Celebrating Math Buddies and Bubbles

Do you ever have one of those days when you wonder why did it take me so many years to figure something out?  Let me rewind, all year we have had first grade math buddies because Shelly and I wanted authentic and relevant activities in math. All year Shelly took the lead and planned thoughtful and responsive activities to support math thinking. I sat in the back seat and waited for my supply list. The great thing about that was Shelly was ok with that, and I had the chance to observe an amazing teacher with huge strengths in math. Thanks Shelly for being an excellent role model for me.

Fast forward, I told Shelly I wanted to organize our last little buddy math time and I knew two things: outdoors and bubbles.  Not much math was included in my thinking. Enter super smart 5th graders. I tossed out my two ideas, and they came up with four rotations including bubbles, an obstacle course, swings and the slide.  A perfect combination for fun, data, and little buddies. I did not create anything for our buddy day. The students created all the graphs for the day.  5th graders figured out the stations, the rules, the tool for collecting data and learned how to modify activities for first graders. Why did it take me so long to learn so many important lessons about little buddies? 

And here is my favorite picture of the day - a constant reminder of the importance of stepping out and enjoying the little things in life like bubbles.