Mrs. McCullers' Top Dog Blog

The Original Top Dog

Our Top Dog poster in the classroom is decorated with bones and a long dachshund (also known as a weenie dog).  My love for dachshunds also has a long history.  Growing up, I had a black and tan dachshund named Butch that was there with me for my first day of kindergarten all the way to my first day of college!  In 2001, I got another dachshund named CoCo. He is a chocolate dachshund that is full of energy.  His first family didn't want him after a year so Mr. McCullers and I were able to adopt him into our family. CoCo is definitely spoiled and lives a life of luxury.  He also answers to the nickname Bean.  Although CoCo is not in our classroom on a daily basis, he helps us to learn because we use many examples of him in class.  (For example:  CoCo's name appears in math problems and grammar sentences on regular basis).  By the end of the year, my students grow to love CoCo as much as I do!

Top Dog Blog

As a third grade student (many years ago), we called our student of the week the Top Dog.  Each week as a new person was able to be highlighted in our classroom, they would tell us about themselves and bring in pictures to share.  All of the other students would write a compliment on a small dog bone for the Top Dog as well as decorate it nicely.  At the end of the week, the Top Dog was able to keep all of their bones from their classmates.  They were such treasures! 

Obviously, this stuck out in my memory and is something that I am carrying on with my third graders.  We have a little different twist on our Top Dog because we have made it into a weblog!  Not only will each Top Dog be able to have a weekly display, they will also be highlighted on our Top Dog Blog.  This way their classmates, other students and teachers, and parents can make comments or send compliments to them.  What a fun way to celebrate each other!