Five for Friday: Video Tour, Science Success, and Back to School Fun!

Happy THREE day weekend!

After our first full week with students, I need it! My week has been crazy busy and last night was the first evening I made it home before 8:30. 

Exhausted is an understatement, and I've decided the world will be lucky if I get out of my pajamas today. ;-)

I've got LOTS to share with you today, so if I blow past FIVE I'm sorry (but there is some good stuff toward the end so hang in there).

Thanks, Kacey, for a great linky!

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I love task cards, so we started practicing our task cards procedures right away with this "Get to Know Me" roam the room from Amanda Madden. 

P.S. If you don't follow her, you should. She gives amazing freebies to followers now and then, and I'm pretty sure this was a freebie at one time. Priced at $3, still a great deal!

2

Um...did I mention I love task cards? 

These were new to me this year and perfect for teaching my kids how to read QR codes (another thing I love) using the QRafter app.

This "Back to School Fun Quiz" is a freebie from Teacher's Toolkit.

3

Read to Self stamina is at 10 minutes after 7 days of school. We tried 12 on Friday, but...well, let's just say that ended in an impromptu lesson on "stamina breakers" (activities, not students though maybe I really would have liked to name names!) and "stamina builders."

P.S. I love two things about my tiny room (okay, three).

1. Two walls are covered with whiteboards (no wasting chart paper for this stamina graph).

2. One wall of shelves.

3. One wall of windows.

So the walls. 

I love the walls.

The space between the walls is tiny!

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 We are also building our Work on Writing stamina. I think I have a group of authors because this has been easier than read to self!

Friday we tried Read to Someone, but that also needs more work. Volume is a biggie for this bunch!

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We also got busy with some math this week using two of my favorite resources.

Math Helper on the right.

HOTSHOTS on the left.

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This is one of the good ones, so I'm sorry the explanation is long!

In case you don't know, I teach 2nd grade, but I am also the K-2 science teacher. This year I have 1st and 2nd grade combined for a 20 minute science block (and then K for 20 minutes while 1st/2nd goes to music). That's 30 students in science at one time. 

I know, I know. Some of you have 30 students all day, but for me that is a large group!

The first week was a great success because of this blog post! You must check it out. She literally has everything you need for a great first week of science and it was all FREE!

I stretched her five day plan into 7. We watched the books suggested on YouTube because I didn't have them. The "Super Scientist" procedures and badges (see red arrow in picture) made it possible to do a non-chaotic experiment with 30 kids! I'll be using her "Super Scientist" procedures all year for experiments. I just cannot explain how excited I am about how the week went!

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And finally, last Saturday I made a video tour of my classroom on Facebook. In case you missed it, here is the link.

I wish I would have dressed up a little--or maybe even fixed my hair--because it has about 2,400 views now! But oh well, that is the real Saturday me. :-)

If you have questions about anything you see, leave them in the comments here or on the FB post and I'll try to answer. I'll be making a video later today to explain the Fluency Tubs so keep an eye out (and I promise I won't be in my PJs ;-))! 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Can you say tired???

This is how I have felt during my planning period in the afternoons.  I always forget how hard the first days back at school can be.  I am on day 4 of our school year and we are starting to get a little bit of a routine going.  I admit, I am tired and my throat is sore (from all the talking I've been doing-LOL)!  I hope all of you that have started school are starting to get into a routine and the tiredness starts to fade away!

Have a great day!

Shopping Time!!

Well, it's that time of the year for me and I'm sure for a lot of you too.  August has officially hit and that means school will be starting soon.  Time to start getting things ready to go.  I was excited because TPT is having their back to school sale just in time to snatch up some items I have been wanting to get for this year!  

Thanks to Ashley Johnson for the cute sale banner!

Well, I'm headed off to do some shopping and get some bargains at TPT!  

Happy Shopping!

The Top 6 Things I've Learned From My 6th First Week of School

Hi there! 

I did it! 

I made it through Friday.

As I thought about my topic for today's blog post, I thought it might be fun to share some things that I've learned this week--my first full week of school. This is my sixth year teaching, so I'm going with "The Top 6 Things I've Learned During My First Week of School."

#6

People that are not closely related to teachers do not understand what the first week of school is like for a teacher.

Enough said.

#5

Painting for an art lesson just before my classroom is to be invaded for 1st graders and Kindergarteners for social studies will not work.

Yesterday, I did art with my 2nd graders and we painted self portraits. My room was an absolute mess…and I knew the Kindergarteners especially would not be able to leave the paint, brushes, paintings, etc. alone.

So we had recess instead. 

Don't judge!

#4

Speaking of Kindergarteners…

I am still not--nor will I ever be-- a Kindergarten teacher!

*And I'm thankful I only have them for 20 minutes a day!

That's all I have to say about that.

#3

I still don't like other adults watching me teach!

Our new superintendent came in my room a lot (well, it may have only been three times, but it felt like a lot) on Wednesday, and he actually came in and sat down and made himself comfortable and observed me and my challenging class.

First, he watched our morning meeting.

I was so nervous, I was shaking.

And I was thankful my special helper does most of the talking during morning meeting.

He did leave me a nice note.

Then he came back as I taught an impromptu lesson on even and odd during which I was calling (okay, yelling) for kids to come to the carpet one at at time asking (okay, yelling) questions like…

"How many kids are on the carpet now?"

"Can we make a pair?"

"Even or odd?"

"Oh no! We can't have an odd man (or woman) out! Get up here Sister Sue (that's a pretend name)! Sallie Ann (pretend again) needs a partner!"

I yell a lot during these exciting, impromptu lessons because the kids like it.

I'm not sure if the superintendent knew it was impromptu or not.

I'm also not sure what he thought of my lesson because I did not get another note. Ha! ;-)

#2

If you are willing to let loose, scream and get excited when telling a story, you can capture even the most difficult audience.

We learned about "seed stories"--small moment stories--and I always tell a story about when my son made me ride a huge barn swing at an amusement park.

I'll keep it short for you.

I'm not a huge fan of heights…okay I am afraid. Very afraid.

The lady who buckled me in thought it was necessary to say, "It's my first day. I hope I'm doing this right."

At some point during the ride, I'm pretty sure I was screaming, "I'm going to die!"

My son was saying, "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry I made you ride."

Of course, I survived.

My class especially loved me shouting, "I'm going to die!"

It was so fun to look around and see them all engaged. 

Challenging class, remember?

I think I'm going to have to get excited and yell a lot this year.

#1

I am not "Super Woman."

I am a fairly organized person.

Rushing out for volleyball practice after school is killing me!

This is what my desk area looked like this morning when I arrived.

It makes me crazy.

It makes me feel like a failure.

I should have a system…a routine.

I should be able to get this figured out.

I shouldn't have to work 4-5 hours on Saturdays to catch up or get ahead.

Then I remind myself…

This is only day 7.

And I am not Super Woman.

But I am super tired.

Good night!

Back to School Tour

I have made it 3 days and now this will be our first full week with the kids.  HMMM...I have to say I'm a little nervous because last week every night I believe I fell asleep by 8:00 pm.  I was exhausted!  So adding in a couple of extra days makes me wonder how tired I may be by Friday.  :-)  Oh and we are also doing an Open House night on Thursday.....which means that 8:00 bedtime will not happen on Thursday night for me.  

My room was ready for those little first graders to come to school last Wednesday.  Here is what it looks like:

Job chart and Prize chart

Calendar, Rules, and Whole Brain Posters

Look at all that space-I had 22 kids last year and this year I have only 16.  I didn't realize how much space I had in the room!

Word Work area

Lunch count area

Behavior Chart

Today I introduced our connect four game that we have on TPT to the kids.  They had a lot of fun playing the game while practicing the short a sound.  

We have also started building our stamina for read to self in Daily 5-we did 3 minutes today-YAY!  Check them out!

I will be excited to get that Daily 5 rolling!

Have a great day!

My Last Free Friday--Excited, Nervous, and a Little Sad!

Today marks the end of summer vacation for me! 

I report back to work on Monday. 

My husband says I have two more days, but I don't count weekends because I wouldn't be working then anyway!

I'm excited, nervous, and a little sad.

I'm excited to have my new bunch of 2nd graders and get this 2015-2016 school year underway!

I'm excited that I am NOT teaching K-2 music this year! Woohoo! I'm so sorry for those of you who follow this blog for all my fantastic music ideas--kidding! If you've followed us long, you know I have never felt qualified to teach music. Our new 1st grade teacher is taking music during our specials rotation. Hip Hip Hooray!

I'm excited that I am teaching K-2 Science/Social Studies this year during our specials rotation!

I'm excited that I am the assistant high school volleyball coach!

I'm excited that both my children will be in high school--which will make it easier on our activities schedule.

I'm nervous to have my new bunch of 2nd graders--you know what I mean!

I'm nervous to teach K-2 Science/Social Studies!

I'm nervous to coach volleyball! 

I've done basketball the last two years, but you have a couple of months to get into school routine before having to rush out of the classroom for practice. I'm going to have to be super organized!

I'm nervous about the way I rearranged my room and hope it works for us!

I'm nervous to have my new bunch of 2nd graders--this is listed twice for a reason!

I had such an easy bunch last year...hoping I haven't forgotten how to handle a more challenging class.

I'm a little sad because I won't be able to take my time getting ready in the morning!

I'm a little sad because my kids will both be in high school this year!

And they're both driving--maybe that should go in the nervous section.

This is Teenage Driver #2--just got her permit and passed with a better score than Teenage Driver #1. ;-)

This is Teenage Driver #1 showing how he feels about taking a backseat for Teenage Driver #2 to practice.

I'm a little sad because I won't be able to spend as much time with my family or enjoying the simple things in life!

Have a blessed day!

Five for Friday - Classroom Prep, Videos, and Stitch Fix

Hey there! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs again for Five for Friday. 

1

I did it!

I actually went to my classroom and stayed there this time--despite the mess that awaited me.

I'm pretty excited about the things I got accomplished. Here's a peek:

A - Smart Tags prepped--yes, I changed the name. It is a play on making "Smart" choices and it fits my classroom better than the more common name. I made some of them, but most are from Lucky Little Learners.

B - Prepped my "Dealing with Math Homework" instruction cards (Amanda Madden). You can see how I use them in my classroom here and find links to Amanda's post about them.

C - My son got in on the action with the bulletin board. He was actually finished already, but had to pose. Ha!

D - I got my Math Helpers printed and laminated. I love these things!

2

I made a back-to-school video for my kids! It tells them about making an "About Me Bag" and I shared mine so they could get to know me. Be kind--it is for them so who cares if I'm a bit of a dork! At least that is what I keep telling myself. :-)

3

I've been meaning to share my graphics and fonts binder for awhile now and never got around to uploading pictures. Then I decided this would be easier. Plus I haven't made you a video since last summer!

4

My first Stitch Fix was awesome! Too awesome! I asked for all tops in this fix (you can do that, request certain things). 
My stylist definitely used my Pinterest style board and sent me things I had pinned.
I loved every piece and really wanted to keep them all! 
I would have, too, except for this black beauty.

Dry clean only with a price tag of $78. I just couldn't do it. I knew I needed to send it back. But if I bought all five, I was going to get a $75 discount which would make it practically free. 

So then I knew I had to send something else back or it just didn't make sense. So I chose to send back the cardigan. Then I realized that for $40 more, I could keep both so I had to send one more thing back or it just didn't make any sense to send anything back! So I chose to send back this striped top also.

I think I am going to request that they send me the cardigan again and the striped top in black and gray (if possible)...like I said I really liked them so it was hard to send them back! The cardigan especially--because it was a color I wouldn't have picked for myself  which is kind of why I wanted to try Stitch Fix (to get out of my comfort zone).

That left me with my two absolute favorites that I just couldn't part with and it was more friendly on my wallet too. :-)

I have never even tried on polka dots before - LOVE this! 

I had pinned this one...knew I would like it. AWESOME!

I'm so excited about my first fix, I already scheduled my next one for September. You can choose to have a fix as often as you like, but with my budget every other month should be about right.

If you're like me...fashion challenged and hate shopping or if you just want a little push out of your comfort zone, you might want consider it.

**Disclaimer: If you use the links here and end up scheduling your first fix, I will receive a one-time $25 credit. I'd very much appreciate it, but of course, it is not necessary. If you don't want to give me credit, just type in their web address and go for it!**

Also, no need to worry that this is going to become a fashion blog because while I enjoyed using their style cards and trying on the outfits, I did not enjoy the pictures! Ha! I won't be doing that again!

5



So this happens this weekend--starts tomorrow! Stop back by to see what goodies we are giving away. :-)

Have a great day!

Wisdom for Wednesday Rerun - Swamped!

Good morning! 

As I sat down to work on today's Wisdom post, I ran across this one from last year. It was a great reminder for me as I start into the back-to-school craziness (about 3 weeks to go...). I know from the posts I'm seeing that a lot of you are already back to work, so I thought it might be helpful to you also.

So here's a little "wisdom" from August 20, 2014:

Tonight I will be meeting my kiddos as they bring in their school supplies and tomorrow will be it--first day with my kiddos!

Yikes!

That's why I thought this would be the perfect bit of wisdom for me today!

Can I get an amen?

I know this quote goes with many others I have posted about priorities, embracing the day, and keeping things in perspective, but that is because it is one of my biggest personal challenges.

I can't help it! 

When I see a quote that reminds me not to be overwhelmed with the here and now, it speaks to me every. single. time.

(By the way, where did that period in the middle of a sentence thing start? It must be a bloggy thing because I have found myself wanting to do it lately, and it must be from reading blogs. I've resisted until now because it is not grammatically correct and I am a perfectionist, you know...)

This is a perfect reminder for me as I begin this school year. I love the way it is worded. The word refuse implies that I have a choice (and I do). I also like the word swamped...so fitting for how I feel much of the time.

I wonder...

In order to refuse to be swamped...could it mean that I might have to say "no" more often? 

And as for those things that I don't have an option to say "no" to, could it be that I can choose not to be swamped by them?

I think if I keep my focus on the Lord where it should be, the answer to both questions is yes. 

What about you?

Thursday-Back to School-Teacher Linky

Welcome to Thursdays link up with Blog Hoppin Back to School:

Today's topic is when......your schedule and a look into your day.  The following is my schedule:

8:10-8:40-Morning Duties-Students come in and hang up backpacks, do lunch count/milk count, change shoes for PE, write their name on their desk.  We will then go over our rules (whole brain) and start our day.

8:40-9:00-First Reading Lesson-Daily 5 group 1-I work with a group while the others do either read to self, word work, work on writing or listen to reading.   I work with groups on skills in the Treasures Reading book.

9:00-9:30-Reading Groups-We are a Title 1 school and our title reading teachers will help us during this time.  I break students into groups and with the help of our Title 1 teachers, we do pathways to reading during this time.  

9:30-9:50-Second Reading Session-Daily 5 round 2

9:50-10:10-Third Reading Session-Daily 5 round 3

10:10-10:20-Clean up/Restroom

10:20-11:00-Music/PE

11:05-11:35-Lunch

11:35-11:55-Deskercise/Restroom

11:55-1:00-Math-I teach a whole group lesson with Everyday Math and then we break up into 2 groups.  One group will be working on their math book page and the other group works on Mountain Math.  Then we switch.  If they finish early, they work on fact practice with games or on the computer.  

1:00-1:30-Computer Lab-Half of the class goes to computer class and does Connect Ed (Treasures Reading) on one day and on the other day they do Everyday Math games.  The 1/2 of the class that doesn't go to computer stays with me to work on skills that they may need help with.

1:40-2:10-MTSS (Reading)-We work on reading skills that they may need reinforcement in.

2:10-2:30-Recess

2:30-2:50- Milk/Story/Pack Up

2:50-3:20-Science/S.S./Writing-This is the time that I will use weekly readers as well.

3:20-Dismiss

Have a great day!

Wednesday-Back to School-Teacher Week Linky

Welcome to day 3 of  Back to School-Teacher Week Linky!

Today is to tell your best tip for organization.  

I decided a couple of years ago that I find that my mind seems to spin after school thinking of all the things I need to do.  So, I would start on one thing and think....."Oh I need to do this" and would stop and go to something else.  In the end, it seemed like nothing got completely done and I was staying very late after school.  The other thing that would happen would I would sit there and try to come up with all the things that I needed to get done.  I wasted a lot of time doing this because after teaching all day......my brain was on slow mode.  I finally decided that I needed a daily checklist that I could have out and do each thing and cross it off as I finished each task.  (I really needed one that I kept in one spot because I would make them on paper and would lose them :-( LOL!)  

I made up a list of things to do every day of the week and put them in a clear pocket.  I use them every day of the week and can just mark off each task with an expo marker when I get it done.  After using them I erase and use it again the next week.  This way I don't have to run a copy of it every week.  Having this daily check list has saved me a lot of time and wasted minutes.  I do have to admit that I haven't used them yet this year because I don't have a routine down yet, but I will definitely start using them when my routine and schedule at school is consistent.

Here is a picture of what it looks like (I will have to change it for this year-these are from last year) as soon as I get into my schedule and routine.  

Have a great day!