Where Did the Week Go? Rain, Math, Library Mouse, and Essential Questions for Kindergarten!

Last week flew by... I was so ridiculously busy that I barely had time to do anything! It was a "Jamba Juice for dinner one night, and Freebirds for dinner the next night" kind of week! I've got some delicious vegetarian curry simmering on the stove right now. I'm already planning meals so I won't be wandering the aisles of Whole Foods with the "Five O'Clock Crowd," wondering what's for dinner next week!

Yikes!

I had so many meetings last week! A few conferences with parents just to check in, a couple of district meetings regarding evaluations and Common Core Language Arts (one of my FAVORITE topics!) and a grade level planning session with my amazing kindergarten team! I got home so late every night it was nuts. And I was just getting over whatever cold/virus my sweet little students shared with me so it was exhausting.

But that's okay. I'm recovered and ready to go!

Today, I spent some time with my husband and two of my kids, took a drive across the new Bay Bridge...



...had some quality time with Rose Kitty...



... and ran three miles. Funny... I had decided not to run outside today. I love the beautiful streets and trails in my town, but I love the data that the treadmills at the gym provide, too! So I opted for the gym. Good thing...



It started pouring! It just so happened that I was on the treadmill by the window, so I snapped a picture of the pouring rain while I ran. Silly, yes! It's been so long since it rained, I had forgotten what it looked like!

So last week... a few highlights...

Math journals... we have been working on shapes, and I created this little activity for my students to glue into their math journals. Specifically, we've focused on standard K.G.A.2 for the kinders and 1.G.A.1 for the first graders. For this journal page, I created a little "lift-the-flap" activity. Students listed defining attributes on the front, and then drew objects from the world that were the same shape underneath each flap. They loved those little flaps! Magical!



This is a picture of the supplies that I keep handy when I'm working with small groups during guided reading. I also squeeze a little guided writing into that time, and sometimes we create a small book together. A friend had asked for a picture of my basket o'goodies, so I thought I'd share here, too!



In that basket: scissors, glue, pencils, markers, highlighters, crayons, twistables, and paper. Also in there is a white board that I can use and some little handwriting "write and wipe" notebooks that I picked up at Target last year for a dollar each. Money well spent!

And a great moment from last week... my youngest daughter re-created the tissue box/meet the author box from Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk.



 

Just like in the story, I put a sign on the door of the classroom that said, "Meet the Author Today," and I left out some tiny books, tiny pencils (golf pencils and a few short ones I had saved for this!) and the box.



I tucked a little mirror inside the box, just like Sam did.

And when my students came in the door that morning? What happened, you want to know? Well, they went absolutely nuts! They peeked into the box over and over again all week long, and they never stopped looking for Sam. I just love that they feel so connected to a book!

And the last little thing today...

I created a set of Essential Questions for the Kindergarten Common Core Standards! They are pretty adorable, if I do say so myself! I spend a long time getting every little graphic just perfect!



The set has a question for every single standard, and the strands are color-coded. And to save space in our classrooms, the questions are just the right size for posting in pocket charts! A giant blank wall won't be necessary!

Click on the cover page above, or click here to get your copy!

Have a great week, friends! If all else fails... remember that a smoothie from Jamba makes a great, quick dinner!

 

A Very Useful Organizational Idea

I didn't have one of those amazing student teaching experiences that some people rave about.

It's been years since I was a student teacher, but I still remember all the challenges pretty clearly. I am organized. I'm a "place for everything and everything in its place" kind of person. I worked at a Montessori school in college. But when I was placed for student teaching, I ended up in my polar opposite's classroom. This teacher was very kind, welcomed me, offered to let me hold the class rats and guinea pigs, and told me I could just put my stuff "anywhere." The disorganization in the room was unreal.

Throughout the few months I was there, I always felt pretty awkward. Our personalities and styles could not have been more different. My master teacher was a very nice person, and I do remember her fondly. She was always very encouraging and nice to me, but it just was not a great learning experience and we were not a good match. Thankfully, she encouraged me to spend some time observing other classes in the school, and I found lots of inspiration in other classrooms.

The one, fabulous tip that I did get during my time as a student teacher? Make a class list that's alphabetical by FIRST name. The teacher I worked with made her class list  on little strips of paper. And then she left them all over her room for handy reference. (or more likely, because she hadn't thought of a place to store them! Giggle!)

I've made these kinds of lists every single year since then. One year I made eight lists to a page, in portrait.



The next year I had more students, so I made them in "landscape" setting, with four lists to a page.



I chop those lists into individual strips, and store them in a few strategic places around my room. I keep a stack of them on my teaching easel. I put a pile of them in the baskets my parent helpers use. And I keep several in the wall pocket that is hanging right by the classroom door. I can grab them at any time!

I use the lists for lots of different things. Sometimes I will attach to a pile of papers that students have turned in. I can quickly check off the students who have completed an assignment. I use them for checking off students whose parents have returned forms, and I keep the list attached to the forms. When I have yard duty, I might take a list so I can jot down a few notes while I'm outside (like check off who can skip) and I've also used them for checking off who has had a turn on the computer. Endless possibilities!

I use one of my little class lists once a day at least. They are so convenient and useful! One fabulous idea from student teaching!

Happy weekend, friends!

 

Nearly Everything Links to Literacy!

I love books. I love teaching reading, and reading to my students, and talking about books. I love the Scholastic book orders, and all the choices there. I love the stuffed animals I have that are characters from books.

And so, without even knowing it sometimes, I connect things to literature.

A few years ago, I saw the idea of making a caterpillar to count the days of school. A friend of mine added a new segment to a caterpillar each day, and had a gigantic pastel-colored caterpillar that wrapped around one side of her classroom. I made a mental note to do something similar the following year. But, me being me, the idea had morphed a bit by the time the start of the next school year came along.

I decided to make my caterpillar be The Hungry Caterpillar.



And I decided to change the color of the caterpillar segments for each set of ten.

And I ended up with something like this.



Last year, the caterpillar wound up and down across two walls. The year before, it scurried straight and was on three walls. We'll just have to wait to see what happens this year...

My students this year have gotten onto the idea that that hungry caterpillar is gobbling up days of school!

Another way that I've incorporated literacy into areas of my classroom... my table groups.

This year, I have five table groups: Pigeon Table,  Lilly Table,  Pete the Cat Table, Rocket the Reading Dog Table, and Hungry Caterpillar Table.



I will sometimes say, "Pigeons, you can go line up for lunch," or "Reading Dogs, it's your turn to go get your book boxes." I excuse them for recess or to get supplies by tables, frequently. And sometimes I get a bit casual.

Last week, I cracked my class up. I'm not even sure where it came from, but I said, "If you're a Very Thirsty Caterpillar you can go get a drink now." They loved it! Silliness!

I've also decorated the bathroom that's inside my classroom with book jackets. But I won't post a picture of that!

Literacy and literary references... gotta love it!

 

Google Today!

How cute is this?!



When I saw this I was eager to mouse over it to see what the occasion was... and then I realized that I must have entered my birthday into my Google account! When I mouse over, it even says, "Happy Birthday, Melissa!" Haha! It's been such a Googly week for me! Love!

So I have just a few more weeks of summer ... and we all know that teachers do nothing all summer long besides sit by the pool, sleep late, eat bonbons, get our nails done... NOT! My life is nothing like that description, save the occasional pedicure! Instead, I've been reading, cutting out things I laminated at the end of the school year, reading professional books, connection with other teachers, planning for next year, etc. Sound familiar?! Yep, I thought it would.

Yesterday I spent some time working on plans for writing lessons for next year. I love Units of Study by Lucy Calkins, but I have supplemented over the last few years. And this summer, I decided to try to organize the supplemental lessons. So I did that, and I'll share soon.

I also shopped for more school supplies. A big-box store which shall remain unnamed had notebooks and crayons for 17 cents and 50 cents, respectively. It's not Target. Keep thinking...

And I spent some time organizing my iTunes. iTunes has been on my list for literally months. But I never found the time to organize playlists and import the educational CDs... Greg and Steve, Jim Valley, Kathleen Rushing, Charlotte Diamond. But since it's *summer* I somehow found the time. I created several playlists, including Calendar, Quiet Time, Writing, Rainy Day, and Content.

The Calendar playlist has all those days of the week, months of the year, counting, alphabet, phonics-kinds-of songs. It feels so good to have them all in one place where I will be able to find them easily. The Quiet Time list includes very calm and quiet and relaxing music like Classical lullabies, very mellow jazz, and Baroque music. The Writing playlist is a step up from quiet time. It's not quite so calm... some of the songs have lyrics, and the tempos are a bit more upbeat. Still, the music is meant to be in the background, so it's not too loud and crazy. The Rainy Day music list includes songs that are good for students to dance to (G-rated versions!) and movement albums. I put "Hand Jive" and "I Wanna be a Dog" (Charlotte Diamond---one of my favorites!) on that list, too. And lastly, the Content list has just what you'd expect... music with some content. That's where I put the nursery rhyme songs, Hap Palmer color and number songs, Schoolhouse Rock, and things like that. I'm so excited that I'll be able to access those songs quickly and easily this year! I should have done this a long time ago...

What are your favorite CDs/songs for your classroom? Anything you would put in the "must have" category? I'm always looking to add to my collection!

Summer At Last!

What a year! My class was incredibly challenging, but I love every one of those darling little children... and they accomplished a lot. One of the best things about teaching first grade is that students usually start the year not reading.... and finish the year reading! It's so much fun to watch them learn.

But now, it's summer. Can I hear an "Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh?" The routines at my house are more relaxed, and I'm already starting to catch up on projects that I just couldn't get around to during the school year. The clothes hampers are all empty, the freezer is full, the dog has been getting some long walks, and the stack of professional books on my nightstand has a "for fun" book on top! Yahoooo!

Of course, I brought home a few boxes of projects for the summer... some new units to create, laminated literacy and math materials to cut out, manipulatives to clean, files and binders to reorganize, CDs to load onto iTunes, books to repair, etc. The list is long, and I'm completely up for it!

This morning was my first real vacation day. I started the day with a walk to Starbuck's with my daughter and our pup. The weather in our area is usually pretty close to perfect, and today was no exception. We walked and sipped and chatted with neighbors and people we saw on the way, and when we got home I felt completely ready to get started on projects. Of course, I needed to make a list first, and decided to make it on my phone. And after a little exploring, I found a great app!

It's called abcNotes, and it's a way to organize notes and lists. I downloaded the free version first, but within ten minutes, I liked it enough to buy the full version for $2.99! It's very easy to use, and with the full version comes the option for 15 different desktops full of notes. You can choose different types and colors of notes and arrange them on each desktop, varying the size and font however you like.  I'm imagining workout notes and goals on one desktop, grocery lists on another, school tasks and ideas, and more...  I got started with just what I was hoping to accomplish today.I can tell already that this is an app that I will use a lot! I love to write things on my list, and cross them off as I complete each one! And though "sleep in" is at the top of my list, there are about a bazillion other projects that I plan to finish this summer. I'd better get right to work!