Show and Tell

It's time for another round of Show and Tell with my blogging buddies! Lots of fun spring time activities have been going down in our room, so it's time to share!

We hatched chicks in our classroom!  My kiddos were just entranced with our fluffy little ones...they couldn't get enough of them!  They learned so much in the 21 days it took for our eggs to hatch, and they are still talking about it.  Science for the win!

We were learning about land forms and bodies of water in Social Studies.  I have been participating in a little challenge that our Technology Instructional Specialists put together.  We are learning how to incorporate Google apps into our teaching, so I thought it would be neat for my kids to use Google Draw to create some of the land forms we learned about. The kiddos really enjoyed it, and it was a great way for us to learn something new together!

Last but not least, we put together something special for our moms just before Mother's Day.  First we did a little directed drawing and made portraits of our moms.

Then we filled in the blanks to tell all about our moms.  This is the story my little one write about me.  I'm going to overlook the 40 years old part because she thinks I only weigh 70 pounds and didn't write anything about me drinking wine.  I call it a win!

We also made these sweet little bags filled with breakfast goodies.  We put in a tea bag, a cute napkin, an orange, and a Nutri-grain bar.  My kiddos were so excited to treat mom to breakfast in bed!

That's all for this month, thanks for stopping by!  I can't wait to see what fabulous things everyone else is doing in their classrooms!

Shark Week!

Well, we are almost there....the end is near...and the natives are restless.  It is getting harder and harder to get and keep their attention, so I decided to pull out the big guns last week- SHARKS.  It is pretty universal, all first graders love sharks - I have no idea why.  We had our state testing last week for the bigger kids, so that means we were trapped in our rooms with no specials for three days of the week.  I knew I would need something BIG to keep us all from going completely crazy.

We began with a little research on Tuesday.  I used a nonfiction resource from A Year of Many Firsts for most of our research and it worked out perfectly.  We read the mini book about sharks the first day and made a giant web with everything we knew about sharks.  I put out my shark books on the browsing shelf for my kiddos to peruse through the week and they just ate them up!

The next day I let them break into teams.  They used reading passages (from the same resource) and books on pebblego.com to gather information about their chosen type of shark.  I had groups researching great white sharks, whale sharks, tiger sharks, and hammerhead sharks.  They were so engrossed in this that it took most of the morning, and I was happy to leave them to it!

On Thursday we began working on our posters.  They drew their sharks, filled in the background, and added facts they had learned about their shark.  I was pretty impressed with how detailed their drawings were!

I was trying to think of a good activity for Friday when I came across this little directed drawing activity on @adayinfirstgrade's Instragram account, and I knew it would be perfect!  Sure enough, my kids loved it, and they turned out to be adorable.  When they finished my kiddos spent some time reflecting on what they learned in their journals.

All in all, it was a great week, even with the testing and the end of year craziness. Just twelve more days to go!!

Big News!

Hello again!  Look, it's me!  I haven't fallen into a deep dark well, I've just been...well...it would appear that I am really terrible at keeping up with this whole blogging thing.  I swear, that's going to be a big goal for me next year.  I'm going to have to make a schedule or something, because GEEZ. #goodintentions

So I come to you with BIG NEWS.  Like, capital letter BIG.  Well, big for me anyway.  It's all official so I can finally announce that after 13 years (my entire career!) in first grade, I will be moving to second grade next year.  I am super excited and a wee bit nervous, but mostly excited.  I absolutely love my group of kiddos this year so I went to my principal just after spring break and asked if I could loop up with them.  This girl is ready for a change!

We had the "big end of the year info" faculty meeting today and we were given all of our end of the year check lists and what not.  That's always exciting, because now we can officially start counting down the days (19 and a half, in case you're curious.  You can bet your boots I counted.) until we can sleep past dark o'thirty in the morning.

When the maps with our new classroom assignments were passed around, I have to admit, I got a bit weepy.  I am soooooo far away from my teaching besties, and you know how that is.  One hall over can seem like an ocean between you.  After the meeting I went to get a peek at my new room, and y'all- there. are. ceiling. fans.  All the spirit fingers and praise hands!  ALL OF THEM!  It is ALWAYS hot and muggy in our building and I am a wee bit on the fluffy side, so fans make me a happy girl.

I'm super pumped to share my new journey with you- movin' on up!!

Show and Tell!

I always loved show and tell as a kid, so when I was asked to participate in a Show and Tell linky with Stephanie from Forever in 5th Grade, I couldn't resist!  I am so excited to share some of the things that were happening in (and out!) of my classroom in January.

How adorable is this response to text?! I found this little gem on Pinterest and blogged about wanting to try it here.  I love the book Snowmen at Night and I'm always looking for ways to help my kiddos make good connections to text.  This little one wrote "If I was a snowman, at night I would play in the park.  In the park I would swing."  We had so much fun with this little project, and tearing the paper is good for their fine motor skills...two birds, one stone!

Next up are these number sense posters my kids worked on in small groups.  They had to represent their number four different ways, then show the number on the number line.  We have spent the last week or so working on "bigger numbers" from 100-120 and my students are feeling very grown up and pleased with themselves.  They worked so hard on their posters and they look great in the hallway!

Number three is what I am most excited about.  See that giant check??  SQUEEEEE!  I wrote a grant over the summer, and my class is going to be awarded nearly $5,000 for a class set of Chromebooks!!!  They actually came around back in November to hand these bad boys out, but of course, that was the one day I was out sick.  They finally made it back to my room just after Christmas break and I was SO EXCITED.  I can't wait to get this technology into the hands of my little ones!

Number four isn't classroom related, but I am darn proud of it, so I'm sharing it.  This cheeseball is my fourth grader, and this is his (FINALLY) finished science fair project.  ALL THE JAZZ HANDS AND PRAISE THE LORD.  Science fair projects are definitely put on Earth to test our patience as parents, ya'll.  Just sayin'. 

Well, that's it for this month!  I can't wait to see all of the amazing things going on in your classrooms! 

January Pick 3!

It's time for a Pinterest Party y'all!

I've linked up with teachers from all over to share my top three Pinterest Picks to use in my classroom in January.  The great thing about Christmas break is having lots of time to lay around in my jammies and read books, watch movies, and play on Pinterest!

My first pick is this super cute little anchor chart on New Years Resolutions.  I have my kiddos write resolutions every year, but I love this little chart for helping them understand what a resolution really is and why it's important.

Click to see the original pin.

My second pick are these super cute little arctic animal crafts!  We always do some research on arctic animals and write reports, and I'm thinking these little guys would really perk up our hallway display!  How cute is that walrus?!

Click to see original pin.

My third pick is this little activity from The First Grade Parade.  I love the Snowmen at Night books, and this looks like the perfect writing activity to go along with it!  Plus the craft is super cute too.  I love activities like this that get my kiddos responding to text.  I'm going to have them make connections and write about where they would go and what they would do if they were a snowman at night.

Click to see original pin.

Those are my picks for January...I hope you saw something you could use! 

Happy teaching!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Happy New Year!

Hello again friends!
I hope you are all enjoying your break and relaxing as much as you can.  We need this time to recharge and refresh.  I have been on a hiatus from all things school related and I'm just now cracking open my laptop for the first time since school let out.  I have been enjoying my time with my little monkeys, making memories and snuggling every chance we get!  We tried something new this year and went to a gingerbread house decorating workshop. It was so much fun (and I didn't have to clean it all up)!  My kiddos were so proud of their creations and probably ate as much candy as they put on their houses.

So, my brain decided to wake up last night as I was trying to fall asleep and I started thinking about the changes I want to make in my classroom this semester.  The biggest thing I want to focus on is my ELA block.  I need to really prioritize my guided reading time and make sure my kiddos are engaged in meaningful activities while I'm working with groups.

In the fall I had my students rotating through stations, inspired by the Daily 5 model.  I didn't follow the Daily 5 completely, my kids chose between Read to Self, Writing, Working with Words, and Listening to Reading.  It was effective, but I felt like we were wasting time transitioning and I want my little learners to start showing more independence and ownership over their learning.

This is what I plan to implement when we go back for the spring semester:

My plan is to let my kids "manage" their learning, but, you know...on a first grade level.  They have three tasks they must complete, and then they can choose from the list of "May Do" activities.  I wrote a grant this summer and was extremely blessed to receive a class set of Chromebooks as a result, so I am able to incorporate a lot of technology into our day.  For the reading "must do" my kids will read a leveled reader on RAZ Kids and take the comprehension quiz.  If you don't have experience with Reading A-Z and RAZ kids, check them out.  Our PTA bought us a subscription and I LOVE it.  My kids are eating it up y'all.  They love choosing their books and earning their stars, and I love that I can monitor their comprehension on the quizzes.  Win-win!

For the Spelling "must do" I will be putting spelling activities in dry erase pouches for practice.  I am using activities from this pack: Spelling Practice in a Snap.

For Writing my kids work on writing prompts from The Moffat Girls.  They love these because they are seasonal and I love them because they provide support with labeled picture cues and a writing checklist for them to use.

If they finish with these tasks, my kiddos can choose from the "May Do" list.  They can read from their book boxes in a comfy spot, use their Chromebook to go to other literacy sites, or do vocabulary and grammar activities in a pocket chart.

I love the idea of my students moving about the room, taking care of business without my interference.  I will be able to monitor from my table as I do my reading groups, and check their progress on RAZ Kids from my computer when I need to. It's going to take some training, but I figure after Christmas break is the perfect time for it, seeing as we are going to be reviewing rules and routines anyway!  Are you making any big changes in your classroom when you go back?

Thankful Hearts

Happy Thanksgiving break, my teaching peeps!  We made it through November and we are running head first into ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS!  I love this time of year with my kiddos!

Let me recap a bit about my very favorite November activities.  We have started a little tradition in first grade at our school.  Every year our kids work for a good two weeks on a huge writing piece called "Thankful Hearts".  They have to choose a person, place, and thing they are thankful for and write about them, giving three supporting details for each one.  It's a lot of work getting all of the kids through the entire writing process before Thanksgiving break, especially with the amount of sick kids we have had recently!  Totally worth it though- they come out SO CUTE!  We have an author's celebration the day before the break and parents come to hear the kiddos read their writing.  They are so proud of themselves!  Afterwards we have some cookies and juice to celebrate.

My own little sweetie is a first grader this year, so I can show you a few pics of her work: 

Here is her "Thesis Statement"- She is thankful for her sister, her school, and her zebra blankie (in the picture).

This is what she wrote about the place she is thankful for- our school!

She loves the food.  Bless.

These little books make great keepsakes, and I know I will be keeping this one forever!  After our Author's Celebration we watch Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving and make our turkey hats.  I have made these hats every year for 13 years and I have no idea where the pattern came from, but we trace these bad boys by HAND for each kid.  That's love ya'll.

The waddle is the best part!

So, what's coming up for December?  Christmas around the world, Reindeer, and a SALE!

Have you heard about the TPT sale going on net week?  I'm so excited!  I know I have some things stockpiled in my wish list that I have been eyeballing for a while now...it looks like it's time to move them to my cart!

I just finished my December problem solving pack if you are looking for some great math activities for the next month!  My kids do these in pairs during guided math rotations, but you could easily do them whole group or independently.  I have two levels for each problems- one that uses numbers from 1-20 and another that goes up to 50.  Challenge those high flyers people, or they will be bouncing off the walls for the next three weeks!

Here is an example of the easier problem: 

And here is the harder one:

Click here to head on over to my store and check it out!