Hi All! For those of you that teach 2nd grade, do you still get to do any of the "cutesy" stuff? I am talking about art/craft type projects, singing, etc. Also, do you find that the kids still love you? I possibly may be moving up to 2nd from K and wondering. Any comments are appreciated
My 'cutesy' always has an academic connection. yes, my kids (and their families, and my administration) love me.
I've found that I can be my most creative at this level. I can incorporate so much "fun" stuff in my teaching it's been great. I use music, puppets, dance, movement, humor, etc., etc. Be yourself! The students will appreciate it.
Oh yes! We sing and dance. We limbo. It's a lot of fun. Sometimes (especially toward the end of the year) the children will look at you like you're crazy -- or that they're "too cool" for it -- but they get SO into it! It's funny.
My kids still talk about their second grade teacher, all three were fortunate to have the same teacher and experience with her. They did a lot of fun learning.....good luck and enjoy!
The nice thing about second grade "cutesy stuff" is that it can be more involved and elaborate than kindergarten. Most of my activities are tied to content, but they love them. This year their favorite activity was their Egyptian masks (Egypt is one of our SS standards). We created paper mache masks, which they painted gold, decorated with glitter, etc. They loved these!
I moved from K to 2nd a few years ago. We still did art tie-ins whenever we could. They loved to sing, but I just switched songs and/or artists. They loved Jonathan Sprout. If you are in the same school, as your former K students loop through, they will expect you to do these things, as well. Enjoy!!!! Second graders are lots of fun! They still adore their teachers, but they also have a lot more independence!!!!
I have experienced this- at the end of one year one of my students told me to stop dancing because it was embarassing her.
