MONTY’S JOURNAL
So – every year I introduced our class MASCOT Monty! Monty was introduced to my class in 2004. He was one of Courtney’s stuffed animals, but somehow I adopted Monty early on.
Monty was equipped with a cute little bag (that my mom made), as well as a writing journal. The Star Student brought Monty home for the week and wrote all the things that Monty got to do with that student. It was Monty’s little diary.
Monty went to baseball games, soccer games, dance recitals, and DISNEY! YEP – Monty lived the life! Each little family added to Monty’s experience in first grade. They loved looking through the journal to see where Monty had gone with previous students – it was an awesome way to share in the experiences and also teach students responsibility and community sharing.
Through the years, Monty got a bit beat-up – so parents even sewed Monty’s arms and legs when needed!
Monty as a middle schooler
Monty even went with me when I moved up to middle school. One blessing in moving up was teaching the same students I had in first grade. They informed me that I told them that Monty’s belly button had a camera on it – and he was ALWAYS watching! I surely don’t remember saying that, but it sure did crack me up! (If you look at the picture, you can see how that MIGHT look like a camera…)
When I moved back down, Monty came with me. Sadly, one of my kiddos lost Monty at the baseball park. It was a SAD day for ALL! Including Courtney – my then High School daughter!
We could have ordered another “Monty” for $50 on Amazon – but I was just a tad bit angry – so I didn’t. The parents bought another stuffed animal, and that’s what we ended up using for the remainder of that year.
Anyway – If you decide you would like to use this idea – I have created an ONLINE version that allows for parents to add pictures to the slides without having to print pics, as well as an easy way to share online. Check out my video below to see how it works!
You can print it once all students have completed the journal. It is a KEEPSAKE for all. I can’t tell you how many times students would come back to my class asking to read all the books we had made throughout the school year! MELTS MY HEART when I think about it!
Enjoy!
resource
Check out the video below to see this resource in action. Here’s the link to this resource in my TPT store if you are interested. MONTY’S JOURNAL
star student ideas
Read about my Star Student Ideas in this blog post!
