The First Grade Splash

Busy, Busy! (And a Bus List)

2011-08-21T14:43:00.001-07:00

So, I’m sure I’m not alone here. I haven’t blogged lately between wrapping up all those unfinished summer projects and getting ready for school!

I feel like I don’t even have anything to say…so instead of writing a bunch of nothing, I’ll leave you with this bus list (click to download):

We have to walk our bus riders out to their bus, and I always need something to check their names off as I go. This year, I made this list and I’m going to laminate it onto a file folder. I don’t have a class list or anything yet, so I just put the same 4 random names underneath it all.

I wanted it to be edit-able, so hopefully the formatting will work ok when you download it.

Good luck to those of you starting school this week!

UPDATE on the Crate Seats!

2011-08-14T22:19:00.001-07:00

So. A few hours ago I found my laptop cord (hooray!) and commented that I was no closer to finishing this project than I was when I first posted about it. A few hours (and one finger burn from a hot glue gun) later…I have finished 2 seats!

I know no one will probably care about this, haha, but I felt the need to update since I was so whiny about DIY earlier.

And now, with great pride I present to you ~ my crate storage seats!

1) Turns out the pieces I got from the store didn’t just need some sanding. They were actually not cut small enough. So, my dad helped me get them down to the right size using a grinder.

2) I ended up buying craft foam. People have suggested buying an egg crate/mattress thing, but it was really expensive at Target. Though, craft foam wasn’t that much cheaper. Now that I’ve finished the seats…can I just say…green foam with white fabric? Not my brightest moment. Meh, it’ll do. Anywhooo… I traced it from the wood and then attached it with spray adhesive.

3) Next was putting on the fabric. Slight problem? I didn’t have a staple gun. Jennifer of Herding Kats In Kindergarten suggested in her comment to use a hot glue gun. Great idea! It definitely worked! It’s not as secure on there as I think a staple gun would be (you can kinda see that by looking at the bottom), but I think it will hold. If it comes off, I can always glue it on again or at that point staple it on.

4) And…voilà! My finished project!

All in all? I’m REALLY happy with it. I sat on it, and it didn’t break – so that’s a good thing! It’s got a good amount of cushioning so it will be easy for the kids to sit on them. I made two, but I’m holding off on making any more right now. I want to make sure they actually work for my reading table. If they are too short, then I won’t make any more. We’ll see! Either way, I’ll be able to use both of these for something. I’m in such a good, crafty mood right now!

Good luck to anyone else who has this on their to-do list!

In other news….I have 760 unread blog posts in my google reader. And school hasn’t even started yet! Yikes…

Why I don't DIY....

2011-08-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

...I get easily frustrated. Mostly because I don't know how to do anything. :-P

SO. After seeing this cute creation on MANY blogs and of course pinterest,

I decided to attempt this DIY project.

First of all, I had no idea that actually FINDING filing crates would be such a large to-do. NO LIE, I went to 3 stores before I could find them. I also want to know why there is no one to help you in stores when you actually need the help. Anyone else ever experience this? When I was in Wal-Mart, I saw some customer with one. I stalked him a little bit and then asked him where the heck they were! Step 1 accomplished!

When I went to Home Depot to get the wood, the guy looked at me like I was insane when I told him what I was making. Thank you judgy Home Depot man...the people in the commercials are way nicer.

I've read some people's suggestions of asking them to cut the corners so that they fit....well, apparently they don't do that! So, I will be sanding at some point this week. I don't know really how to sand. Ha ha! I also don't own a staple gun for putting it all together, but my dad is working on getting one to borrow.

This is turning into a bit more of an endeavor that I imagined. And after it's all said and done, I'm a little worried that it a) won't be strong enough for the kiddos to sit on or b) will be WAYYYYY too short for my reading table.

I'm only making 2 until I can get into my classroom and see if they fit.

So...what I want to know....has anyone had any success in making these?

Thank you for reading my rant. :-) I will post the finished project whenever it's done!

On the plus side I bought SUPER cute fabric for the seat! It looks a little like this. That was my favorite part. :)

On an unrelated note...I hope I can find the power cord to my laptop soon. I am way behind on reading and commenting on blogs because for some reason this computer won't let me comment! Also, all my school stuff is on there! I'm sure it will show up sooner or later!

2011-07-31T18:45:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't really updated in a few days. Things have been crazy here with (summer) work and moving and all that jazz.

I *just* joined pinterest after hearing all about it on several different blogs. I'm looking to follow more people and get some great ideas (I'm loving what I've been able to find through friends already!) -- so if you have a pinterest account and would like a new follower, comment and tell me how to find you! :)

Public Service Announcement!

2011-07-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

BACK UP YOUR FLASH DRIVES! Yikes. I'm the WORST with backing things up. People are constantly telling me to and I *consistently* forget.

This happened today.

Booo. Broken. I don't think I can fix it. But! The great, amazing thing? I just happened to save the whole thing onto my desktop just about a week and a half ago! So I barely lost anything! I'm soooo happy!

So, again, my PSA is to back up whatever you are using to store files. Like...right now! Go! :-)

….and the winner is….

2011-07-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

The results are in for my very first giveaway! Thanks for following, blogging, and adding me to your blog!

The winner is (and a special thanks to Sarah B. for hooking me up with the how-to here!):

Congratulations to Keys4Education! Email me (bluehenteacher@gmail.com) with your e-mail address and I’ll send you your Amazon card!

Now I have to go through all the comments so that I can go and follow all of your blogs!

Elmer the Elephant!

2011-07-19T20:25:00.001-07:00

Truth? The ONLY thing I can really get my mind to think about when it comes to school right now is back to school stuff. I can’t quite wrap my mind around reading units or literacy centers just yet. So, onward with back to school stuff that is on my list.
One of my favorite back to school books is Elmer. (This reminds me that there is a fall read aloud linky party being hosted by Mrs. Parker! Ahhhh! And to think for a second that I thought I was being original in my blog topic.)
Anyhow, as I was saying. I love reading Elmer by David McKee (as well as about a million other books! I can’t wait to read all these new suggestions…)
.
After reading, I usually spend some time talking about how Elmer was special (I usually introduce the word “unique”) and we then talk about what makes each of them unique. They color their own Elmer and then write a sentence about why they are unique (I know I have a LOT of lines for incoming first graders…but I always have kids who run out of room…better more than less!)
I haven’t had a chance to print this out,so…if you do and it looks weird, please let me know so I can fix! Here is the activity…click on the picture to download.

Join in the fun!

Blog Mixer Linky Party

2011-07-19T17:57:00.001-07:00

Yearn to Learn is having a linky party to get to know some fellow bloggers.

Here it goes!

1. A blogger who is a "New Kid on the Blog"
(Let's say someone who has blogged 2 months or less and has less than 200 followers)

Amy in First Things First! Check her out!

2. Post a blogger in your same grade level

This is where I first realized that this whole blog world existed and wanted to try my own! Oceans of First Grade Fun:

3. Post a blogger in a different grade level

4. It's all about the button. Find a cute blog button and post it.

How cute is this one??

Join in!

Quick Reminder!

2011-07-17T21:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy weekend of box-packing and moving for me (this is my first big move and I am NOT enjoying it!) so I'm exhausted and I promise to blog about something more meaningful later in the week...

Just a reminder that you have until Tuesday to enter my first giveaway!

Thank you SO much to those of you who already commented, blogged about it, and to my new followers! It's so exciting!

Hooray for 25! :-) My first give-away? I think so!

2011-07-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I logged on to find out that I had reached 25 followers! This may not seem like a big deal to some of you, but it was REALLY exciting for me! So, I decided to give something back! I love presents and figured you would too. ;-)

I am hosting my first give-away! It is for a $20 gift card to Amazon.com! I like Amazon because you can basically buy anything, personal or for your classroom, and also the gift card can be e-mailed.

I don't know if this applies to anyone else - but if you are a teacher and a student (I'm talking even ONE class), you can sign up for what is basically the student version of Amazon Prime. It's free and all you need is an .edu email address. Find out more here. Who doesn't love free 2-day shipping?

So...onto the details....you get 1 entry for each comment you leave telling me the following:
- begin (or already are) following The First Grade Splash
- blogging about the give-away (leave me your blog address! I'll want to start following you too!)
- adding my button
- adding my blog to your blog list/roll

I'll choose a winner on Tuesday (July 19th) at midnight (U.S. east coast time!)

On a related note...I would love it if someone who has done these before could give me advice as to how you number your posts and choose them randomly. haha, I should have probably figured that out beforehand...oh well! :-)

Good luck! And THANK YOU for being my first 25 followers! I'm so happy right now!

Rights, Responsibilities, and Privileges

2011-07-11T19:46:00.001-07:00

In the fall, we always start social studies with our Civics unit. It is a perfect start to the school year because we talk about leadership (a.k.a. who’s in charge!) and also class rules and why they are important. We have a big discussion about rights, responsibilities, and privileges – both of kids and adults.

I read “Clean Your Room, Harvey Moon” every year to go with this lesson.

Here is the downside to this fun book….it’s a little…outdated. In the book, Harvey has to clean his room before he can watch some of his favorite TV shows. I had a student a few years back ask me “Why didn’t he just pause it?!?!” Hm. Yeah…ALL their life DVR has existed! I responded and told them that you haven’t always been able to pause TV, they looked absolutely stunned. Like I had just come from Mars. It was HYSTERICAL. Regardless, it’s still a good read aloud to distinguish responsibilities and privileges.

I made this SMARTboard lesson to go with the book. There are some questions about the book and some pages to add notes from your discussion on the topic. There are also links to two United Streaming videos.

On the 2 writing pages, it was an independent/partner writing activity. I have the documents of these for the kids – but not with me, must be on my computer at work. Sorry! You can easily skip that page (which I might do anyway this year) or create your own. Click the image for the download.

Does anyone else teach rights and responsibilities as a part of their social studies curriculum? Any good tips?

More Tips!

2011-07-10T18:25:00.001-07:00

Ok…so I already blogged about this yesterday. I hope it’s not against etiquette to link up twice. I found this and had to share! This is from the Florida Center for Reading Research.

http://www.fcrr.org/Curriculum/curriculumForParents.shtm

It has tips for K – 4 parents. Good stuff!

Additionally…here are some internet resources I often suggest:

Math

http://www.mathfactcafe.com/

Math worksheet creator for math facts

www.ixl.com

Reading and Writing

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/abcmatch/ - Review of beginning letter sounds in a memory/concentration type game.

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/comic/ - This one is useful to practice writing. The students get to make up the words to go along with a comic they create.

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/construct/ - Students create words by combining beginnings and endings.

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/stapleless/- Another useful one for practicing writing stories.

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/picturematch/ - Reviews short & long vowel sounds (we have not done long vowels yet) & beginning letter sounds.

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/wordfamily/ - Review of word families.

http://www.readwritethink.org/beyondtheclassroom/summer/gradesK_2/ - This lists many activities (some online and some not) that parents can do at home to "learn beyond the classroom."

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/clf/tguidesitemap.htm - A large list of online games and storybooks.

Starfall - The "Learn to Read" section is great (http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/load.htm?f), especially books 1 - 5.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/storystarters/storystarter1.htm – A fun way to help gather some new writing topics!

I’m always looking to add more online resources as the computer is an incentive all in its own. So please share!

Again, here is the link to everyone else’s tips for parents:

10 things!

2011-07-10T11:20:00.001-07:00

I know I’m a little fashionably late to the party…. but, here we go anyway! Go Fourth! With Mrs. Owens is hosting a 10 things about you linky party.

10. I am obsessed with my Klean Kanteen insulated mug. It is THE BEST. Perhaps my love of it is clear by the fact that I listed it first on my top 10…haha! Buy one. It’s worth the money and you won’t regret it! My only regret is that now they come in colors!

9. I already admitted this on my previous post…but I’m a super nerd. I love going to class and research and all that jazz. I’m going back to school in the fall for Ed. Tech. I love technology, but it kind of hates me (my class would agree!) so I hope we can work together well.

8. I can’t believe I’m going to admit this to a bunch of teachers…but…I don’t really read for fun. I’m always super busy and it’s never been one of the things I’ve made enough time for. That begin said, I love reading to my students and sharing my favorite children’s books. I have a lot of class favorites! I also do a lot of academic and professional reading, both for grad school, work, and because of #9.

Generally, in the summer I read one or two books for fun. A few of my favorites include:

7. I love the show How I Met Your Mother. I own all 5 seasons that are out and I will watch re-runs of it no matter how many times I’ve seen the episode!

6. I recently started going to Zumba class and I’m hooked. I would encourage anyone who is looking for a fun way to work out to check out a Zumba class. I’m really not very coordinated at all, so I was nervous about going. But once I went I realized that MOST of the class is uncoordinated! Haha! So, it’s just a fun time. The hour goes by ridiculously fast.

5. I volunteer for a local humane association. I started volunteering about 2 years ago, and now I can’t understand why I didn’t start sooner. I have fostered kittens and cats, but stopped back in November when I adopted my first “foster failure.” I plan to start back up soon! On the left are two of my former fosters, Ziva & Abby (I’m an NCIS fan!). On the right is my furry buddy, Toby. He looks much cuter in all my other pictures..but they are on my phone! This one was just captured mid-yawn and is a funny one.

4. I am really involved in my local church and help run their Religious Education program on Sunday mornings.

3. I’ve been to about 25 states, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Germany, and Ireland. During some bad turbulence in New Zealand, I developed a debilitating fear of flying which I really hope I can get over…there is too much of the world left to see. New Zealand has by far been my favorite. It is absolutely gorgeous and I hope to go back again some time.

2. Until a few months ago, I had no idea this whole area of the internet existed. I did not know that teachers had blogs in which they shared resources! What an untapped resource! I’m now addicted to reading soooo many blogs!

1. I love snow. Love. I could probably not move to a place that didn’t get any. I love how it looks and I love playing in it like a little kid. I also don’t get “cabin fever” easily and could be cooped up for days and not mind it. I probably wouldn’t want to move to a place that got TOO much snow though…because then there wouldn’t be snow days!

If you are belated like me…hop on over and join the party!

Learning to Read! Tips for Parents

2011-07-09T20:52:00.001-07:00

I’m not a parent. But, TBA is gathering some tips for parents and I thought I would share these two publications. Based on the research of the National Reading Panel (2000) there are two pamphlets worth reading and possibly sharing with parents.

The first is short (an 8-pg brochure) with just little tips and ideas. Put Reading First: Helping Your Child Learn to Read.

The second is more information, and definitely aimed more towards teachers than parents – however, I know there are some parents who really want a deeper understanding of reading components. Definitely not “light reading” though – this one is about 60 pages. Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read.

In 2011, this report is getting a little old, but I still find the information super interesting. I’ve read a lot of the report itself for different papers and such. I guess this was bound to come out sooner or later…I’m a nerd. This was proven by the fact that after finishing my masters this summer it took me a whole 3 months to decide I wanted to go back to school again. Haha….yup…SUPER nerd.

Anywhooooo – join in the Parent Tip fun at TBA! Can’t wait to see what you share!

So Many Parties!

2011-07-08T18:27:00.001-07:00

Miss Kindergarten is ALSO hosting a linky party. Hers is on Classroom Management. I will *definitely* be bookmarking this page to keep all of these teachers’ wonderful ideas!

100% Club

I currently do the whole “traffic light” thing that I know many teachers do. I have to say that I’m not SOLD on it and may be trying something different next year. What I’m thinking of doing is something my former school did called the “100% Club.”

I don’t have a picture of it, but I made this one in paint, haha.

It is similar to a traffic light. I use clothespins for each kid and they start every day at 100. The yellow and red would be your “usual” consequences. For me yellow is a loss of some recess, whereas red is more serious and a trip to the office. They are the smallest ones on the chart (though I don’t know that my little paintbrush drawing there did it justice!) because obviously most of your students are hopefully on green! Basically, 100% is where all the kids want to be, but 90 & 80 is still ok – it just means they needed some extra reminders. The best part about this is that they can go BACK up if they are improving their behavior. At the end of the week (and with some classes, you need to do at the end of every day!) you can do prizes for the kids that were on 100% by the end of every day. You can also do something special for the ones that were able to be on 100% the whole month. Those little incentive charts are good for that (b/c they usually have 5 spots per line and 5 days are in a week).

(http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/detail/?id=26117)

Mystery Walker

One of my other favorite management ideas is for the hallway. I don’t remember where I read this a few years back, but it transformed my students into little hallway mice! They are so quiet! During the first few weeks of school, I choose one person a day who is being a great role model on the hallway. Last year I bought “caught being good” bracelets from Oriental Trading.

During the walk to or from lunch I would pick one student without telling them. I would watch to see their hallway behavior. If they did a great job, I would announce them as the Mystery Walker and give them a bracelet. They LOVED the bracelets way more than a pencil or any previous prize! Of course, there were times when the Mystery Walker wasn’t necessarily on their best behavior. They weren’t ever called out for it – the class was just told that the Mystery Walker wasn’t quite ready and they would get another try another day! I made sure within the first few weeks of school everyone was given a chance to be the Mystery Walker. Once someone had already been chosen, I talked about how they were chosen because they were great role models. That helped keep them on their best behavior even though they knew they weren’t going to get another bracelet.

Class Points

Many teachers I know do pom-pom or marble jars to add up to a class reward. I love the idea, but it honestly drives me crazy that you can’t 100% be sure when the jar is full. I need numbers. So, I started doing “Class Points.” Basically anytime the class is doing something worthy of a complement (quiet voices, good transitions, etc) they get a class point. I also give TWO class points if another teacher compliments my class. THREE if it is the principal! I start out with a VERY small goal on the first day of school. Usually 5 points. That way, they are bound to be successful and earn their first class prize on day 1! After that, I go up in increments of 5. I always let the kids vote on the prize ahead of time so that they a) know what they are working towards and b) are motivated because they chose it.

I know we all have tips and tricks up our sleeves for when the going gets rough! Link up, join the party, and share your ideas! I cannot WAIT to read them!!!

Classroom Jobs Linky Party!

2011-07-08T15:12:00.001-07:00

What a great idea for a linky party from Mrs. Dillard’s First Grade!

Confession? I love linky parties. As a new blogger it is definitely helping me think of topics to blog about!

I’m really interested to see what other teachers do and give some new things a try this year.

I first started out giving jobs to everyone. I must say that it didn’t go over all that well that first year, so I began only having a limited amount of jobs and rotating through. I still believe that the best thing is to have a job for every student – however, I think that for some teachers (like myself) a simpler system with fewer jobs works better. I’m always willing to give new things a try though, so I’m interested to see what I’ll read up on in the linky party.

Here are my classroom jobs:

Line Leader
Line Ender
Librarian –Straightens up books, etc.
Computer Technician – Turns on/off the computer and logs it in
Messenger – Papers to the office or to other teachers
Substitute
Paper Passer - Picks a friend to help them pass out papers and materials. They are very busy!
Mail Helper – Picks a friends and puts folders and any papers in mailboxes
Lunch Sticks – My kids pick their lunch for the day by taking their popsicle stick off the doorframe (stuck with velcro) and putting it in their lunch choice. At the end of the day, the lunch stick person puts them back up.
Lights

During Science Units I have “Science Helpers” – 1 for each group. They get to wear special aprons. They are chosen each day and I tell the students that they have to show they are very responsible to be a science helper because they have to carry materials carefully and lead the group in the activity.

In the past I’ve also had a “star helper” in each group that may help with various things.

Birthday Freebie

2011-07-06T20:44:00.001-07:00

Head on over to Peace, Love, and Learning for a great Birthday Freebie!

Spelling Game

2011-07-05T15:26:00.001-07:00

One little game I started playing with my students is called “Boom.” I’ve heard it called other things too…I didn’t make it up!

It became a quick favorite, and my students started asking for it (and getting really upset if we didn’t have time!) on Fridays before spelling tests. It was just a quick little review.

Basically, we stood in a circle and I gave the word. We would go around the circle and spell the word one letter at a time. One student would say the first word, another would say the second, etc. After the last letter the next student would repeat the word that was being spelled. The next student says “Boom!” and sits down. We keep going until there is one student standing. I don’t do prizes because I don’t want it to be a competitive type of thing, just a quick, fun little game.

A warning though, sometimes I would get to the end of the spelling words and there would still be kids standing! I did transfer words then…ones that have the same pattern as our spelling list, but weren’t actually a part of their homework.

Two Give-Aways to Check Out!

2011-07-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Magee at The First Grade Brain is having a giveaway! Check it out!

So is Castles and Crayons!

Everyone loves a make-over!

2011-07-04T22:34:00.001-07:00

Welcome! Thanks for hopping over!
Thanks to the FABULOUSLY talented Leslie at KindergartenWorks, I have a brand new blog! New name & new design that I *love*. I’m so very excited! I know Leslie has posted a few blog designs up in the past few weeks. I highly recommend checking her out if you are a newbie like me looking for a great look to start your blogging off on the right foot.

Two Sounds of C SMARTboard lesson

2011-07-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

So, I’ve decided late-night blogging is a good time to look through my files and see what is already done that I can share.

I made this for a summer SMARTboard class, but I did use it with my first grader as well.

There are a few tongue twisters and many opportunities for students to interact with the SMARTboard. Click on the first image for the file.

Two things to note:

On page 6 there is a link to a website (of which I have no affiliation) that has a “story” about the C sisters. Note: One of the examples for ci is cigar. I thought that was kind of odd for something for kids – but I just wanted to give you the heads up!

On page 7 there is a link to PBS videos. It doesn’t bring you right to the video – so you need to scroll down and find the two sounds of C video.

Ok. I really should try and sleep now.

Main Idea SMARTboard activity

2011-07-02T22:16:00.000-07:00

Just a 1-pager activity. I made this earlier in the year to go with a worksheet I had…of which I don’t have right now . But, if you wanted to have the students working on something you can always print this out too.

Homemade Card Give-Away at Cards & Cardigans

2011-07-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Marie at Cards & Cardigans is giving away some adorable handmade cards! Hop on over and enter!

SMARTboard King & Queen

2011-07-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

I can’t sleep…so I’m just going to go ahead and post something else. Just forgive any late night spelling/grammar mistakes.

This year we received a few more SMARTboards in our building (though I would still love to have a mounted one in my room!), so I spent a lot of time this year working with creating ways to integrate what I already do in the classroom with the SMARTboard.

Throughout the year I will definitely be uploading the lessons I have made to go along with Scott Foresman’s Reading Street. Each teacher on our grade level rotated through and made lessons for each week. I don’t feel comfortable sharing the lessons they made, but I can’t wait to upload some of my own. I now LOVE the SMARTboard and really can see the advantages of using it in the classroom.

This file isn’t anything big, but just one way to incorporate what many people may do in their classrooms anyway onto the SMARTboard. I do King & Queen (from 4 blocks) in my classroom at the beginning of the year to get to know each other and do some shared writing. This file has three pages. I don’t know if the fonts I used will show up on your computer…but you can always change it to whatever font you’d like.

First is a random name chooser. I use this tool ALL the time. You can also set it to not repeat when you are picking names. Unfortunately, when you pick it up the next day, it won’t remember – but you can also just delete the students’ names as you use them. If you click on the spots that say “Student Name” or the blank ones and just start typing you can add the students’ names onto each of the blocks. Change the number of blocks at the bottom.

Second is the refrigerator magnets (it’s not showing up in the picture for some reason, but it is in the file!). I use this tool a lot too because the kids L-O-V-E it. For this activity either I have us spell the name as a class or have the King/Queen spell it.

Third is the actual writing page. This is where I would write King or Queen so-and-so, have the students interview them, and write the story together. The best part is that it easily saves what you have written. You will also never run out of room as you can always expand the page! (I always end up running out of room on the real paper.) Thirdly, you can print out the pages when you are done and ta-da! You have a great class book! You can even send copies home with the kids or print it to a PDF and e-mail it to the parents/put on your website. The possibilities are endless.

Happy SMARTboarding! What do you do with your SMARTboard in the beginning of the year?

Oh! I almost forgot! Click here for the download!

Cute (and super useful) Poster!

2011-07-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

Head on over to Mrs. Petite’s Teaching Passion! She posted a great “Voice Levels” poster that I can’t wait to use in my classroom next year!

My Favorite Back to School Activity–the Time Capsule!

2011-07-01T15:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know “Back to School” is still way far off (I know some people are still teaching!), but one thing I wanted to do over the summer was re-do some of my back to school activities.

One of my favorite thing to do with my students is a time capsule. Use a paper towel roll for the “capsule” and secure each end with wax paper (or any paper/fabric) and a rubber band. In years where I didn’t have enough paper towel rolls, I just used paper bags and stapled them shut.

In each time capsule I have my students place:

- a handwriting sample – I have them write their name and the ABCs.

- a handprint

- a piece of string measured to their height (I help with this one!)

- a drawing of themselves

- and a survey! (Click on picture to download.)

The survey takes a little longer since I have to read some of it out loud, but it is well worth it!

Then let them color their capsule! Tuck the time capsules away somewhere safe.

My favorite part!! In the spring, during the last week of school…have them do everything all over again. Then open up the capsules and compare! The kids LOVE looking at their old handwriting and seeing how much neater they are (and how their spelling has improved!). They also can’t believe how much they’ve grown.

…and…I’m back! (With a Back to School Scavenger Hunt!)

2011-06-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

Good grief! I’m not sure if I picked a GOOD time to start a blog (more “free time”- haha!) or a bad time (anyone else’s head soooo not in school mode right now?)

I just got back from a LOT of traveling and time away from the computer. It was really wonderful and relaxing. Of course returning to the real world means getting ready for the summer job and more items added to the to-do list!

You can thank my fear of flying for this creation – I needed something to distract me from it all! I’ve always done a “Scavenger Hunt” of sorts with the kids during the first week of school. I’ve had different ones here and there, but wanted to create one of my own. I think the images are important so that non-readers can still participate. They can always ask a friend if they don’t know what the image stands for – or they can even make it up! (I mean, the point is to meet a new friend…so does it REALLY matter if they are asking if they like to jump rope or just “Do you like to play?”). I made it 2 pages so I can print them back to back. I also made 2 versions so that not everyone is using the same board. I would have made more versions, but I was running out of ideas! I really like it with the color, so I think this year I might save paper and laminate them. Then the kids can use dry/wet erase markers to sign their names and I can save them for the following year!

This is the first thing I’ve actually made specifically for my blog, so it’s very exciting! Click the image below to download. Feel free to leave any comments/suggestions for me!

Check out this Giveaway!

2011-06-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

Head on over to "Welcome to Kinderglynn" for an awesome chance for a giveaway!

Reflection Journal

2011-06-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have spent WAY too many hours today searching through blogs and downloading amazing resources! So many talented teachers out there! I feel like I should post something in return. This is pretty simple and so not as fabulous as everything I've downloaded today - but it's late, and so it is at least something?

I use this a lot as a simple reflection journal for science and social studies. I copy back to back and staple a cardstock cover. Click to download.

QAR

2011-06-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

First things first – I am SUPER excited that I have my very first “follower!” Many thanks to Mrs. Saoud from Primary Graffiti! I’m quite new at this, so it is very exciting!

School is finally out and we’ve spent the last two days organizing and cleaning up our classrooms. Next week it’s all meetings and trainings, etc. We have to make up all of those snow days from the winter.

Now that school is over, I’m trying to upload things here and there as I make them. These are some QAR posters I made a few summers ago for a summer reading clinic. Click to download. :)

Camp Out Day

2011-06-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well, we are finally down to those last few days of school! Our last few days are filled with some special celebrations. Today was “Camp Out Day.” The students were allowed to bring a blanket, a flashlight, and a stuffed animal. They read books by the “fire” and told campfire stories (nothing scary!). At the end of their time at “camp” I had them write postcards home. Click to download!