I am stuck between two themes...beach or candy. I love them both! Here are some of the ideas I've had so far: ~Beach-(my last name) Island, Reading Reef, Behavior Bay, lots of beachy deco ~Candy-Ms. S's Smarties, lots of lollipops and rolled candy made with cellophane, tootsie roll=class roll, Good Behavior is a treat, welcome presents made with tp rolls stuffed with candy, pencil, etc. and wrapped with cellophane. Which one do you like and what other ideas do you have? Thanks!!!!
LOL, VANewbie!!!! That was great and I love the idea!! I keep going back and forth between the two themes. I keep wondering how I would keep up with beach theme at Halloween or Christmas time...it just would not seem to fit, but maybe there's a way to do it.
Chele, that's what I was thinking, too. In December, you're going to be able to do a lot more with that candy theme than the beach one, you know?
Candy Theme- https://picasaweb.google.com/nusraalam/CandyClassroomPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCIKm9MDSq9OFMQ That may help you.
Hawaii has Christmas and Halloween too! I think a beach theme is more educational. You can work in fish, animals, habitats, geography, water, and all sorts of other cool things. The candy theme centers around food which may not be a great message.
Maybe because I had a parent that would strongly reject this kind of theme and maybe because through having her as a parent, I began to realize how much we use food in our lessons, I wouldn't go with a candy theme. Even without that parent, promoting candy and junk food seems contrary to what we should be teaching our kids. It is a very cute theme but I think some thought on the idea that it is promoting sweet tooths should be considered. Just something to think about. The beach theme I would support but I agree that it isn't a year round theme.
We think alike, Bandnerdtx!!! I love the pics., VANewbie...the Sweet Rules of Success is my favorite!!!! Shucks I'll have to eat all that candy to make that one.
Beach: * Surf the Net (computers) * Dive into a good book (library) http://www.clutterfreeclassroom.com/beachtheme.htm Candy: * M&M math * Mounds of work (trays to turn in work) http://bulletinboardideas.org/925/my-sweet-things-valentines-day-display/
Are you allowed to have candy in your school? For next year we've banned cupcakes at birthday parties. That's why I wouldn't go with a candy theme.
The candy theme seems fun, but I like the beach theme better. I find the beach calming, and candy + kids = hyper in my mind so I wouldn't personally do it, but it does sound cute.
We are allowed to use candy as a treat and I do teach the kids that healthy eating and exercise is important, but I really do not think that candy as a treat would hurt anything at all. It is just something that is fun and cute. Even eating too many veggies can have a bad effect. I think it's about moderation and fun. Thanks to those of you who have given great ideas/sites about both choices!!!!
I think you should go with the beach theme. What if you end up with a diabetic or hyperglycemic or overweight child in your class whose parents won't let them have candy? It would be alienating, at the very least.
Beach theme. I'm anit-candy theme for the reasons already mentioned. It sounds cute, but I just like the idea of a beach one a lot more.
OMGoodness- thank you! I'm doing "Wild About Second Grade" this year, and I had already planned on a beach theme next year with "Sailing Into Second Grade." Now I have a theme for the NEXT year!! I love love love it!
I like the beach theme, and I think others mention some great points about the candy theme that I wouldn't have thought of. I might go with a jungle theme next year. We'll see.
I featured a beach theme on my blog last week. There are a bunch of ideas and pics of beach theme classrooms. I vote beach! http://clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/search?q=beach+theme
Both seem okay to me. Like others, the candy would not be my first choice, but you can do a million things with candy and math. You could also explore the melting points of different candies. You don't have to reward them with actual candy. You could make your own currency using a candy name play on words. (Maybe you could get them made as business cards from Vistaprint. Then they can trade in the sweet currency for a non food prize. Maybe smelly erasers or pencils or whatever you like). You could find all kinds of sweet stories for literature things. You could even use a Candy Land kind of setup for your room. You could have geographic focus based on international candies. I could see that theme as a good one, particularly if it is not using candy as the primary motivation/reward, but more as a jumping off point. The beach one has some nice possibilities. You could even contrast every season that you have with pictures of that season at the beach (Maybe divide a bulletin board in half and make it look like two different windows with panes and then a pic of beach and your town in each month.) As mentioned, the animal life would be good. Also, conservation (think sea turtles, manatees and beach erosion.) Either way, I think you can have a great year using your choice of themes. You have a lot to build upon. Let us know how it turns out.
