Open House 2011

Have I mentioned before how much I love my school??  Because I really, really do!!!  I feel so blessed to be part of such an amazing family and teach in such a fun environment!!  I especially love the way our campus transforms this time of year!  Even though the weeks prior to Open House can be a little busy, crazy, & chaotic, it’s always worth it in the end.  I LOVE how proud the kids are to show their parents all of their work.  Brag day is the best!!  Here’s a little peek into Open House 2011 in my neck of the woods :)

We’ve been learning lots about America & Texas the last few weeks so I tried my best to fill every nook and cranny with our learning!! 

Since we traveled through America…and Texas…we made little backpacks for the kids to gather and pack up all of their work {aka: souvenirs} along the way.

I can take ZERO credit for this darling idea.  The girls on my team have been making these for a few years and they are DARLING!

We used ribbon for the straps…just stapled ‘em on.

We fastened them with velcro dots.  When you open up the backpacks, there are two different compartments for storage!  The kids LOVED these!!!!

We also set out little *portfolios* stuffed FULL of the kids’ work.  We’ve been collecting various little projects since the beginning of the school year.  It was SO much fun to see how much they’ve grown since the beginning.  The biggest difference was their handwriting and overall writing skills.  The growth is TREMENDOUS!!!!

Here’s our first grade hallway.  I love the way it turned out!!  The parents will typically decorate the halls for each grade level for Open House, but our team decided to decorate it ourselves this year.  It took lots of work, but it was worth it!

Our theme:  Traveling through America {a journey through American symbols}

The journey starts at the beginning of our hallway right outside my door.  The biplane is carrying a big banner with all the words to “America the Beautiful”.  We tried to coordinate each display with the different lines of the song.

My class displayed our bald eagles {courtesy of Deanna Jump’s America Unit}

Next stop…Kentucky!  Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.  My sweet neighbor displayed her darling Lincolns along with a writing activity.  Presh!

Now driving to the land of the free, home of the brave:  Colorado!  {purple mountain majesties}  This class displayed their tear paper flags and a Pledge of Allegiance writing activity.

Now driving through Virginia:  home of George Washington.  My sweet teammate, Mrs. Bailey, displayed her class’ George Washingtons & corresponding writing amidst a winding road of cherry trees.  Love!

Next up: Philadelphia!  Home of the Liberty Bell.  LOVE these!  Of course, this darling idea is courtesy of Deanna Jump’s America Unit.  My sweet team leader found these placemats at Hobby Lobby that we cut into the shape of a bell…they were PERFECT!!  Looked just liked a weathered bell!!!

Now off to New York:  home of Lady Liberty!  My sweet teammate’s mom painted this darling Statue of Liberty!!  Her class displayed the Lady Liberty directed drawings from Deanna Jump’s America Unit.  Love!!

Now our tour must end.  SO, we will ‘crown thy good with brotherhood from SEA TO SHINING SEA!!!” {with a little cityscape & fireworks :)}  How’s that for a great trip?!?!

Right across from the cityscape is our big Lady Liberty foot!!  We got this FABULOUS idea from Deanna Jump’s America Unit.  This had to be the COOLEST activity EVER!!  The kids LOVED it!!!

That concludes our journey ;)

Here’s a little peek at the rest of the school…

Kindergarten went with a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom theme.  SO cute!

2nd grade always does the cutest little Guess Who Zoo!  Each classroom takes a different continent.  This was one of my favorite things last year!! 

Third grade is studying the solar system.  They added a lot more after I took these pics!

Fourth grade is learning about Texas…

Fifth grade displayed their geometry riddles…

And sixth grade is learning about Egypt!

WHEW!

I guess you could say that this Spring Break is definitely well deserved!!!!