Day 179: End-of-the-Year Party!

Day 179 was our End-of-the-Year Party.  If your school is like mine, the "party" is somewhat of a wrap-up to everything.

The day started with my kiddos taking a survey.  Every year I give the students an evaluation to fill out.  The first part is about them: what they've accomplished/goals they've met, new friends they made, etc. The second part is about the class/classroom: what lessons they liked best, what lessons weren't their favorites, and suggestions for improvement. (I always have to clarify on this one because I can't change things like the school-wide discipline policy, recess times, etc.  There are always a few kiddos who want to adjust those!)  The final segment is about me:  Did I treat them fairly?  Did they feel safe?  What was the best/worst advice I gave them? I tell the students to be honest; they are not going to hurt my feelings by their responses.  I take the surveys and read them over so I can gauge my teaching for next year.  I have actually taken some suggestions from students in previous years and changed things from time to time.  I've been thinking of doing a smaller version of the survey at the end of each quarter or semester as well.  We'll see what happens.

After that, we cleaned out the last few items from their desks (crayons, pencils, and final "fun" sheets) and cleaned up the room a bit.  By that time, it was time for recess and independent reading time, which led us into lunch.

Lunch was held in the classroom.  We had pizza, chips, and juice.  Some of the children also brought an extra snack or two, so they also had those.  During lunch, the students watched a slide show of the year, courtesy of one of our parents who took pictures of a lot of our class activities. 

After the slide show, the class had a surprise for me so I was asked to step out of the room for a few minutes while they got ready.  When I was given the signal to come back in, I came in to see my students standing at their desks with roses in their hands.  Each student then came up to me, gave me hug, presented me with a rose, and told me thank you or some other appreciative statement.  After that, each of the parents came up and presented me with a rose and said something nice about me and/or the year.  The whole thing was very sweet and slightly overwhelming.  I was a little teary by the end.  Here is a picture of the final bouquet:

There are more than two dozen roses in here. Every time I think about it, I get a little teary eyed.  It really was a thoughtful gesture.

 
After the hugs and tears and more hugs, I took the students to special.  During that time, the room was cleaned up and the desks were wiped down.  The room parents prepared the afternoon activities to be ready to go when the students returned from special.

Once the children were picked up, we prepared to go outside for about an hour (not much longer, as there was a heat advisory that day.  Even with that, it was cooler outside because of the breeze than it was in the building.).  We went down to one of the fields and played water games: Duck, duck, goose (where you threw a water balloon at the person's back instead of tapping them on the head), balloon toss, water tag, and the student favorite, free for all.  When everyone was sufficiently drenched, they stretched out on their beach towels and had juice and Popsicles.  After that we took a group picture and prepared to go in for a craft activity.

Back inside, the students painted picture frames to be filled with a copy of a class picture (courtesy of the same parents who provided the slide show).  The students finished their  paintings and went outside as they finished.  After recess we read under the fans and waited for dismissal.

A long, hot, fun-filled day.   

Day 178: Talent Show!

I told you all a little while back that the second grade was going to put on a talent show as a tie-in to our last language arts theme of the year, which was named, "Talent Show."  We scheduled it during the last week of school for a few reasons: the grade level would be finished with the theme, the students would have sufficient time to practice, and we wouldn't get in trouble for taking away from "instructional time." (Our principal frowns on anything that takes away from classroom instruction; if we schedule a speaker or something, it must have a direct connection to the curriculum.  Not that we would just waste time, but it's better to be on the safe side.)  Moving on...

Permission slips were sent home during the second week of May; those who wished to participate had to send their forms back two weeks before the show date to give me time to double-check song lyrics (ALWAYS do this!), arrange performances, reserve the space, and make arrangements with the custodian for mikes, lights, etc.  Even with the deadlines, there were some changes as late as the day before (lost slips so notes were sent in, people dropping out or changing what they were doing, etc.  It was a little crazy for a minute there, but we got it all together.).

Talent show morning began as a scorcher.  The show was scheduled to begin at 9:30 and last until 10:45-11:00.  It was a humid 84 degrees at 8:45 when the children came in.  Let's just say that once all six classes, teachers, and various family members were in the cafeteria/multipurpose room at showtime, the place was toasty, even with the doors open!

Any students who were performing came up the to cafeteria first so we could arrange them in the order they were going to be on stage.  (Their classes came up later.)  Then we could have one act on stage while another was getting ready and the third was "on deck."  This way we could keep the flow going with a minimum of interruption.  Once the children were finished, they came back and sat in their seat; we returned them back to their classes afterward.

We broke the show into three sections to allow for changes. (Some acts had mats or needed to have the area cleared, props put up, etc.)  This also allowed our hosts (students from the classes) to have a break.  In all we had about 30 performances, so the hosts introduced about 10, as well as our "laugh breaks."  Laugh breaks are segments where two or three students tell jokes to the audience; our version of a commercial break.

Once we got started, things went along pretty smoothly.  We had one student forget her dance routine in the middle of the song, but she came back later and started over.  She rocked it!  We also had quite a few singers (with music and a capella, solo and in small groups), some dancers, a few gymnasts, a pogo stick act, hula hoops, piano recitals, baton twirling, a comedy skit, a guitar act, sports demonstrations, cup stacking, and several students who created artwork for display (portraits and sculptures). 

Overall, the show lasted just over an hour and a half, and we were able to get out of the cafeteria in time for kindergarten to get in and sing their farewell song for their parents.  (It was a little hairy there for a minute; I wasn't sure we were going to make it!)

The children enjoyed the show and were able to show off all of their talents.  I would say that if you plan to do this with your class or grade level, allow plenty of time for organizing and a few extra minutes in the show schedule to allow for little mishaps (because they will happen!).

In years past, we also provided refreshments after the show, but we didn't this year because it would have been cruel to keep the parents in that heat much longer!  But if the idea floats your boat and the weather (or air conditioning) works for you, then go for it!