T he follow is a guest post by second grade teacher Jennifer Tymkin. Check out her bio below!
Buncee and Wonderopolis – The Dynamic Back to School Duo! This app-smashing love story started this summer as a way to get my Team Tymkin students from the past school year engaged in reading, wondering, and learning throughout the summer, as they prepared for the third grade! Each day over the summer vacation, I highlighted a “National Day” using Buncee. From National S’mores Day to National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, I shared all sorts of fun holidays by creating a Bunceewith a Wonder of the Day from Wonderopolis on it and sharing it on Twitter and through email.
Students were excited to learn new fun facts and the history behind these themed days! Summer learning had to be visually appealing and filled with obscure, “out of the box” facts to keep them reading and learning. A seasoned, veteran teacher knows this! The students would respond to my Buncees via email, twitter, or by sending a photo of something they learned or made! Parents were thrilled that their kiddos were doing research in the summer and, most importantly, reading! My Team Tymkin kiddos continued to learn this summer, and I was able to practice my Buncee skills all in anticipation for this Fall batch of learners!
What’s in store this fall? The National Day & Wonderopolis Buncees will be incorporated into our Morning Meeting each day in the Team Tymkin classroom! As I “train” the new batch of Team Tymkin Buncee Masters the first few weeks of school, the torch will be passed each day to a new Captain of the Day. This student will be responsible for creating a Buncee based off a “National Day” and finding a wonder on Wonderopolis to put in the Buncee.
I envision our “Captain of the Day” creating the Buncee for the day, incorporating a cool wonder to coincide along with it, and incorporating YouTube videos explaining the history of the wonder and the day. They will share their creation during our morning meeting, tweet it out on my Twitter for parents to see, and share it with the other second grade class! I’ll also email the Buncee to parents so they have talking points for after school chats with their kiddos. Parents love having highlights to ask their kiddos about!
In addition to the Morning Meeting incorporation, I have big plans for Buncee and Wonderopolis in my classroom’s Daily 5, science and social studies lessons, and (drum roll please) in our Math for our Problem of the Day! We share our Math Problem of the Day on Twitter as part of a Global Math Task, which enables my class to virtually connect with 2nd grade classrooms all over the world #globalconnections! Looking forward to #Justkeepswimming and #Justkeepwondering this fall with Buncee!
Jennifer Tymkin is an enthusiastic and energetic member of the 2nd grade team at Hunter Elementary in Wake County Public Schools. With over a decade of experience at Hunter, she is committed to making every student showcase their unique gifts and talents. Outside of school, Mrs. Tymkin enjoys spending time with her husband, and three spirited daughters, that proudly attend Hunter. Mrs. Tymkin serves as a Girls on the Run coach for grades 3-5. She strives to inspire young girls to be confident and healthy while sharing her love of running. Follow Jennifer on Twitter!
