Balloons Over Broadway

This year, for the second straight year, I read Balloons Over Broadway to every class in the school. It was an even greater success than last year. I added/changed some of last year's activities for each grade and was much more satistied with the alterations. Last year's fiasco with the helium balloons which wouldn't rise was deeply embedded in my brain, as was the comment from a second grader when we inflated balloons on bottles filled with baking soda and vinegar: "We did this in first grade!" Second grade's new activity after hearing the book was balloon/DVD hovercrafts.

Fifth graders had a great time exploring Newton's Second Law with balloon rocket races. This went SO much better that the helium balloon activity from last year!

Last year third and fourth graders did the same activity (a Google Slide comprehension game). This year I got to incorporate our bee bots into an actvity to go with the story for fourth graders. I have decided that for fourth and fifth graders I will start making 4 copies of any bee bot cards and have 4 mats going at once. They have trained enough and are ready to be let loose with the bots. I have cut my 64 square mat into four equal sections. I don't think that I will utilize more than 16 cards at a time. If I do, I'll deal with that when the time comes.

The other grades did the same activities they did last year, and I was well-pleased with those: TK - sensory balloon matching, kindergarten - made Indonesian rod puppets, first grade - designed 9 balloons in 5 minutes, third grade - Google Slide game.

The best part of Balloons Over Broadway this year was Balloons Over Grammar! In October I introduced the idea to all the teachers, and they supported the idea, and SOME of them even got excited about it. (IYKYK) Each teacher chose a balloon and decorated it. The balloons were hung outside the rooms so that classes could parade through the school enjoying the creativity and fun. Some of the balloons went with books. Some had a history-related theme. Some were just fun. I am sharing the pictures below. Also, here's what I learned: