If you’ve successfully completed the school year, congrats to you! If not, hang in there. Your last day of school is getting closer every day. I don’t know about you, but I never quite knew how the final days of the school year were going to sort out. And since I knew (because I learned the hard way ) that my kiddos’ corks could pop off at any moment, I kept a list of impromptu end-of-the-year activities handy. If the unexpected happened, I was prepared! For example, I would

• Make a word search: Set out graphing paper and post a student-composed word list. Have students trade papers and solve a classmate’s puzzle.

• Play 20 Questions: Play this game using shared experiences (book titles, classroom guests, field trips, assemblies, etc.) from the past year.

• Make a snapshot quilt: Have each child draw or write on a paper square about a favorite school-year memory. Use the projects in the fall to make a snapshot quilt of the coming school year.

• Make “green” autograph books: Have each child staple together the same number of full-size papers from your skill sheet recycle box. Students gather autographs on the blank sides of the paper and take home a bit of skill review to boot!

What activities do you rely on during the last few days of school? Please share!

Smiles,

Diane

PS Today is the LAST day to enter our blog giveaway (End-of-May Quiz) and today is also the LAST day to enter our $250 gift certificate Facebook giveaway. Wowee! Today could be your lucky day!

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It’s time for me to accept that the end of May is almost here. This morning I pushed aside a folder (carefully, of course!) because the due date on the folder was June 2. Plenty of time for that one, I told myself. Now I’m thinking I’d better dig out that folder—June 2 is next week!

Time is surely flying for y’all too. I’m hoping you can squeeze in a pop quiz. It’s an easy way (and the only way!) to be entered in our end-of-the-month giveaway. Leave your answers before June arrives, and your name will be entered in a drawing for an awesome prize from The Mailbox! Have fun!

The Pop Quiz

1. Who is Freckles?
a. a boa constrictor
b. a frog
c. a hamster

2. What weeklong celebration took place in May?
a. Polka Dot Week
b. Teacher Appreciation Week
c. Green Thumb Week

3. Who won a prize on Employee Appreciation Day?
a. Diane
b. Santa Claus
c. the Easter bunny

Congratulations to Nancy! She’s the winner of our end-of-the-month giveaway!

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Does your classroom pet have summer vacation plans? I never had a classroom pet—however, at the end of my first year teaching, I learned a very valuable lesson about making summer arrangements for a classroom pet. The lesson? Communication is key!

That year, Freckles the hamster had resided in the classroom next door. No one in Freckle’s classroom could offer the little guy a summer home, so one of my students volunteered to care for Freckles until school started in the fall. I assumed that my colleague followed through with the parent. My colleague assumed that I followed through with the parent. Come to find out, the parent only learned of Freckle’s planned stay on the last day of school. The parent flipped out, I felt badly, and Freckles the hamster spent the summer with me.

What tips do you have when it comes to making summer plans for a classroom pet? Please share!

Smiles,
Diane

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Ha! That title drew you in, didn’t it? You’ll have to read yesterday’s blog, “End-of-the-Day Chaos,” to get the scoop. And, if you’ve already posted, I encourage you to visit the blog again. Julie has a request. Susan has a question for Sarah. And who knows, after reading the comments, you might think of another idea you’d like to share. Have a great Friday, y’all! And wish me luck! Our Employee Appreciation Day ends with a prize drawing. Maybe my name will be drawn this year. I am wearing my lucky socks! Happily, Diane

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Oh my!—the last five minutes of the school day. I think that’s probably all I need to say. Some days, it’s smooth sailing. Other days, it feels like a perfect storm of classroom commotion. I’d like to tell you that end-the-day hubbub is not a concern during the final month of school, but I’d be fibbing, wouldn’t I?

So what’s your solution to end-of-the-day chaos? This is today’s million dollar question! Too bad I don’t have a million dollars! What I do have is a prize basket that just might make you feel like a million bucks! Tell us what works for you before the end of the day on May 22 (Sunday) so your name will be entered in our drawing for a Million-Buck Basket!

Happily,
Diane

Congratulations to Cheryl. She’s the winner of the Million-Buck Basket!

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Did you know The Mailbox currently has 19,929 followers on Facebook? Pretty cool, huh? But here’s the deal. We really, really, really want to have 20,000 fans before the end of the week. Why? Well, most importantly we love having fans! But there’s one more reason too.

This Friday is a special day at The Mailbox. It’s our annual Employee Appreciation Day. Being able to celebrate 20,000 Facebook fans on Employee Appreciation Day would be, well, “FAN-tastic”!

Also, when we reach 20,000 Facebook fans, one lucky fan will win a free book from The Mailbox. It could even be fan number 20,000! So be sure to visit our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/mailboxmagazine!

Thanks a bunch for being a fan and for spreading the word!

Smiles,
Diane

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After my fourth or fifth year of teaching, it dawned on me (duh!) that I was always the last teacher to check out at the end of the school year. I knew what part of the problem was—I could see it all around me. Other teachers had their students help with year-end tasks, such as taking down bulletin boards, packing up the classroom library, and washing desktops. Not me! I wasn’t going to do THAT! I was keeping my classroom shipshape until school was officially over. I actually convinced myself it was best for my students if I maintained a normal routine. But who was I kidding? It wasn’t like my kiddos would be warped for life if I invited them to help close up the classroom.

Yes, the first year my students helped me was a bit chaotic. And yes, that year I totally stunned the school secretary by checking out before two other teachers! Fortunately, the secretary survived the shock. And my students? They loved being so helpful.

Do you have an end-of-the-year lesson to share? After all, learning and sharing are among the many things teachers do best!

Happy Monday!
Diane

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Say what? You mean to tell me you didn’t know that tomorrow, May 14, is National Chicken Dance Day? Ha! For some reason, I couldn’t talk myself out of bringing this special date to your attention. I mean, who hasn’t rocked the chicken dance during a ball game, wedding, or birthday party? For me, it’s a perfect dance—it’s easy to learn, I’m supposed to look silly, and it makes me laugh. So here’s my idea: why not set aside some time this afternoon or next week to “bust a move” (a chicken move!) with your colleagues or students? A few minutes of doing the chicken dance is certain to work out the wiggles and relieve stress!

Happy weekend!

Diane

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You can’t outrun it. You can’t hide from it. You can’t even negotiate with it! So how do you minimize end-of-the-school-year stress? As corny as this may sound, I think the first step is to acknowledge that the end of the school year will arrive whether you’re ready for it or not. Maybe it’s just me, but I tend to freak out more over a date than I do a to-do list!

So what’s next? Well, I guess that’s up to you. If it were me, I’d prioritize my tasks and sequence my deadlines. Then I’d decide which tasks only I can do and which tasks a parent volunteer, an upper-grade student, or even a child from my class can help me with. If my list is still outrageous, I’d get creative! One strategy that worked well for me was to join forces with a colleague. For example, I’d invite her students to play a large-group math game with my students. Then, later in the week (or day!), she’d invite my kiddos into her classroom for another activity. This approach grabbed both of us an extra 30 to 45 minutes of uninterrupted time to tackle our year-end tasks.

How do you keep afloat at the end of the school year? Please share what works for you!

Thinking of you!

Diane

PS I’ve also found that nibbling on chocolate relieves stress, though I have no scientific evidence to support this claim.

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It’s a silly thing. I know it, and yet I’ve kept a “Great Effort” ribbon suspended in my cubicle for over five years. Why? Well, the truth is the ribbon reminds me of a fun memory. Wouldn’t it be great if students kept their end-of-the-year awards for five years? I can’t be sure whether the end-of-the-year awards I presented to my students even made it home, but if I were a betting gal, I’d say they did. The awards themselves were not extraordinary. The memory associated with each award is what made it special. Some years I gave the awards out on the last day of school. Sometimes I sprinkled award presentations throughout the final days. In either case, each child was recognized for a unique characteristic and/or contribution from the school year. We applauded. We giggled. Sometimes we even moaned over our fond school year memories!

Did you know MyMAILBOX (that’s the free online resource from The Mailbox) has several end-of-the-year awards that you can program online and print in color or black-and-white? And it’s all free! If you want my two cents, I say this is a great starting place for your end-of-the-year award celebration!

Have a great day!
Diane

PS: Just in case anyone is curious how I earned my ribbon, I’ll simply say it had to do with swing dancing and leave it at that!

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