A Little Inspiration and a couple of End of School Year Ideas

My INSPIRATION for my blog post today was MY need for some inspiration.  Have you ever had ONE of those days?!   Yesterday was our first day back from spring break ,and it went fabulous IN THE CLASSROOM.  It wasn't until I attended a Common Core Implementation Team meeting that I began to feel overwhelmed and NEEDED some inspiration.  I know that many of you are in the middle of testing, getting ready for the end of year, and many other things.  So I thought I'd share a few things I found. First... a beach pic of St. Thomas... We went there last summer. LOVE!!

Of course, I have to start with a beach pic.  This is from our vacation to St. Thomas this past summer.

 This note on a spelling pre-test made my day today... Take a look.

How sweet is this!!!  AND of course I just had to write this student a note back.

Here are a few inspirational quotes I found:

The great teacher is not the man who supplies the most facts, but the one in whose presence we become different people.
~More Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

A teacher affects eternity: he can never tell where his influence stops.
~Henry Adams Quotes





Letter To A Teacher
Inspirational Letter Written by Abraham Lincoln
Read the inspiring letter written by Abraham Lincoln which was sent to the headmaster of a school where his son was attending.
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Letter To A Teacher
by Abraham Lincoln

He will have to learn, I know,
that all men are not just,all men are not true.
But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish Politician,there is a dedicated leader
Teach him for every enemy there is a friend,

Steer him away from envy,if you can,
teach him the secret of quiet laughter.

Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to lick
Teach him, if you can,the wonder of books
But also give him quiet time
to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun,and the flowers on a green hillside.

In the school teach him
it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat
Teach him to have faith in his own ideas,
even if everyone tells him they are wrong
Teach him to be gentle with gentle people,
and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd
when everyone is getting on the band wagon
Teach him to listen to all men
but teach him also to filter
all he hears on a screen of truth,
and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him if you can,how to laugh when he is sad
Teach him there is no shame in tears,
Teach him to scoff at cynics
and to beware of too much sweetness
Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders
but never to put a price-tag on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob
and to stand and fight if he thinks he's right.
Treat him gently,but do not cuddle him,
because only the test of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage to be impatient
let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will have sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order,but see what you can do
He is such a fine little fellow,my son!




I know many of you are on your last 9 weeks of school and are busy thinking about ways to wrap up the school year.  I found these terrific ideas on Pinterest that I want to use in my classroom. ( Don't you just LOVE pinterest).  Take a look!

The first activity I want to share came from "Here We Go Loopty Loo".  You can find it HERE.  Jackie of Here We Go Loopty Loo called this a "Balloon Countdown".  She hung balloons with slips of paper inside of them.  Each day at the end of the day a balloon was popped and the slip of paper would be read by the student.  This slip of paper said what exciting activity the students would have that next day.  Jackie did a 20 day countdown to the end of school.  Here are some of her days that can be found on her blog:
Day 20 - Sit anywhere with friends.. Day 19- Bubble Gum Day ... Day 18 Bubbles.... Day 17- Wacky Wednesday....... Day 16 Extra snacks....... Day 15 Extra recess...... Day 14- Sidewalk Chalk..... Day 13- Beach Day- listen to the beach boys and bring in beach towels to sit on....... Day 12- Mystery Guest Reader....... Day 11- Cinco De Mayo..... Day 10 Water Balloons....... Day 9- Hat Day........ Day 8- Lunch In Our Room...... Day 7- PJ Day..... Day 6- Track and Field Day........ Day 5 Movie and Popcorn          This sounds like such a fun idea and of course you can create your own activity days.  I think my favorite is beach day and water balloon day.

Another end of year idea I found on Pinterest comes from Alicia at First Grade Factory.  Alicia created this adorable poem to give her students at the end of the year.  Take a Look.

You can download this poem and some other end of year ideas created by Alicia  HERE.


Have a Terrific Tuesday evening!