Super Dad Comics! So much fun!

My class and I had the best time making these little Superhero themed comic strips for Father's Day!  Before we began, we had a little discussion about Superhero comic books, what they look like and what kinds of words they use.  We talked about the original slogan for Superman...which goes something like, "Faster than a speeding bullet... more powerful than a locomotive... able to leap tall buildings in a single bound... it's a bird, it's a plane, no... it's SUPERMAN!"

Then, we got to work on some brainstorming for our own "Superdad" comic strips for Father's Day.  The students helped me think of some things that are FAST, and then we came up with sound word to go with it (to go inside the speech burst/bubble). (We added a few funny ones with a Father's Day theme... such as "a lawnmower" haha!)  Then, we got to work on making a list of things that are strong or powerful like our dads.  I cracked up when one of my students called out "a hammer!"  How perfect for Father's Day 

 

And here are a few of the finished products! 

 I love the facial expressions my student drew in this one!  Such a great imagination!

Currently for June...

I don't know how I missed this last month, but here we are in June and it's time for my CURRENTLY post!  I'm linking up with Farley's "Oh Boy 4th Grade" blog for this Linky Party.  If you haven't checked out her blog, you absolutely must!  It's so much fun!

And now... for my June currently...

 

1.  So... I'm currently listening to the hum of the computer.  It's been one of those days!  I finally had some time to upload a few new products onto TpT, so I thought I'd get on my blog and do some updating over here as well.  Here I am... many, many hours later... listening to this hummmmmmmmm of the computer.  It's actually quite annoying.  I need some music.

2.  I'm currently LOVING my class this year!  I am in denial that I'm going to have to say goodbye to those 32 adorable little faces on Thursday.  They have worked so hard and come so far this year, it's amazing!  We also put on a little play last week for parents and students, and I couldn't have been more proud of them.  There's nothing like that feeling of pride you feel when your students rise to the occasion and SHINE!  They were absolutely amazing!  

3.  I'm currently THINKING about all of the things I need to do this week before I lock up my classroom for the summer.  I'm sure you're all familiar with the endless amount of paperwork that the end of the year brings... well, I've been so busy with other things these past few weeks, I have barely started any of it.  I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm anxious to get it all done and check it off my "to do" list! 

4.  I'm currently WANTING to be done with this week so I can get a head start on my vacation!  This will be the first summer that I won't be working summer school in probably three or four years!  I'm so happy to be able to stay home and spend the summer lovin' on my family!  Woo-hoo!  xoxo

Here's my family!  Me, my awesome stepson Nicholas (who just graduated from high school on Friday!), my amazing husband, Matt, and our three littlest ones - Blake (8), Olivia (2), and Madeleine (4).  

5.  I'm currently NEEDING a break!  It's been a long haul these past few months, and after the craziness of school, kids, baseballs season, and end-of-year parties, graduations, and performances... this mama of four needs a little R&R!  Bring on the beach vacation!

6.  My 3 Vacay Esssentials:  For the first time in a few years, we are actually taking a real family vacation this year!  We've rented a cute little beach cottage in Santa Cruz and will be spending our days playing at the beach and Boardwalk, and relaxing and barbequing at the beach house at night!  So... for this little family vacay, my top 3 essential items are: 

1) Cute and comfy flip-flops 

2) A NEW pair of sunglasses (I'm totally going to treat myself to a new pair!) ;)

3) Lots of sunblock for the whole family.  I'm always lathering everyone up... so I'll be bringing a boat load of that, too. 

And... that about wraps it up!  Happy summer, everyone!  We're almost there!

It's a bird... it's a plane... it's SUPERDAD!

I'm SUPER excited about this fun little Father's Day unit featuring comic book style fonts and graphics!  We've got a week to go before Dad's special day... so my students and I will be working on some of these fun little projects as we wrap up our last week of school! 

Here's a little sneak peek! 

Students will be able to create their own little comic strip with dialogue and illustrations!  The unit also includes traditional Father's Day activities like "My Super Dad" fill in the blank pages, acrostic poems, and a Father's Day Coupon book!  You can find a link to it here!

If you were a fan of my Mother's Day printables in English and Spanish, then you'll want to check out this All About Dad unit!  Here's a peek for ya...

I had such great feedback from my Mother's Day unit in English and Spanish, that I decided to do one for Father's Day as well!  So many of you commented about how much your Spanish-speaking students enjoyed being able to create the same gifts as their English-speaking friends (and one that their parents would understand as well!)

I'm down to just four more school days (well, more like three and a half -- but who's counting?)  Can't wait to get back into blogging more regularly over the summer!  

Counting Down to the End of the Year!

I don't know about you all, but as much as I love my class... I'm so ready for this school year to be over!  This is the time of year when I tend to go into "panic mode".  There's so much to do, and so little time to get it all done!  Does your "to do" list sound anything like this?  Let's see... end-of-year fluency and math assessments, writing samples, entering scores into the computer (40 question test times 32 student), report cards, student cum files and all the paperwork that goes along with that, and cleaning and organizing my classroom.  On top of all that, we've got a field trip to a swimming pool next week, I've got a step-son graduating from high school (with a big graduation party here at our house), and we are also putting on a class play!  Needless to say, things are a little cRaZy!!!  I know I'm not alone here, so I'd love to hear from you all and how you're dealing with this end-of-year madness? 

On the bright side, once everything is done in my classroom, I can relax and enjoy the summer at home with my three little ones!  My kids are 8, 4, and 2, and this will be the first summer I have not worked summer school in years!  I can't wait!  I am so looking forward to SLEEPING IN (as much as my kids will let me), trips to the park, days at the beach, and a few little family getaways!  I'm also very excited to be able to spend more time blogging and working on my TpT store! 

So... just to let you know that I've actually been productive these past few weeks... here are a few pics from my classroom! 

Our Eric Carle inspired collage projects!  This took over a week of sketching, painting, and cutting, but I'm so happy with how they turned out! 

Working on our Mother's Day projects!

All ready for Open House. 

Working on our Pocketful of Poems unit.  We brainstorm ideas and write our "rough draft" in our student journals first!

Second Grade Memories - A Layered Flip Book

I thought I'd share another crafty idea with you while we're all in end-of-the-year project mode!  Layered flip books are another one of my favorite little projects to make for Open House.  They're easy to make and fun to read!  The key is making each page one inch longer than the previous page, so that the finished product looks like this:



























I used to make these all the time, but the tricky part was cutting the pages to fit!  I love the look of the rainbow colored flip book (on the right), but the one with titles (bottom right) is also a lot of fun!  My students are working on these layered books right now.  I've already copied and cut the pages, and I've been handing out only one page at a time.  We take time to brainstorm ideas for each page, and I usually write a few examples on the board before I let them go at it on their own.  My students have been keeping their completed pages in their class work folder (in their desk), to work on them when they have extra time.  When we've completed all the pages, I will show them how to assemble them in order, and then whip around the room with my handy stapler and voila!  A lovely memory book for the end of the school year! 

To make things easier for you, I've created a ready made memory flip book for Second Grade here (this unit also includes a traditional, full-size memory book template).  I've also created one for First Grade, which you can grab here, as well as  a traditional, full sized memory book for First Grade here, if you want something simple!

Making Lemonade out of State Testing

State testing time is here!  We began our first official test day today, and I'm proud to say that we all survived.  Getting 32 students to take an hour long test independently is no cake walk.  But... they did their best, and that's all I can ask for, right?  One testing day down, only five more to go.  We can DO this! 

One of the things I like about our two weeks of testing is that we have some time in the afternoons to work on special projects.  Our Open House is coming up in less than three weeks, so I've made a to-do list of projects to have completed by then.

Open House To-Do List:

1. Animal Research Report and Diorama:  We started researching our animals in the computer lab this week, and most students were also able to find books about their animals from the library.  The rest of their project is to be done at home.  I'm not giving regular homework these next few weeks, so they all have plenty of time to work on their projects.  If you didn't already grab my freebie Animal Research Report Poster, you can grab it here  You can also grab my Animal Diorama and Research Report Project Pack which has everything you need to do this project with your students!  You can hop on over to TpT and grab that here! 
2. Poetry Books:  We are still finishing up our poetry lessons from April!  We are in the revising and rewriting phase, but we're on our way!  The students have completed several Acrostic Poems, an All About Me Poem, Cinquain, Haiku, and a Five Senses Poem!  These lessons and printables are all included in my Pocketful of Poems Unit, which you can find here. 
3. Eric Carle Art Project:  This project is a big one, and takes several days to complete, but I've done it for the past two years with my classes and I'm always so thrilled with the results.  We will be making our own collages in the style of Eric Carle.  This means we'll be painting different colors on paper, and then cutting the paper to make a collage.  For inspiraction, I've been reading lots of different Eric Carle books over the past month.  We're keeping track of our stories on a chart, so the students can think about each story and the different kinds of pictures that were in it.  I think the overall class favorite so far is The Grouchy Ladybug, ("Hey YOU, wanna fight?"  My kiddos LOVE that part!  Ha ha!)  I'll be posting about this project soon as well.  It's a big one, but so much fun and so worth all the mess! 
4. Second Grade Memories Layered Flip Book:  This little project is so much fun to make.  It's a memory book where the pages are cut in different lengths so that each page gets bigger by one inch.  This makes it fun to flip from page to page!  I'll be making a post of this one soon!  I've also got this little project available on TpT, and like everything else in my store - it's on SALE for 20% off until tomorrow night!  You can find this memory flip book here

I have some other things on my list of to-do's -- like taking their pictures for an "I wish"  bulletin board display.  I discovered this idea on Pinterest last year, and it turned out so great!  I'll be doing it again, and I'll be sharing it on here as well. 

Until then, have a fabulous week and be sure to check out TpT for their Teacher Appreciation Day SALE going on today and tomorrow!  My entire store is on sale 20% off, and I have a BRAND NEW surprise product on sale for 50% off that would be a great way to wrap up the school year in your literacy centers!  Check it out HERE!

Teaching Special Thinkers Giveaway!

I'm super excited to be a part of my very fist giveaway!  Gabrielle at Teaching Special Thinkers is having a "Final Countdown Giveaway" to help you pumped up for summertime!  It's jam-packed with over 50 products for grades K-2!  There's also a separate prize for grades 3-6, and one for Special Education!    Just scroll down a bit to find the RAFFLE COPTER so you can enter to win!  Woohoo! 

Be sure to check it out!  You don't want to miss out on all these awesome prizes!  

I've donated my "Springtime Fun" unit to this giveaway - you might remember it from last month! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway