How to Eat Fried Worms Book Reflection

My son just finished reading How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell so we celebrated with gummy worms.

Being a School Counselor, I could not resist the chance to discuss the social and emotional themes.

Making connections with this story was a great chance to discuss social pressures and other timeless themes with my two boys.  Kids are always daring each other to try gross or unsafe things and there are bullies in every school and community. 

Here are some of the questions we discussed while enjoying gummy worms:

Teacher Appreciation Class Gift Ideas

As a room parent, I loved coming up with fun ideas for class teacher appreciation gifts.

Here are a few ideas of gifts that can be created by the class:

All About the Teacher Book 

From the Students Perspective

I complied a list of questions to ask students about their teacher and emailed them to all the parents.  The parents then interviewed their child and sent me the answers.  I compiled the quotes and comments into a scrapbook to present to the teacher during teacher appreciation week.  The pages were decorated with the kiddos doodles and drawings.  Kid’s perspectives are always fun and creative making the teacher smile and know how special they are to their students. 

The list of questions I asked:

• What is the silliest or funniest thing Mrs. Smith has said this year?  Done this year?


• What is your favorite memory of Mrs. Smith's class?

• 
How would you describe Mrs. Smith? or What one word would you use to describe Mrs. Smith?



• Why do you think Mrs. Smith became a teacher?  or Why do you think Mrs. Smith is a teacher?


• What is the kindest thing Mrs. Smith has said or done for you this year?


• What is your favorite Mrs. Smith saying?  (Ex. does your child repeat or quote Mrs. Smith at home)


• What do you think Mrs. Smith does all summer?  or on weekends?


• What character trait would you use to describe Mrs. Smith?


• What makes Mrs. Smith a great teacher?

• What is your favorite part of the day in Mrs. Smith's class?


• Where would you send Mrs. Smith on a vacation? or Where do you think Mrs. Smith would like to go on vacation?


• What movie or TV character does Mrs.Smith remind you of?

• 
What is your favorite thing Mrs. Smith has taught you this year?
•  Favorite activity/project/field trip?


• What do you think Mrs. Smith was like when she was in kindergarten?
• What do you think is the easiest part of Mrs. Smith's job?   
• What do you think is the hardest part of Mrs. Smith's job?
• What color reminds you of Mrs. Smith?
• What animal reminds you of Mrs. Smith
• Story/Parent comments:  a quick fun note or story your child has come home one day and told you or a short thank you.  

Page Titles for the book:

• Silliest or Funniest Thing Mrs. Smith Did This Year
• Who is Mrs. Smith
• Kindness
• Favorite Memory of the School Year
• Why Did Mrs. Smith become a Teacher
• Mrs. Smith always Says
• Mrs. Smith’s Summers and Weekends
• Mrs. Smith’s a Great Teacher Because
• Favorite Part of the School Day
• Mrs. Smith’s Vacation Destinations
• Mrs. Smith Reminds Me of…
• Mrs. Smith’s Colors
• Mrs. Smith in “Kindergarten”
• Easiest Party of Mrs. Smith’s Job
• Hardest Part of Mrs. Smith’s Job
• If Mrs. Smith Were an Animal
• Words of Appreciation

Handprint Class Garden

We took a large canvas, painted the background and had each student create a handprint flower.  This makes a great decoration and keepsake for their classroom. 

Teacher Alphabet

I complied this from several examples of teacher alphabets I found online and added some of my own ideas.  (Unfortunately, I no longer have the original resources).  I added a student’s drawing to the bottom to decorate.  To present the poem, each child in the class read a line of the Alphabet poem to the teacher. 

A is for being Amazing

B is for going Beyond expectations

C is for being Creative and Caring

D is for your Dedication

E is for being Extraordinary

F is for supporting our Future

G is for your Generosity

H is for Helping & Hugs

I is for your Imagination

J is for the Joy you bring

K is for the Kindness you show

L is for always Listening

M is for the Memories you create

N is for Never being too busy to help

O is for Outstanding

P is for always being Positive

Q is for the Quintessential was you teach

R is for Respect

S is for sharing your knowledge

T is for Terrific Teaching

U is for being Unique

V is for the Vitality you bring each day

W is for being truly Wonderful

X is for being eXtra special

Y is just for You

But Z is not for Zoo

It’s for the wonderful job you do!

We truly love you!

Surprise Garden

One of my favorite class teacher gifts is a surprise garden.  Have each student provide a few bulbs of any type that are good for the current planting season.  Take all the bulbs from all the students, mix them up and put them all in a pretty pot.  When the teacher plants all the bulbs she/he will have to wait to see what types of flowers will grow in the garden, creating a surprise garden.

Hope these ideas help inspire you to show teachers how special they are in our children’s lives and how much we appreciate the impact they have. 

  

Be Creative, Have Fun & Show Your Teachers How Much You Appreciate Them!

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Celebrate Reading with a Candy Party

Getting my two sons to read consistently can be hard at times.  They have gone through phases were they find a book series or topic they enjoy reading then fall back into the “I don’t want to read” slump again. 

This year Mason, (3^rd grade) has book reports with each book being a different genre and unique type of project to present the book report.  He loves creating and playing games so he chose to read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and create a board game. 

We decided to have a candy party to celebrate the completion of his project and hard work.  Kids love to celebrate so why celebrate when they finish a book or series. 

We had a blast picking out a variety of candy and tasting it all while we played his new game. 

Create your own game kits are available through at ThinkingIQ.  Enter GAMES15 for 15% off your entire order from ThinkingIQ and free shipping on orders over $25.  The Game Kit includes a foldable hard game board, dice, spinner, timer, blank cards and player markers.  The boards are available square or round and framed and unframed.  

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Be Creative, Have Fun & Celebrate Reading!

Reading Challenge

Read on a Swing

Read at the Beach

Help your kids get out of a “Reading Rut” with reading challenges.  Do your kids have a daily reading routine where they read the same time, same place and even similar type of books every day?

If so, help spark their interest and passion for reading by suggesting challenges of unique places to read and genres.  These challenges are fun for both reluctant readers as well as kids who already love to read. 

Reading Challenge Sheet

Read to your dog

Read at the pool

Make your own Reading Challenge sheet by brainstorming fun places a child could read, the types of books and even people they could read to.  To save time, you are welcome to purchase our Reading Challenge sheet on Teachers Pay Teachers.  

Our Reading Challenge sheet turns summer reading into a scavenger hunt of reading places and genres.  The Reading Challenge sheet makes a great addition to a summer packet for teachers to give to students at the end of the school year. 

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Be Creative, Be Inspired and most importantly….Have Fun!