Have a Great Summer! Good luck in 2nd Grade...

This is probably my last blog entry. I won't take it off, so if you want to revisit it or show grandparents, you can. We had a great last week filled with math and more math. Tuesday was Newspaper Day all morning. We sang favorite songs on the last day as well as a time to meet your new teacher. We also collected autographs in our "year book". On Wednesday, many kids showed off their talents. At the end of the talent show, some of my moms wheeled out a wagon with a 6' Apple Tree for me to plant in my yard with red paper apples with all my students' names on them. Mrs. Rebecca Martin wrote a beautiful poem for me:
The Fruits of Your Love

A teacher
plants a seed
in the soil of knowledge,
showers it with creativity,
shines on it with a smile,

until the seed grows roots.

A teacher
nurtures the seedling,
provides support,
gently prunes,
guiding its upward growth,

until the seedling becomes a tree.

A teacher
may not see the tree bear fruit,
but she continues toiling
with the hope that someday,
because of her efforts,

it will flourish.

Dear teacher,
as you care for this tree,
remember the many students
you have nurtured these thirty years.
You have not just planted a seed,

but an orchard.

I want to thank everyone for the many kindnesses, cards, presents, and hugs that I got from my last class of my career. Mrs. Elbel was especially sneaky with her kind idea and hard work.
I will never forget you. I love you, Jacque Garber

Probability Math Menu

The packet with these math games has instructions that can be played at home with some of the math box supplies (just like the geometry menu games). They can be played this summer. Pinch a Ten game just needs the bag of beans.

Exactly Ten can be easily made with cards using numbers from 0-9. Make 8 of each number as well as 8 "happy face cards" that can be used as wild cards. This game reinforces those important addition combinations that equal ten.

Runts Race is used with a spinner, but could be used with a bag of Runts. You could pull out a runt without looking and then make a graph. Predict which color is the most before you open it.

Bear Race used different spinners and predictions for the 4 colors of bears on a graph.

Travel the World uses a bean, a dice, and a north, east, south, west spinner. Follow the directions. It fun to see where you land on the world map.

Field Day Games

Thanks to our room moms for planning a great morning of fun! We walked to Flat Iron Mesa Park and rotated between 4 activities. We designed our own cups with markers and got autographs on them. We sat in a circle and passed around two balls that had water balloons with a timer. It would randomly pop as it was passed around. Lots of giggles and fun. We had a fun game passing balls back and forth. Our relay game involved running to a bucket with a wet sponge and a cup of water with a hole in it. We passed water balloons to partners and played elbow tag and then we ate our lunches at the park. It was the perfect temperature too.