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Back to School Signs





It's that time again!

For us in Cali, summer is ending and parents/teachers are getting ready for school to start back up.

Every year I make my First Day of School Signs for my kiddos. I created these as a great way for me to stop time a bit and to not forget my kids in their current stage of life. I love this sign because I enjoy looking back and remembering my kids at a certain age. I keep them every year and we pull them out at the beginning and end of the school year and compare. My kids even love looking back and see how their interests have changed (or stayed the same!). You'd be amazed at how much kids can change in just 10 short months!

I mean, just check these side by side first/last day comparisons from this past school year!





I even have ones from YEARS ago that we love looking at. They were soooo little.

Look at my Isaac from his last day of 6th grade!!! He had such a baby face! That year, we used this sign that was more detailed. Either way, the kiddos always say, "I can't believe that I used to like....." or "OH! I remember when I was soooo into...."




What I love about these signs is that all the fonts are embedded. That means you DO NOT HAVE TO DOWNLOAD ANY FONTS (ain't nobody got time for that)!! Just type it right in and VOILA! The sign is done!




I also have a printer friendly version in white.



I get them printed at Staples because it always comes out so vibrant!



I get mine printed on regular size paper (8.5" x 11").  Here are some examples of others that have printed the sign in a different size.


If you're interested in these signs, you can grab them here (click on the pic):





I know that this says "Last Day of School", but if you'd like a first day one like this in my store, let me know! :)



If you get the First and Last Day Sign Bundle, you can save a couple of dollars!



If you don't have time to make one, don't worry! I got you covered! I can do it for you for just a few dollars more! :)

I know that you will find these as a great keepsake as you cherish them year after year! I think I will put them together and make a little booklet out of them and give them to my children when they graduate high school.

Hope you that you enjoy the beginning of your school year!


5 Engaging Activities for the Classroom in May


It's May and most of us are winding down our school year before summer vacation. We want our last few weeks of school to be fun and meaningful, but we are tired and new ideas can take a lot of energy that we don't have right now. I'm here to share with you a couple of meaningful activities that you can do with your classroom that are not difficult to implement.

1. Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Did you know that May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month? There are many easy ways to acknowledge these wonderful cultures and this is the perfect month to introduce them to your class.

Background: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is a celebration of the culture of Asian -Pacific Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. It originated as a congressional bill in 1978 and by 1992, it was expanded from a week to a month-long celebration. The month of May was chosen to pay tribute to the first Japanese immigrants to the United States on May 7, 1843, and also marks the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese Immigrants.

Here are some helpful books that you can read in class (taken from www.readingrockets.org):





Grandfather's Journey

By: Allen Say
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Say narrates the saga of his grandfather who as a young man travels to the United States in the early 20th century, marries, and returns to Japan. Watercolor portraits of people and places glimpse the contrast of cultures and parallel the lives of grandfather and grandson. It could lead to the discovery of family histories. Country of origin: Japan


The Name Jar

By: Yangsook Choi
Genre: Fiction
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
The new kid in school needs a new name! Or does she? Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name? Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will like her.




Tuko and the Birds: A Tale from the Philippines

By: Shirley Climo
Illustrated by: Francisco Mora
Genre: Fiction, Fairy Tales and Folk Tales
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader
Birds sing the people of Maynilad on the Philippine island of Luzon to sleep at night — until Tuko the haughty gecko prevents the birds from doing their job. Repetition and onomatopoeic animal sounds make this a lively, memorable folktale to share aloud. Tagalog is sprinkled throughout and is included in a glossary.
Country of origin: Philippines





Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China

By: Ai-Ling Louie
Illustrated by: Ed Young
Genre: Fiction, Fairy Tales and Folk Tales
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Based on an ancient Chinese story (which pre-dates European versions), a girl overcomes her wicked stepmother to marry the prince. Jewel-like illustrations by Caldecott medalist Ed Young bring this variation of the classic tale to life.
Country of origin: China

For more children's books, visit Reading Rockets.

Chapter books for older kids:


Ruby Lu, Brave and True (Book #1)

 By


Ruby Lu is an 8-year-old Chinese-American girl. She is an adventurous, enthusiastic, imaginative and playful girl. The author integrates the Chinese culture into the book and offers the opportunity for young readers to experience and learn the life of Ruby Lu, who identifies as a Chinese-American and immerse herself into her own culture. Another wonderful feature of Ruby Lu, Brave and True, the first chapter book in a series, is the glossary in the back of the book, that contains explanations of Chinese words that might be useful for readers. 



Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things (Book #1)
by 

Alvin Ho, who is a Chinese-American second grader who is afraid of many and most things. He is quiet and keeps to himself unless in the security of his own home. In other words, he decides where and when he will not be mute. Alvin is scared to make friends and reach out to others. But at home he’s a very loud superhero named Firecracker Man, a brother to Calvin and Anibelly, and a gentleman-in-training, so he can be just like his dad.

Activities to do:

1. Have fun with origami! Teach students the origin of origami and let them have a shot at making cranes and swans. Check out the resource for that here.

2. Practice eating with chopsticks. Play games picking up noodles, gummy bears, etc. Make it fun!

3. Learn about notable Asian Americans who made a difference in our world.  Here is a list of 10 mini-biographies from scholastic.


2. Work on Open House Projects

I love working on open house projects during this time! By this time of the year, we have been getting ready for state testing and district assessments so my kiddos need a break! Working on projects is a nice way to give their brains a rest as well as not rushing to finish everything last minute. Here are some of my favorite things that we've done in class.






I used this resource here:



3. Have kids work on End of the Year Memory Books

I seriously love the end of the year memory books from both sides: as a mom and a teacher. As a mother, I love looking at my kiddos school year memories and reflecting on how much they have grown. As a teacher, I loved watching my students work together on these books and laugh. They draw, reflect, and have fun! The memory book that I use also has an autograph page where kids can sign their names and add any messages to that student (remember BFF, K.I.T,??). 












I used this resource here:



4. Prepare the end of the year class gifts

Option A:
I love giving useful gifts to my kiddos for the summer. In the past, I have given summer sand buckets, books with bookmarkers, candy, you name it. A couple of years ago, I came up with the idea of creating road trip/ travel kits for my kiddos. My own kids tried them out on our 2-week long road trip and LOVED them! It kept them busy and entertained, and more importantly, off of media for HOURS! The best thing is that it is cost effective. Just purchase the resource and make the copies for your kiddos in the classroom. You don't need to put it in a folder for them. Just clip it all together, tie a bow on it, and VOILA!  I blogged about the road trip kit here.






I used this resource here:


Option B:
Make a Last Day of School sign for your students and take a picture with the student holding it. Then send it home with the kiddos for their parents to enjoy. Try and find editable signs that have the fonts already embedded so that all you have to do is enter the text without having to download any fonts.




You can also make a Class Memories sign and take a class picture. Whichever sign you choose, you can send it home with your students as a great keepsake for the year!




 I use this one and this one.


5. Enlist kids to help get supplies ready for your next year's class

Kids LOVE to help. I had the girls in my classroom coming up to me towards the end of the year asking me if I needed any help. After I began putting them to work, the boys caught on and wanted to join in on preparing for next year's class. I had them fill the pencil boxes and supplies for next year. Then I stored them in my cupboard all ready for the next class. After summer, I opened up my cupboards to get ready for the upcoming school year and my heart skipped a beat because all the student boxes were DONE! It was awesome!



Hope this helps you get through May. The end is near! Enjoy the last couple of weeks with your kiddos!

Blessings,

Growth Mindset Awards



Hello Friends.

We've been working on Growth Mindset a great deal this year. After watching the Ted Talk from Angela Lee Duckworth about grit and perseverance and the amazing Carol Dweck on Growth Mindset a couple of years ago, I was SOLD on the idea of teaching my kids about the difference between growth and fixed mindset. 

At the end of every year, we do the infamous candy awards that celebrate my kiddo's achievements for the year. Although they are great and fun, I wanted something that reinforced what I had been working hard to teach them all year long. 

That's when the idea for my Growth Mindset Awards was born!

There are PLENTY of AMAZING awards out there, but I was looking for something SPECIFIC. Something that had the same verbiage that I had been using with them these past couple of years. Words like..."grit",  "perseverance",  "progress", and "the power of yet". 

I found none. 

So I created some.

I love these awards because they are EXACTLY what I have been trying to instill in my kids. The growth and learning are in the PROCESS. I've changed. I used to be all about the results but after hearing about Growth Mindset, I slowly began changing my focus and seeing the HUGE benefits of a growth mindset. 

Sadly, when we focus too much on the achievement, then our kiddos won't take chances and challenge themselves for fear of failure. They will shy away from doing hard things because their goal is to "achieve". 

I love the words on these awards because they celebrate the PROCESS. Here, take a look at some of them.

There are 42 different awards with 4 different versions of each. That means that there are 168 versions to choose from!!!



Each one has a girl clipart and a boy clipart. 

Then we have a neutral clipart if you like that one better. 


I also added a version with black and white clipart for those older kids (they don't look so "young") or even a printer friendly version. You can print them on colored paper for that added POP of color!




To be honest, I really LOVE the black and white version. I love the look of the icons! 

To manage all these awards I have a planning page. I highlighted every other line with yellow so that it doesn't get confusing. Maybe it's just my old eyes, but the yellow sections help.

I also added a column for the middle of the year awards because...why wait until the end of the year to celebrate these qualities??? I figure that I can do a little award ceremony right before Christmas break so the kids know what to focus on when they get back. I put the middle and end of the year column right next to each other so that I could see who already got that award the last time. 

I also made the awards EDITABLE. What that means is that you can type the names and dates right onto the awards. Copy and paste will be your best friend and a MAJOR time saver!




If you've been teaching about Growth Mindset, then these awards would be the PERFECT way to end your year by reinforcing what you've been focusing on!




Blessings,