Hopes and Dreams

For the past week or so students have been working on their hopes and dreams for this school year. Students are really given the chance to think about what they want to get out of 1st or 2nd grade. These aren't hopes and dreams for things they would like to get (ex. a horse), but what they hope they can achieve this year in school. Students were encouraged to really think about if they could do more of, or get better at, one thing this year what would it be. Students came up with ideas like becoming a better reader, writing more detailed stories, doing more engineering tasks, reading longer books, etc. Their hopes and dreams will be displayed in the room all year so that come June they can look back and see what they hoped for at the beginning of the year, and reflect back on how they did. For our hopes and dreams project this year we made balloons. I thought about the idea of releasing a lantern or balloon into the air and making a wish, and thought that might be a fun way to represent our wishes for ourselves this year. The students helped to make the paper used to make the balloons. We used shaving cream and food coloring. These materials helped to give the paper a tie-die look. The students were so excited to come in the room and see themselves hanging around the classroom. They have been enjoying reading each others' hope and dreams, and seeing that many of them are working toward similar goals. I have heard some students say things like, "Your hope and dream is to be a better reader? But you are already such a good reader." and their classmate responding, "Yes but I can always get better, and I want to start reading chapter books this year." Come check them out if you have the chance.