So my school year has come to a close for me here in my rural, little town! It ended with watching the class movie we had filmed, handing out year books to sign, and final report cards. There was a touch of sadness mixed with great excitement as the students exited my door for the final time- you see, I am moving to a new school over the summer!
My wife and I am ready to embrace this moving thing head-on! We are working like crazy to sell our home in our current community so that we might start searching for our new home! Anyways...
After the students left, I set to work boxing up my room. Well... let me rephrase that, my wife, kids, and even my administrator, start boxing books. The boxes you see in the front of the picture below are about 1/5 of my books. My entire student library is approximately 50 boxes of books (or more). With my classroom nearly packed, I am excited to start the moving process and start setting up my new room. WAHOO!
On this same note, of packing up my 13 years of teaching, I wanted to create an activity that would allow my students this same opportunity to pack up their school year and leave with good thoughts about all that we had accomplished this year. So, I took my Outside the Box Projects idea and turned it in to something that I just love!
Students start by filling out six mini-assignments about themselves, the year favorite memory, etc.
There is one side where they remove a small rectangle to make an opening.
Once all the circles are complete the students cut them all out.
The circles are then assembles into a cube.
The finished cube is then set slit side up on the students desks.
Students are then given compliment strips (enough for each student in the class, including themselves) to fill out. I made them more fill in the blank so that it would go a bit faster.
I filled out one for each students as well. When the students finished filling them out, they cut them apart, and then delivered them to each student by dropping them into their cube.
This activity was a HUGE success and I love that each student walked away with their memories packed on the outside, and a whole bunch of nice compliments from their classmates on the inside. This is a definite keeper in my classroom!
If you would like to learn more about this project, click on the picture below or click HERE.
Mr. Hughes
Great project! The end of the year is bittersweet, isn't? I have 3 more days!
ReplyDeleteIt really is. I am ready for this new adventure, however! WAHOO!
DeleteThe kids really did love this activity and making it interactive and interpersonal with the compliments was a wonderfully powerful way of helping them to connect with one another before heading out the door for another summer of fun.
ReplyDeleteYour new school is lucky to be getting you and I can't wait to hear and see the amazing things you do as you start your new adventure.
You, sir, are truly a ninja!
Pretty cool idea, Mr. Hughes. Not sure if you've thought of listing your home with a realtor but I know Century21 advertises that they buy your home if you don't sell it, allowing you to move on to another. It's a thought. I wondered what would happen if you hadn't sold your home by the beginning of the school year; what you and your family would do for living arrangements. Please keep me informed on what is going on over the summer, so we can possibly plan on me being in class with your some at the beginning of the school year. I plan on working on my whole Teaching POV assignments and refine things a bit, make up so new worksheets and quizzes. See you in the postings - Mrs. E :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting. We do have an agent. Once I am settled I will talk to the current admin and see if he is okay with you joining my class. Haven't really talked about it with him yet- other worries on my mind. :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
How exciting for you and your family. But what a big lose for the school, and students, who will miss you.
ReplyDeleteWe have ten school days remaining. It'll be a really nice for Christopher but quite sad for me. I've befriended so many moms over the past three years, having to say goodbye to all of them won't be easy.
But we're ready for our next adventure n Berlin, Germany.
HOW EXCITING! You get to go to Germany! I can't believe that it has already been three years! WOW!
DeleteI live my pretend traveling self through your blog posts and adventures because I can promise you that I will never get to experience what you are right now.
Can't wait to read all the details as you make this next part of your journey!
WAHOO!