50th Day of School

Can I just say how absolutely thrilled I am to have survived a week that started with a Halloween Monday.  I know there is no need to explain.  I'm just going to say, hallelujah!

In other happy news...my first graders have made it half way to the 100th day of school.  My team loves to mark this milestone with a 50th Day of School celebration.

Here's a run down of some of the days events...

We started out the day with a 50's themed count and graph activity.  Students counted the items on the picture sheet and graphed them.  Then they used their graphs to make a tally chart and answer some questions.

This activity was a great extension of some of the graphing work we've been doing during calendar math.  If you would like a FREE copy of my 50th Day Count and Graph activity, you can click on the picture below.

We also made our 50's Kids.  For the past few years I've wanted to put together a writing craftivity for the 50th day, but I've always ran out of time.  Finally this year, I spent a weekend creating this little project. 

Students put together their 50's inspired boy or girl.  Then they completed a simple math writing task to go along with their kid.  

I hung our 50's Kids and math writing in the hall to share with the rest of the school.  I love how the display turned out.

For more details about my 50s Kids {A Writing Craftivity for the 50th Day of School}, you can click on the picture below.

After we finished our 50th Day of School craftivity, it was time to get moving.  I set up my 50th Day 50 Second Challenge by placing the station cards and needed materials around the room.
After a quick lesson on how to do the twist, the hand jive, and how to hula hoop, my teeny boppers were ready for the challenge.

Students worked in pairs at all of the stations.  They had 50 seconds to do each station.
Students carried a clipboard with a recording sheet.  They wrote down the results of every challenge at the end of each 50 rotation.
Below you'll see a few pics from some of the stations.  Please excuse the blurriness of some of the pics.  I'm terrible at action shots.

The kids loved doing this challenge.  If you would like to try it out with your own students, you can click on the picture for a copy of my 50th Day 50 Second Challenge {A Free Activity for the 50th Day of School}.

Finally, we ended our 50th Day fun with a sock hop and root beer floats.  We went to our gym and played 50's dance music.  Some of the kids danced with each other, which was super cute.  They also tried out hula hooping again.  It was a really fun way to wrap up our festivities.
I am sure all of our firsties slept very well that night. ;)

Our 50th Day was a non-stop day full of excitement and learning.  It will definitely be on the calendar next year.