Daily 5

Also, My Daily 5 is going very, very well so far.  Friday, we had our Apple Harvest Party & at the end of it, while kids were munching on snacks & hanging with friends & family I had about 6 kids ask to go to book nooks with their book baskets - and they ACTUALLY READ & WORKED! 

I was so proud...will post more later!



Welcome to Noun Town (and this school year, apparently)

I have been a total blogging slacker! I'd like to say that it is because I have been working so hard on my classroom that EVERYTHING I wanted to have accomplished by is but that is not the case. 

Life is the case. 

It is okay though, if It was any less chaotic it would be boring.  Plus, I have a really good group this year.  They actually want to work quietly which is amazing - generally each year we have to do several *lessons on what it looks like/sounds like when we are working quietly but this year I have a group of kids who actually works quietly with very little interruptions.  It is kind of weird, but I LOVE it.

Anyway, my friends Megan & Mary over at Fans of First stole this cute Noun Town idea from another creative teacher.  We think it turned out really cute & the kids LOVE finding their nouns!!



The Tooth Fairy (who was almost M.I.A.)

Okay so I kid you not, my child lost his fourth tooth yesterday (lost is a relative term, for all of them really, each time I got so tired of watching them dangle and slip right over apple skins that I finally said "Let mommy pull it out") which meant you know who was going to visit his room whie he was fast asleep and collect that lovely little tooth in exchange for some MONEY (Thank the Lord my child stil thinks $1 is a fortune!!!)

Here is how the tooth fairy routine works in our home:
Step 1: Put children to bed
Step 2: Do whatever needs to be done for the evening (laundry, dishes, blogging...)
Step 3: When the parents are ready for bed they make the switch, easily since it is always a few hours AFTER the children have been put to bed.
Step 4: Enjoy your child's sparkling eyes when he wakes up to find money in his tooth box

Great Job Mom, Nice Work Dad...

Only last night Stpe 3 was inadvertantly skipped.  How could that happen?!?

And to make matters worse, I didn't notice until 6:15 when Zachary was almost completely dressed.  I walked into Sean's room to wake him up and it hit me - the Tooth Fairy's Epic Fail!!!

So I did what any loving mother would do - ran outside to the car 1/2 dressed (well covered, but 1/2 pj's and 1/2 work attire), grabbed 4 quarters from the coin tray, ran up the stairs, casually walked up the last few steps and crept into Sean's room. 

Done deal.
Right...
Just find the tooth box and make the switch, no big deal.
Only my child, whose bed contains no less than 5 pillows & 4 blankets, had done a stellar job of hiding his tooth box - to the point where I was frantic, he was slowly waking up and I was running out of time.

I scrambled and grabbed a Super Mario Brothers extra life tin, threw in the coins and ducked out of his room just in time to hear the sad "Mommy, come here"

So I walked in, looked at his sad face and asked him what was wrong.

"The Tooth Fairy forgot me"

I asked where his tooth box had been hiding (an important bit of info to know for future reference), suggested easier hiding places for the Tooth Fairy, and encouraged him to look around his bed.  After a few coments about all of his pillows and blankets & how the tooth fairy might have gotten stuck under them all he finally found his prize. 

My child, excited about his money and his tooth immediately concluded that he could leave his tooth under his pillow and trick the tooth fairy into leaving him more money...
Unfortunately his tooth fairy (while not always 100%) has a policy on teeth :)

Back to school, Back to school...

...to prove to dad that I'm not a fool (or maybe to lots of other kids dad's ha ha) 

Actually, I'm really excited about this year AND I made it through the first week of school so I'm pretty pumped about that. 

I did not blog once over the summer - partially because I did not have a computer - but now I am back in action so here are 10 things I might have blogged about this summer:

1. I spent WAY too much time in my classroom this summer, I mean WAY
2. But really I had to, I have completely changed my reading plan (any DAILY 5 cheerleaders out there?!?) and we are starting math centers that needed to be prepped PLUS my classroom had to be completely changed - none of which I would've had time to do in the first two days of school (- meeting time)
3. We got a dog, that's right, a DOG!  The family who is always on the go added a responsibility!!  His name is Buddy, isn't he cute?!?

4. MY oldest child lost his first tooth...followed by two more!!

5. We had a summer birthday for a February birthday - we set up kiddie pools, had a ton of water baloons & water guns and let the kids go wild.  We also had a fire pit with hot dogs and marshmallows & fire works  FUN FUN

6. My boys went to no less than 4 different Vacation Bible Schools - I think they have an addiction!



7. We vowed to make a different popsicle every day of summer but didn't quite make it...here is a pic of one good day.

8. We tie dyed...everything ha ha









9. I FINALLY got my tattoo fixed. 

10. They started re-building the in-laws house. 





First day of school!  First day of school!!!

Here is a pic of my babies on their first day! Sean (orange) is starting 2nd and Zachary (green) is starting KINDERGARDEN Ahh!!! When did they grow up?!?



A love/hate relationship...

I LOVE going to trainings and getting inspired to make changes to boost student engagement.  I HATE going to trainings, getting inspired and then not being able to find the time/energy to make the changes I truly want to implement. 

   

 <--- seems never ending...does anyone else feel that way?!?

***On a positive note, all this added paperwork and STUFF could only mean one thing Toad - Summer is just around the corner  :)

Making Connections

I always look forward to Pat Pavelka trainings because I know there will be something that I immediately implement into my classroom.  This year there were several ideas.  One of my favorite ideas this year was a student created, constantly changing, making connections bulletin board.  It has helped my kids comprehension and retention with story information. 

My students use stickys to attach their connections to our bulletin board.  They love sharing what they have in common with the book or what the book has in common with another book they have read & then placting their sticky on the board. 

The third section will say "Text-to-world" but since I started this so late in the year and since a first grader's world really is their self, I decided it would be best (less confusing, stressful and chaotic) to just leave it out until next year. 

Do you see the lone red sticky on ts?  It is my FAVORITE!  When we make connections as a class we use several different colors.  When students are at our classroom library and they make a connection on their own their only option is a red sticky.  I love looking over and seeing red stickys and my kids are sooooo proud of themselves!!! 

I love seeing 6 & 7 year olds take initiative.

Teachers Pay Teachers

For those of you who may not know, www.teacherspayteachers.com is an awesome site that allows teachers to submit, browse, download and purchase units and activities.  It is like sharing ideas and materials with your team but on a much, much, much larger scale. 

Recently, I found an awesome unit on letter writing.  It had lesson and book suggestions and printables. 

My favorite was the "I Wanna Iguana" lesson.  My kids LOVED the activity and the TPT pages that I didn't have to create (score!!)  Here is a pic of my board during the writing part of the lesson.

And yes, now I know it is chihuahua :)

Happy Earth Day!

As much as I am enjoying my Spring Break and can NOT believe it is almost over, I am a little bummed that we aren't in school on Earth Day - our class always disucsses making good choices that help our classmates, families, communities and world and Earth Day is always a fun day to intentionally put some of those ideas into whole class action. 

Since I am not in school doing Earth friendly activities with my students I am doing some at home with my children.  We are going to create an intentional recycling space in our home that is kid friendly so Sean (7) and Zachary (5) can be a part of recycling in our home.  They are also using markers to block out our name/address on magazines and we will be donating them to the local hospital.

 For those of you who are interested in making your home more Earth friendly, here is a web site that motivates you to be green at home and in your classroom by earning points and rewards for the things you do:  Recycle Bank

When I was in 4th grade, my teacher had us reycle the paper in our classroom.  We would collect it then mix it with water, blend it together and press it into molds.  When the molds dried, we would trim the edges, paint/decorate and attach a clip or pin.  Our class would sell them and raise money for local charities.  This simple activity showed us that even as 4th graders we could make a difference.   

I love that 20 years later this activity is still touching my life. 

I have yet to translate this activity into something that fits into the first grade curriculum and schedule. 

Any ideas?!?

3 miles of Stickys

Okay, so you know how I ended my last blog with "I love stickys"...

Well, I do and I totally went to Target that night and found these:

Where the Wild Things Are Stickys!!!!! 

How exciting!!  They were in the $ section of Target which btw is the greatest place on Earth!

I was so excited - my kids were even a little weirded out by my reaction. 

Anyway, My excitement could not be contained.  I bought...well I am not sure how many, but for those of you hopung to find them at the Shoppes at the Townes Target...you can't...I bought them all.  :)

So it is Tuesday and my spring break is going by way too fast!  It is raining and I think that yesterday was the best weather we will be seeing. Bleh

I took my boys to the toe path...

A BIT OF ADVICE:

It is unrealistic to expect a 5 year old and a 7 year old to bike ride 3 miles at the toe path and then have a pleasant trip to the grocery store. 

What Was I Thinking?!?

They actually did a really good job on the trail, only a few tears from Zachary (5) but his training wheels kept getting stuck so it wasn't exactly his fault and I did have them riding for 3 miles.  There was a moment when I thought Sean (7) was going into the Potomac but he was saved by his last minute decision to turn into the grass - Thank you Jesus!

Today I think we are taking a trip to the Pet Store.  My kids love going and seeing the animals and since it is raining it will be a good indoor activity but first I am going to allow myself 30 minutes of blog browsing.

:)

Blogs, Blogs Everywhere!

Okay so two of my first grade collegues  introduced me to blogs and now, I am afraid, we are all addicted. 

For me personally, I have been spending way too much time on the computer reading, downloading, and purchasing ideas and activities.  It is bad - my children actually ate hamburger helper the other night.  Don't worry, once you get to know me you will realize that is NOT me.  Eww just the thought of that meal...

Don't get me wrong, I am always looking for quick and easy meals.  I am a mother of two who are involved in t-ball and little league (two different teams, two different practice nights and games at fields that are across town from eachother...the moms out there will understand the chaos in that alone) we volunteer with teenagers 3x each week and we host a bible study in our home one night a week.  For those of you who haven't pulled your head out of that scheduling mess that leaves ZERO free nights.  We are slowly backing off and trying to get some time to ourselves but it is difficult when you love all the things you are committed to.

Then there is teaching.  I love my job.  My little firsties are amazing - but I made a semi-commitment to my family - anything I don't finish at school is left there.  I say "semi-commitment" because there are a few exceptions. Aside from the obvious (illness, emergency, whoope I totally forgot interims go out tomorrow...) I usually bring home purchase orders and anything that has to do with crayons, sharpies, slick sticks or stickys.

Did I mention I am addicted to stickys?