Minions And Tons of Halloween Fun with the First Graders and Kindergartners

You might have guessed... I wore overalls, a yellow shirt, black clogs, black gloves, and an amazing hat that my sister knitted for me. I was a minion! There were lots of teacher minions at our school, and we had a blast!



Somehow I ended up in the shadows in this picture, but I'm there! Our parade was first thing in the morning, and the weather was perfect. It was probably the most fun I've ever had at a school Halloween parade!

And the fun just kept coming!

I took the kindergartners and first graders back to our classroom after the parade and they had some healthy snacks. A team of fabulous parents set up the room while we were parading. They set up placemats, napkins, juice boxes and plates of delicious, healthy foods: mini muffins, strawberries, grapes, sliced apples, cheese cubes, and orange wedges. My little darlings ate, chatted, and worked on a packet of Halloween activities like dot-to-dots and word searches and coloring pages. Soon after, it was time for lunch. What a quick morning! After lunch, we watched "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," which the students thoroughly enjoyed. We did a little work on our "Spider Unit," and then it was time for recess. After recess, we had Group Time, which we always have on Thursday afternoons. We were short one parent volunteer, but it all worked out.

We have Group Time on Monday and Thursday afternoons. My class is divided into five groups, and students rotate through five activities over the course of the two days. When possible, all five activities are parent-led (or teacher-led!) But today, there were just two parens and me. Yikes!

The first group worked without an adult. They did number order puzzles on the rug. I made eight different number puzzles, which are included in my Pumpkins! unit. Good times!

The second group worked with me. We played Grab the Candy Corn. I got the game from Mathwire.com and I've been using it with my students for several years. I especially like the pumpkin variation!



The third group made little, mini, teeny, tiny jack-o-lantern lanterns. They turned out so cute, and some students had time to make more than one.



The fourth group played "Make a Monster." Students rolled a dice to determine what kind of body, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears to make in their monster drawings. It is a very engaging activity, and my students went home planning to make monster books! They were inspired!



And the fifth group worked with a parent to play "Boo!" It is a 4 by 4 matrix Bingo game that I made. Each square has a Halloween or Fall picture. Students took turns rolling a letter dice and then everyone had to find a picture with that beginning sound. "C" was easy with cat and candy and candle! Students used candy corn to mark their boards!

And now, on to tomorrow... I'll be getting to school early to get everything ready for November to start. We will need lots of new things for the calendar, a new monthly poem, student calendars to make, etc. Thank Goodness It's Friday. I don't think I could handle more than one more day before the weekend! I can only imagine how tired those little kiddos will be in the morning!

Goodnight, Friends! Hope you got lots of treats!

 

I Cannot Wait for Halloween ... I'm as Excited as My Students!

I'm not usually a gigantic Halloween fan, but this year... wowza! I cannot wait! My kindergarten and first grade teammates and I have a plan. We've been talking about it for weeks and weeks, and our students are going to go nuts when they see us! So, so fun! I've got my costume ready to go! My sister knit a hat for me, and I'll be wearing my old GAP overalls from the 90s! That's the only clue I'm giving...

This week is conference week, and I've had three conferences so far. Many teachers dread conference week, but I love it! It's such an amazing opportunity to learn more about our students. I met with one family today and got some critical information that will make a huge difference. I never would have known, but now that I do know, I can understand that darling child better. And another parent asked me if her child was lazy at school. Lazy?! He's one of the most motivated, hardworking students in the class! I was so thrilled to let her know that he is progressing wonderfully. And the third family was darling, too. Mom, Dad, first grader, little sibling... they all came!

I feel energized after meeting with parents!

And it's a good thing... because Halloween is just around the corner. Tomorrow we'll be doing some special art to go with the poem "Five Little Pumpkins." Thursday morning, we have a big parade at school, and then we'll be doing some Halloween-themed activities during our afternoon group time. No big parties, just some *ahem* calm celebrating!

What fabulous costume idea do you have? What does your school do to celebrate?

Halloween Week Activities

Well, I'm a little late on this, I know. But perhaps you need just a few activities for the week. Your students might love the number order picture puzzles in this unit, or you could have some fun with The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin.



Or perhaps you need an alphabetizing activity for your literacy block or a way to practice place value.

Then this is for you!



It's taken much longer than I anticipated, but my Pumpkins! unit is finally ready to go. You've got everything planned for this week already, you say? Well, you could always think about next year!

This unit is on sale in my TpT store until Halloween. Three dollars?! Yup. It's my way of saying, "So sorry I didn't get this to you sooner!"

And now off to do report cards... Have a great weekend and ... boo!

 

Alphabet and Phonics and Nellie Edge Goodness...

It's been a week. Yikes!

You know those weeks when you're double-booked constantly? Yep. Uh-huh. Oh, yeah.

It started last week. It was my daughter's birthday... and then there was my evaluation, and then some after-school meetings... and then the weekend brought sleepovers and trips out of town and a visit to the pumpkin patch. Thankfully, I got a pedicure on Sunday afternoon, so I felt refreshed and ready for another week.

I adore the children in my class. They are sweet and smart, and they're really getting the idea of how to support and encourage each other. I always forget how challenging the first 6-8 weeks of the year is in first grade/kindergarten. Knock on wood. I think we're nearly over that hurdle!

I've been using some materials by Nellie Edge with my class. I was going to use them just with the kindergartners, but they are SO MUCH FUN and my first graders love them, too.

So let me back up a bit... During one of my first few years of teaching, I went to a workshop in Sacramento. I didn't totally know what I was getting myself into, but a friend (a brilliant, reading specialist friend!) had recommended it, so I went. It's important to note that I'm a tad on the shy side... or at least in the "slow to warm up" category, though I try to be more extroverted. And when I walked into the workshop I was all at once amazed, intimidated, and perhaps slightly horrified. Nellie Edge was up on the stage, playing her guitar and singing songs just for the fun of it! She sang a silly ABC song, and frankly, I was a little embarrassed for her. I blame my shyness. How ridiculous am I? I just couldn't imagine ever having enough courage to sing like she did!

Well, the day with Nellie was SPECTACULAR! I learned a ton from her, and it truly changed the way I teach. Wow. I started singing with my students more and I thought of Nellie's great attitude and I incorporated more joyful activities into my days with young children. I love her Little Books, and poetry, and I played the cassette tape I bought at the workshop until it fell apart. I became a huge Nellie Edge fan, and name-dropped every chance I got. I recommended her workshops to everyone I knew!

Over the years, I've used lots of different materials by Nellie Edge. I contacted her once, explaining that I'd lost a master and she mailed it to me right away, no questions asked. I've been on her email list for years, and I check her website frequently to see what's new.

And this year... I decided to try ABC Phonics: Sing, Sign and Read!



My students love signing and singing the alphabet and it works!

As an extension, I added some signing to my word work activities. Students can choose to sign the words they're working on and then stamp the words in their word work notebooks using American Sign Language stamps. It's a very popular activity!



 

Happy Friday!

A Silent Math Game for First Graders: Numbers on the Hundreds Chart

Best. Game. Ever.

One of my colleagues, Super Suzanne, introduced me to a game. I'll always be grateful to her for the 22 minutes of complete classroom peace it provided!

My hundreds chart normally hangs in our calendar area. I took it down off the wall, took all the numbers out, and hung the chart on my easel. I told the students that we were going to play a special game using the numbers. A silent game. We quickly reviewed the word "silent." Yep, everyone knew just what it meant. No talking. No humming. No singing. Pretty unheard of in a K-1 classroom. But my students promised that they would be silent.

We quickly talked about a few ways to communicate without talking... making eye contact and pointing!

Then I passed out all those numbers from 1-100 to my students. I told them that it was their job to put the numbers back in the right order without talking. Yahoo! They loved the idea, so I let them give a little cheer and then we got to work. O.M.G. Omigod!



I set the timer on my phone to see how long it took. I prompted the students who had 1, 2 and 3, and then after that, there was little prompting necessary. It took a long time, though. Students had to watch the chart and keep track of the numbers they had so they would know when to go to the easel to put their number in the right pocket. I buddied some of my kindergartners up with first graders who could help them.



Oh, and I told the class that we were going to race with my friend Mrs. Watson's class!

22 minutes of silence. I'm tellin' ya... it was unreal.

Next time, they'll have had more practice with numbers and it will be faster. They can't wait to try again!



Wish you had some of those cute numbers with the rainbow bunting across the top?! Get them HERE. The numbers are printed a little bigger than the red/white numbers that come with the pocket. The cards fit AND you get numbers that are easier to read!

I also have some Bee-Themed Numbers and some Pete the Cat Numbers.



Have fun!

 

My Creative Friend Gwen plus Her Fifth Graders plus Leaf Man equals FALL FUN!

My friend Gwen, also known as Curious Jones, teaches fifth grade, and her class and my class are buddies. She had the absolute best idea for a buddy activity, and we got together this week for a little FALL FUN! Have I mentioned how much I love my new school, and how thrilled I am to have Gwen as a neighbor? This project was all her--- and I'm lucky enough to have the finished products hanging in my room.

I read the book Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert to my class the day before the fifth grade buddies came to visit.



And the fifth graders spent a few days before our meeting cutting out leaf shapes.

Once we were all together, the buddies paired up and got busy creating leaf people and animals and mermaids! Yahoo! It was wild and fun and amazing... my 30 students plus Gwen's 30 students... all packed into my room with tiny desks and chairs! But we totally made it work and all the kids had a blast!









Every single project turned out amazing! And there's still plenty of time to do this in your classroom, too. I often have fall projects that go into late November! If you don't have a buddy class, just die cut some leaves and get started. Of course, I had my students write stories about their leaf people afterward, too. It all ties to literacy!

So happy it's Saturday! I've got some time to catch up on sleep, projects at home, and errands. I'm gathering materials for my Halloween costume, which is going to be a ton of fun, since my whole grade level is dressing alike! I feel like a kid---can't wait to dress up!

Common Core Essential Questions for First Grade

The Kindergarten Common Core Essential Questions that I made are up and ready HERE.



The First Grade Common Core Essential Questions will be up and available by Sunday, at the latest. They'll probably be ready tomorrow, but I'm going to say Sunday, just to be conservative. Check back soon!

Can I just say TGIF? (Well, almost!) A friend texted me a few minutes ago and said, "Seems like it's been an eight day week!" I couldn't agree more. There's just been a ton on the schedule! And yesterday, I was so exhausted-- so I left school soon after the students did. I had some grand plans to get home early, see my family for a while before everyone went to do their activities, stop by Nordstrom for a fresh pair of navy Toms, and cook something delicious for dinner. However, I was out of gas, so I stopped to fill up near my school. Can you believe that my starter motor failed right then?! I pumped gas, then couldn't start the car. After tons of phone calls to my husband and the insurance company, a tow truck arrived and towed my car to the nearest dealer. Bleh. My husband came and picked me up there, and we got home about 7:45 pm. So much for everything I wanted to get done. We got some take-out and crashed.

Tomorrow is "College Day" at my school. I'll be teaching a lesson on the many reasons why going to college is a great idea, and I'm planning to wear jeans and a college shirt to get into the spirit. Would have looked great with those new Toms... Darn!

Enjoy your Friday!

Reading Comprehension Strategies with Beanie Babies

You asked for it, you got it!

Several months ago, I posted my Beanie Babies: Strategies for Reading unit on TpT.



 

And the accompanying comprehension strategies are now posted! So many people have asked for these, and here they are!



 

Happy reading to you and your students!

Gigantic Pack of Vowel Activities

I just posted a huge unit on TpT. It all started when I first saw some cute short vowel songs. Except that after I read them, and tried to sing them, I realized that I really didn't like the words! Haha. So I changed the lyrics. And then I thought, "Why wouldn't there be long vowel songs, too?" So I made those. And then I made posters, and student pages, and materials for interactive journals and pocket chart cards and all of a sudden, I had 91 pages of vowel goodness.



I tried to incorporate a variety of vocabulary words ... and also different spelling patterns for the long vowel sounds. The graphics are adorable, and I included suggestions for use. All the songs are sung to the tune of "Frere Jacques."

Check it out HERE.

 

 

Happy Birthday Activities

It was my son's birthday this week. The years have flown by. I have such fond memories of so many of his birthdays (some are a blur, I have to admit!)

When he turned one, he got "Bear." I'm not exaggerating when I say it was probably one of the most significant gifts ever. My grandparents, who were simply amazing and wonderful people, gave him the darling, furry, dark brown bear with long arms and long legs. He opened that gift (or more accurately, his 3-year-old sister did), grabbed Bear, and never let go. And funny, when he was four and five and six, he often woke and said, "It's Bear's birthday today!" and then insisted that we make a cake. What can I say? I was a total sucker for that adorable blond and blue-eyed kid!



And did you notice Bear's shirt? Geez. Bear had a whole wardrobe... infant t-shirts that Cameron and I decorated. I must have been insane.

He got some other great gifts... his first bike when he was three, an electric bass, skateboards, another bike when he was twelve... And we had some great birthday parties over the years-- always with a theme, of course. Frog Party, American Flag party, Australian Outback Party, Spy Party. Tons O' Fun.

And I always took treats to school. It became a family tradition for all my kids to share root beer floats on their birthdays. I'd pre-scoop ice cream into cups the night before and just add root beer when I got to their classrooms. It was awesome because it was different. All the other kids brought doughnuts or cupcakes.

But this week felt a little weird. Cameron's off at school, his birthday was on a Wednesday, and we didn't celebrate as a family. Lucky for me, he's just an hour away, so I packed up some cupcakes and went to see him. (Great week for that Fall Break!) We went to Costco (Division I swimmers eat a ton!), went out to lunch, and stopped at the sports store for a treat. His friends took him to dinner, and we talked more on the phone. We'll do some family celebrating this weekend, and I have a present that he's just going to love! Maybe we'll even make root beer floats!

So while I was reminiscing about my son's birthdays, I remembered that I had a bunch of birthday things to share with my teacher friends! Click on the picture to get this unit!



 

I have my students make a birthday book for the birthday child. First, they think of what present they could give... and it can be ANYTHING--sky's the limit! I've had students give airplanes, the Eiffel Tower, a trip to New York, a real dolphin... as well as things like books and toys and jewelry. The students draw a picture of their gift in the rectangle. Then they tape a flap over the rectangle, using construction paper I've pre-cut. You could also use pre-cut wrapping paper rectangles. Omigod, they turn out so cute!



Then students can do some writing for the birthday child. For my kindergartners, it's a pretty big accomplishment for them to write "Happy Birthday to _________! From _______," at least at the beginning of the year. But the first graders and older students? They have a blast with the writing... because I have them write clues about what is in their present. They LOVE this! It's fun to watch them try to write tricky clues!

I put all the student pages together with a cute cover...



... and the birthday boy/girl takes it home!

I also included some alphabetizing activities, making works, and some pages for writing (personal narrative and informative) and a page of birthday cards.

Click HERE to go to my TpT store and check it out!

 

 

 

ASCD Express: Building Skills for Independent Learning

There are so many great resources on the web. I could keep busy reading professional articles 24/7 if I actually had that kind of time!

I ran across this quick article about teaching independence and making students the center of their own learning, and I thought it was worth sharing. So many things to think about!

Click on the logo for the link to the article, "Building Skills for Independent Learning."



I am reminded of a child in my class. Darling child, whose parents told me on day one that he was very, very intelligent and would need advanced work. He's full of facts, true, but developmentally, he's in the right place. Poor little dear just struggles with every single procedure and  bit of instruction, no matter how well I explain the process. He frequently ends up lined up by the door when the rest of the class is sitting on the floor in front of the easel with their white boards. Or he'll bring his book box and a pair of scissors (random, I know!) to the carpet and sit, when everyone else is sitting in their table groups getting started on their math journals. And speaking of scissors, he can't remember the correct way to hold them from one day to the next. I have tried having him repeat instructions, I've tried pairing him with a buddy... but I'm not seeing any dramatic improvements, yet.

And then one day, I witnessed something very enlightening. His dad brought him into the classroom. His dad carried his backpack and his jacket and the papers he needed to turn in that day. Dad tied his shoes and told him to say, "Good morning" to me... and then he asked me where to put the backpack and jacket and papers. Those are all things that the child knows! I made a comment like, "Oh, you need to carry your own backpack! That's your job... and do you know where to put it?"

His father looked at me like I was crazy! Then he asked again where the papers went. I turned to the child and said, "Can you show your dad where we turn in papers?" It took a minute, but he figured it out. I prompted him to take the papers from his dad and turn them in himself.

It hit me like a ton of bricks that day. This poor little child has just been doing what his parents tell him (don't get me wrong--- that's important!!) But he hasn't had the opportunity to develop self-help skills or practice any independence at all. One day he looked hot and I said, "Would you like to take your sweater off?" And he replied, "You can take it off for me." Haha! THAT wasn't going to happen. I stood by and coached him on how to remove the sweater, but I didn't help. He struggled for quite a while, but eventually did it.

I see a direct carryover academically. He knows (but doesn't truly understand) lots of facts, but he has difficulty with independent skills. He's used to sitting passively while his parents feed him knowledge. The facts he spouts out all the time are impressive, and yet, he lacks some basic understandings--- because he's a five-year-old! I know that he really doesn't have an understanding of how far a mile is-- or how far 92 million miles is!

I've added ideas from this article to his goal sheet for the year: self-regulation, persistence, and collaboration. He's a pretty long way from being able to collaborate... at this point I'd be thrilled if he could notice what his table mates are doing and follow suit.

I love these express articles from ASCD! Always something worthwhile to think about!