Five For Friday- My First in a LONG Time!

Hey there!  I haven't linked up with Kacie from Doodlebugs Teaching for her famous Five for Friday Linky Party in months.  (I know... it's Saturday, call it fashionably late.)  What's not to love about a Linky where you can post 5 random things about your week.  So let's let the randomness begin!

1.  I had had my eye of this fantastic product on Teachers Pay Teachers for months.  It sat on my wish list because it was a rather big ticket item.  But, I was on a search for some fabulous Morning Work for my firsties.  I looked at many products that were available out there and I was sold on Kelly from Teacher Idea Factory's year long Good Morning Work pack.  I love that she alligned all of her product to the Common Core Standards.  However, she convinced me in sharing that her product encouraged independence.  There are 5 days of work that have the same directions.  So on the first day of a set, you need to go over the directions closely, but then for the next 5 days the directions are the same so I have had to help less and less as the week goes on.  If you are like me, you have eighty million things to do in the morning between attendance, lunch ordering, returning library books, checking in homework, etc. etc.  So, students being independent is a really good thing!! 

Back to this summer... This product sat on my wish list waiting for the right time... and the right time was the Back to School sale this summer.  Always a deal seeker, I jumped on the opportunity and picked up Good Morning Work for Reading AND Math.  So how's it going??  I love these awesome packets and my kiddies do too.  The have helped me keep my sanity and the kids are getting great review!  You really should check them out!

2. Check out my newest fashion accessory... I know, you're jealous.  An intervention we are trying to help one of my cuties is to be mic'ed up.  I've had to wear an FM system before but, it was so annoying.  I couldn't figure out how to wear the headset properly and truth be told no one else seemed to know either.  But then, something clicked and I realize I had it on upside down... DOH!  Now I feel like 90s Madonna (minus the cones and the blond pony tail).  Whatever it takes to help my kiddies!  Now, I just have to remember to turn it off when I run to the ladies room, LOL!

3. I made these editable tent style name plates to coordinate with my jungle theme classroom and they turned out so awesome, I put them and some other patterns up for sale on TPT.  Each set (bright colors, primary colors, lime and turquoise, and animal print) comes with 5 different prints to mix and match.  All you have to do is add your students' names, print, and laminate.  I did not miss writing each child's name in my neatest, most precise, first grade teacher handwriting.  You probably already have name plates for your students from back to school, but if your kids are like mine, they are already half destroyed.  I like to have an extra set on hand for substitutes and special guests.  I am making them free in my TPT shop until Monday night.  Please, just leave feedback in return!

4. This year, we are returning to a traditional math program after what seemed like forever with a very "interesting" math program that lacked in many of the basics.  We were always supplementing and it was EXHAUSTING!  Anyway, our new program is My Math by McMillan McGraw Hill.  And so far, I love it and so do the kids and parents.  We were also returning to drilling addition and subtraction facts, which took a backseat for many years.  Now I'm not a huge fan of the stress of timed tests, but I do think they have a purpose to encourage fact fluency.  But I wanted to use something that would be motivating to my students.  Enter Rainbow Math by Tamra and Sarah at First Grade Buddies.  I picked up both the addition and subtraction program.  And we are ready to try it out next week.  I'll post more about how it's going, but I'm really excited to try out their system.

5. I got to visit my son's first grade classroom for Back to School this week.  I can't believe how fast he's growing up!  He just joined cub scouts and we had a blast at his first pack meeting at a local farm.  We elected not to camp out as this was his introduction to scouts and my husband and I had another commitment.  But, here he is posing with one of the many scarecrows on display.

It's been a good week.  My students are settling into their routines.  My own kids are settling into our school and home routines.  Here's hoping for another good one next week.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!  Thanks for stopping by!

Small Victories!!

Hey there!  Well, I will count day one of literacy centers a success.  All of the students were engaged, and learning.  I saw some smiles, too!  I've written other blog posts about how I do centers.  But I'll give a quick summary again in case you don't know.  I've been teaching first grade for 11 years and it took till year 9 to finally figure out how to make centers work for me and my classroom.  It always bothered me to have a rotation of 15 minutes at each center because I'd have some centers that took less time and other that took more.  I felt like I was always tracking kids down to finish things.  Sometimes I needed less time with a reading group, sometimes I needed more.  I needed more flexibility.  

A few years ago, I tried The Daily Five.  I LOVED the theory behind it but, I found that I with our basal program, the students needed a little more practice and formal activities.  I still use the Sisters' steps for establishing independence for Read to Self, Read to Someone, and Listening to Reading.  I do feel that the key to a classroom that runs like a well-oiled machine is really taking the time to set up routines and procedures.  So for the past two and a half weeks we have worked hard to become independent at those three areas.  This week, I decided to take the plunge and introduce our checklist.  

Each week, my students have a checklist of activities that they work though.  I highlight activities that are a "must do" and then other non-highlighted activities are "may do."  As the year progresses, I will differentiate the activities on the checklist for students.  Students enjoy having the choice over which order they complete tasks and I enjoy having the flexibility that it affords.  It just works for us!

I wanted to share some pictures of the kiddies hard at work.  I did not do any reading groups today so that I was available to assist students and trouble shoot.  I'm so glad I did that because I would have been interrupted a million times.  We'll see how things go tomorrow.  I might try for one reading group.  

Students working on rhyming word matches (short i words).

Self-selecting books for Read to Self and doing Read to Self.

Word Family Sorts (ig and ip words)

Write the Room

Labeling Pete the Cat

More Write the Room

Students select various centers from baskets on the windowsill.  Any materials and/or record sheets are available in each basket.

Here is a close up of word cards and record sheets for rhyming word centers.

I use several different sources for my center activities.  We use the Houghton Mifflin Journeys series and I was happy to discover the wonderful work of Dawn at First Grade Shenanigans.  I use her activities to supplement my creations because they match the Journeys program perfectly and make my life a million times easier.  I also added a couple activities from these packs, too.  Back to School Blast by Amanda Rich   The Groovy Cat Math and Literacy Unit by Christine at First Grade Fever.

Here's hoping my kiddos keep up the great work and continue to build their independence so I can do more.  Have a great week!

Swinging New Year Goals, Bucket Fillers, and more!

Hey there everyone!  We just finished our second full week of school and I. am. tired.  Why is it I always forget how tough the first month of so is?  I've been teaching first grade for 11 years and yet, I'm always shocked at how long it takes to do anything.  I guess I take for granted how far each group comes by June.  I just have to remind myself... it will get easier, they will get faster, and they will get more independent.  

We've busy building up independence for my version of literacy centers.  If you want to read more about how we do our independent reading checklist, click here.  We have established Read to Self, Read to Someone, and introduced the listening center.  They are doing really well and it has allowed me to chug though and finally finish all of my beginning of the year running record benchmarks.  Next week, my plan is to attempt our first checklist.  I'm only planning to do one reading group a day so that I can be available to troubleshoot and help out.  We'll see how it goes... the past two years, I tried to do too much myself on the first week and it ended up being a longer process to get the kids established.  This year, I'm hoping a more relaxed approach where I am more accessible will help the process along and allow students to develop their independence more quickly.  I'll let you know how it goes.  

We had Back to School Night on Tuesday night and it went very well.  We were busy doing special projects to share with parents and these were just a few of the cute things we did!  

Students write about their goals for the new year.  We also used this adorable craftivity from Valerie at All Students Can Shine.  

Goals for a "Swinging" New Year!

In first grade I want to do hard homework. 

In first grade I want to learn hard math and read long books.

They looked so adorable and colorful in the hallway and I got lots of compliments on the display.

Another great project we worked on were Our Bucket Fillers.  Of course, we read How Full is Your Bucket.  This lead to great discussions and lots of brainstorming of what we can do and already do that fill others' buckets.  If you are not familiar with the concept of bucket filling you need to check out the variety of books for children and adults that demonstrate the simple concept.  Students wrote about what they would do to be a bucket filler.  We used a wonderful freebie provided by Bucket Filler guru, Tiffany at One Fab Teacher.  I just modified her lines with white out to make them larger and with dotted midlines.  And I photocopied her beautiful colored clip art because I needed to save color ink.  Students used a gray square as their bucket, added a handle and face.  And then... the best part... glitter heart and star stickers to show their bucket full.  When I pulled out the glitter stickers, you might have thought I had shown them diamond jewelry.  It was hilarious!  I also used another freebie from Christie at First Grade Fever to add to the display.

I am a bucket filler because I raise my hand.

I am a bucket filler because I take care of my brother.

I'm setting a goal for myself to blog at least once a week.  I'm putting it out there for you all to see so that I feel accountable to follow though.  I'm also trying to remember to take more action shots.  I think I'm just so busy managing at this point, taking pictures is the last thing on my mind.   Thanks for stopping by!

My New Adventures in Clip Charts

Hey everyone!  I know it's been a while... Back to school has been kicking my butt!  I'm sitting here half watching Dancing with the Stars and thinking about what to blog about.  

I have 19 cuties this year and they are really coming along.  My class is an inclusion class where two of my students leave to go to resource room for a large chunk of the day.  Because of this, I wanted to start the year in a very consistent way in regards to behavior management.  (I'll admit consistency in this area has always been a weakness of mine.  For the most part, it's never been a huge problem, though.)  But since students were coming and going frequently, I wanted to use a clip chart to stay consistent with my co-teacher.  

So far it's going well!  I love that there are opportunities to move up the clip chart and that it is not just negative reinforcement.  

This is the clip chart I purchased to complement my jungle theme.  You can find it here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Jungle-Clip-Chart-Behavior-System-286683

I wanted to create a simple reward for students who make it to the top of the chart.  I'm not sure whos blog I read but they were saying that they would glue a jewel to the clip.  I ran out to the Dollar Tree to see if I could find little rhinestones.  I didn't find them but I found a "decorate a slap bracelet kit" full of sequins.  I ditched the bracelet but kept the two packs of sequins.  When students reach the top (and stay there) till the end of the day, I glue a sequin on their clip.  When they get 5 sequins we will retire their clip to the Clip Chart Hall of Fame.  Here's a picture of a few outstanding clips.  They are so motivated and it's been going so well.  No one has ended the day lower than yellow.  

In order to better communicate behavior to parents, I am using these behavior calendars from Lori at Teaching with Love and Laughter

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Clip-Chart-Take-Home-Calendars-for-2013-2014-643962  Students color in the calendar with the color where their clip ended.  Parents initial the chart daily.  So far it's going very well!  

Tomorrow night is Back to School Night and I'm looking forward to meeting my kiddos' parents and hope all goes well!  

Thanks for stopping by!

First Days of School and Classroom Pics!

Whew!  I. Am. Exhausted!  What a week!  I got home from our vacation last Sunday, set up my classroom in record time and started school with a new bunch of firsties.  Tired doesn't even begin to describe how I feel.  I know, I know... preaching to the choir!

Anyway... I went in on Tuesday after Labor Day for our first in-service day.  All of my colleagues had already been in while I was on vacation.  (We are only allowed in during the last two weeks of August and coincidentally, that's when my family takes our vacation.  So I'm left with no choice but to bust my butt two days before the kids come to get it done.)  So I unlock my classroom door expecting to find everything similar to where I left it in June.  (You may remember I came in to set up my new classroom a bit in June.  I put up some bulletin boards and covered them and arranged the furniture.  I actually asked the custodians if I should take pictures of how I wanted it so that they could arrange it, but they told me not to worry they would.)  To my surprise... it wasn't.  I screamed a little in my head, set my boxes down and headed to our upper elementary school for a day of stimulating in-service, wink!  

This is what I arrived to see, Ahhhhhh!

So I arrived back to my school a bit after 3:30 to begin to tackle my room.  I worked until 8pm that night and again until 7pm the next day and these are pictures of the finished project.  I'm so happy with how it turned out!  I want to also give a thank you shout out to my mom!  I couldn't have done it without her!   (Please excuse the quality of the photos.  I'm not a great iPhone photographer.)

View from the door of the front of my classroom featuring my SmartBoard and my main teaching area. My desk is on the far side.  ( We are required to have our teacher's desks directly across from our door at the front of our classroom for technology reasons.)

A view from the door of the rest of my classroom.  

A closer view of the front window side of my classroom.  I love my animal print alphabet and number cards.  The alphabet cards are from my TPT store.  The number cards are from Peterson's Pad.

The front door side of the classroom with calendar, rules and schedule cards.  My How We Go Home clip chart is on the side of the cabinet, next to the door.

The back inside corner with lots of storage.  I need to put some curtains or something up to hide it, though because looking at the boxes is driving me nuts.  My behavior clip chart is on the closet door, too.  I'm loving my horseshoe shaped table-- never had one before!

Another shot of the back corner.  

The computer center- 2 laptops and 4 Chromebooks (I had one with me at training.)  The black wall above is our future word wall.

My classroom library... loving my great built in bookcases, too.

My desk area.

My desk- those that know me, note the lack of desk clutter!  Four days in and it still looks like this!  Woo hoo!  The pocket chart has daily objective on it.  

A closer view of the rules posters and schedule cards.

 A view of my door from the hall.  New rules per our wonderful fire inspector... nothing can be hung on the inside or outside of the door.  So my welcome pennant and student names are behind it when it is open.

So that's the quickie tour of 1G.  I'll post more about our first two days tomorrow... hopefully!  

Thanks for stopping by!