Reading Groups, Birdie Art, Hail Storm and Too Much to Do!

 Hey there!

I hope you're enjoying your weekend!

I finally remembered to take enough pictures to link up with Kacey from Doodlebugs for Five for Friday again!

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I love this time of year... My second graders are becoming quite independent and we are in need of "mixing things up" a bit. 

I have them read our main story as a group. I give them a list of questions to guide discussion and they take turns being the teacher as they read. It is fun to wander and listen in on their conversations. They even raise their hands as they wait to be called on by the "teacher!"

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We had a crazy hail storm the other day right after school. 

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I thought these birds were a little too simple for second grade, but they were so cute I couldn't resist! Turns out the kids loved making them anyway!

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This is what happens when you have a particularly draining week...

Those are mostly writing notebooks...but it represents the amount of work I brought home because I couldn't even think about doing anything yesterday after school. :-(

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And finally, my to-do list for today...

Isn't it sad?

Notice the 'Buddy plays @ 5' is in my husband's handwriting.

All morning before I had to leave, I was asking, "What time does Buddy play?" Buddy being Buddy Hield who plays for Oklahoma. Final Four is tonight and since my Jayhawks are out, I'll be cheering for OU. And yes, I call all my favorite players by their first name as if I know them! ;-)

Anyway, when I left without my list (to work concessions at a Forensics meet which I didn't put on the list), I asked my husband to send me a picture and he had added that for me. LOL!

Where will you be at 5?

I'll be in front of the TV cheering for Buddy!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

 

P.S. No throwing rotten tomatoes, but someone told me yesterday we only have 29 more days of school! WHAT!?!?!?!?!

A Mixture of Things!

I have a variety of things to share today, so I had a hard time coming up with a title for this blog post. So, this blog has a mixture of things that I am sharing.

1.  I want to share a story about one of my sweet girls in class.  She told me that she was going to have to leave the next day and be gone from school for a little while because she had an eye appointment.  I always tell them that I don't like them leaving because I miss them and their smiles.  She came in the next day and showed me the picture below and said to me, "Mrs. Torrey, I'm going to put this on my desk when I leave and that way when you look at my desk, you will see me smiling.  That way you won't be too sad."  Isn't that precious!  

2.  Reading-Today, I was so excited because if the kids get their work done early, I have choices that they can do.  One of them is reading of course.  As I walked around the room today, I noticed that every student was reading when their work was completed.  It is so exciting to see them choose to read as a choice!!

This one is taking an AR test on the ipad after reading her book.  It is a test that asks questions over the book she has read.

3.  Art-I will have to admit that art is not one of my strong points.  Therefore, when I come across something that is easy for me to show/teach the kids-I love it!  I found these cute Leprechaun drawings from First Grade Blue Skies Now Soaring in Kindergarten.  It was easy to follow and the kids had a great time.

I hope your having a great week so far.  We start with our parent-teacher conferences tomorrow night.  When are your parent-teacher conferences?  

Have a great rest of your week!

Five for...A Beautiful Saturday Morning!

Hey there! I'm linking up with Doodlebugs to share some random things about my week.

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I gave up my day off on Monday to go to an Anita Archer workshop and it was soooooooooo worth it! If you have not heard of her, clink the link to go her website on explicit instruction. There is a wealth of great information--including video clips.

 I love this! 

I have struggled with how to teach writing ever since I became a teacher. I know some people have said just let them write, don't "squash" their creativity, etc. 

I have tried that approach, and what I have found is that those that are good at it, are good at it. And those that struggle, struggle. 

It was nice to hear that providing some guidance is acceptable and actually a good thing.

2

We've been working on adverbs that last couple of weeks, so it was time to pull out these fun task cards to review.

 I'd share a link, but I can't remember where I got them and don't have the file here at home to look it up. If they are yours, feel free to let me know!

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We did a two day art project inspired by Kandinsky (thanks to this blog post). They painted their backgrounds and then added the tree pieces the next day (forgot to take a picture of our finished work). Make sure you follow me on Instagram. I'll share some there next week.

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This is my daughter's failed attempt to capture my vehicle reaching 111,111 miles while I was driving. What can I say? My kids have a thing about numbers... You may remember my son was disappointed to miss the 100,000 mile mark and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity...LOL! ;-)

 

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 Spring fever is officially here! 

After a week of temperatures in the 70s here, I have been looking for opportunities to get outside for extra recess!

Enjoy your weekend!