Happy Summer!

Thanks to all the students in 1st/2nd and their families for a super year!  Enjoy your summer... 

as you can see my children have wasted no time starting summer:)

See you all back in the fall!

Final Balloon: Pick Your Own Spot in the Classroom!

It's pretty exciting when you are in first or second grade and you get to move your desk to sit in any spot in the classroom to sit by your friends!  All 8 balloons have been popped!  This was such a fun way to end a great year.  Have a wonderful summer everyone!

Balloon 7: Reading Time Outside + 5th Grade Dino Dig

A beautiful morning to enjoy a book outside!  In the afternoon we visited the 5th graders uncovering bones during their dino dig.

Balloon Number 6: Lunch in the Classroom

Eating lunch in the classroom is always a special treat!

Balloon Number 5: Marker Day

On Friday we popped balloon number 5, and the message inside said to use a marker on your assignments all day long.  As if this wasn't exciting enough, the students got to pick out a "teacher" marker to keep forever!  The kids couldn't have been more excited... who knew how happy markers can make kids:)

Finally It's Mrs. Gjere!

Mrs. Gjere is our Title I teacher, and she is in and out of our classroom working with students a lot during our days.  Very often after reading the Mystery Reader clues, the class would say, "Oh, it has to be Mrs. Gjere!"  Then she would come walking into our room to work with students, and we'd know it wasn't her.  I thought that Mrs. Gjere would be the perfect finale!

The 3rd clue really threw the class for a loop: "I biked across the United States when I was 23 years old."  Nobody guessed Mrs. Gjere, but a few students thought maybe their parents had secret biking lives they hadn't shared with their children!  When Mrs. Gjere came into the room, they had to think about it for a second before they realized Mrs. Gjere was really their Mystery Reader!

We spent a lot of time discussing her biking trip; the kids found this fascinating!  Mrs. Gjere did an awesome job helping the kids make inferences as she read "Willoughby and the Lion."

Authors' Celebration + Ice Cream = Balloon Number 4

Our balloon popping event today was an Authors' Celebration with the kindergarten class along with an ice cream treat.  We wrote and published poetry in April, but we still haven't had the chance to share it.  This provided us with the perfect opportunity!  The kindergartners also shared books they recently wrote and will be sharing at their kick out!

Balloon Number 3: Math Fact Kickball

This morning our balloon picker opted to sit on the ball to pop it.  This sure made the class laugh!  Our balloon surprise was math fact kickball.  Before the students could kick, they had to solve a math fact.  Thanks to Mrs. Gjere for flashing the cards while I pitched.

Another wonderful surprise was that the seniors showed up at our door with letters they wrote back to us.  How fun!

Balloon Number Two: Nature Scavenger Hunt

Perfect day to enjoy the outdoors!  There are also a few pictures of us below delivering our letters to the seniors that we wrote yesterday.  Watching them hand-off their letters to the surprised seniors was priceless.

Celebration Countdown

At the end of every school year I'm on the search for an interesting and creative way to bring the year to a close with my class.  I found this great idea on Pinterest of hanging balloons in the classroom with a fun activity in each balloon as a way to countdown until the last day.  Over the weekend I brainstormed 8 activities that I knew the kids would enjoy, jotted each down on a slip of paper, slipped each message into a balloon and hung them up.  Right away this morning the students noticed and wondered what was going on.  They counted 8 balloons and guessed that we would pop one for each day that is left in our school year.  They were half right, but they didn't realize all the fun that was to follow popping a balloon!

Today the message said "Write a letter to a Burro graduate."  The class was really excited about this, especially about hand delivering them tomorrow!  I happened to have fancy graduation paper on hand which always makes writing even more special!

2nd Grade Field Trip

On Thursday, the 2nd graders went on their field trip which included a few locations.  They started the day at a local farm owned by the Taylors and Troendles.  The students learned about the animals and how the farm works.  Our next stop was the news station KTTC in Rochester.  It was fun for the kids to meet Jessica Abrahamson and Ted Schmidt.  There were many questions for Ted about how weather is forecasted, and of course their favorite part, the green screen.  Many students remembered to wear green so as to disappear as they went across the screen.  Our final stop was at Silver Lake Park where they were able to enjoy the equipment and a few baseball games.

Mrs. A. to Most; Grandma to One

Today the beloved Mrs. A. came in to share a favorite story of hers, "The Moon is Following Me."  Mrs. A. is not only a staff member at our school, but she is also the grandma of one of our students.  She chose the book because of the deep text-to-self connection she felt when she first read it.  Many of the students were able to have that same connection as we all thought about a time when we thought the moon was following us.  One student even remarked how the book was very "calming."  What a remarkable thought, and Mrs. A.'s soothing voice helps out too!  Thanks so much for reading with us today!

Ag Day

Yesterday with much excitement we visited Ag Day.  It is not only a special event because the students get the opportunity to see a variety of animals and farm equipment, but many students have an older brother, sister, cousin, or friend that presents.  We walked around to each student lead presentation, and the class had the chance to pet the animals, ask questions, and sit up in the tractor seats.  The high school students did a fanstastic job teaching us about their specialty!

Mr. S. Crashes First and Second Grade

It was such a pleasure to have Mr. S. come in today as our Mystery Reader.  He works right across the hall from us in the kindergarten room.  All the students see Mr. S. each day, but they just couldn't figure out who loves the Twins, has a sweet tooth, and very large feet!  (No kidding... the kids measured them on his way out because they were fascinated by this clue!)

He read the book "The Three Wolves and the Big Bad Pig."  This was a book that was recommended by one of our students a couple of weeks ago, and the class loved it!  Afterwards the class had a million questions for Mr. S.  They asked him everything from "Who is your favorite author?" to "How old were you when you got your first bike?"  Thanks for hanging out with us today Mr. S.

The Principle's New Clothes

Each week that we have a Mystery Reader, one of the class' first guesses is "Mr. Semmen!"  As we continue through the clues, we usually end up taking him off of our list of guesses.  This week I thought it would be fun to actually have Mr. Semmen come in as our Mystery Reader.  The class was definitely surprised.  I think the clue about being a Steelers' fan is what threw them!  He read a spin-off of "The Emperor's New Clothes" called "The Principle's New Clothes."  The class enjoyed making text-text connections as he read this silly story.  Thanks Mr. Semmen!

First Grade Fieldtrip

Yesterday the kindergartners and first graders had a wonderful day spent in LaCrosse.  Our day started with the play "Jack and the Beanstalk" which was performed at Viterbo College.  We then headed over to Myrick Park for lunch.  There was a variety of climbing, hanging, and sandcastle building areas for the kids to play in.  In the afternoon we visited the nature center and learned about insects, and we even had the chance to be scientists and go exploring for them.  It was just a perfect day, except according to the students, it went too fast!

Grandma of the Birthday Boy

Today's mystery reader is a grandmother to 10, lives on a farm with several animals, and has lived and worked locally her whole life.  One student guessed right away that it was Mrs. Ruen.   Thanks so much for coming in to share a story with us.  This made the birthday boy's day extra special!

Older Sister and Former Student

Today we had an extra special Mystery Reader.  The older sister of one of our students who is now in 3rd grade came in to read "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs."  I happen to know this awesome 3rd grader because I also had her in 1st and 2nd grade.  When she came walking in the whole class was so surprised, and her brother had the biggest smile on his face!  He kept looking at her like he couldn't believe it!  Thanks for sharing a story with us today Miss T.

Mom of the Birthday Girl

Today is the birthday of one of our special students.  When her mom contacted me about bringing in a birthday snack on Friday to celebrate I recommended that she come in as a mystery reader as well. What a special surprise for her daughter!  Not only did the class get to hear a new story, but they also got to enjoy some chocolate cake and ice cream.  Thanks for the story and treat Mrs. LaDoux, and happy birthday to your daughter! (The birthday girl wanted a silly picture with her mom:)

Gopher Loving Teacher

On Friday we were lucky to have 2 mystery readers visit our classroom.  The first one is a mom of one of our students who is at school regularly since she is part of the ECFE program, helps in the Ag Department, and subs in other classrooms.  You can tell that Mrs. Ruen is a teacher in the way that she interacted with the students throughout the read aloud.  She chose to read a book by Tomie dePaola since that is her favorite children's author, and she met him when she was in elementary school.  Her daughter knew it was her right away when she heard the last clue "I love the Minnesota Gophers."  Thanks for visiting our classroom Mrs. Ruen!