Classroom – The Teaching Texan

My Top 10 End of Year Musts

theteachingtexan — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 16:30:00 +0000

It’s that time of year – end of year craziness has ensued, or for some, come to a halt. That can mean only one thing… summer break has arrived!

Whether summer break has started for you or not, here are my 10 end of year must dos for finishing the year strong – and yes – even prepping to make the start of next year a little less stressful. I hope these tips will be helpful for you as you finish out this school year (or next)!

1. Restock assessment materials for beginning of the year.
This is a true sanity saver! When you finish up your Fountas & Pinnell (F&P), DRA, DIBELS, or whatever other assessments you use go ahead and do yourself a favor and make your copies for next year. Nothing is worse than feeling prepped for back to school, then sitting down for your first F&P assessment only to find you don’t have any copies of the Level D Fiction book in your folder – btw its The Nice Little House (that skunk is pretty smart if you ask me).

2. Take pictures of your room.
I recommend doing this twice during the end of year season.First, take pictures of your classroom setup BEFORE you start taking things down and putting things in storage. This will help a TON when you go back next August to set your classroom up because you can look at the pictures and remember exactly where everything goes. And, if you’re like me, you can look at them over the summer when you’re trying to figure out what you want to change next year.Then, take pictures AFTER you have stored everything. These are super important for keeping an “inventory” of your items. If your school, or even your classroom, are used for any summer school or activities you will thank yourself for having these pictures in case anything grows a pair of legs and walks off.

3. Write thank you notes.
There are so many people that work hard to make a school function. Admin, teachers, custodians, maintenance crew, the list can go on. How often do you thank these people for all of the work they put into making your school function correctly? Take a moment to have your kids (and yourself) write a thank you note to them!

4. Use Scholastic points for end of year gifts.
Have you struck it rich as a teacher yet? No? Me neither.

A great way to get your kids a small end of the year gift without breaking the bank is to save your Scholastic points throughout the year from book orders. If you don’t use Scholastic book orders in your class, do yourself a HUGE favor and sign up [here] immediately!

Every year I gift my students The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf. The message of the story is one that is so powerful I feel every child should hear it. And thanks to Scholastic, I gift it for FREE!

If you don’t have a class copy, again I highly recommend this book!

I personally think books make the best gifts. I’ve given trinkets in the past, but love the meaning behind a book. However, give what works best for you and your kids!

5. Pin some ideas for next year.

Many teachers need to shut their brains off from teaching when summer break hits. Take that time. Whether its a few days, weeks, or months – you know what you need. Before you head out for summer break spend a little time on [Pinterest] saving some ideas for next year. One of my favorite things is finding new ways to revamp stale routines, strategies, or ideas and add in new best practices. Pinterest is a gold mine for these types of ideas. Here are a few of my favorite boards you can snag some ideas from.

6. Clean, clean, and clean some more.
Let’s face it. We start the year with perfectly manicured classrooms, everything is in order and CLEAN. Add 20 children and fast forward 180 days. How’s that room looking now? More importantly, how clean is that room? I’ll be the first to say that despite great intentions, as the year goes on things become disheveled – and often dirty.Take some time to clean before heading out to summer break. You will thank yourself when you come back in August. Want a little bonus tip? Have your kids help!You can fill large containers/bins with warm, soapy water and dump toys, manipulative, whatever else that needs cleaning into it. Let the kids go to town “playing” in the water. They LOVE it! We’ll just keep the fact that they’re actually helping us clean a little secret.

7. Add behavior incentives (as needed).
If you have one of those classes that is well-behaved all the time, even at the and of the year – I hate you. Ok… I didn’t mean that. However, I am jealous.For the rest of us who have kiddos that seem to “forget” how to be in school, here’s a tip for you. Every year I have taught I have used an end of the year countdown as a behavior incentive. Each day we pop a balloon and earn the reward inside. Yes, I said earn. The kiddos don’t always get the incentive if behavior is not on point. You can read more about how I set up my countdown [here].

8. Keep kids engaged.
This ties directly into the behavior management that I mentioned above. If your kids aren’t engaged, especially at the end of the year, kiss your classroom management strategies goodbye. Nothing is worse than a group of kids who are flat out bored.One thing that I did this year to keep kids engaged until the last day was an animal PBL unit. The kids picked an animal to become experts on during our animal unit. During the last week or so of school the kids spent a ton of time building a virtual zoo exhibit on Book Creator, then actually building an exhibit. Students voice and student choice for the win! More to come on that unit later!

9. Reflect, reflect, reflect.
Take even a few minutes to think about what went well this year, what could be better, what you will keep, and what needs to go. Jot a few notes down somewhere that you can refer back to them (even if that’s in August). And don’t forget – be honest. This is a time to grow and become a better educator.

My reflection of the year can be found [here].

10. Enjoy your last bit of time with your kids!
If I can ask you to do one thing during the end of the year, its this… Please, please, please don’t resort to just showing the kids movies. It break my heart when I see teachers posting that movies are all they are doing the last few days. Yes you’re tired, yes the kids are tired, yes you probably have 0 patience and energy left.But, dig deep.Figure out what you can do to have fun with your kids and “be in the moment.” Enjoy your last bit of time with your kids, hug them goodbye on the last day, and collapse in a heap on the floor.

It’s summer break!

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Monday Motivation: Spotlight on Sit Spots

theteachingtexan — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 11:00:00 +0000

Happy Monday y’all! If you’re needing a pick-me-up today, just remember there is only one more Monday until Winter Break! Oh, and as a bonus you can totally spend a few minutes reading about my experience with one of my new favorite classroom resources (there may be a sweet giveaway at the end of the post).

Like many other teachers, my classroom doesn’t have a typical “rug area” for a gathering place. My whole classroom is carpeted, and we have a “well” with mini-stadium-like seating. In past years I’ve had to make do without a traditional “classroom carpet.” Those things are so expensive!

I started out the year allowing the kiddos to sit wherever they’d like in our gathering spot. What can I say? Incorporating choice is important to me. I quickly learned that this didn’t work when I needed a side to be clear for easy viewing of the board. Even when I tried to make one side “off-limits,” I had friends sitting in spots that were just plain awkward for teaching/learning. Without a visual, many students had difficulty remembering where a good spot to sit was.

I had finally had enough and decided to tape down some spots so the children knew exactly where they could sit for the best learning experience. I still didn’t have any assigned seating because I wanted them to choose where to sit (within the newly defined parameters).

This worked like a charm – for about 2 days. That’s when the novelty wore off and the kiddos started to pick at the tape that was holding the dots down. They weren’t trying to rip them up, but who can resist picking at tape when it’s so close and convenient? Not many 5 and 6 year olds that I know…

That led to this.

Gross.

Not only were the spots unappealing to look at, but they quickly lost functionality as they begin to peel off the carpet.

During my search for a solution, I learned about a product called [SitSpots]. I was skeptical at first because I didn’t there there was any way that they would truly “stick” to the carpet. After searching for a few more days (with no luck), I decided to take the plunge and order a set of Sit Spots for the classroom. The wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors was a pleasant surprise. I decided to go with circles in red and blue.

I ~~patiently~~ eagerly waited for my first set of SitSpots to arrive. When they came in I was so excited because it meant I could peel up the last few taped down dots that had somehow survived and toss them!

I followed the instructions for installation to a T. I placed them textured side up (velcro) first in the spots I wanted them to make sure the layout was right, then went back and flipped them over. I stepped on each one to firmly set them in place.

Let me tell you what, it’s been over a month and not a single SitSpot has come off. Victory! Not only have they stayed put, but the kiddos have so much more pride in these and resist picking at them to keep them nice. I suspect that even if they did pick at them some that they would easily reattach to the carpet.

I’ve got my eye on another set to use for lining up. I’m thinking of writing a sight word on each one, then when we line up I can give each kiddo a sight word to line up on. What class couldn’t use more sight word practice as a reinforcer?!

I am so thrilled with my SitSpots that I want to offer you a chance to win your own set! Use the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win $50 to spend on the SitSpots [website]!*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Winner will be given contact information for [SitSpots] who will then handle prize delivery.

The Student’s Classroom: A Classroom Unveiling

theteachingtexan — Thu, 27 Aug 2015 02:05:00 +0000

As I started writing this post, I decided to change the direction of it. Orignally it was going to be a post containing a classroom unveiling and first day of school activites. But, once I started writing it I felt strongly that it needed to only be a classroom unveiling. You’ll understand why in a moment.

Before we get to the barrage of pictures of the classroom, I have to jump on a soap box – feel free to scroll on to the pictures.

I’ve seen some pictures of absolutely BEAUTIFUL classrooms on Instagram, Facebook, and blogs this back to school season. But, something keeps striking a chord with me. While beautiful on the surface, are these rooms actually decorated for the children? Are teachers thinking about involving the kids in decorating the room and hanging authentic artwork or other pieces as the “focal point?” Or rather, are these rooms decorated based on the teacher’s interests and ideas. I hate to say it, but I’ve seen so many classrooms with every square inch of wall space covered BEFORE students even arrive. My mind immediately jumps to, “that’s just wallpaper to the kids.” To me having the room completely decorated clearly communicates who has ownership of the room – and it’s not the children. I’ll admit that last year I started with a much more heavily teacher-decorated room than I went with this year – so I’m guilty too. But, I just can’t help but wonder where a student who may have ADD/ADHD, or just a trouble focusing, is going to rest his or her eyes with so much busyness on walls. Where are you going to hang student work? How do all of those posters tie in with what the students know when they enter your classroom? Do the students REALLY use all of those store bought posters about addition or sentence types?

Yes, these pictures look absolutely stunning on Pinterest. Yes, these pictures inspire teachers to be more creative. Yes, these pictures showcase countless hours of work. And yes, these teachers have put a tremendous amount of work into the space they have created.

But, do these pictures necessarily showcase a great teacher? Do they showcase student interest? I’m just not so sure about that.

I don’t intend this as an attack on having resources at the ready, or any posters at all up. More so I just want teachers to think through the eyes of a child when they are decorating and with the true interests of the child at heart.

With that being said, I’m dismounting my soapbox.

Let’s get on with the unveiling!

Remember, my thought process was organized simplicity. I wanted space for lots of student-created work. I didn’t even hang my Pinterest-famous [anchor wreath] or showcase another Pinterest favorite, the [teacher toolbox]. Instead, the wreath is in a box in my garage, and the toolbox is in a cabinet out of sight.

Why? The classroom is about the kids, not me. OK – this time I promise I’m off the soapbox! On to the pictures.

Here’s what you see when you walk in from our “shared space.” Our school is open concept so the view from behind the camera goes into a common area that links all 4 Kindergarten classrooms – no doors on the rooms.

Typical tables to promote collaboration and a lower table for group projects and activities related to our current units.

Here’s our word wall and Mimio board. All that’s really up on the wall at this point is student names and my/assistant’s names.

A closer view of the calendar/whole group lesson area. Just about all of these items are on Velcro or magnets (in the case of the easel) because I want the students to be involved. I don’t need to change the date on the “Today is…” strip. I don’t need to add the straws to the days in school or the money to the money chart. The kids do! That’s also why everything is at their level.

Moving over from the calendar is the painting area. It’s basically a white board built out from the wall that’s covered in butcher paper, but how precious that there is a dedicated painting area!

There’s also a glimpse of our nifty Daily 5 bags. I’ve always just used gallon plastic bags in the past, but I’m excited to try these out!

Right next to the painting easel is what I like to call the “command center.” Anything the kiddos could need supplies wise is kept here. It’s not hidden somewhere in a cabinet, but out where kids can access it. “Material managers” for each table will be responsible for making sure each table has the supplies it needs and retrieving any missing items from here.

Spinning right over into our library alcove is such a cozy area! I choose to level about 1/3 of my books by reading level and leave the remaining organized by genre, author study, and science unit. A few of the bins are empty now because we haven’t jumped into those units just yet.

This area isn’t so focused access and use by the kiddos – it’s the storage area just outside the class restroom. All sorts of files, read aloud books, and reading/math boxed centers are stored here.

If there were a second “command center” in our room, this would be it. Labeled math and reading manipulatives/resources and plenty of educational “free choice” options.

As you can see, there is definite organization to the room, but the decorating has been kept to a minimum. I want the kids to see walls full of their artwork – not posters that I’ve created. Short of our word wall and calendar area, the walls are open and ready for student work!

SO excited for this year! I’ll be back tomorrow with a post on first day activities!

Wordless Wednesday: Organized From the Get Go!

theteachingtexan — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Back to School 2015.

It’s in full swing, y’all!

I’ve been spending a good bit of time in my new classroom going through the previous teacher’s sh-tuff (and she left a lot because she retired)!

I’ll be headed there in just a bit to start putting all my newly-organized materials away, but thought I’d link up with Christina from [Miss DeCarbo at Sugar and Spice] for a Wordless Wednesday post AND because I truly need your help!

Here’s where you come in…

I know it looks scary!!! Look away if need be! However, before you run off screaming, answer one question for me.

Do you prefer organizing literacy and math centers/materials in file folders or tubs? My school doesn’t utilize a ton of worksheets, so most of what I have are teacher-made examples, center materials, games, etc so I’m thinking tubs, but here’s the kicker… I’ve never been organized enough get things together like this! Therefore, share your thoughts on file folders or tubs, please!

You Oughta Know About… Writing in the Clouds

theteachingtexan — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 13:06:00 +0000

Happy Easter weekend! I know I get so excited about changing seasons, but there’s just something about this time of the year that is magical. We’re in Fredericksburg, TX for the weekend doing some shopping, spending time with family, and visiting some vineyards, but as we drove in yesterday it was just rolling hills of Bluebonnets and Indian paintbrush. So. Beautiful.

Anyway, I’m not here today to talk about flowers. But I am here to join some of my blogging buddies to share some great lesson ideas, apps, and other classroom must-haves!

This time of year it’s amazing to look back at where kiddos began and where they are now, and I’ve particularly been reflecting on writing lately. I feel like I’ve been pretty darn successful this year on gradually releasing my kinder friends so that they can be awesome little writers – so I wanted to share a lesson idea that fits perfectly with Spring!

A couple of weeks back we did a unit on Weather. When you’re doing a unit on weather, you have to talk about clouds, right?! So I started thinking about how to help my little friends become more descriptive when writing about clouds (let’s be honest there was a lot of “Clouds are white. Clouds are fluffy,” which is great but I wanted to push them a bit further). I was inspired by Mrs. Schmelzer’s [blog post] from a while back.

Then I had a light bulb moment! I remembered 2 awesome books that talk about the shapes that clouds can appear to take. If you’ve never read “It Looked Like Spilt Milk” by Charles Shaw or “Little Cloud” by Eric Carle with your kiddos, please jump on it!

I just think that they’re both such great options for discussing clouds that we read both! After reading these stories we came up with a new list of describing words for clouds (much more expansive now).

Then came the fun part (and my secret way of motivating my little writers, shhhh!). Each kiddo designed their own clouds using cotton balls and glue.

Now that we have some super cute, child-created clouds what do we do? We write!

I just love seeing what little ones come up with, don’t you?

I hope that this lesson idea will be helpful for you, and I hope that you will visit some of my other blogging buddies to see what they are sharing about!

An InLinkz Link-up

Classroom Unveil (Finally) & Meet the Teacher Night

theteachingtexan — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 16:21:00 +0000

Update 8/25/14: I am linking this post up with [4th Grade Frolics] for a Monday Made-It post. Yah yah, I didn’t post it on a Monday, but it is ALL about what I made for my classroom!

Inservice week is officially OVER!

We had a full week of PD and making final preparations in the classroom. Thursday night was also Meet the Teacher night! This means that my classroom is finally done (well almost)! So it’s time to share some pics of my new home away from home. I hope you are ready for tons of pictures!

Let’s start off with what I saw the first time I walked into my new classroom.

As you can see, the former teacher left many of the bulletin boards up, alphabet strip, etc. So I had to start by getting rid of all of her decorations. The bookshelves were also completely packed with 3rd grade materials – so I had to get all of those materials off the shelves as well.

Before we head into my revamped classroom, I have to share this college flag! This year my school has placed a college flag outside of every classroom. Unfortunately someone snagged the SMU flag before I could get it – but that’s ok because I have an SMU one hanging in my room. So I went with the next best thing! A Florida flag because it represents where I’m from! You can also see my anchor wreath that I made. You can check out how I made it [here].

In we go!

Fortunately I didn’t need to move the furniture around too much. Ok, to be completely honest I moved it around several times and finally settled on a layout that was fairly similar to how the room was when I first came in.

You can grab the alphabet poster set [here].

Don’t mind the calendar area, it’s not finished yet.

Here’s what I did with that HUGE green-wall length bulletin board.

This board was a TON of work because it is so big. But… it was the perfect space for [Homeworkopoly], a math board, word wall, student work wall, and college board (this one may end up with something else on it!). Most of them are blank because I am saving them for anchor charts, students work, etc. that will be created once the kiddos arrive.

Here’s a close up of some of the boards on this wall.

The word wall is one of my favorites! So bright and cheery. I used fabric to keep the background bold throughout the year, and added the rope and [anchor] accents for a bit of fun.

Check out how I made my word wall card box [here]. You can also grab the EDITABLE word wall labels/words [here].

I can’t wait to get some work added to these boards!

Working our way around to the white board, you can see where I will post our Learning Objectives (LOs) and Demonstrations of Learning (DOLs). These were a find from the fabulous Learning in Wonderland, and you can grab a set [here]. I glued the subject label to a piece of scrapbook paper then had the whole thing laminated. To finish them off I hot glued a page protector onto each so that I can easily slide the LOs and DOLs in. I plan to print them off weekly so that they are ready to go each morning!

Here’s a view of my semi-finished library. I still need to add a rug and get labels printed off for the leveled section. The lefthand side (red and blue boxes) are leveled by DRA level. The center and righthand side book boxes are separated by genre. I’ll be writing a post soon about my rationale for organizing my library this way.

Fortunately the carpet at the front of my room is HUGE and can seat 30 something students. Being that I only have 22 students this year that left the perfect space for the listening center. I also had to place it here because our building is old (built in 50s) and there are only outlets on 2 walls of the room.

To be honest I hit a bit of a road block while decorating. My previous school did not have any cinder block walls so I was able to staple my heart out when hanging things! My new classroom is ALL cinderblock besides the bulletin boards. *sigh*

So I had to do some problem solving to make hanging up all of my decorations work. Here’s my remedy.

I first placed painters tape where I wanted each poster to hang. This is a little tedious, but well worth it because it sticks well to the wall but is also removed easily without damaging the paint. Then I used a hot glue gun to place a thin line on each piece of tape before placing the poster on. The reason I chose to put painters tape on the wall first is because it makes removal EASY! You just peel the tape off to get all of the hot glue removed. No worrying about having the glue stuck to the wall! These have been up for 2 weeks now and I haven’t had a single issue!

You can also add painters tape to the backside of your posters which will increase clean up when you removed the posters because no glue will be stuck to the poster or wall!

You can grab this Nautical 10-Frame set [here].

After I had my classroom in order and almost completely finished, what was next??

For some reason I was quite a bit more nervous for MTT Night than I was last year despite the fact that my classroom this year is more organized and presentable.

When thinking about what I wanted to do special for my first meeting with my new students and parents I decided to make up some quick gifts that are totally Pinterest inspired.

I set up my small group table with a sign-in sheet to make sure I had record of who came, parent names/e-mails, and how students would be getting home the first day.

I also placed a copy of the school calendar for each family.

Had I been even MORE organized I would have printed some nice looking signs for this table, but hand-written had to do for this year!

Each parent got one of these! The tags read “Parents like you are so refreshing!”

I placed a baggie of Goldfish on each student’s desk as a welcome gift. The tag reads “You are o”fish”ally in first grade!” This is a common idea on Pinterest, but it just fit so well with my Nautical theme!

Inside each folder I placed a student information sheet, Donors Choose release form, daily schedule, Daily 5 letter with breakdown of reading levels, explanation of grading policy, and another copy of the school supply list. All of these forms are separate from the enrollment packet the school will send home.

Now I’m off to enjoy my last Saturday before school begins!

Wordless Wednesday

theteachingtexan — Wed, 07 May 2014 15:06:00 +0000

I am so excited to link up with Sugar and Spice for my first Wordless Wednesday post – clearly I am already breaking the rules! Here’s how it’s supposed to work…

I’ll try to get it right next time!

One of the biggest struggles I encountered as a first year teacher was trying to get everything prepped for the day during the morning! Oh my goodness, I would run around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to make copies, get supplies out, etc. Due to my after school coaching job, it was near impossible to get anything done after my kiddos left for the day. Since deciding to take a year off from coaching and the season officially coming to an end, I have found myself feeling much more calm and organized. This morning the only prep work I had to do was pull out my F&P testing kit for centers. Oh and of course stop by Starbucks! Wednesdays are short days at my school, so between library, specials, recess, and lunch we are lucky to squeeze in a little reading and math time.

What do you do as a morning prep at school?

As winter break comes to an end…

theteachingtexan — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 01:25:00 +0000

WOW! The past 2 weeks have been awesome for my motivation, energy, and sanity!

My break started off with 4 days in Breckenridge on my first ski trip ever. Let me tell you… It only took one trip, and I am ADDICTED to skiing! I can’t wait until next year to go back. After our trip to Breckenridge, Dustin and I traveled up to South Dakota to visit some of his family. It was a great and relaxing time for sure.

After taking a full week off from any work related activities, I felt rejuvenated and ready to tackle the second half of the school year. I spent the week prepping lessons and working in my classroom. It was so nice to go back and finish some things that I never got to before the school year started, and it was also nice to change some things around now that I know how I work. I never posted pictures of my classroom at the beginning of the year because I never got around to it. OK OK OK, I admit it… My classroom was never really presentable (for my blog anyway) until now. It’s still nothing as amazing as some of the rooms I’ve seen on many blogs, but… here are some pictures of Room 123!

Here’s a look as you enter the room. My room is a little small, but we make it work

Closer view of my desk and the ever-exciting sink/storage area!

In an effort to become a little more organized, I created these western-inspired labels for the trays on me desk.

Because our school wasn’t finished until right before school started, I didn’t have much time to get my classroom ready this year. That compounded with it being my first year teaching, my idea of having a western-themed classroom fell a little (ok a lot) short this year. These little labels make me smile though because they are a nod to what I wanted to do throughout the class!

Keeping with the organization theme, this is what I did with our Target Reading materials. Target Reading is a reading program we use every morning that helps spiral in a lot of the concepts the kids have learned over the year. All of the materials were a little overwhelming for me, that is until I decided to laminate the folders and stick them inside the closet door!

My daily objectives/unit questions used to be on one of the front 3 whiteboards in the room, but I learned quickly that I wanted that space to house other things. Plus, there was another white board in an awkward location (behind the computers that can’t be moved) that I had put paper on and student work, but it kept falling. So I took down that board to make room for objectives and in turn got my front board space for math! Right now it is showcasing money posters because that is what we will be reviewing and getting back into after break. You can also catch a glimpse of our IB learner profiles – I’m still trying to get a hold on the whole IB thing myself…

My new “math” board may not be very attractive at the moment, but it is definitely functional.

This was a big project for me this week. Our new Homeworkopoly board! I’ve been struggling with some of my students bringing their homework completed on Fridays (big surprise, right?) so I am hoping that this little gem will help encourage them to complete it! You can get the template and read more about the rules at this TeachersPayTeachers store.

I found plastic business card holders at OfficeDepot for around $1.50 and attached a magnet strip to the back of each to hold the “Community Lunchbox” and “Chance” cards once I finish making them.

This is our reading goal chart that hangs right by the front door to the room. When I tested all my kids at the beginning of the year to find out their reading level, they all got a “goal” level based on the amount of growth we would hope to see from them. I tested all of my kiddos again before we went on winter break and they got to chart how many levels they have grown. I think this is an awesome way to give them a visual representation of where they need to be and how much further they have to get there. The kids of really gotten into to; I catch them pointing to their number and counting levels to see how far they are from their goals all the time!

And last but not least is the writing showcase wall (below). This wall is not actually in my classroom because of space issues, so I put it right outside in the hallway :). I got the idea to use gallon sized plastic bags from some of the 4th grade teachers (who I’m sure borrowed it from someone else). It really makes changing out the work so easy and the kids can even help! The work in them right now is a rough draft of a personal story.

Last but not least… Because it is Friday and I am actually posting a blog, I HAD to include a 5 for Friday post!!

1. I think that finally sharing some pictures of my classroom (in January) is definitely random enough to qualify as the number one spot this week

2. A picture of Dustin and I right after I finished my first blue run of our ski trip. Such a great workout for your legs and so much fun!

3. ANOTHER picture of Breckenridge because I think it is so beautiful there

4. No more cracked iPhone 4s!!! I upgraded today to a pretty new white and gold 5s! Now I need to find a truly life proof case to protect it (the actual LifeProof case proved not to be so life proof)…

5. Over the break we also started watching Game of Thrones (from Season 1). It may be a little nerdy, but I really like it!! I am super excited to start the 2nd season tonight. The first season left off with some pretty big events and I can’t wait to see what happens.

I hope that everyone has been enjoying their time off with family and friends and that you all feel rejuvenated and ready to continue making a positive change in our future!

December, a little turkey, and an elf on the shelf!

theteachingtexan — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 00:32:00 +0000

Is it just me, or is anyone else completely floored that it is already December?! I keep asking myself where has the time gone. Everyone said that the hardest part of being a first year teacher was making it to Thanksgiving break. Well, that has come and gone and I don’t know if it’s just a placebo effect (look at that vocab!), but I really feel a lot calmer and organized. However, my to-do list has not gotten any smaller.

This week we have been testing our scholars to find out their reading level growth. It’s a long process, as I’m sure you all know, but it is so rewarding to see how many levels some of my scholars have grown! It makes me feel like all of the late nights, early mornings, and stress are so worth it. The best part is seeing their faces light up when they get to put stickers on our class reading tracker to show their growth towards their reading goals!

This is definitely late – but I just have to share! One of my team mates found this really cool idea to have kids disguise a turkey with their families so that it wouldn’t be eaten for Thanksgiving. We then let them “hide out” in the classroom until the day before break when we wrote about the turkeys’ disguises. This was a perfect activity for helping them to practice adding details in their writing. Here are some of the finished turkey’s.

And here is probably my favorite turkey in disguise! You can actually lift up the sunflower base and see the turkey underneath. I was pretty blown away by some of the creativity that my scholars showed in creating these!

I’ve been trying to build in a little more learning related to holidays; it seems like we never really get to talk about them or do related activities – so…. I got an Elf on the Shelf! The kids have gone crazy over her and have rushed in all this week to try and find her and see what she is doing. On Monday, we read the story and talked about what elves do, then our own little elf made her first appearance during morning meeting. We brainstormed names for her, then I made a ballot for each kid to cast his or her vote on Tuesday. The winning name was Layla.

Each day we have been using this simple writing page to write about what our elf is doing.

You can get your own copy for free from GA Peach Teacher.

I also want to find a holiday printable book for each scholar to help learn about all of the different winter holidays. If anyone has any that they know of – please let me know!

I suppose that I have put off lesson planning for long enough, so I will leave you with a few pictures of our elf from this week.