Camping Day~ A Day of Reading and Fun!




     It was a full day of reading and fun. Our entire school had a day of reading with a Camping Theme just before Spring vacation. It was a great treat for the students and the staff, especially after all the testing we have been doing, as well as getting grades together for the report cards.  Each teacher was able to use this special theme and create an environment of reading and learning throughout the day. We did get the kids involved and they helped us set up for this special day. Students in the upper grades at our school really took this job seriously as they created unbelievable props to transform their classrooms. 
     My students were able to bring in their favorite book, a stuffed toy, a small blanket and a flashlight for this event. I wish you could of seen their faces light up as they walked in our classroom and saw the pretend tents and virtual fireplace up on our smart board with awesome sound effects of the crackling fire and crickets at night. 

Here are just a few pictures I took of  of my classroom on this special day.  



Here is one of my paper tents I created across part of my classroom. Students are listening to a read a loud as they cuddle up with their favorite stuffed toy.



          Here is another paper tent stretched across the cubbies. I also place a  pretend fire place made
          out of tissue paper and paper towel rolls for logs


My students are having fun reading their books using flashlight as they get cozy with their blankets. 

Students are sitting by the virtual fireplace looking at books. 


Here is the night time camp fire video I used from You Tube. It lasts two hours which was just perfect as I did not have to run back and fourth to reload it. 

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My students were super excited about this day, especially after I told them that they did not have to do centers, math or RTI. They could just relax and read all day and they even had to do the same thing during specialist time. I did several read a loud throughout the day, we sang campfire songs and played games. At the tables I had several fun activities set up and they could go there if they chose to.  I did not make it mandatory, however I was pleased to see many students want to get involved with some of the activities that I put out for them.  Students had a chance to make book marks, write mini book reports, create their own mini booklet or write about how to make s'mores. Here are just a few of the activities they could choose from.

You can find lots of How to Writing prompts at my store.
       Check them out here

     

Here are some great reading response prompts to get your students thinking about books they read. 
You can find these prompts and more at my store. Click here. 




Have you ever done a Camping Day with your students? What types of activities did you do? Please share in the comment section. I'd love to hear about it. 










New Blog Design and Flash Freebie

I am SO excited to do my first official blog post under my new blog design! A special shout out to Jolene Ray over at Paisley n' Polkadots Blog Designs  for her phenomenal custom blog design. My previous blog needed a facelift and Jolene was able to do her magic as she was able to spice things up and add all the pizzazz that my blog so desperately needed. If you are looking into making changes to your blog or just want to enter the world of blogging, I suggest you check Jolene out. She is wonderful to work with and makes the whole process easy. Best of all, her pricing is the best deal around.

In celebration of my new blog design, I will be doing a FLASH FREEBIE for this week only. Get your students writing sentences and editing their own work with these posters to hang in your classroom as well as special writing paper. Students will learn to write sentences using an uppercase letter, use finger spaces between words, use correct ending marks and use their very best handwriting. You can display these "I can" posters throughout your classroom. Each "I can" statement also comes with a sentence strip to illustrate how to use upppercase letters, spacing between words, use ending marks and use your best handwriting. You will also receive writing paper with a check box list for students to self edit their work. This packet includes two different types of paper for differentiated instruction. The first paper is just one sided with a check box list for self editing. The second set of papers run off two sided for more advanced writers with the check box list on the back.




Be sure to follow this blog and be on the lookout as I will be celebrating my first Teachers Pay Teachers milestone. I am in the process of putting together an AMAZING giveaway with some spectacular prizes.  Don't miss out on this opportunity.