

Here is what I had to pull together quickly worked tirelessly on for Father's Day.  I took pictures of the kids holding signs.  They could choose You're the Best, Best Dad Ever, I love you Dad, or Happy Father's Day.  I have a couple kids whose father is not in the picture for one reason or another so they could choose Happy Father's Day for a grandpa or someone, or You're the Best for anyone.  I also changed the poem for them and just printed one out without the word Daddy on it.  They did turn out cute!  

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there.  I hope you enjoy a day of golfing, watching sports, fishing, or whatever it is you like to do.  I'm sure your families will make you feel special!

Only 4 more days of school left for me!