Sprinkle a Little Magic While Bidding the School Year Goodbye

This week is it, the end of online school. We will pack away the ipads and the worksheet packs with very little hoopla, and say goodbye to another year. The year that made history. It feels strange saying it, but summer is upon us and in another week, we will begin a new normal without any connection to these tiny or not-so-tiny humans that have made a way into our hearts forever.

But does it have to be this way? I am here to say that it does not! We do not have to slide from this school year into summer with little notice and no celebration. These babies may have been in our classes for three fourths of a year, but they will be held in our hearts forever. So let's get out our party hats and see what we can do to sprinkle a little magic while bidding this year school goodbye. 

If you have been a teacher for any amount of time, you know that teachers love to see what other teachers are doing so they can, well, get ideas for their own rooms. Sometimes you can just take an idea and run with it or other times, you tweak the idea to make it your own. There are thousands of teachers on YouTube, Pinterest, posting on blogs, on The Gram or even Facebook. If you spend enough time there, you could come away feeling inadequate, but just remember you are not seeing the day-to-day, but the highlight reel. This is the best of what they do in their rooms and  while it can be magical, just remember, it is NOT the day-to-day. We all have magic in our classes if we stop to look around. 

With that being said, I love looking for new ideas around, especially on Instagram. One of my friends and coworkers is known as  Learning With Mrs. Fresh. I love her idea of putting together little bags for her students.  She included a letter to each student as well as a class picture. She added in some fun touches (candy, pen, glow stick). How easy is that? And what better way send the class off on summer break and let them know that you care? Also, her school did a virtual school spirit week, which I adapted and am using during the last week of school. Let's bring the fun engagement. We can STILL do it, despite being separated by distance. Here is a look at what we are doing on the last week of school. 

My whole school is not hosting a school spirit week. But what's to stop me from doing that in my class? Nothing at all! I am most excited about our Taco Tuesday. In class, we have regular lunch bunches. Students look forward to coming to sit and eat lunch with me on Fridays. I always bring treats for the students who are in lunch bunch. A lot of times, I have made homemade chocolate chip cookies for them. I took this idea and decided to enjoy lunch with my class on Zoom. What I was trying to figure out was a treat for them. Then I had the idea to send them home (after our last pick-up) with a bag of ingredients so they could make their own cookies. So, that is just what I did. I made each of them a bag of supplies and passed it out to them. I am uploading a quick tutorial on YouTube so they can bake the cookies at home with their parents and then have them for the lunch bunch on Tuesday. I cannot way. And neither can they. I keep getting questions about when they can bake the cookies. This is going to be fun!

Another idea that I loved on Instagram was these affirmation flowers. I saw them on Pencils Top Pigtails. I loved this idea so much that I decided to create some of my own.

The only thing was, that I sent my husband out to Dollar Tree to snag some of these for my project and they only had Fourth of July themed ones. That was fine, but I had my heart set on these bright ones with multiple colors that were so beautiful. I went to another store and it was the same story. I just could NOT find the ones I wanted anywhere. A week later, with nothing, I decided that I would just get the patriotic ones and the kids would not know the difference. I went back to not one, but two stores and just found three of them total. I decided to go to one more store that I had not been to previously and I hit the jackpot and was able to get enough for my whole class in the colors that I wanted. I was so excited! I am planning to do a drive by, not sure if you would call it a parade, but at least to plant a flower in the yards of my students and spread a little love. 

Whether you do something "big" or "small" teacher, you are amazing!  

At Home Learning

Times have changed and so many families are now in charge of their own student's learning. Many parents are juggling their jobs while trying to make sure their student does not slip behind in their learning. Schools are giving a wide-range of support from basically non-existent to highly involved. We've taken on new ways of doing things, learned new platforms like Zoom, Google Teams, Google Classroom, Schoology, and Seesaw. 

With all of that, teachers are heartbroken knowing that a quarter of the year was snatched away from them, unexpectedly without closure. In the midst of all that, teachers are finding ways to connect, teach, and keep the learning going.

I want to share 5 ways that I am making that happen in my classroom.

1. Streamlining activities
I am attempting to combine some things wherever possible. We are just putting together our last packet for learning (the students and families will drive through to pick up tomorrow). I have found ways to work smarter, not harder. I streamlined my reading/social studies with a single printable unit that my students will use. They will be practicing comprehension strategies with non-fiction text that I hope will be engaging, because it features children or parts of childhood and the history behind them. One of my favorite articles talks about an epidemic that happened in the 40's and 50's, Polio. It tells the heartbreaking reality of children stuck in hospitals, sad and alone. It tells the story of a retired teacher who also is in one of the Polio wards with the children because she has also succumbed to the disease. What I love about this story is that this teacher does what teachers do everyday, she worked to make things better for her young hospitalmates. She invented a game that they could play easily, without having to read. It later became a world-famous game, Candy Land! 

I hope that these articles will be ones that my students can connect to and also learn from. The other articles tell about summer camp, orphan trains, child labor, children traveling through the mail, and the kid who invented popsicles. I cannot wait to discuss these with my kids. I have a feeling they will bring about some thought provoking conversations. 

2. Games
Games give students a sense of normalcy and fun. I love to do games for morning meeting in class, but doing them over Zoom has been exciting as well. The students are so engaged. This next time, I am going to send home a printable booklet of one of our classroom multiplication games. The good thing is that it will be something familiar and it is something they can play with little supplies and with a parent or sibling. 

3. Mail
Let's face it, kids LOVE mail. In the digital age, a real piece of mail is such a thrill. I enjoy writing little postcards to encourage the students and let them know that I miss them. They look forward to receiving them as well. 

4. Being Available
I try to make myself available throughout the day by text, phone, email, and Zoom. We have an hour Zoom class every day, but sometimes that is not enough. I have babies at home with no one who speaks English. There is no one that can help them complete any of the work. So being available reminds them that I care and that I want to help. I am doing what I can to keep them going during this less than ideal time.

5. Praying
If you are a praying teacher, I urge you to pray for your students. We don't know what they have gone home to. For some, school IS their safe place. It is where they look forward to going to escape the problems at home. Just because I grew up in a great family doesn't mean all of my students are getting that same opportunity. Some don't have enough food. Some of their parents have lost jobs. I am spending time praying for each of them. I hope they know that if they need anything, I am here. I let them know that I am praying for them. I think it brings them comfort. 

These are just five quick things that I am doing to try to make it through this time with some semblance of order. If these are ideas you can take with you and put into practice, please do it. Remember, we are not doing "online learning." We are doing "emergency learning." We are in the middle of a national crisis. But in the midst of it all, there are things we can do to not just survive, but thrive!

If you are interested in any of the resources mentioned, click on the pictures below. 

That was Then, This is Now

Back when I was creating magic in my classroom, I had so many plans. I had plans for several transformations in the last quarter. I left my classroom, heading off to spring break still seeing my Toy Story S.T.E.M. transformation hanging up in my classroom. We knew we were having some time off for the Coronavirus, but we did not know then what we know now, that we are not coming back this year. 

I have been back to the classroom about three times since, getting distance learning packets ready, looking at my Toy Story things, and removing it from the walls, remember the fun day of learning we had, not know that would be our last time together. I have not had the heart or motivation to take apart the Lego marble runs they made or put away my bins of supplies. It is heartbreaking to think that that was the end and we did not get to finish the year or say our goodbyes.

However, life has to keep going and we are doing the best we can. I am trying to add some spice to our Zoom meetings. We tried doing a Kahoot, which they love. That was a big challenge for some of the families to be able to get onto, but the students were so excited. It brought a sense of normalcy and something to enjoy. Lately, we have been doing science experiments. I learned after the first couple weeks, that we need to do our experiments together, or they may not get done. So, on Zoom, we've been learning about force and motion with some experiments using a unit I purchased from Gifted Teacher 305. She did a fun transformation using a NASCAR theme. We are using Hot Wheels and having a great time. 


As the school year ends, I want to end it in a big way, with lots of fun and bonding, even if it is across the miles. So, I am getting ready for a week of fun to end this year. With all the stress that our families are going through, we could all use a little fun. Here's what I am doing for fun.