Every second counts!

I admit at the end of the year I was burned out and running off of Christmas flames. We had several exciting activities that helped me make it through the last several weeks. We have been in school for the last two weeks and I decided that I need to reevaluate every second in the classroom. Every teacher knows that we use every second for learning. We have so much to do and every day is a race. Then, you have students miss school for whatever reason that have to catch up. I don't think anyone can understand the life of a person in the education field unless you have worked, volunteered, or observed in a school setting. So, how can I make every second count? How do I keep my extremely social class from talking? My answer............ keep them engaged at every moment. There are always going to be times that you can't control the activity and we do the best we can with what we have. I do have to say that we never have a free moment to do anything extra. However, I use my center time to buckle down on engaging activities that my kids go nuts over. I am recreating the ideas that are going into my centers these last months of school. I know exactly what each student struggles with in my class and now I just need to find a way to include all of them into that 45 minute block. Stay tuned for what I decide to do in my math and literacy centers.

It's a new year!

Wow, the break went really fast. I had all of these plans and I didn't even touch the list. I had this great vision of two full weeks of planning and creating things for my students. I was thinking that my office would be turned upside down with anchor charts and markers all over the floor. Oh..... I can't forget about all of the scraps of paper from cutting neat center cards! I wished I had a picture to emphasize the idea but I think you get the idea. I was exhausted from the last week of Christmas fun at school and I had to continue that fun at home with my two precious children. They always come into my classroom gasping at what the kids have done. Their first response was, “can we do that too? “ I am a sucker for those two little ones. I knew this would happen so, the Gingerbread houses were ready for them to decorate before they ever asked. So, what actually happened was all of that fun continued at home with my kids and I was still exhausted!

I apologize now for the poor picture quality! These were taken with my phone. Do you see this mess? Ahhhhhhh................ This is what happened next.........

Finally......

I hit the couch and didn't move for several days! I think sometimes we just need to rest! I am back in the rat race and I survived the first week back from break!

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?