On the 12th day till summer...

12 days and counting...till the natives break free. I am talking about the teachers of course not the students. The end of the school year is like running a marathon when you hit that wall and you know you're not far but it seems like 10 miles before you see the next mile marker.

Today our team planned the last the 2 weeks of school. It's pretty crazy when you lay it all out. Lot's of celebrating. All that celebrating is because these firsties have worked so hard to get to where they are but the other part is just letting out the built up excitement for summer.

One of our celebrations is our final Book Buddy meeting. Our firsties and their 5th grade buddies have been getting together since the beginning of the year to share in the joy of reading.  Over the past school year the 1st graders have built up their reading skills and abilities while the 5th graders have brushed up on their comprehension skills. At the beginning of the year many firsties can't read a picture book at all so the buddies help them decode, and read to them as well. As the year progresses the buddies begin to let the firsties take off with their reading and start coming up with comprehension questions for their story. They might ask them about the character or setting. The buddies have also been taught to make a text connection and relate the story to their firstie.

This has been a long tradition at our school and I am glad that it continues to evolve. Do you have any book buddies or similar programs at your school?