Summer is Here! First Project Completed!

10:44 PM

to Read (

Words)

I am so excited that summer is here! I got my room cleaned up and all packed away on Friday. Here's what my room looks like right now. Well, part of it anyway. It's always a little sad to see an empty room at the end of the year. I do have to say that I enjoy having my own closets for all of my "stuff." {Only the Kinder and Sped preschool rooms have their own closets. Everyone else shares "pod" closets.} Hopefully, I will be able to find everything quickly in August and be able to put my room back together.

My parents arrived on Friday after I was finished in my classroom. My mom and I always enjoy shopping together and that is just what we did on Saturday. One of our stops was Hobby Lobby. As I was walking around, I ended up in the aisle with the painted wooden cut-outs. A light bulb went on and I remembered this post from April at Chalk Talk. I purchased a few wooden cut-outs, some ribbon and some buttons. This is what I ended up with today. I made my very own retelling rope.

My retelling rope looks a little different from April's, but it fits the needs of my students better. The castle stands for where the story takes place. The sun stands for when the story takes place. The princess stands for who the characters are in the story. The red button is for what happens first in the story, the yellow button stands for what happens in the middle of the story, and the blue button stands for what happens last in the story. I hope that this will help my students identify the key details in stories. There are many examples of retelling ropes out there. Everyone has their own little twist. Totally Terrific in Texas has a set of pictures so that you can download if you don't want to use cut-outs. First Grade W.O.W. had her students make their own retelling ropes. She has a download if you would like to make them with your students. I hope that this gives you the inspiration to make your own retelling rope.

Well, I should probably go to bed now. My parents and I are are surprising Colton in the morning with a day trip to Disneyland! I can't wait to see his face when we tell him!

Have a great Tuesday!