Five for...Well, Sunday!

Good morning!

We had a short school week last week with an inservice on Friday and then we will have another short week this week with PT comp day on Friday. 

Anybody else feel like short weeks are longer??? 

I don't know if it is because I'm trying to cram so much in or what the deal is, but I'm always completely confused what the day it actually is (my kiddos corrected me at least five times on Thursday for saying Friday) and completely exhausted by the end of the week! Ha!

Anyway, let's jump in to this week's photos for the Five for Friday linky from Kacey at Doodlebugs Teaching.

1

Last week, we reviewed telling time to the hour and half-hour. This week, we'll work on telling time to the five minutes. Games and practice pages from our Telling Time Mega Pack make planning easy! :-)

2

I also introduced the kids to Showbie this week for the first time. I love this app! While I don't go completely paperless in second grade (I think it is still important for them to learn how to WRITE on paper), I do like to put things on Showbie that are good review but simple enough they seem like a waste of copy paper!

3

Our math games from Dealing with Math Homework from Teacher's Clubhouse are always a hit. We practiced this new one and they loved finding the missing addends!

4 and 5

 Yesterday, was regional cross country for my son and then we rushed back for sub-state volleyball for my daughter (and the team I help coach). My hubby was ready to make a quick wardrobe switch to support them! ;-)

The entire cross country team PR'd! It was great to see them run well. My niece will move on to the state meet next weekend.

The volleyball team won their sub-state tournament, taking their record to 38-2. We will play in the state tournament next weekend. Here's a picture with a bunch of the fans that showed up to cheer us on (my daughter is #14). :-)

Have a blessed Sunday and a great week!

The BEST Change I Made for this Year

Happy Friday! I'm actually home--hubby went to watch our boy play basketball without me (sad face). I couldn't miss practice because our daughter's team (and the team I coach) has first round of league tournament tomorrow. We have to win tomorrow if we want to keep playing another week. We have had two really good practices and "shot the lights out" so I hope we have saved some of that for tomorrow! :-)

Anyway, today I thought I'd share the one change I made in my classroom for this year that I absolutely love.

STAR Homework

I take NO credit for this idea. Click here to see the blog post by Amanda Madden that inspired me.

In the past, I sent home homework three nights a week. On Mondays students were required to read a decodable and get a parent signature. Tuesdays/Thursdays were "traditional" math homework nights.

I was never really happy with the system, but I wanted parents to see the kinds of things we were working on. I wanted the kids to get practice at home and learn a little responsibility.

After reading Amanda's blog post, I knew it was time for a change.  I abandoned the idea of "traditional" homework and I am so happy with the results.

Here's how homework "works" in my room this year.

Every Monday, I send home the class newsletter. Here's a picture of the corner that is devoted to our STAR homework. 

This one belongs to our school secretary's daughter.
She is an over-achiever and loves homework. Ha!

Here's how it works:

1. It is completely optional (but strongly encouraged). Here's how I encourage…I eat with my Homework Club kids once a month in the classroom. All students start each month in the club, but they must earn 4 stars a week to stay in the club. I also give 5 extra Dojo points for anyone with 5 or more stars. And if that doesn't work, we might have a one on one chat about helping your class earn stars.

2. Reading - Any and all reading counts, no time limits or reading logs.

3. The math is all games. My students love to play them and so do most of my parents! See Dealing With Math Homework by Teacher's Clubhouse. The cards and instruction ring are kept in their GO Books.

4. Spelling Practice - I gave them a page of ideas on how to practice and they keep it in their GO Books.

5. Extras - Reading response options are also kept in their GO Books. Math Timed Test sheets are also kept in a plastic sleeve in their GO Books so they can use dry erase and keep practicing. Seuss Club is really Mastery Club where students complete challenges of their choice.

This picture shows a more "normal" student's stars for the week (average is 8-9 stars).

Now what about those stars?

We add them all up on Friday mornings. This could also contribute to the encouragement. I call each student's name and their number of stars. They come to the front of the room and write their number of stars on the board. We all clap for our star earners. I give the extra Dojo points.

Then we start searching for "friendly numbers." I truly believe that this weekly activity has made this class the best at finding those 10s, 20s, and even 30s. Even my lowest kids are spotting them and volunteering to come up and show us what they see.

Take a look:

At the beginning of the year, I set the goal of 80 stars for my class to earn 10 minutes of educational game time. I only have 15 students, so I thought that would be a reasonable goal. As their stars increase, the game time does as well. 12 minutes for 100 stars. 15 minutes for 120 stars. We have exceeded 80 stars all but the first week after Christmas break…I think it took a bit to get back in the routine. Most of the time we get over 100 stars.

Why do I love it so much?

1. They love it!

2. I no longer have kids having to "make up" homework during recess.

2. No papers to grade. I mean, really.

3. The stars are tracked on my newsletter, so parents have several opportunities to actually read it!

4. Adding up the stars has turned into one of our favorite parts of Fun Friday.

I'm sure there are more reasons, but that is all I can think of right now. 

How do you handle homework in your class?

Five for Friday - Happy Bday to me!

 

Happy Friday! 

 

I don't usually get in on Five for Friday...only because I usually don't have any pictures!

Well, I had plenty this week...so here is five random things about my week:
 

1
 

It's my birthday! Hubby makes fun of me for "celebrating" all week long. This year I think he just surrendered to it and gave me a birthday card every day! LOL! The first four were kind of goofy, but the one on the left was for today (my actual birthday) and it was SO sweet!
 

 

2

 

Any followers of Amanda at Teaching Maddeness? If not, you should be! Run over there and check out her series on homework. I was so excited to see her post on math homework. I had been wanting to go to a "game" type homework. Check this out:

Amanda has already "invented" it. It was a steal of a deal at $3.99! Those are all my instruction cards, printed on colored cardstock, cut and waiting to be introduced to my students. They are going to love it!

 

3

Wow! This picture is kind of blurry...this is the beginning of my classroom set-up. I just had to see what it looked like with fewer desks! Last year I had 23 students. This year I am expecting 16 (or so). My classroom is sooooo small. I'm hoping I won't be stepping on, I mean over students this year.

 

4

Here's a few other things I accomplished this week in my room. Top picture is my music bulletin board. My son has been working tirelessly on it! So thankful for him! When school starts, each of the K-2 kiddos will have a "note" on the board. Middle picture is my door decoration. My daughter tackled that one! Again, so thankful for such great kids. And finally, the beginning of my Daily 5 anchor charts...all ready for those first days as we go over each one as a class.

 

5

 

I know, I know. You've been seeing Jamberry everywhere. I'm here to tell you there is a reason! Someone like me--who never paints my fingernails because I mess them up the same day and doesn't like to spend the time and money in a salon--can have cute fingernails.

 

I'm not selling, but I am definitely buying them! Ha! In fact, I'm hosting an online Facebook* party right now to try to earn some free wraps. If you are curious about Jamberry, joining my event (I thought I could link to the event, but it doesn't seem to be working...so let me know if you'd like an invite) will give you all the information you need. Plus my consultant is Tori from Tori's Teacher Tips! There's no pressure to buy, you can just play along with us and see what all the fuss is about. :-)

 

That wraps up my Five for Friday. Head on over to Doodle Bugs to link up.

 

 

 

*If you are familiar with Facebook and having a fan page, I'd love to ask you a few questions if you're willing! See our e-mail icon in the upper right corner.