More than Five for Friday! ;-)

Hey there!

When I sat down to start my Five for Friday post, I couldn't believe all the pictures that I had to share. We had a great first FULL week back after Christmas break, and I just have some fun things to show you--including two success stories that are making my teacher heart happy!

1

This year I implemented the Whole Brain Teaching Super Improver Wall. I was a little nervous to move away from the things I had used before, but I have been very happy with it. The best part is the kids are LOVING it! They get so excited when someone moves to another level.

Notice the white paper behind the yellow name cards.

When a student gets to yellow, they take a picture with two friends. I let them choose a silly or smiley picture. Then I print it and we put it on the board. They don't get to see the picture until they reach the next level. :-) Then we turn it around and post it in the classroom for all to see. This brings me to my first success story...

This little guy right here...he is my little autistic friend. He is absolutely brilliant, but as you might expect, struggles with social skills and appropriate behavior. He has been doing wonderfully! One day after another day of smileys on his behavior chart, he said, "I have never been this good before at any school!" Insert heart emoji right here. ;-)

2

This is another one of my special friends. When I saw her  so focused on her fluency passage during read to self, I just had to snap a picture!

She has made amazing strides since Kindergarten! Really I can't even begin to explain her whole story, but she has improved so much. It has been so neat to watch her gain confidence and grow academically and socially this year. Insert another heart emoji here.

3

It was nice to get back into our routines this week! The kids especially love Daily 5 on Fridays because during "Time with Teacher" we play games. These are the Connect 4 and I Have...Who Has...? games that we made to go with Wonders.

4

This is why I love MobyMax!

This little smartie pants is practicing 4-digit addition while in class, we have only been working on 2-digit addition. I do my whole group lesson as usual and then use MobyMax during our math rotations.

5

Our stories in reading this week all had to do with music and instruments, so I challenged the kids to make an instrument at home and bring it to school on Friday.

These six students took the challenge. The creativity was impressive!

I wish you could see their faces..I really think I'll ask parents to sign a picture release next year.

6

I narrowed it down from 9, so you can thank me later. Ha!

My Bible study, There's a Fly in my Tea!, is now available directly from me! It is also available for pre-order at Amazon here. If you would like an autographed copy from me, I'm selling them for $10 each (retail price is $13.95) plus shipping. Just hop over to my website and use the contact form so we can work out the details.

I've been selling copies at my church, and  I came to services on Wednesday to find this REAL fly on my poster. My pastor is such a prankster! LOL! 

 Have a great weekend! 

Stay safe if you are in the icy areas...guess it is coming for us!