100th Day and Valentine's Day Projects

Have you reached the 100th day of school yet? If so, perhaps you live somewhere warmer than Ohio. Here in the Toledo area, we received the lovely gift of 12 inches of snow last week ((in one day))! Awesome. I think we are up to 7 snow days now. I'm not truly sure because I lost count. Last school year, I think we missed 13 or 14 days, so I guess 7 isn't too bad.

Back to the point... next week, we are finally going to reach the 100th day of school! For the last few years, I've been doing a technology project with my 2nd graders to help us celebrate the 100th Day. If you are looking for a fun project, you have to check out the Aging Booth App (it's free)! Basically, you can use your iPhone or iPad to snap of photo of each student. Then, you quickly line up their chin, eyes, and smile with the sensors and the app transforms your students into darling 100 year olds! It's priceless. Wait until you see the looks on your students' faces when they see their photos! Here are a few of my favorites from previous years. (Photos shared with parent permission)

Once I have their photos taken, I have my students complete a rough draft using the prompt, "When I am 100 years old..." It's hilarious to see their perceptions of age! Next, we edit their rough drafts and publish their writing with a Google Doc. I get their photos printed at a local store and then they glue them onto their final copies of writing. It turns out to be an adorable project!

This Friday, we will also celebrate Valentine's Day in 2nd grade! I always enjoy our Valentine's Day party because it is a nice mini break from teaching/assessing and allows my students to work on social skills as they deliver Valentines to their classmates. And let's just be real... I also love it because there is candy involved.

For the past few years, I have been having my students work on a clever Valentine's Day gift for their families. It started 3 years ago when I had a very techie class. They were interested in ANYTHING involving technology! They inspired me to make All iLove About You.

All iLove About You has several activities for your students. In the main project, students think of 12 reasons why they love their families and then create a tiny app picture for each reason. I have my students turn these into a big card. Here are some samples:

{Here's a close up of one student's tiny app pictures. Too cute!!!}

Most importantly, here are a few samples of the writing that goes along with the app pictures.

{Check out Reason #5... so sweet!!!}

Also included in All iLove About You are some techie Valentines for your students. Here's what I'm passing out this year {with candy attached, of course}