Camp Lead a Lot: Our Leader in Me Mission Statement

Welcome to Camp Lead a Lot:
Our Leader in Me Mission Statement

 Camp Lead a Lot: 

Our Leader in Me Mission Statement

Well better late than never I guess!!  I know it is almost halfway through the year, and I am just now posting my beginning of the year festivities.  Our school began the Leader in Me journey last year.  We have made so much progress in this area at our school from painting the walls in the hall, bathrooms, and even outdoor areas.  We put up quotes, painted our classrooms, and brainstormed ways to give our students the tools to become leaders in every avenue of school and home life.  We are really trying to bridge the gap with these kiddos.  

I'm going to show you the outside first.  I'll do my best to give you a peak inside in tomorrow's post.  I had each student do their mission statement for the year, and I posted a small picture and their ideas for making themselves and our classroom better this year.  I will leave it up the entire year as a reminder of their goals.  As a 7 Habits or Leader in Me School, this is one thing that is suggested for each student in the school.  It is important to set goals and to look back to see if they have been attained.

"Tree"mendous Adventures in Leadership
7 Habits are the steps up the ladder.  In the tree top, there's a tree
house with Sharpen the Saw: Habit #7 posted!

I used brown pipe cleaners as my rope on the tree.

Come Back Soon!

Free Secret Service Valentine Project

Secret Service Valentine Project - DAY 1

 

This is how students received their mission! They were totally pumped!

 

Calendar Planning for Mission

Working on today's mission!

Excitement was in the air today!

Thinking about the mission!

Do you have the perfect Secret Service Valentine Project for your kiddos?  Well, now you do with my freebie, Secret Service Valentine Project.  Here are some views from my 8 day unit that can be used more than 8 days if you choose.  It can easily be applied to the 7 Habits if you are a Leader in Me School, or to simply share love this Valentine season.  If you download now, you will have time get your unit printed out, put together and ready to go in time for the Valentine's Day.  You may want to wait and start your project on Valentine's Day or go ahead and get started now.  Either way, I hope you enjoy.  Read below to find out how to download.

Here's how to get your Secret Service Unit (47 pages): You just need to complete 3 easy steps.
1) Follow my blog: Celebrate Second Grade by clicking join google friend connect on the left sidebar or by email.
2) Follow me on Pinterest: Click here.
3) Leave a comment on one of my posts.

Once you've completed these 3 steps, click here to download your Valentine Secret Service Unit.

Texting Thursday - Reader Leaders - 7 Habits

Texting Thursday - Reader Leaders - 7 Habits

What is a Reader Leader?

In my classroom a Reader Leader are students who read their Accelerated Reader books on them, test and make 100.  I want students reading as much as possible at their independent reading level.  I also want them comprehending what they read.  So, after students read picture books 3 times, take an accelerated reader test, and make a 100, they get to place a sticker on their Reader Leader chart.  Each time they get a line filled, they get a piece of candy from the candy jar.  Each time they fill the entire chart, they get to go to the treasure box. This has been a big reading motivation for my students.  Students who are reading chapter books get 2 stickers if they make a 100.  As students gain more charts, I just place the new one on top of the old and at the end of the year, they get to take their charts  home. I also give awards for those charts.  

The big chart int the middle is used to record weekly class points, and reading levels.  I purchased it from the Accelerated Reader company several years ago.

Why 7 Habits?

At my school this year, we began The Leader in Me program.  So, I tied in my title: Reader Leaders to our school theme with the 7 habits in mind.  If students are leaders in reading, they can be leaders in all other subjects as well.  Miles on their tongue will take them places throughout their lives!

Great Idea from Kinder Craze:

Kinder Craze uses Scholastic

I read some fantastic tips at Kinder Craze on getting more books in your classroom through Scholastic.  Click on the button above to read more about how Maria uses Scholastic book orders and Storia.

What do you do to promote reading in your classroom?

7 New Year's Classroom Ideas

I have been thinking a lot about my students and how we are going to begin New Year 2013 once our Christmas vacation is over.  I want students to begin the New Year excited. So, I have come up with 7 ideas to celebrate in second grade once we return.  So, here they are: 7 New Year's Ideas for Your Classroom

1)  A Snowy New Year -   I will use a little snowy science experiment to bring in the new year.  It's actually going to snow in our classroom.  I will add a picture of video once I locate the snow that I so carefully put away in a place so secret that I forgot where I put it. Teacher amnesia!

2) Snowmen - Students will create a snowman snack to eat with marshmallows, pretzels, a Hershey's kiss, and other candies for a special treat at snack.  I used icing to get the candies to stick

Students will add little pom poms to the top of their hats.

3) Students will create party hats showcasing the new date 2013.  They will enjoy showcasing these by wearing these to lunch.

New Year's Hat: Students will decorate the blank space in the middle with  colored paper and other materials.

Thanks to my trusty Cricut, I have 2013 ready for students to grab and add to their hats.

4) Pass it On - Students will do random acts of kindness throughout the day to celebrate the new year and bring about good cheer and excitement within their classmates and school.  Students will write on die-cut hearts and leave them by classroom doors for teachers and students and give them to random strangers and loved ones.

Heart Die Cuts are cut and ready to go for our first day back.
Random Acts of Kindness Hearts

5) Students will continue the wintry SNOW theme by listening to The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.

6) Pop - Everyone knows you have to have some sound when the clock strikes midnight and the new year begins.  Students will Blow bubble gum bubbles (with permission from the principal of course) to create some popping sound.  They will then use balloons to begin their writing for the New Year's goals.

Leader in Me School - 7 Habits - 7 Goals
I created the 5" blurb with my  Cricut using Plantin SchoolBook.

I picked these up at Wal Mart on the Christmas clearance aisle for 50 cents each.

I also found these balloons to use at Wal Mart - 7 cents a pack for 12.

Goals for 2013 - We cannot forget goals!  Students will write their goals for the last part of the school year.  We will connect it Leader in Me style using the 7 habits.  Trying to make the terminology concrete in my students' minds this year is a concentration with this being our school's first year as a Leader in Me School.  Click here for Leader in Me 7 Habits - 7 Goals writing paper.

I am fully aware that all of you out there are not Leader in Me schools, so I created 2 more variations that you could use with this same idea.  Students could write a how to instructional paragraph on how they blew a bubble.  Click here for How to Blow a Bubble writing paper.  Once they experiment for a few minutes, they will begin making a class chart verbalizing their first hand information.  They will then write their paragraph.  Once the final copy is completed, students will blow up balloons to accompany a face to post with their writing.  They will also properly dispose of their gum prior to leaving the classroom.

Variation 3 would be to use the writing form New Year's Goals and do it similar to my example in the first picture.  Click here for the writing paper to accompany your New Year's Goals lesson.

7) It's time to study time: Students will create a New Year's clock and discuss a.m. and p.m. (real world connection) and create it on a clock.

I did an example and made 4" die cut circles for my students to use. 

At the end of the day, there will be one tired teacher and 18 excited students!