Do you remember that last day of second grade? In June of 2010? The day we first met? The first time we gathered on the rug together? We read this book, a gift from my dear friend, together? Remember when we got used to the pattern of the book and we were completing the rhymes of the book? Saying to each other, "I hope you dance." And then we met again in late August, the first day of third grade. Again we gathered on the rug. And again we read this book.

Some day, when you are older than you are, but not nearly as old as the stars, you'll understand why I hope what I hope for you. But between the distant then and now, if I look at you like you're the cats meow, it's just because my heart is in my throat for you. Listen...

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder. Your curiosity about everything around you made me see the endless possibilities in the world around us. Every time one of you began a question with, "what would happen if..." made me eager to discover the answer with you. I didn't know that if you left homemade toothpaste out in the air it would become hard like clay. Or that the way our room was set up could look like an airplane. Or that the earth's layers are like the human body. Your questions and musings made me see our world in a whole new way.

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens. I saw so many of you deal with heartache and disappointment this year. Many of you lost a loved one or had to deal with big change in your life. But I also saw each of you rely on your new (and old) friends in our classroom to help you get through difficult times. Remember that just because the door to our year together is about to close we are all opening another door to a new classroom with new friends. Maybe even some old ones. It will be okay for all of us.

Promise me...that when you have the the choice to sit it out or dance...you dance. Be fearless. Always be the risk taker you have proven to be this year. Take on new challenges. Know that they may be difficult, but also know that you can do it. You have the skills and resources available to you to try new things. To venture into the unknown. And remember...you are not alone. You always have friends there to help you and cheer you on if you need it.

Never settle for the path of least resistance. Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking. Work hard. If it is too easy than we won't learn anything from it. It will not become a part of us. Sometimes we have to make mistakes and that's okay. It is from our mistakes that we will learn. Just like we learned what to do when the computers didn't work. Or when we didn't know how to multiply. We worked hard to figure these things out, and because we persevered we now know what to do.

I hope you're never ever lost and always found. You are incredibly special. Your ability to draw well. To take things apart and be able to put them back together. To make someone laugh, cheer them up when they are blue. Your ability to be just as serious about learning as you are about playing. I hope every person you meet sees your unique talents and values you for who you are instead of who they want you to be.

But, most of all...I hope you DANCE!

Quotes from the children's book I Hope You Dance by Thomas Nelson.

One of my favorite things to do is to watch baseball.  Even though I am a Red Sox fan, it can get kinda boring watching it on TV.  And it's not exactly easy to get tickets to see a Boston Red Sox game.  So...when I can, I go to a New Britain Rock Cats game on bright sun-shiny day.  But, I never go alone.  There are always plenty of family members who like to tag along. 

We often sit in the Reserved Section where it costs $6 for a child/senior & $8 for an adult.  One time there were 15 of us that went!  My singing god daughter and her brother were certainly there.  But so was my adorable nephew (who will be turning 5 this week).  And of course all of their parents were there!  Uncharacteristically, my grandparents (who are in their 70's) went, too. There were other people there, too, but I don't remember how old they were at the time!  (Maybe you can figure that out.) 

How much would it have cost for us to attend that game?  My uncle is the one who paid, in cash, for the tickets.  What bills would he have given to the cashier that would have given him back change?  How much change did he get back?

Challenge: What if we had sat in the Club Seats ($15) or MVP Seats ($18)? 

One of your teachers raises chinchillas and is one of the top breeders in the state.  At any time they can have as many as 15 chinchillas and as few as 7. Chinchillas have special needs to help simulate their natural habitat.  Below are just a few things that a chinchilla needs in a week to be comfy and cozy:

• Kiln Dried Pine for their bedding ~ $4.00
  
• Alfalfa Hay for food ~ $6.00
  
• Chinchilla Pellets ~ $3.00
  
• Cheerios for treats (optional) ~ $2.00

How many chinchillas is your teacher probably taking care of right now (not 10), and how much is costing him/her to take care of them for one week?  How many $100 bills would your teacher pay with for these supplies, and what would his/her change be?

Geissler's helps support the local baseball teams.  Each player on each team needs a batting helmet ($8), cleats ($9), glove ($6), team shirt ($4), and pants ($7).  This year Geissler's can offer up to $400 to purchase the necessary gear. 

• How many players will benefit from the store's generosity?
• How much money will it cost to purchase all of this gear?
• How much money will be left over from this donation?
• What bills would the donor receive back as their change?

Bonus: About how many teams would benefit from this generosity?  Explain how you figured this out.

I love my NOOK Color and was really excited when Mrs. McCarroll bought one for our classroom!  She also gave us a $100.00 gift card so that we could buy NOOK Books!  When buying books, it took me a couple of hours to do that because I wanted to get the most books for our money.  While many of the books I got were free ☺, I did buy a great deal of books.  The books I bought cost $3.00, $4.00, and $6.00 each.  I bought more than 2 books for each price, but did not spend the entire $100.00! 

• How many books did I buy of each price and in all? 
  
• How much money did I spend on the gift card? 
  
• How much money do we have left to spend on the gift card?

As you know, Mr. P. just got married in Mexico.  This weekend he is having a wedding party at a nice country club to celebrate with all of his friends and family.  There will be favors on the table filled with little treats for people to bring home with them after the wedding.  Mr. P. has a wedding budget and does not want to spend more than $500.00 on the favors.  This includes the box and candies inside the boxes.

• How much will each box cost?
• How much will the candies cost (per box)?
• What is the total cost for one box filled with candy?
• How many favors will he be putting out on the tables?
• What will it cost Mr. P. in all to have favors for his guests?
• If Mr. P. is paying in cash, which bills will he be paying with?
  

I went to Walmart this weekend to buy some yellow yarn to make a flower bag for my sister's birthday.  The yarn cost $2.99 a skein (roll).  I bought less than 7 skeins, more than 2, and I did not buy 5. 

• How many skeins did I buy? 
• About how much money did I spend on the yarn? 
  
• What bill(s) did I bay the cashier with?
• Explain your answer. 

I was crocheting this bag for my sister's birthday gift.  Most of the bag is crocheted in rounds, or circles, that increase in number.  As I was making the bag, I was using multiplication facts to help me keep track of how many stitches I had already done.Thank goodness I know how to multiply because I had to keep a variety of numbers in my head! 

For example, in the 10th round (circle) that I crocheted I knew that I every time I got to a multiple of 10, I would have to do a double stitch.  When I got to 10, 20, 30, 40 I had to do two stitches instead of one.  The same thing with the 5th round.  When I got to 5, 10, 15, 20 I had to do two stitches instead of one!  I also knew that in every round I had to have a multiple of 8.  For example, in round 2 I knew that I should have no more than 16 stitches, round 5 no more than 40, and round 10 no more than 80.

I had to do 22 rounds to complete the front of the bag (and then I had to do it again for the back).  Choose one of the rounds (except 1, 2, 5, or 10) and use your multiplication strategy to figure out the following:

• What was the most number of stitches I could have in that round?
• Which number stitches would I have to do a double stitch?
• Explain how you found your answers. 
  

The other day we took the Meriden Benchmark Assessment for Reading.  One of your classmates wrote the following response:

• The importance of Earth Day is to recycle, plant trees, and flowers, saving energy, and use water for important things like drinking.  In the story it states that any one that helps take care of the Earth you are no helping the Earth, you are helping yourself and your community.  My opinion is you  should do that because you can save more energy for everybody.

Think about what we know about responding.  Why do you think this response is a quality (good) open - ended response? 

On Sunday, my goddaughter sang 'God Bless America' at the Rock Cats game.  My husband & I went with my aunt & her daughter to watch her sing.  We quickly found our seats so that we could use the bathroom and get snacks from the refreshment stand.  My aunt & I stood in line to get the goodies while Todd & Kelly saved our seats.  We loaded up on pretzels, sodas, hot dogs, french fries, fried dough, and ice cream (I think that's all).  By the time we got back to our seats we each had spent less than $40.  About how much did we spend on each person?