Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

It's been a long time.  A lot has gone on and there have been a lot of changes, both good and bad.  My mom passed away after a long illness, and my brother-in-law passed away after a very short illness.  So 2012-2013 was a very difficult school year for me, then 2013-2014 became another year of change as I switched from first grade to fifth.  No one could believe I made such a sudden/huge jump, but I said I needed a challenge...and boy, did I get one.

I've learned a lot in the past couple of school years, none of it has been easy, but then life never is.  And as we learn, we grow.  Right?

So backtrack a couple of years with me, won't you?  Indulge me as I reminisce about my first graders and just some of the fun we had...

Calendar Supplies

Math and Reading RtI Activities

Pointers

Gifts from past students <3

Super Kid Buddies and Tattle Turtle

Super Kid Backpack and Folder

First Day Treat:  Super Hero Lollipops

Math Focus Wall, Lunch Count, etc.

Super Words!  Word Wall

Science:  Mammals

Mrs. McGuffey's class knows...

We also knew...

 Birds

 Reptiles

and Insects!  Oh My!

We made frogs (amphibians) too, not shown here!



We wrote to Veterans to thank them for their service. 

And more to come later...
Man, I miss those little ones!

 



And I miss you, Mom.  I love you.

The Party's Over...

We got Bixby in the beginning of October.

One of the things I'll miss most about the summer...

He is named after Bill Bixby, the original Bruce Banner, aka The Incredible Hulk!

That first night he fell asleep on my shoe!

Growing up!

You wouldn't like him when he's angry!

Summer haircut... we called him Bobblehead!

He is a sweet...sometimes naughty...puppy!

3 Days of Summer

The Return of TILT, Things I Love Tuesday!

I found this on Pinterest and just had to make one!  You know how much I love organization tools!  So, it would actually count for Manic Monday as well.  This is my version of Mrs. Rojas' Teacher's Toolbox.

Many thanks to Create-Teach-Share!  So many great ideas!  This is just one of so many, and I'm in LOVE with it!

4 Days of Summer

What?  Four days?  Crazy!

On the way to my Six Traits "refresher" (which sadly turned out to be more about scoring than teaching), I heard something interesting on the radio...they were talking about being parents and the first day of school, and they started playing, "It's the most wonderful time of the year..."  Not really the song I'm playing in my head!  If I had a theme song, what would it be?  I'll have to think on that...

Recently I was wondering what to do about restroom passes for my new theme.  Then I saw some little wooden figures at Hobby Lobby that look like your traditional boys' and girls' restroom figures.  Aha! 

I painted them, added some felt capes and some leftover rickrack and...

made restroom passes!  There were smaller wooden figures in the package as well, so I had another great idea.  I attached them to wooden sticks and made pointers. 

I'm getting closer to being ready, but I still have SO much to do!

By the way, anyone out there have their own theme song?  I'm still searching...

5 Days of Summer

Man, it's going fast!  I spent yesterday morning listening to Rick Wormeli, author of Fair Isn't Always Equal, give an informative and entertaining talk on grading.  I enjoyed it and agreed with much of what he said (Although it was really hard to sit that long after all summer off, a good reminder to have patience for the kids in a week or so!).

I've made a new welcome note to go with a First Day of First Grade gift bag.  In the past I have given a traditional one, and for the last few years have given the one found on Ms. Winston's site (she has so many great ideas!).  But...new theme, new bag, new note...

I got the gift bags from Wal-mart and the Super Kid Stickers from Office Max.  I found the pencils, erasers, and superhero silly bands at Target.  The Superman tattoos and bookmarks were free from the comic book store (Thank you, Krypton!  Free comic book day is the first Saturday in May!  Most comic book stores participate in this, so check one out in your area)!  Throw in some Spiderman fruit chews, and you've got yourself a SUPER welcome gift bag!

I decided not to get too scrunged up about a poem.  My kids tend not to read them, so I just made this:

With Thistlegirl's Superkidz graphics!

Click here to get my welcome note.

How do you welcome your students?

6 Days of Summer

I will be spending all morning at a district workshop on grading and all afternoon at a union function.  Since I am on the exec board of our union, it's pretty much mandatory.  So here's a quick idea for a SUPER birthday...

Our school district does not allow students to bring birthday treats from home.  Instead we celebrate on our own by wearing special birthday crowns and stickers, singing the traditional birthday song as well as Dr. Jean's birthday song, and I usually give a little birthday bag.
To coordinate with my theme and save me a little time, I decided to do a take on this cute birthday gift idea I saw on Turnstall's Teaching Tidbits.  I made a "Have a Super Birthday" sign to add to giant Pixy Stix which I found at The Old Time Candy Company (they have tons of retro candy for a very reasonable price!).  I'm going to copy them on yellow paper, laminate, cut, and staple them to the tops.  I am so appreciative of all the teachers who share their great ideas.  I've gained so much from them! 

Get my Super Birthday sign here!

7 Days of Summer

Out for one of the final adult beverage evenings with old and new friends last night!  We all toasted to the end of summer... and the beginning of a new school year...

I've always used the standard pocket chart with green, yellow, and red cards for classroom management.  I know The 2 Sisters don't really approve of veteran teachers using this system, and I have tried starting the year without it, but it seems as though students this age need a visual.  I've seen behavior charts for years and have really thought about changing it up a little, and then I saw this one from Third Grade's a Hoot on Pinterest.  Perfect for my new theme!  So I made one of my own that would work for me.  I used the same bottom three colors they were accustomed to in Kindergarten, then I added two levels at the top, blue and purple,   I really like the idea of rewarding those with excellent behavior.  Students who stay on green or fly above will join our "Lunch Bunch" and eat in the classroom on Friday.  Those who are on blue or purple will get a stripe on their clip, five stripes will earn them an extra reward.  Students who move their clips to red will write a note home which must be signed and returned the next day.  This will be my first year trying this system out, so I'll let you know how it goes!  What kind of behavior management system has worked for you?


Click here to get my superhero behavior chart.