This year was one for the books- my reunion with teaching. It was full of ups and downs (mostly ups) and so many memories. I adore my new school. I loved my 5th Graders. I had the best paras and the best parents supporting me. Teaching 5th Grade again after 3 years off felt like coming home. It was only fitting to tie up this gift-of-a-year with a bow. I wanted our last month to feel intentional and special. This post is about the little things I planned for my kids in their final year of Elementary School.
Poetry Cafe
Our last big writing unit of the year was about poetry. I have taught poetry in different ways over the years, but I have to give credit to my teaching partner in Tunisia, Angie Vintner. She had this amazing poetry unit using mentor texts, centers, and “doors to poetry.” Rather than teaching students all the formulaic poetry formats like haiku and cinquain, we taught mostly free-verse. This year I spent 3 days just brainstorming inspiration ideas which we called our “doors to poetry” before I let them even start writing. Then for 2 weeks, we read great poetry, borrowed the poetic devices we noticed, and I gave them ample time to just write freely in their notebooks. This culminated in some brilliant pieces that were just too good not to share, so we went all out! We created our own poetry book entitled 5th Grade Aura. Every student had multiple poems and illustrations in the book and everyone got their own copy. For the celebration, we turned our room into a “poetry cafe” and invited all the parents. Our music teacher lent me her microphone and speaker system to ensure even the softest voices could be heard. Each student read at least one of their poems and we all snapped our fingers for applause. I also used my document camera to project their poems and illustrations behind them as they read. After the poetry readings, we had refreshments and an area for parents to leave positive messages for the kids. It was such a feel-good event- definitely a tradition I plan to continue.
The 10 Day Countdown
For the final days, I wanted to surprise my kids with a little something special or different each day. I came up with my ideas, put them on notecards, and made a countdown poster with the activities hidden. Each morning during our morning meeting, I flipped over a card to reveal the new event. I chose things that were easy and free to implement- just some added fun. Honestly I think the surprise factor was more fun than the activities themselves. Here’s what we did:
- Sit where you want for the day
- Extra recess
- Drawing/ art time
- Show and Tell (Spread across 2 days)
- Write letters to future 5th Graders
- Visit the dungeon (This one is our inside joke. I have a storage closet in my classroom that I refer to as “the dungeon” and the kids have been begging me to go in the dungeon all year. Kind of silly that they are that excited about standing in a closet, but who am I to stand in the way of their dreams?)
- Field Day (All credit goes to our PE teacher for this event.)
- 5th Grade Fun Day (All credit goes to our amazing PTO and parents for this one. The day includes tie-dying class t-shirts, a picnic at the park, a photo booth, and bowling.)
- Slideshow and gift (I made a movie with all the photos I’ve taken this year. More on the gift later.)
Words of Affirmation
We’ve gotten to know each other very well this year. For morning work one week in April, I gave my students a class list and asked them to write one positive word that made them think of each of their classmates. I told them to keep it secret and put up a list of kind character traits on the board in case they needed ideas. Most people listed adjectives like creative or kind, but sometimes the words were nouns that came to mind. I have a student who loves Hamilton and another that loves turtles. Some kids listed their friend’s favorite sport or hobby as well. After collecting all the papers, I typed the words listed for each student and input them into WordArt.com to create a collage. I printed the word art and glued it onto construction paper next to a photo of each kid. I think it makes a nice memento and confidence-booster to see all the kind things their classmates think of them.
Memory Books
Our school district emailed a while back with an opportunity to get funds for a classroom project. Every teacher could apply for $100 as long as they had a specific project in mind- not just general supplies. I jumped on that right away and ordered blank hardback books, scrapbook paper, and a pack of 300 stickers. I decided that each student could create their own memory book. I took hundreds of photos throughout the year so each student got a packet of photos they were in. I just put them in a Google doc and sent it off to our printshop to be printed on regular copy paper. Not the highest quality, but it did the trick. Any time we had a bit of free time in our last month, students worked on their memory books. They cut out photos with scraps of colorful paper, stickers, and written captions. By the end, each book was unique. This is the first year I’ve done anything like this. In the past, I sent photos to parents all the time, but I think the kids love having their own copies. Plus, they seemed to love the creative process and the reminiscing that went along with creating these books.
Student Gifts
I try my best not to spend my own money on my job/ students. Sometimes it’s tempting, but I’ve got my own children and needs to take care of with my paycheck. I’m so thankful there are programs and grants that support teachers. I found an amazing opportunity this year with a local nonprofit called the Social Service League. They started Teacher Assistant Grants and I was lucky enough to win 2 of them this year- one in the Fall and one in the Spring. For the Spring, I applied for money to buy my students end-of-year gifts, including a book, a notebook for writing or drawing, and a tote bag. With Scholastic Book Clubs, I was able to get a great deal on books and personally picked out one for each of my students. The tote bags were just a bulk order from Amazon, but one of my students’ parents, who has a Cricut machine, helped me take them to the next level. Earlier in the year, my students each drew a self-portrait in ink; just black and white line drawings, but they turned out so great! I scanned each portrait, shrunk it down and combined them into a single design. This was the image printed onto the bags. Into each bag went a chapter book, 2 sketchbooks, their memory book, and laminated word art. I love how these gifts came together and I very much appreciated that the grant I received helped make it happen.
Para and Teacher Gifts
I would not have gotten through this year without the amazing paras and teachers who went above and beyond to help my students and me. I knew I wanted to find a meaningful gift to represent the year we had together. One of the big talking-points in my classroom this year were our plants. I started the year with 3. My students voted on names for each one, made them name tags, and stayed invested in their health and growth. We repotted them as they outgrew their original pots. I split and propagated them throughout the year and ended the year with 11. For para and teacher gifts, I decided to spread the love. I bought some cute, new pots and planted some of our classroom plant-babies. The kids gave them names and they lived in our room for about 2 months, getting plenty of sunshine and care. In our last week of school, I set up a little plant adoption table and let my coworkers pick their favorite, taking a little piece of our classroom home with them.
A memorable end to a memorable year! That’s a wrap on the 2025-26 school year. I am going to miss this class so much, but I am also ready for the rejuvenation that comes with summer break. Wishing all the teachers and school staff a fun and restful summer vacation. We earned it!
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 