What's In My School Bag? Linky Party

Wow! I haven't had time to post in a REALLY long time! Between regular school stuff, meetings, and extra-curriculars for my kids, I barely have time to catch up on reading posts let alone type up my own! :)  But, when I saw this linky party that Abby at The Inspired Apple was having, it sounded like fun. I just happened to have my school bag sitting next to me on the couch as I am ready to work on some lesson plans and entering some scores, so I thought why not? lol.

First of all, let me say that I have only had this bag for about 2 weeks. A friend of mine had a 31 party and I had to have this organized tote for school. I also bought a lunch bag that I absolutely LOVE! So, in all fairness I usually have a lot more "crap" in my bag than what I found today. However, since this little baby is still new, she is pretty clean!

I really do LOVE polka dots! It is hilarious to see me walking into school with this bag, my new lunch bag in a different polka dot pattern, and my Kate Spade polka dot purse in yet a different pattern. It is like polka dots gone wild! lol.

The first things I found were: My gradebook so I can enter grades into the computer this weekend, my school calendar, my scholastic book club orders that I need to finalize this weekend, and my DIBELS progress monitoring booklets so I could enter those scores.

Next, I found some information on my new book circle group that I have to lead on the Nurtured Heart Approach, my Saxon Phonics Assessment that I need to grade this weekend, and my assessment of the students reading our sight words and story from Trophies for this week.

Finally, this is the random stuff in the outer pockets of the bag: pens, markers, pencils, binder clip, paper clip, calculator, hair tie, hair clip, and my phob/key/flash-drive for school.

Definitely nothing too exciting, but I imagine we all have some of the same things in our bag. It is a wonder all teachers don't have shoulder or back problems considering how much stuff we lug back and forth with us everyday! LOL. 

Well, I can't wait to see what you are carrying in your bag so link up right away!

A is for Apples...

With September finally here, I know that we will have apples as one of our writing topics. And because there are so many fun things you can do with apples, I have been checking out blogs and Pinterest for some ideas. Obviously, one thing I definitely plan to do with my firsties that I did with my Kindergartners a couple of years ago is to have a taste test and graph which apple we like best...yellow, red, or green. It is always fun to have a tasty treat in class and it is a good math skill too! :)  Something else my partner always did in Kindergarten was read a story called The Little Red House with No Doors and No Windows and a Star Inside.  This is such a cute story and it is a good way to kick off the apple unit, because most of the kids have no idea that the mom is talking about an apple. After you finish the story you cut an apple in half across the width and inside you will see...

While searching on Pinterest, I came across this adorable picture and it led me to Apple Day!

These are so cute!!  I plan to put the following poem inside...



Get your copy here...

We of course will read apple stories, sing apple songs, and even talk about Johnny Appleseed. And then the kids will write about what they have learned. Can't wait to get started with our apple projects! I will share some pictures when we are all done. :)  Hope you are enjoying your weekend...so excited we still have another day off!

Lunchroom Behavior Plan

Sorry for posting twice today, but I've had my creative juices flowing a little bit today and I wanted to share. :)  So, the lunch ladies at my school were looking for some type of incentive to motivate good behavior in the lunch room. My principal came to me and another teacher because we are co-chairs of our PBIS team. I told them I had found a golden spatula on pinterest that was used to reward good behavior for the week. My principal loved the idea! She plans to get a golden spatula for each grade level and the two classes in each grade level will battle against each other. The class with the best behavior for the day will earn a sticker on a reward chart. Then at the end of the week, the class with the most stickers will win the golden spatula to hang outside their classroom door. Once we return the spatula to the lunch room we will get a spatula sticker. At the end of the semester the classroom(s) with the most spatula stickers will get a special surprise treat from our principal. So, my principal set out to find gold spatulas (or ones that can be spray painted gold), she asked me to make the chart for the lunch ladies to use, and my friend Bobbie was sent on a mission to find spatula stickers (or something kitchen related lol).  I made a quick little slide show of my creation. I'm pretty excited about how it turned out...especially the glitter! :)  I love it when it's sparkly!!  Let me know what you think!

Digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox



Good start to the year...

Well, it is hard to believe that I have 10 days of first grade under my belt already! The days have been flying by so far, and we have had a lot of fun getting to know each other. I have a pretty good bunch of firsties....a couple of little stinkers that you have to keep your thumb on, but for the most part they are all really sweet! I do have a very lopsided class however, 14 boys and 6 girls!  And my partner has 13 boys and 6 girls....where are all the girls at?!?  It makes for a class with a very short attention span. I try to mix it up all day between carpet time and table time and throw in brain breaks with Dr. Jean songs or sight word chants with movements.

I guess my biggest struggle right now is all the training of new programs that I am trying to implement. It is hard enough at this time of year to train them on how we sit in a chair properly or on the carpet, how we walk in the hall, how we use the bathroom quickly and quietly...you know what I'm talking about!  But, then throw on top of that launching Daily 5 (for my 1st time ever!), CAFE', and Reading and Math PALS.  Have any of you ever used PALS in 1st grade?  If you have, you know the training is grueling....let me know if you have any tips on that! :)  I just feel like I'm muddling through all this training looking for the light of the end of the tunnel where they will know the expectations and know how to do all these programs every day. I'm hoping for sooner rather than later. LOL

I mean seriously...I have only introduced Read to Self and we have built our stamina up to 9 min so far and it has been a challenge with some of these boys! I should have already introduced Work on Writing but after our model & practice of Read to Self they just don't have the attention span for it. We are pushing forward next Tuesday regardless of that, but I feel like I'm way behind! I know it will all come in time and I am just being impatient but it is hard sometimes to not feel like it would just be easier to abandon this and teach from my basal all the time. I hate that feeling!

Well, I don't want to feel like Debbie Downer...I love my job and I am still really excited to be in first! I truly love my little kiddos already and we do have a lot of fun together. So, really I'm not complaining...just venting! :)  Enjoy your 3 day weekend and get some rest like I plan to! I forgot to mention I'm losing my voice from talk, talk, talking....ALL the time!! :) 

Three for Thursday

Continuing with the fun that is happening over at Blog Hoppin' we are heading into Three for Thursday to talk about 3 of our favorite things. Font, Blog, and Online Resource. It is VERY hard for me to choose favorites because of course I like MANY of all 3 things!

My Favorite Fonts
I have a lot of fonts that I choose from but these 2 seem to be my top picks!

You can find both of these fonts at Lettering Delights!

My Favorite Blogs

This is impossible because if you look at my side bar you will see that there are almost a million that I follow and check daily!  But this is the blog that inspired me to start my own classroom blog. :) 

  

My Favorite Online Resources

Totally addicted to this website and looking at everyone's pins. And then of course feeling like I need to create each and every thing I find on there!  I can't believe how many DIY crafts I made my daughter do with me this summer because I found it on Pinterest! Lol...

Also love love love...

Jessica Meacham's Website

Proteacher Message Board

Okay everyone....hop on over and tell us your Three for Thursday!!



Where it all Goes Down Wednesday

Today is Where it all Goes Down Wednesday over at Blog Hoppin'! I have already posted pics of my classroom in a slideshow that you can check out here Classroom pics.  So feel free to head to that post, leave me a comment (:  and then head over to Blog Hoppin' to join in on the fun!   I just LOVE to see pics of everyone's classrooms! I could definitely spend all evening checking them out....even though I am exhausted from my 3rd day of school!

Teacher Talk Tuesday

Well, I don't really feel like a "veteran" teacher yet to give advice, but I guess I kind of am in my school because we have so many brand new teachers this year. I am even a mentor this year to my partner who is in her first year of teaching too. So, I will give a few tips that really help me. :)

1. Keep yourself organized. You can't get to everything at once, so have a system that will help you remember what you still have to do and where you can find the things you have already done. There are some awesome teachers with great organizational plans out there...so blog stalk if you need ideas!

2. Don't be afraid to ask for help.  If you don't know how to handle something or you need advice or ideas don't feel like a failure for asking someone to help you out. Just remember they have probably been there a few times and have figured out what works and what doesn't work.

3. Figure out what procedures you want to have in your room and hit them hard from day one until you feel like your kids have them down the way you want them. It may even take some reminder courses after long breaks, but that's okay! If your kids know what you expect of them and they learn the procedures thoroughly, it justs makes your year run that much smoother.

4. Have a good management plan and be consistent, but don't be afraid to try something else if it isn't working. One year I had a rough bunch of 4th graders and it took 2 or 3 different programs to figure out what would work for them. No 2 classes are the same and so they may need something a little different. But, what ever you choose be consistent with it. :)

Well, those I think are the most important things for me...so I hope they help someone out!

Join in on the Teacher Talk Tuesday at Blog Hoppin'!