The last week

We had Monday off for parent teacher conferences, which left only four days to attempt to manage students' behavior choices.  The excitement over the holidays was adorable...and loud.

We had a spirit week, which always adds to silliness in the classroom.  I reward students who participate with bonus class dojo points and let them do a fashion show. I also take a group selfie and post it to our class blog (but won't post here due to students' privacy).  That always gets them super excited.

Our spirit days:

Tuesday: Wear white or snowflakes.  I completely forgot...so good thing a coworker snagged some foam snowflakes at the dollar spot and I got crafty.

My students said I was channeling Queen Elsa, so I went with it.

Wednesday brought dress like a present day.  It was really, really difficult not to joke about this being inappropriate (cue Justin Timberlake).  I wore a green dress accented with a red belt and a red bow in my hair.  Halfway through the day, I discovered there were lots of bite marks in my belt...not sure which pet is to blame.  

Thursday was Santa hat or winter hat day.  I let my students wear hats inside, which was a special treat.  I had a tough choice to make that day:

Friday was pajama day, which is always a favorite.  I rocked Batman pajama pants with a Cardinals hoodie, much to the delight of my students.  They are very vocal about their passion for their football teams...none of which are my team.

Friday started with this treat on their desks: 

There are fruit snacks attached (I couldn't find holiday pencils) and the pass is good for one night of no math homework (much to the delight of my students).

The last week was also devoted to a Reading Rangers challenge (my favorite of the year).  The school was split into two teams (red and green) with a different leader (principal or assistant principal).  Whichever team read and passed more AR quizzes got to throw marshmellows at the losing team's leader.  I created a large paper book for my door and whenever my students passed a quiz, they wrote their name on the sheet.  For the first time in three years, the assistant principal's team won (my team) and I got to pick three students to throw marshmellows at our principal.  It was such a glorious bonding moment.  I'm blessed to have such amazing admin that aren't afraid to make fools of themselves in the name of student achievement. 

Some of the kinder classes decorated gingerbread houses and wrote letters to Santa.  Another fifth grade classroom displayed a fake fire on the smartboard during reading time and played holiday tunes (stealing that idea for next year).  Others did a book swap, classroom secret santas, and a hot chocolate party.

What fun traditions does your school have for the last week of school?