The Last Monday

Hello there!  Today is the last Monday of the school year that I have with students, and then one more Monday after that (EOY meetings, etc), then it's summer break time!!  This week I would like to focus on some of the things I do in my classroom at the end of the year, as well as some ideas others in my building do and those I found on Pinterest and really want to do...  :-)

One of the things I am doing for the first time this year is a kindergarten memory book.  I feel like, with the help of the Daily 5,  this year my kinders are more efficient about reading their sight words and using them in their writing.  So to try and encourage that to continue over the summer, I wanted them to have a book about them they could practice reading.  I needed it to have lots of simple words and sight words, as well as space for them to write about each page.  I wanted them to be able to put their favorite kindergarten memories down onto paper so they can revisit them again and again throughout the summer.  There is no set order on the pages, and we are working on a page or two a day in order to get it done by Friday!!  The first page is for a class photograph, but every other page can be a hand-drawn illustration.  Here are some photos of the pages we have done so far:

"Here I am on the carpet square with my homework."

This is the first page of the book, and they were told to write about themselves somewhere in our classroom.  I told them not to draw themselves at the playground or the cafeteria or at a special, because there are other pages for those.  In encouraged them to sound out their words when writing, to remember the main parts of a sentence, and to include lots of detail in their illustrations.

"I am in kindergarten.  I am at the computer center playing on abcmouse.com." 

I really enjoyed watching them share their thoughts and getting to see how far they've come with their writing and illustrating!!

"I am coloring a garden at the table."

The next page we completed was dedicated to our kindergarten teacher...ME!!  :-)

"My teacher is Miss Murphy.  She is the best."

"My teacher is Miss Murphy. She is teaching us math."

I seem to be bald in this picture....

The third page we worked on was a tribute to their 5th Grade Buddies, who have helped us do different activities throughout the year, and are graduating this week!!  We will miss them so much!!

"My 5th Grade Buddy is Shakira.  I love when they play with us."

"My 5th Grade Buddy is Neveah.  I liked when we did 100 Day stuff."

I'll post more pics of our books this week as we work on them.  If this is something you would be interested in doing with your littles, just follow the link below to my TPT store and get yourself a copy of my Kindergarten Memory Book.  There is even a code where you can send me and I will personalize a copy of the book so it is titled to fit your classroom!!

Our FABULOUS 5th Grade Buddies are coming up tomorrow for one more exciting project...making ice cream!!  Look for pictures of that activity later this week.

Don't forget that tomorrow is Book Talk Tuesday, the linky party hosted by Deanna Jump!!  Make sure to come back tomorrow and read all about one of my favorite children's literature books!!