Thursday, April 19, 2012

The Countdown Begins...

I can't believe we only have 22 days of school left!  Well, as of Tuesday.  Every year I do an activity that I call Balloon Pop Countdown.  Depending on the number of students I have - determines how many balloons I fill and what number I begin counting down the days.  This year I have 22 students so we began this week.  I hung 22 balloons from the ceiling filled with slips of paper that have some sort of special activity on it.


The kids are SO excited to see all the balloons in our room... but the best part is each student gets to POP a balloon to help us count down our last days of school.  At the end of each day, I pick a stick and that student gets to pop our next balloon to tell us what tomorrow has in store for us.  Here is a close up of one of our balloons.  See the slip of paper inside?


So what did day 22 have in store for us?  It was BUBBLE GUM DAY!  I bought a HUGE tub of bubble gum - enough for the kids to have 4 pieces that we spread throughout the day.  It wasn't just about chewing gum but there was much more in store.  First, we read about how bubble gum was invented.  Here is the book we read:


Then we read the book "Lester Fizz, Bubble Gum Artist" by Ruth Spiro.
  
This book is about a boy who grows up in a family of artists.  Lester doesn't seem to be good at anything.  Members of his family can paint, collect, make sculptures... but Lester is good at blowing bubbles.  He finds out that he can blow amazing art bubbles the shapes of things like the Mona Lisa, the Statue of Liberty or a portrait of his whole family!  This book is not only adorable but it uses a lot of alliteration that you can touch on throughout the book.  After reading this story, students had to think about what would they make if they could blow a magnificent art bubble?  Just look at what they came up with:






I took a picture of each student like they were blowing a bubble and then they used pink construction paper to design their bubble after writing about it!  I thought they turned out super cute!

If you would like a copy of our writing paper, please grab your copy here:

We have a bunch of days planned with lots of fun activities.  I will be posting them (hopefully) every day or every other day as I get pictures uploaded.  My students look forward to what tomorrow has in store and the activities help to "curb" the last day blues.  

I would also like to add that Charity Preston over at The Organized Classroom Blog has encouraged bloggers to take the 5 Star Blogger Challenge!  Are you up to the challenge?  Go check it out! 

22 comments:

  1. Love that Bubble Gum activity! Too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a cute idea!!

    Jodi
    fun-in-first.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful idea!! Thanks so much for sharing! I might have to do this with my kids! We're on day 26 now!
    Nicole
    Rowdy in Room 300

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love this idea. I actually saw this idea on Pinterest. I need to start thinking of my ideas to put in my balloons. Thanks for sharing. Love the bubble gum art activity.

    April
    Wolfelicious

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great ideas! I am your newest follower! Stop by and visit me...

    learnplayandhavefun.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh My Goodness, how fun is this?! LOVE it! Thanks!!

    Oh My Little Classity Class

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great, and super fun, idea! I am going to keep this one in mind (we have a ways to go yet). I found your blog through the 5-Star Blogger Challenge. I'm your newest follower!

    Aimee
    Primarily Speaking

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for sharing such a fun idea! I only have 12 students, so I still have time! I'm definetly including the bubble gum art idea...Thanks again!
    Jenny...Your newest follower!
    Owl Things First

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the Bubble Gum activity!


    First Grade Delight
    imgoingfirst@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a crowd-pleaser! My kids are going to love your gum activity. I've "penned" it in for the week after Open House - it will be a fun transition! Thanks for sharing.

    Kelley Dolling
    Teacher Idea Factory

    ReplyDelete
  11. I LOVE the bubblegum ideas! The bubblegum art turned out too cute! I've never heard of those books - totally pinned on my books for teaching board! Thanks for sharing. I'm a new follower!
    Bethany

    ReplyDelete
  12. What are some of your other activities?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello-
    I'm so glad you enjoyed my book, Lester Fizz, Bubble-Gum Artist! I loved seeing your bubble gum art! If we can squeeze it in before the end of the school year, would you like to Skype for 10-15 minutes? You students can ask me questions and show me their art projects. Let me know!
    Ruth Spiro
    www.ruthspiro.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ruth - I would absolutely love to and my students will be thrilled! We only have 2 more days of school left but what about Thursday morning? Please feel free to email me so we can work out the details: nbunt@dutchmen.us.
    Wow! We are so excited!
    Nicole

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love the balloon pop countdown! I just found your blog and am your newest follower!

    Amanda
    Teaching Maddeness
    Drop by for my 100 Follower Giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Can I just say I LOVE the bubble gum art? So incredibly cute!!! I'll have to do this with my firsties. I'm your newest follower!

    Angie
    The First Grade Scoop

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love the bubble gum art! How cute! I'm a new follower and I would love for you to stop by sometime=)

    Heather
    The Busy Busy Hive

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi,
    I'm a French teatcher, so, please, excuse my poor vocabulary...
    I have found your activity "Balloon Pop Countdown" and I will try with my 24 students at the end of the year or for the advent calendar, I don't know. It's a wonderfull idea, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Is there a list of the activities you did each day?

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...