Five for Friday--School Party Style

Hello 10 pm on a Friday night. It sure has been a long time.

Here is my party day wrap-up, in the form of a Five for Friday courtesy of Kacey at 

1. Our class got a surprise from our Ohio pen pals today. They sent us a holiday video message via YouTube. I watched it before school and got teary. Then I teared up (again) when I showed the class first thing. I'm pretty sure my first graders were excited, because some immediately got paper and started another letter to their pen pal. Precious.

2. We had breakfast in our classroom this morning after watching the above video. I made muffins and cooked up some sausage links. We enjoyed a relaxed time together.

3. I taught the kids how to create "poke" pictures. As a parent, I say, "what in the world am I going to do with all of these pictures?" As a teacher I say, "engaging, fine-motor skills practice--YES."

4. The kids have done super duper behavior-wise this week. But we did have moments. While we finished watching The Polar Express today, these boys decided it is better to crowd around a laptop to watch, instead of viewing the projected version. Go figure!

5. Part of our party was to dress up a person as a snowman using all of the items in a bag that was given to you. Wow, the hardest part was for each group to decide who would get to be dressed up. There were tears, because someone did not want to give in and NOT be the dressed up person. It was fun, but stressful for the teacher (I may have trouble guiding the kids to a solution in situations like these).

So much more happened, but I will keep those memories for me to treasure. What I do know is that I love these kiddos and their parents. I was spoiled with gifts, kind words, and love this week.

Now my heart is full and I am ready to share that with my family.