More Beginning of the Year Fun

Whew! The first week is behind me and NOW I am ready for some fun with my precious second graders! They have already amazed and inspired me with how excited they are about learning. Their sweet determination and contagious spirit make my job that much MORE enjoyable each day! Love them already! 

Last week, we spent the majority of our time getting to know one another, building team spirit and most importantly getting our classroom into a routine {ahhhhh....yes...it is TIME for a routine AGAIN!} 

I began the week by having the students introduce their classmates. I thought that by placing the students in charge of introducing their "teammates" {a.k.a. classmates}, they would take initiative to really get to know one another. I was a little hesitant and knew that this would be a hit or a miss. Well....it was a definite HIT! The students did such an amazing job.

I paired the students with a buddy teammate. The students used the Celebrity Interview sheet to record information about their teammate. As we all came back to the carpet, each student introduced his/her teammate by turning the information collected into complete sentences. {I was totally impressed!} BUT...the kicker was the students dressed up as celebrities prior to presenting. I had feather boas, hats, sunglasses, fake diamond rings {BLING! BLING!} and large necklaces. The students just couldn't get enough of it! They introduced their classmate in center stage and had a blast! I so wish that I could share pictures of my silly kids, but I am still waiting on my parent's approval to place their pictures for all to see! To grab this swag {celebrity interview sheet}, click on the picture below! 

This activity went perfectly with my Rock Star Profiles. Here is that download one more time! We added a little ribbon and had the perfect VIP All Access Pass!

I wanted to get a little academic work in just to get some idea of my student's writing ability {after two months of summer vacay}. To tie right in with our Rock Star theme, I had the students write about things that make them "Reel" happy. I was totally inspired by this little picture that I saw on Pinterest.

I went straight to ETSY and downloaded these cute little smiles. {Click here if you've just GOT to have them!} I took pictures of each of my students with their smiles and they created their own "Smile Reel." They then wrote a paragraph about things that make them "REEL" happy! Each student presented their writing in center stage as we cheered them on! Such a silly activity that definitely kept the giggles going! You can click on the two pictures below to download the writing prompt paper and the reel for student pictures! 

Last but not least, I really pushed classroom unity and teamwork this week. I want my students to understand that in order to reach our potential, we must all work together as one classroom family. Amanda over at One Extra Degree has an amazing idea for a classroom promise activity that I incorporated into my character education plans this past week. {Check her out HERE}

Such a fun week filled with memories for my students! Check back soon for our Second Grade Rocks Song! Due to the fact that my classroom has an overwhelming amount of Bieber Fever...I created a song that we sing each morning to the tune of one of his famous hits! I think they would sing this song all day....every day!  They even asked to sing it in the halls! :) 

Time to get ready for another week on Full Blast! Happy Sunday Friends!

For those of you who have requested the number line with negative numbers...here ya go! :) Click HERE to download!