I started this process a few months ago by having my kids each select an animal that they found interesting. We had everything from a catfish to a triceratops..which is exactly the way I wanted it. We went to the library to find a variety of non-fiction texts and websites on our animals. The kids completed a research packet (which took a while...but it was totally worth it!). After we completed our research, the kids began to write a rough draft. I did A LOT of instruction on what it means to be a non-fiction writer. I didn't want to see any "I like" sentences! Anyway, after writing, editing, and writing some more, we were ready to move into our final copies. My grade level ordered hard-back books from Bare Books for the kids to use. They always look awesome when they are done and kids feel like serious authors when they are writing in them.
When all of the writing and illustrating was complete, we braved the world of paper mache. I painstakingly collected every shoe box, toilet paper roll, paper towel roll, water bottle, etc for weeks (I HATE messes...so this was not easy for me). I let the kids have at the pile of goodies and they used more masking tape than I thought humanly possible to build their animal. Once they were all constructed, we paper mached and painted them...whew! They were time consuming, but totally worth it. Our animals became our awesome centerpieces when our guests arrived for our tea.
The kids all did an amazing job! Some were super nervous about getting up in front of a lot of people and reading into the microphone, but they all met the challenge. I was one proud teacher!
In the midst of all of our school stuff, we took a break this weekend to celebrate Mother's Day with some of the coolest people around. My mom, dad, Allison, and I joined my grandmother and uncle for breakfast at The Old Hickory House (yum!). We were rained out of our annual visit to the Mother's Day Art Show (boo), but we made a day out of it anyway. We met up with the rest of the family at my grandmother's house, watched New Year's Eve, Joyful Noise, and a little golf...and, oh yeah, we ate some more (eating is kind of our thing). It was a fun day for sure!
Well, Team Fannin also did a little work this weekend on a summer packet for our kiddos. My parents always ask for something to do over the summer with their kids...so I thought I would beat them to the punch this year with this little packet. It is a cute little calendar and journal that has either a math, reading, language arts, or science activity for each day of the break. Nothing should take more than a few minutes for them to complete, but it helps the parents set a little "school routine" for the summer. You can click the picture to take you to our TpT store.
I hope you enjoy your last few days!
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