At Least Five for Friday

This was the last full week of school already?  We've been so busy getting ready that we're already running out of time!  My little second graders who came to me as my babies are all grown up, and I'm not ready to let them go!  Wait...come back?

Nope.  Life doesn't work that way, and as much as we want our little ones to stay little, they grow.  They learn.  They move on.

If we're lucky teachers, they visit our rooms next year. If we're great teachers, they visit our rooms to bring us their wedding pictures, pictures of their children, and even let us teach their children!

WHOA!!!!!  I've jumped way ahead.

Why don't I just show you what we've been doing for the past week before I off and marry them and let my babies have babies!

 

We've learned A LOT about animals, and even took a huge field trip to the Riverbanks Zoo, in Columbia, SC.  After the trip, we made our own favorite animals and added them to the zoo I wrote about here.  Then we wrote animal opinion pieces to persuade our audience of peers that our favorite animals were the best animals.  We worked hard to describe why they were the best, and what made them the best.  It was hard to go beyond "they have cute eyes" to tell how the eyes are cute, but we got there!  Now one sweet paper describes "soft, loving, brown eyes".  Can you imagine?

Meanwhile, we have completed our very first Boosterthon!  If you've never heard of it, check out this incredible fundraiser/fitness/team-building/social-awareness/character-building event (and yes, I know that's a lot of slashes) by clicking here.

Our class was chosen as "Most Enthusiastic" and rewarded with starring in a video put together by our Boosterthon Team!  We won a Crazy Hair Day, No Shoes Day, Extra Recess, Gummy Gators (we were the Gravett Gators team), and had a B.L.A.S.T! running the 30 or so laps during the Fun Run!  By the way, that's ME with the long blonde hair and red sunglasses...yep, I know how to have crazy hair...and I'm showing you a photo because that's the first large tee-shirt I've worn since college, but I'm NOT DONE YET!

We also had Field Day this week - see - we're really trying to fit it all in!  The kids had such fun with water events, sack racing, relays, a picnic, and hoppin' and boppin'.  Even our principal got in on the boppin', bringing out his old trombone and playing some tunes with the middle school jazz band...not bad!

Best Friends since Kindergarten!

My dudes were chillin'

My chicks were chillin'

My daughter was chillin'!

Crazy hair's gone, crazy hat...in place!

In the midst of all that, as if that weren't enough, we completed insect projects this week, and my students presented their collections and toured the other second grade classes' collections.  I was pretty impressed!
 

The inside of a hornets' nest, as seen from 

the hornets' point of view

What a week it was!  I just hope this week can live up to last week.  Any ideas on topping that, 'cause I'm not sure how to keep my friends on task after all the excitement!