Sunday, May 31, 2009

Winn-Dixie Party

Okay. . .so we have been doing a few productive things at school. I've referred to it before, but I am doing a novel study with the kids in my class. We are just about done with it. . .so last week we had a Winn-Dixie party. If you are familiar with the book, opal and Gloria Dump organize a party for all the "sad" people they know--to bring joy and celebrate friendships.

So I risked having my kids organize a party of their own!!! Just like India Opal! So. . .they planned the menu (of course we needed egg salad sandwiches (We are a peanut-free school, so the peanut butter sandwiches were out!), Dump Punch, candy and pickles! they decided a few other items were necessary as well. The sad part is that I was so busy at the "eating part" of the party that I have no pictures!!! And its kinda sad because we decorated the tables with pink, yellow and orange, just like the book, and posted dog pictures just like little Sweetie Pie! I guess you just need a camera around your neck!!! (The next greatest girl invention should be a "bling camera"--where it looks like great funky necklace, but it is really a camera! If you are the one who creates it. . .please remember me!!!) Anyway. . .here is the best I can do for you!
Another part to the party was making a bottle tree. We did the opposite of what Gloria Dump did. We made bottles (out of baby food jars and ribbons) and put a coloured slip of paper that said a positive thing we had done.
Then we gave everyone in the class an opportunity to write positive comments or comments that celebrated accomplishments each student had made during the school year. This part blew me away! I had cut up a bunch of slips of paper for this purpose, but I had to cut more 3 TIMES!!! They loved doing this part!!! Then we hung them on a tree, trying to make a similar one to what Gloria Dump's might have looked like.

After all that, each of the students had to prepare a part of the book to read to the class. They had to choose a part they liked, a part that was funny to them, or a part that was meaningful. They submitted their passages, and I put them in order, so we could have a "brief reading" of the entire book! I loved the expression--and the passages they chose!
"Good times were had by all!"

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