February 2022 is an exciting month! We had 2-2-22 followed by 2-22-22 later this month. It’s rare that we get to days in a single year where all of the digits are the same.
In fact, the next time this will happen is March 3rd of 2033. That is 11 years from now, and if you teach first grade, your students now will be getting ready to graduate high school the next time the special occasion rolls around.
I have a resource to share with you that you can do with your students now that they will love looking back on when they are getting ready to graduate!
Related Reading: Leap Day Classroom Activities
Create a Time Capsule
A time capsule is such a fun way to take a snapshot of exactly who our students are at this point in time. You can include anything you want in a time capsule!
Student writing samples where they journal about their favorite things, pictures of them and their families, and small items that represent their interests and what life was like for them during this year are just a few examples to include.
Send it home at the end of the month or the end of the school year and tell parents to save it until that 3-3-33 date! It will be so fun for families and students to look back at the things they said and thought when they were little!
I love to include their handprint + a string that represents his/her height at the time. Can you imagine how small that will look in 11 years when your former student opens this up?
Parental Involvement
If you have the time to orchestrate some parental involvement, I recommend getting parents and families to add to the time capsule! The idea is that our students won’t see these time capsules again until they are almost ready to go out into the world.
Send home the included parent letter about what the parents hope their students will accomplish when they go out into the world, or how proud they are of them, is such a sweet thing for our students to see when they are seniors.
Time really flies, and chances are the parents of our students won’t remember all of the things they felt when their kids were in first grade. This is a great way to get your families involved!
I’ve also included a pre-made teacher letter for you to pop into the time capsule, too!
Time Capsule Done for You
Do you love the idea of making a time capsule with your students, but you are short on time? I have one completely made for you. This time capsule project includes all of the printable‘s that you will need for students to write on.
It also includes labels that fit perfectly on a Pringles can or a skinny round bottle. Print the activities and have students complete them in class.
You can either ask parents to email and some pictures that you can print. Then, roll everything up and put it inside of the can. Send it home and ask parents to keep them in a safe place for the future.
This is the kind of gift that will have parents and students emailing you about a decade from now! What a sweet reminder of their time in your class! Grab your own copy here!
Happy teaching, everyone!