Friday was International Dot Day...and for those of you who have never heard of that and have no idea what all the hype is about, let me introduce you to the book that started it all...You can find it here. It is a great book about growth mindset. It all begins when a little girl cannot think of anything to draw in art class because she doesn't think she is a great artist. Her teacher tells her to draw something, anything...so she draw a dot, a teeny, tiny one. Her teacher asks her to sign her name on the bottom of her paper, so she does. The next day, she walks into the art room and sees her dot framed in a beautiful golden frame. Suddenly, because someone valued her, she begins to see herself as an artist and begins to create more and more art....I'll leave the rest for you to read on your own. You can even find a reading of it here on youtube.
We had a great conversation about the book and how it could apply to us. Then the rest of the day, we engaged in different activities that had something to do with dots.
In science, we explored color and what colors black is made from. Students started by drawing a black dot with a Mr. Sketch marker on a coffee filter. They made a hypothesis about which colors they thought black is made from. They showed this on their recording sheet. Next, they folded the filter into a small triangle shape and dipped it in water for 10 seconds. Then we opened them up to take a look. The students were able to clearly see the colors that are in black. They were so excited! We recorded that on our science experiment sheet. I found this lab on Pinterest, but I cannot find the link.
For P.E. we played a game called, King of the Boppers. I don't have any pictures of this, but basically I had two colors of pool noodles, half of my students were on the green team and the other half were on the blue team. I took each pool noodle and cut them into three equal pieces. Each student got one of the pieces. Then I took another noodle and sliced it into about one inch pieces that were in the shape of a donut (or dot). Every student got one of the long pieces and one of the small pieces that represented the color of their team. The students started in a big field with the small donut-shaped piece in his/her open hand. They had to protect their dot and not let it drop while other students used their long piece, or bopper, to try to whack it out of the other student's hand. If the student dropped their dot, they were out of the game. The last team with players in the game wins! We had so much fun!
During art time, we did this little project that I found on this website and if you scroll down, you can see the video I showed to my class that talked all about texture and how to do this project before we got started. After the video, students had a few minutes to gather some textured items from nature outside. Then inside the classroom, I passed out a few other items that they could use as well. They started by wrapping a piece of yarn around a cardboard circle. Next, they glued down their textured items. After that, they took a piece of tinfoil and placed it on top of their collage. They carefully rubbed their fingertip over the collage, revealing the objects underneath. Then they flipped their circle over and cut around the border of the circle, leaving about an inch of tinfoil. They tucked the foil all around the back of the circle, securing it in place. We will spray pain it later with black and then use some steel wool to burnish it. They are going to look amazing! Can't wait to see their dot shaped texture collages!
And of course, it wouldn't be a special day without snacks, so we decided on cheese dots (cheese balls) and donut dots (donut holes).
We ended up running out of time for all the activities we had planned, since Fridays are always early dismissal days. But I also brought dot games and let them play when they were done with their art project. I had Dominoes, Tic Tac Toe (all the pieces were different colored dots), and Othello.
One of my most important goals this year is to connect with my families. I want to make them feel like I think their child is loved and is and special person. One way that I am planning to do this is by sending home positive notes on a regular basis. It is so easy to focus on the negative and many times that is all that parents hear about their child especially the difficult ones. I admit, it is going to be challenging some days, but I really want to send some love their way at least twice per month. I created some little notes that go along with my theme that will help me out on this. These llama notes are simple, fun, and cute. I can't wait to use them.
Here's how I am organizing it all. First, I purchased a small clipboard specifically for the purpose of holding positive notes. I will write names on the notes at the beginning of each month and then look for ways to send them home. Is Johnny, who isn't usually quiet, having a great day of quiet learning? Time to pull out one of those notes and add a few words and sign it. When Jackie stops to help someone and wasn't even asked, time for a note home.
I think that by looking for positive, I will see more positive. I sent my first note home today. And that little boy, who has had to have a lot of negative notes sent home in previous years, was glowing! Last week I sent a few of these out and got great responses from the parents who received them. I even had one parent thank me and also let me know that I could also send negative news. LOL.
How will this affect the relationships with the students and parents? Well, that is yet to be seen, but I do know that people tend to try to live up to what you think of them. So I want each student to think they are my favorite student ever. I want them to live like they are. I want the parents to look forward to hearing communication from school instead of dreading it. Many times they already know the problems their student struggles with. Why not show them that someone sees their child as they really are, a treasure! Who knows, maybe this could move mountains in the classroom. I am willing to give it a try. You can find these little notes here.
It's the season that many students dread and many parents celebrate! Back-to-School time is officially here! I've already seen teachers on social media starting their first days (super early). I have my first day in about a week and a half, so I am eating, sleeping, and thinking about school 24/7! One of the things that is on my mind is getting that first day and week going in a positive and fun way. One of my go-to's in helping me get started is carefully selected picture books. What kid doesn't like a story? (O.K, maybe you have met one or two in your lifetime, but maybe you can bring them around with one of these picks for back to school.) I'm going to share with you my favorite back to school reads for the upcoming year. I'm going to count down to my all-time favorite title 'a la Casey Kasem style. 10. Stick and Stone
We all know that sticks and stones hurt, but what happens when sticks and stones become friends? They can form a friendship that truly rocks. This books is a great book that has an anti-bullying theme. It would be a great for anytime, but especially teaching what friends do for each other at the beginning of the year. 9. The Worst Best Friend
I love this book for so many reasons, but mostly because I can totally relate to this one. I had this hard experience in ninth grade. This book touches on the subject of how friends can sometimes let someone come between them. But in the end of this book, true friendship wins. It is a great book to teach how to be friends, especially with someone who has stuck with you through thick and thin. I think it would also be a great time to talk about being friends with more than one person and how you can do that without hurt feelings. A great, great read! 8. Chrysanthemum
I have loved this book for many years, but when I moved to my new school, I kinda let it go. The teacher in the grade before me read it to the students every year. It was, by all intents and purposes, "her book." I just could not bring myself to read it to the students when I got them the very next year. But with that said, under different circumstances, I would definitely put this one back in my rotation. I love that this one celebrates being different, standing up for others, and being proud of who you are.
Chrysanthemum doesn't know anything is wrong with her name. She has always loved it, but as soon as the students in her class (her first year of school) tell her different, she starts to doubt that her name is great at all. She doesn't like it anymore. Thankfully in the end, she finds value in her name and begins to celebrate it once again with the help of her teacher.
I like how it shows that just one unkind word can really hurt someone deeply. I experienced something just like this when my own precious boy went to school. One boy told him his socks were baby socks. He was hurt deeply by that and wanted nothing to do with those socks after that. I think it is important for kids to realize that words do have power and that the old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," is absurd. Also I would touch on not letting what someone else says, change your thoughts. Be your own person.
This book is just plain fun! It celebrates how I feel about school. This second grader's mother just loves hearing about all the wonderful thing her daughter gets to do in school so she decides she wants to be a part of all the learning and fun too. She decides to spend a day in the class disguised as a plant so she can get a feel for everything she thinks she is missing out on. The day goes well and since the class is studying plants, the mother fits right in. But all the children begin to become suspicious because the plant is seeming more and more like what she is, someone's mother under cover. I love that this celebrates the thrill of school. I want all my students to find school as exciting as this mother did to go to such drastic measures to be a part of it.
I think I discovered this one randomly in a Scholastic book order when I was teaching Kindergarten and it has been a crowd favorite ever since. A little shark is so excited about everything his first day of school, that his instinct sets in and he just about destroys the entire room in the process. It's a great book to read when discussing class rules and it's a fun one that will be sure to have your students jumping in with the line, "Don't eat the....!" at the end of each page. 5. Hooway for Wodney Wat
I think I first heard of this book at a teacher's convention. I. LOVE. IT. This book is great! This poor little rat cannot say his /r/ sound at all. Instead everything sounds like a w. So instead of introducing himself as Rodney Rat, he introduces himself as Wodney Wat. That is the beginning of being taunted and laughed at and made fun of. One day though, a new kid arrives at school and bullies her way through the playground making everyone's life miserable. Until one day, Wodney has the pleasure of being it in a game of Simon Says. The new kid becomes so confused that the playground bully disappears and never comes back, all thanks to Wodney who, of course, becomes an instant hero! So many lessons on bullying and being kind despite differences can be brought out by this book. It is one you'll definitely want to add to your collection. 4. The Teacher From the Black Lagoon
It's the very first day of school and the main character is just finding out that his teacher is Mrs. Green. Instantly, his imagination runs wild, turning her into a monster that hates kids. Thankfully, his opinion of her changes the instant he snaps out of his daydreams and really gets a chance to see for himself what Mrs. Green is really like. This one is a must read if discussing nerves on the first day of school or jumping to a conclusion when you don't really know anyone and judging them based on something that may or may not be true. Love it! 3. First Day Jitters
Everyone knows that students are jittery on the first day of school. But in this book they will learn, in a surprising ending, that teachers are a bundle of nerves too.
If you read this with your class, be sure to make some Jitter Juice to go with it.
In this book, I just love the spunky Katie Sue. Everyone underestimates the power in someone so small. A playground bully, "The Recess Queen" takes over recess each day until a new girl, Katie Sue steps in and unexpectedly changes everything, turning the playground into a peaceful place. I love this book for teaching about how to make friends and why people bully for the simple fact that they just want a friend and don't know how to make one. This special book will help students learn how to become a friend. 1. Enemy Pie
My number one favorite back to school book is ....Enemy Pie. This book has been near and dear to my heart. In fact, I introduced my boss to this book, and she shares it with others, including her sharing it with me again. Love that! Jeremy is ready to have the best summer ever. His best friend lives close by and he's planning on just having a great time. Until....a new kid moves in to the neighborhood, stealing Jeremy's best friend and leaving him lonely, hurt, and desperate for revenge. Thankfully his dad is up for a plan of revenge. His dad tells Jeremy about an old secret recipe called Enemy Pie that is sure to get rid of his enemy once and for all. I love the twists and turns of it. I love that the family baker is the dad. Again, so many lessons about friendship to teach from this one great read. These books are great ones that you will want to add to your collection. I've included links, so you can click on them and be taken to the link on Amazon. What back to school books are your favorites? Check out my video where I talk all about these books....
