So Much to Blog About...So Little Time

The last week and a half have been truly blog-worthy in my classroom, but I have a feeling that any elementary classroom around 7 week itch time (a.k.a. approaching the end of the first grading period) is pretty exciting.  Lately there have been several times of trial (large and small) for the kids in my class, but they are handling it well.  They were also on their best behavior for my first observation...though with it being 8:30 on a rainy Monday, they were too quiet for an interactive lesson!  Oh well, I got what I asked for ;) and I am bringing them popcorn tomorrow as a treat.

The lesson that I have learned from them recently is that children are much more resilient than adults.  Whatever personal tragedy or illness strikes them, they are somehow able to bounce back.  It must be in our DNA to block certain traumas to survive childhood.  That sounds harsh and I, by no means, am saying that children lack a sense of morality; because even though most are resilient, they are still sensitive and caring.  I just feel that they take bad news with a sense of curiosity.  They want to solve the problem instead of just complaining about it.  I can learn a lot from them! I will say that kids can also say some of the most thoughtless things from that sense of wonder, but you can't blame them.

Enough with the inward reflection time and on to the fun stuff!  I'm not sure how wise my hat lesson was, considering lice, but given the amount of fun involved and the lice-prevention spray you can buy, I think the risk was worth it.  I used hats to teach the types of sentences!  First, I acted it out for them then let them pick which hat went with each sentence that they read.  See photos below ;)

 The detective hat represented Interrogative Sentences...the kids got a kick out of how I went around pounding my fists on their desks and asking questions...I got a little carried away ;)

The gardening/southern lady hat represented Declarative Sentences, so I went around saying "Well, I declare..." and spouting off silly statements like a chatty Cathy.

This was my favorite because wearing a crown just feels so good.  The crown obviously represented an Exclamatory Sentence because I was an excited beauty pageant winner!

I think the kids liked the Imperative Sentences the most because I was a bossy coach and when it was their turn they loved it; however, I did not let them use my whistle...haha...germs!  (I was already risking my hats with lice).  Anywho, we had a really fun time!