Open House and Surfer Of The Week

Aloha Friday!! I feel like I have been swallowed up by all of my Back To School activities!  This week was extra busy trying to get ready for our Open House.  It is only the 3rd week of school so I didn't have much to display in the classroom.  I did however have my cute Surf Buddies and I put up a Who Am I? bulletin board.  



I have each student write clues about themselves.




Then I take their pictures and I place them above their clues.  They draw a picture to go on top.


I found that cute sign at Target in the Dollar spot and I knew I had to use it.  Parents have to find their child's clues and guess who they are.  They really love it.

The other activity that I started this week was our Surfer Of The Week.  It is basically Student or Star of The Week, but I changed it to fit my theme.

Each week I pick a student randomly on Friday afternoon.  That student receives a note to take home to their family.  Over the weekend they pick 10 items to bring to school to share.  On Monday morning we have a special time for the Surfer to share their items.  I always start the ball rolling so that the class knows what to do.


I brought in my photo albums, pictures of my family and pets, a doll that I have had for years, my sketch book and awards I have saved over the years.  I shared it all and then the students asked me questions about it all.


Then I make a web for the students to refer to.


I give them a letter template and they write letters to the Surfer Of The Week.  






Then I display all the letters for the week.


 At the end of the week I take all of the letters and place them in a piece of construction paper, staple them together and make a book for our special student to take home.  I have done this for many years and I have all the books saved from each class.  I love looking through them each year and so do my students and their families.

It is such a fantastic and fun way to celebrate each student and make them feel special.

I put everything all together this year and have made a little freebie for you.


Just click on the picture to grab it in Google Docs or click {HERE}.

I am sure many of you have your own version of Student of the Week.  I would love to hear what special activities you do for your class.  Leave me a comment below sharing your great ideas. I always enjoy finding new things to try!





10 comments

  1. You have been a busy girl ! All your activities look like a lot of fun, great way to ease back into school.

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  2. Thanks for the freebie. I can't do student of the week this year but I can always use a cute letter writing template. :)

    Reef is quite the artist!

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  3. Love this! I've always done an ocean theme but my new school is doing a school-wide owl theme. In my class, I do something very similar. In the past, I've had students write letters on Friday or I've done it where we did it as a whole class. Still not sure how I'm going to do it this year.

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  4. I bet the kids have a lot of fun with the Who Am I activity !

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  5. So clever! I love the surfing spin for student of the week, and also that so many of your students like to surf. Lucky you to live by the beach!
    Swersty’s Swap Shop

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  6. Your students' Who Am I writings turned out great! I know they must have a lot of fun reading those to try to guess who each other are. Great way to get in writing AND some reading!
    Lori
    Conversations in Literacy

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  7. Outstanding blog. The theme is perfect. I've been doing my best to incorporate more and more writing with my group. I like the idea web you did. I'm going to see how my students can improve this week. I LOVE the Surfer of the week!

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  8. Love it all! I have a surfing theme too and we write letters to the student of the week but we call them the Big Kahuna! Your blog and TPT store are amazing! Thanks for the ideas and inspiration!

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  9. Love it all! I have a surfing theme too and we write letters to the student of the week but we call them the Big Kahuna! Your blog and TPT store are amazing! Thanks for the ideas and inspiration!

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  10. Love, Love your ideas! My class theme has been with monkeys for the past 8 years. My star student is called a Top Banana. This year I'm looping with my first graders into second. I will keep my monkeys but with a surfing twist :). Love, Amy's idea of calling the star student the Big Kahuna. Thanks for sharing this great resource! I will be purchasing some items from your store soon.

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Mahalo Nui Loa For Commenting!!

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