Contraction Surgery

I found this awesome idea on the First Grade Parade's blog here http://thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/2012/01/snowflakes-falling-contraction-surgery.html. It was such a cute way to engage the students and let them figure out how we take the two words and create one. They loved using the band-aids for apostrophes. I think I might pick up some of the masks and gloves for future use. Doctor Tom is going on our door and we will add contractions to it as we review.

Veteran's Day

We had a blast celebrating Veteran's Day. We wrote thank you letters to veteran's over seas and we had a veteran come visit our class. The students got to see a medical kit, vest, formal jacket, medals, and a backpack. It was such a great way for them to experience what it is like to be a soldier and ask questions. I took pictures of them trying on the vest, without the plates. :)

How cute is this? A couple of the students volunteered to be a "patient".

How cute can they be?

I was bummed to see the shadows but I was trying to get a picture of everyone before pack up.

Frankenstein's Fact Family

I found the cutest template for a Frankenstein on TPT. I have been trying to find the perfect way to fit it in a lesson. We all know how difficult it can be to fit in a fun craft. I decided to get creative. The craft on TPT went with an inference activity that would be awesome to do! However, I couldn't fit an entire lesson on inference with all of the other things I had to teach this week. So, we introduced fact families in math on Friday! It was the perfect fit for Frankenstein and I knew he would engage the kids in the lesson. The kids were excited all day! So, we created Frankenstein and his fact family. Pictures coming soon. Here is the link to the TPT free download of Frannkenstein created by Ms. Leslie Ann Lifeinfirstgrade1.blogspot.com. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Patterns-for-Inferring-with-Frank-craft-161922

Life

I have tried to manage my time and give my students all that they need and deserve. However, that has been a very difficult task. I have been overwhelmed by grades, data, misc. tasks, planning, anchor charts, and family life. Yes....... I do have a family! :) This year has already ran me over and backed up. It has been a great year though! Things are starting to settle down. Some of those things I have just forced to settle down. All I can say is that I LOVE my job!!!! If I am feeling bad, one of my students will come up to me and say one little thing that makes everything better. One of my Firsties knows when to come and give me a hug! :) Highlight of the day: I have a little jokester who is normally quiet and very well mannered. He comes up to me and says, "Mrs. Clark..... chicken butt?????" I just stand there with a blank stare. I say, " Why did you say that?" I had no idea why or where that came from. His face lit up and said, " it's funny." How can you not love this guy? This is why I do what I do!!! I love my job, I love every one of my students, and we have fun while learning. I realize that my style of teaching is not for everyone. However, I decided that I was going to stop letting things steal the joy in my classroom and do whatever I feel my students need. Yes, it's a lot of work but it's worth every minute!

2D Shapes

This was a fun unit! The students were engaged every day and they aced their test! What more can you want? Here are some pictures of the activities we did together in class. We built shapes with pretzels, marshmallows, and tooth picks. The students love to work with food! After they had the hang of making the shapes they had to find ways to build one shaped with other shapes. It was a blast and they all did such a great job! They also made shape monsters which I bought off TPT from Primary Graffitti http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Shape-Monster-Craftivity-367617. These are so stinking cute! They made 2d shape hats which I got from A Spoonful of Learning at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/2D-Shapes-Activities-GALORE-870143. This was another big hit with the my kiddos. There wasn't enough time to do all of them but, they are thrilled that they will be working on them during centers next week. How cute is this?

Math Centers

My class loves math centers! They look forward to it all day. I have all different types of centers that have skills they previously learned in math. I change all of the centers out every 2 weeks if not more. It just depends on if they are actively engaged the entire time. I have a worksheet to go with each center except the game center. This gives me a way to hold them accountable and to see if they need to spend time with me in a small group. I love having this time to work with students who need extra small group instruction and I love to use it to challenge my higher level learners. They love this center. I call it "roll and cover" because they take two dice, find the sum, and cover that number on their folder. The first one to cover them all gets a sticker. :) In this center the students built 2d shapes. They also started building 3d shapes all on their own. They are little smarties!!! This little cutie is playing a football comparing numbers game that I made from teachers pay teachers. I LOVE this site! These little cuties are building shapes!!!

MIA

I have not forgotten about my blogger friends and parents. I have been super busy trying to get everything in order for the new school year. Finally, I feel like my feet are back on the ground and I can be myself. I am starting to understand CSCOPE and can manage my lessons to better fit the needs of my precious little ones. We had so much fun during our 2D Shapes unit that I had to take a couple of pictures for you. I was caught in the moment on a few activities and forgot to take pictures. The student's light bulbs were burning bright and I couldn't quit smiling. :) I managed to get one at the end of our Math Monsters activity! First activity was using marshmallows, tooth picks, and pretzel sticks to build shapes. The challenge was for the students to figure out how one shape can be used to make another shape. For example, two squares put together make a rectangle. My kiddos were amazing! They were building trapezoids and hexagons out of triangles. It is amazing how engaged the students get when you tell them if they stay on task they will have a snack.

My Classroom is finally ready!!!!

Take it easy on me as this is my very first classroom! I am super excited and I hope the students will be excited as well. This is just for the purpose of Open House. I like to be organized and most of the time you have more than one parent in your room at a time. This gives them a start on where to put things while they wait for me.

View from my teacher's corner/ guided reading area. Don't look at the top of my cabinets. I'm still waiting to see what all I need to keep and what I need to get rid of from the previous teacher.

Guided Reading table

My Library :)

From the door

Thrilled in 1st Grade!

I have been a busy bee! I am so excited to be in first grade! I decided to go with a Seuss inspired classroom because I love colors and patterns! It is impossible for me to choose just one! I had four days to sew and get the classroom arranged and cleaned up before I left to finish the journey of moving. Here are pics of what I have done so far.

One week until the night before school!

I am super excited that the time is getting near to begin school. I think my classroom is set up the way I want it. I am sure there will be many things that I have to change once the kids enter! We have open house this Thursday! I will be posting pictures this week. I just need to tidy up the last minute things and cross my fingers that this new internet provider will upload them. I LOVE being in the country but, the internet is sooooooo slow.

Countdown is on!

It is officially less than 2 weeks before school starts. Hang in there as w e just found out that where we live there isn't a decent internet provider. So, we have chosen to go without. I will be posting more when I have wi-fi available and it will be from my cell. This means there will be tons of grammatical errors and spell check fights. Off to bed since I have another long day prepping my room.

Job Chart Freebie!

I have been working hard to get everything made for my classroom! I normally find everything I need on TPT! However, I found this cute site with adorable clipart that is perfect for my job chart. I like the idea of every student having a job! I know it is not for everyone but, it works for me. Here is a set I made to match my Dr. Seuss theme classroom! I left it completely open for you to edit to fit your needs. Enjoy and have fun teaching! Click the link below! https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_3kUkunU-piYVE0aVBPaDF2M0k/edit?usp=sharing

My first classroom!

It is official! I went to my first interview and was offered a job in Jasper. I was thrilled to take this job because it is close to all of my family. I was able to get in my room before my trip back to Albuquerque! It was extremely overwhelming! All of the things I need to do before school starts are piling up. It has been a couple of weeks since my first view of the classroom. I started right away getting as much done as possible before leaving for Albuquerque. The timing worked out great because they should be cleaning my room in the time that I am gone. Ok enough about all of that, here are the pictures of my blank slate.

I finally have my AZ certification!!!!!

I have been patiently waiting for my IR from the University so that I could apply for my certification. I was extremely lucky that AZ has a same day service if you go to Phoenix. The family and I drove up to the Grand Canyon and down to Phoenix to pick up my certification. I mailed off all my application to receive certification in Louisiana and Texas. I feel so much better now that I am done with that process. Now I am just going to keep my fingers crossed that I receive those pretty soon.

Teacher's Tool Kit

A little about me...... I love organization ideas for the classroom. I found this great idea from other teacher on Pinterest! I LOVE this site! The idea was to take a standard tool box that you can get from Lowe's or Home Depot and change it into a supply cabinet for your desk area. Another idea to keep my desk clutter free so that I can work with students at my desk when needed. I got mine from Home Depot for $20! I painted it to match my classroom colors and labeled all of the drawers with important teacher tools. I used scrapbook paper to line the drawers to cover the mess! Take a peek! Let me know what you think.

Common Core HELP

I have realized from talking with teachers that the common core implementation has everyone in a panic. Many of the schools are in a "waiting" period for curriculum that better fits these standards. There are a few teachers who are taking this challenge with optimism and many who are just frightened at the thought of all the work they are going to have to put in this next year. I find the new common core implementation refreshing! However, I am a new teacher so I didn't have time to get used to using a particular curriculum. In my opinion it puts more control back into the teacher's hands. They can adapt things to fit the needs of their students. I have done a lot of searching for helpful sites for some of my teacher friends who are still in a state of shock. :) You can click on the subject on the left hand side of the scree. It will pull up a page with the grade levels. Click on the grade level you teach and HAVE FUN! This site has all the standards listed and a break down of activities that you can use for each standard. I hope this is helpful! https://transitiontocommoncore.wikispaces.hcpss.org/

Happy Birthday to me!!! My birthday is right around the corner! My mother in law always sends me money since we live so far away (21 hours). I was reading on another teacher's blog about how much she loved her laminator. Can you believe she got it at Walmart? It was $30! That's a great price! The pouches were $15 for 50 which is not bad! However, I am pretty sure she commented about getting them on Amazon. I am making math and literacy stations and I like to laminate all of the pieces to make sure they last. It takes too much time for them to be torn up in the first week of using them. The greatest struggle I found while student teaching was finding time to get everything done! Could I have done less to make my life easier? Sure... I could have but that is not what my students need. Now that I have this at home I can work on things while helping the kids with their home work and watching my favorite shows!

Chair Pockets

I have been obsessed with searching for fabric to use on my chair pockets for a year now. I have contemplated the design of my classroom for as long as I can remember. I am one of those type of people that has to plan and organize everything ahead of time. I don't like to be unprepared! So, you can imagine what all of this waiting is doing to me. Haha! I have to spend my time wisely! So, Isaac and I ran to Walmart to pick up my birthday present (more to come on next post)! Guess what I seen? The fabric section is back! I LOVE their fabric section because you can get solids for really cheap. I found the cutest fabric that matches all of my colors! I was in shock! I have already made 2 chair pockets! I am waiting to go to my daughter's classroom to try them on the chairs before I make more. I want to make sure they are not too big. I love the way they turned out!