100 Years Old on the 100th Day

I teach big kids for a reason.  I’m not crafty, I barely do decorations at my house, much less in my classroom, and I’m the last one to decide what my students are going to make for Mother’s Day.  I love teaching math, reading, and writing, but ask me to turn to my files on holidays and seasons and I'll just laugh.

However, a couple of years ago I had to up my game a bit when I realized our new colleague on the fourth grade hall was a former kindergarten teacher in every sense.  I knew when she was hired that she had that soft kind of voice that only exists in octaves foreign to me and I noticed right away that she called her students, “friends” in contrast to my, “Hey, guys, listen up!!”  But none of that intimidated me like her ability to turn every special date on the calendar into a major, celebrated, fun event. 

When she painted pumpkins in the fall, I rolled my eyes.  When her students each had a stocking hanging in the classroom come December, I scoffed.  By the time February rolled around and she asked what we liked to do in fourth grade for the 100^th day of school, I said, “Um, I don’t know.  Write math problems that equal 100?”  But of course, that wasn’t going to cut it and by this point, I had realized the truth in the old statement, “If you can’t beat them, join them.”   At this rate, soon I was going to be known as the boring 4^th grade teacher if I didn’t change my ways.

Working together, we’ve found ways to transform celebrations that I had always left to the primary teachers into events that upper elementary students enjoy and will remember.  I have to admit it’s fun and I look forward to sharing some of our shenanigans with you all through this blog.  One of my favorites we tried out for the first time last year was using a free app called Aging Booth to change our students first day of school photos into how they might look when they’re 100 years old.  On the 100^th day, we put them on their desk in the morning and asked them to write a “bucket list” of 10 things they’d like to do before their 100^th birthday.  We then attached the lists to the photos and displayed them in the hall.  The whole school was talking about the 4^th grade classes’ old people photos!  I can’t wait to do it again this year next week.

Some of the other teachers thought we were brave to include our own "old people" photos out in the hall, but I think that was the kids' favorite part.  Besides, it's an easy sacrifice to make while my age still rounds to 30.  I may change my tune in a few years.  

I was never a total Scrooge before, but I’m thankful for the ways our resident former kindergarten teacher helps me see things in a new, more exciting light.  But don’t worry… I haven’t completely lost my head.  I still will not EVER be caught showing The Polar Express the week before winter break.  That one I WILL leave to the primary teachers. The thought of hot chocolate in my classroom makes me cringe...