Student Stories

Hello friends!  I'm so excited, I just couldn't wait to tell you the news...
Once again, Class Dojo has come up with something amazing for the new school year.  Today they rolled out "Student Stories", personalized digital portfolios for students to use to showcase their accomplishments!

I have used the heck out of Class Story and I got a ton of positive feedback from parents- they love seeing pictures of what is going on in the classroom and staying up to date with our classroom news. I know they will be thrilled to be able to also click on their own child's story and see pictures of their child's hard work!  I love the thought of our parents and students having conversations about what is shared in their Student Story- what a great way to make sure we are all working as a team to help our littles be successful!  You can watch this short video to see it in action.  I also love that it is student led.  Kiddos can choose what they think they did their personal best on to share with their family.

It works with classrooms that are 1:1 with devices and classrooms that only have a few to share. Students will simply scan a class QR code and log in to their story.  You can set this up in your classroom in three easy steps!

1- Display your QR code- you can get it by tapping "Class Login" in your account.
2- Download ClassDojo on your classroom iPads (coming soon for Android tablets and Chromebooks!)
3- Let your kiddos dive in!  All they need to do is tap "Scan QR code" on the login screen and they are set to go!

ClassDojo just keeps getting better and better, and as a teacher I LOVE that all of my parent communication is in one place.  Anything that helps me streamline my day and makes teaching more efficient is a winner for me.  Go check it out!

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Our First Day of School!

Well, I made it through the first week.  You would think that after 13 years it would somehow all be less exhausting, but it wasn't.  Trying to be a mom and a teacher on the first day is rough ya'll, but I managed to grab a few quick pictures of my wee ones before the chaos started.  They are starting first and fourth grades this year!

The first day is always kind of a blur, but I managed to grab a few pictures of the highlights.  We started the day by reading Jitter Juice and doing the Jitter Juice activities from Babbling Abby's Fun with Firsties pack.  My kiddos looooved the jitter juice and had so much fun with the "Find a Friend" activities in this resource.  It's first week gold, I tell ya!

Next we went over our classroom rules and practiced some of the Whole Brain Teaching attention getters I use on a daily basis.  We learned "Class, Class", "Hands and Eyes", and "Mirror".  We practiced, practiced, and then practiced some more!  I had dabbled in WBT before, but this summer I read Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids (and the rest of your class, too!) by Chris Biffle and it got me really excited to try out the rest of the strategies with my class.  Once we had practiced the rules several times we watched my "Why Do We Need Rules?" power point.  Afterwards I gave them their science and social studies journals and they wrote down one rule that helps them be a good friend at school.  This was great for me, because I could wander around and observe.  On the first day I was able to see who my strong writers were and who was going to need more support.

Later that day we made our rainbow names.  This is one of my favorite first week activities for several reasons...it is good fine motor practice, it makes a cute hallway display, and it takes them a long time to finish it...let's be honest, by the end of the first day you just want something to keep them busy for more than five minutes so you can catch your breath!  I got this idea from Deanna Jump's Names unit, another one of my first week must haves.  I love the name chants and class books...we use them throughout the entire first week!

Aren't they cute??

All in all, the first week was great!  I forgot to mention this before, but I only have fourteen kids right now.  FOURTEEN.  This is unheard of...I've never had a class this small!  Last year at this time I had 24 and I cried at the end of the first day, I'm not gonna lie.  I am tickled pink about my tiny little group! 

I hope everyone had a great week!

                    

Classroom Reveal

Tonight is my Meet the Teacher Night.  In just a few short hours my new firsties will be here to meet me and see their new classroom.  I thought this would be a good time to share pictures of my new classroom, because Lord knows it won't look this put together next week!

This is the view of the back of the room, by the door.  You can see my cubbies and my reading corner.

Here is my calendar board and what will soon be my concept board.  This is where I will do my read alouds and morning meetings.

This is the front of the room.  Can you see the big book holder/easel my hubby made me?  He's so handy!  :)  Ignore the random boxes sitting out...I use them on Meet the Teacher Night to sort supplies.

The other side of the front of the room...my desk and small group area.  I will attach my mini anchor charts for reading concepts to the strips of border as we learn them.

Back to the front of the room!  Here you can see my word wall, mailboxes, and where my kiddos keep their water bottles and lunchboxes.  Check out the cute burlap pineapple my bestie bought me as a back to school gift!

It's my new favorite thing!  

This is outside of my room, by the door.  I just need to add my class list to my little board and I'm all set!  Have a great year everyone!

Best Back to School Tip!

Hello again!  I am linking up with Hanging Around in Primary and Pop Into Primary today to highlight our very best back to school tips!

The first week or so of school is so hectic.  I always forget how NEW they are...they don't know the routine, the procedure, the rule...they are all just waiting around for you to tell them what to do.  It's EXHAUSTING.  One thing I struggle with at the beginning of the year is my student's ID numbers.  Each of our kiddos has a six digit code they have to memorize.  They use it to pay for their lunches, log in to the computers, and check out library books.  The lunch line in those first few weeks is always impossibly long because our sweet babies forget their number over the summer and have to relearn it...which means frantic teachers and lunch ladies are looking up and entering numbers for kids.  

Now, in the past I have given each kid a card with their name and number on it, but usually at some point in the week half of them get lost or coated with food.  I had a brainstorm this summer.  I had to borrow this picture from First Grader At Last, because I don't have my list yet to make mine.

I bought cute name tags from the Dollar Spot at Target and ordered the little plastic sleeves and some cute little lanyards from Amazon.

My plan is to have my kids wear them for the first week, and maybe the second.  I'm going to have their name on the front of the tag and their number on the back.  This will also help with the name games we play at the beginning of the year, and they can wear them when we have a substitute!

I hope this helps make your first week a little less crazy!

Back to School Sale!!

Every year around this time Teachers Pay Teachers has their annual Back to School sale.  

Whoo hoo!  It's like Christmas for teachers!

Everything in my store will be 20% off, with an extra 10% off if you use the promo code.  What a deal!  This is the perfect time to grab my newest product, my Social Studies Power Point Bundle.

This bundle has six power points in it already, and more will be added throughout the year.  These power points address the standards and include opportunities to turn and talk, respond orally, and respond through writing. This bundle currently includes:

-Why We Need Rules
-Past, Present, and Future
-People At Work (community helpers, goods and services, needs and wants)
-American Symbols
-Families Change and Grow
-Presidents' Day (George Washington, Abe Lincoln)

The price of the bundle will go up as products are added, so grab it now and download the new products for free as I add them!

Mail Call!

Oh, happy day!  My much awaited boxes came in the mail today!  I got a delivery from Really Good Stuff AND Amazon, in the same day...whoo hoo!  I'm sure the hubby is just as thrilled as I am.  Want to see what's inside?

 

First up...My new calendar stuff!  I order these pre printed calendars from Really Good Stuff every year.  I love that I don't have to mess with switching out the numbers and what not.  Plus, they are super cute, and come with little stickers you can add for birthdays, holidays, assembles, etc.  My kids love reading the fun fact or joke that is written in the boxes for each day.  I also got some new Days of the Week and Months of the Year posters, because mine were just plain worn out!

I also got these super cute table tags from Really Good Stuff.  I splurge every year for the super durable heavy plastic adhesive tags because they last ALL. YEAR. LONG.  I sometimes have to write the kid's names again because the Sharpie will fade, and there is always one or two kids who manage to peel up the corners, but I have had great success with these bad boys!  They had a new design out this year...cute little school buses, so I went with that for this year.

I also got a ton of new border.  I do my room in black and white chevron, with primary colored accents.  I'm gong to try layering my borders this year, so we will see how that turns out!

Next up...Amazon!  I only got two things from Amazon, but I'm super excited about them.  I finally found solid black pocket charts to match my room, hooray!  I also got some Astrobrights paper.  I have read so much about cool things teachers are doing with this super cute paper, I couldn't resist buying a few packages to try it out!

Well, that's my haul!  I'm excited to get it all in my new room and start decorating (assuming they ever let us in the dang building...grrr...)!  So, did you buy anything new for your room this year?