tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38902261012731725832024-03-14T02:14:19.021-04:00 first grade pizzazzfirst grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-33606315014784922142019-07-16T08:16:00.000-04:002019-07-16T08:16:20.214-04:00The MOST important things to do during pre-planning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hey, hey! Today I am launching a new blog series for back-to-school. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to post about some of the hardest parts of back-to-school and how I have learned to manage them over the years. This blog series is meant especially for brand-new teachers (or teachers who are new to the primary world), but I also hope that it might be helpful to veterans who might pick up a tip or two!<br />
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Today I am posting about pre-planning and the MOST important things to accomplish before the first day of school. Before my very first year of teaching, I was dismayed to learn that I would not have much time at all in my classroom to actually get things ready for the kids on the first day of school. My pre-planning days were filled with meetings. Moreover, as a brand new teacher I was walking into a space that was not spic and span/clean and tidy. On top of that, I had to spend the week before pre-planning in new teacher orientation. Perhaps most challenging of all, I didn't know what to prioritize when it came to setting up my room. It was a very hard way to begin teaching and I've since learned that unfortunately this is the norm! Since then, I have lived through many "first days" of school as well as pre-planning periods. I have a clear idea now of what's most important. Here is my top 5 "must-dos" for pre-planning:<br />
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1.) Go in as soon as possible to set up your furniture. You can do it in just an hour or two if you are really focused. If you can, take a strong buddy who will help you. (If you do enlist help, though, make sure it's someone who will truly help and not hinder you at this step in the process!) Take cleaning spray and Clorox Wipes to get the worst of the grime off your chairs and desks/tables. DO NOT GET SIDETRACKED. Getting the furniture arranged is this biggest physical obstacle of getting a room set up. Chances are, everything is all pushed to one side of the room for cleaning and the tables may be stacked on top of one another.<br />
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PS: If you do not have a strong buddy to help you, make good friends with your custodian and their hand truck. Ask your custodian what his/her favorite snacks are. Bring them treats. Tell them thank you! Do not try to flip tables or move really heavy things on your own. You do not want to hurt yourself. I am speaking from experience...I broke my big toe moving tables my first year. It hurt a LOT (seriously, on par with childbirth) and teaching the first 6 weeks with a boot on my foot was not the best start to my teaching career.<br />
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If you absolutely, positively cannot get in the building early...setting up furniture is your FIRST priority when you can get into your classroom to work for a block of uninterrupted time.<br />
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2.) Hook up the technology, put paper or fabric and border on your bulletin boards, and hang the posters or displays you absolutely must have. A clean, neat, and organized classroom is your goal. Do not lose sight of that! I know you have probably seen classrooms on Instagram and Pinterest that look like something out of a catalog. They are amazing and I love looking at them, too! But do not get caught up in the trap of thinking that your classroom also has to be decorated to the max to be ready for the first day of school. Your students need a clean, neat, organized, and safe space to learn. Their classroom will be magical because YOU are there...not because every square inch of wall space is covered with cute stuff from the teacher supply store. Many of the classrooms you see on social media are the product of hours and hours and many times years of work. Once you have a clean and neat room, stop! It's time to move on to prepping for the first days/weeks of school. You can always come back and work on more projects later if you have the time.<br />
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The things that I put on the wall to start with are alphabet posters, numbers 0-20, shapes, and schoolwide behavior expectations. I also make sure my learning target display is ready to go and I have the word wall empty with just the alphabet headers.<br />
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3.) Make your copies for the first couple of days of school...the entire first week if you can. This is not a requirement, but I usually print my tried-and-true activities for the first couple of days before I even go back to work. (I have a Brother laser printer that prints class sets of things very cheaply and quickly.)<br />
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If you are new to your grade level, this is the time to ask the veteran teachers for copies of what they plan to do the first few days of school. They should be happy to share! Also, I wrote a blog post a few years ago with visual plans for the first week of school. Although my schedule changes every year, I still use some of these same printables! You can check out that post <a href="https://firstgradepizzazz.blogspot.com/2015/07/visual-plans-for-first-week-of-school.html">here.</a><span id="goog_743180459"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_743180460"></span><br />
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4.) Set up your room for Open House/Meet The Teacher night if your school hosts one prior to school starting. I will do a separate post about how to plan for supplies that night. Early in pre-planning, ask veteran teachers what the school's expectations are for Open House/Meet The Teacher. My current school requires that we have a slideshow, extra copies of our supply lists, and emergency cards laid out for parents. I give my new students a treat or goody of some kind, too (like Play-Doh).<br />
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5.) Last, I work on my classroom library. Every summer I take books home to re-organize or repair. During pre-planning, I add these books back to the collection. The books that I left at school are already organized because I take time at the end of the year to make sure the books are in their right location. When I leave for the summer, I wrap the bookcase up in bulletin board paper and tape the paper down securely on all sides. That way, when I get back all I have to do is unwrap the paper! The shelves just need a quick wipe-down and the library is pretty much all set to go.<br />
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So, there you have it. These are my top 5 "must-dos" during pre-planning. I usually make it through this list with time to spare, so then I move on to projects that are less pressing (or have time to deal with whatever curveball has been thrown my way). Now let me tack on a few things that I DON'T DO during pre-planning:<br />
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1.) I don't label everything with kids' names. Class lists change all the way through the first week of school. It is a waste of time to put their names on things if they don't show.<br />
2.) I don't cover every square inch of wall space. My walls are blank except for the things I mentioned above. I want to have space for kids' work as well as anchor charts that we create together.<br />
3.) I don't stay late. I try to work only my contracted hours! It is an exhausting time and there will be days after school starts when I have to stay late. This means I can't waste time when I am at work, though.<br />
4.) I don't worry about the reputations of the kids on my roster. When well-meaning teachers want to tell me "what I need to know" about the students they had last year I listen, but take it in with a grain of salt. For one thing, there's no guarantee those kids are going to show up this year. They may have moved or changed schools. For another thing, kids grow and change over the summer and every classroom vibe is different. Sometimes kids who struggled the year before mature up over the summer...sometimes they weren't in with the right combination of personalities the previous year. And every single year that I have been teaching I've gotten a student at some point in the year who no one warned me about but whose challenges gave me a run for my money! So...there's no point in worrying about the kids and their reputations until you have them in front of you and know what you are dealing with.<br />
5.) I don't skip lunch. We are usually given an hour to go out to eat and I will always take advantage of that time. Since we eat with our classes the first 10 days it will be a while before I get a nice quiet lunch again, and going out is such a treat. Even if we just go down the street to Wendy's, that's a change of pace from what it will be like for most of the year!<br />
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If you have any pre-planning tips, please share them. I'd love to hear!first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-22981460763723010172019-06-29T13:41:00.001-04:002019-06-29T13:41:38.414-04:00PBIS in the classroom: my tried-and true reward system that is EASY to manage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hey y'all! I am popping in today to share a quick little post about how I do PBIS rewards in the classroom. Maybe you're at a school that has recently adopted the PBIS model and you're wondering how other teachers manage the classroom level rewards...or maybe you're just looking for an EASY rewards management system that won't make you go broke and doesn't require much extra effort. Sound too good to be true? It's not!<br />
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Let me start by saying that I have been at PBIS schools ever since I started teaching 13 years ago. I've been at 3 different schools, but my approach has been exactly the same since my 3rd year of teaching. If you didn't know, PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Intervention & Support. There is a lot to "being" a PBIS school, but it boils down to teaching clear and specific expectations for behavior and then rewarding the appropriate behaviors when they occur. Part of the model requires that we have rewards at both the classroom level and at the school level. Our PBIS team at school plans the school-wide rewards (which occur monthly), but it's up to individual teams and teachers how they choose to do their class rewards. We are required to turn in a plan at the beginning of the year explaining how we will do rewards throughout the year at least weekly in the classroom.<br />
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PBIS also requires that we use a schoolwide "currency" with which to reward kids. Our school has chosen to use ClassDojo, which suits me just fine because I have been using ClassDojo for years! We all share the same set of positive and negative behaviors across the school so that the PBIS team can analyze data in their meetings. In previous schools, we've used paper "bucks" (PAW bucks, school dollars, etc.) as our currency. I much prefer Dojo points because the app allows me to keep up with it effortlessly! I might do another post soon about Class Dojo and how we use it at our school and in the classroom. Basically, throughout the week students earn Dojo points for showing appropriate behaviors. Then, on Friday they are supposed to get to cash their points in for some kind of a reward.<br />
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Some teachers in my school choose to do a treasure box or reward their students with popsicles, pencils, and stickers. That's totally fine and I don't have a problem with that! Except...those things are funded out of the teacher's pocket. And don't get me wrong-I spend a ton of money on my classroom. Glue sticks, crayons, books...so much of my paycheck flows right back into the classroom! I just don't love the idea of buying stuff constantly to stock a treasure chest (and I don't really love it when my own personal child brings home the little junky stuff from school!). So, I created a different system that doesn't require constant re-stocking AND makes my teacher life better. It's a win-win! What do I do instead of tangible rewards? Well, instead of stuff, my kids earn "Fun Friday time". These are high-interest, non-academic centers (read: toys) that they can pick from to play with for a predetermined amount of time. Here are some of the things that I have available for them to choose from:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Lincoln Logs</li>
<li>Legos</li>
<li>Dinosaurs (a tub that is similar to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/TEMI-Educational-Realistic-Triceratops-Velociraptor/dp/B07MYTBV6N/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=discovery+channel+dinosaurs+toys&qid=1561828434&s=gateway&sr=8-7">this one</a>)</li>
<li>Squiz blocks (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fat-Brain-Toys-Original-Squigz/dp/B00BSYIUQI/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=squiz&qid=1561828486&s=gateway&sr=8-5">suction toys</a> that can be strung together in interesting ways)</li>
<li>Zoob building toys (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/ZOOB-0Z12052-RacerZ-Car-Designer/dp/B000BIX382/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=zoob&qid=1561828653&s=gateway&sr=8-5">like these</a>-the kids can make different vehicles)</li>
<li>Play-Doh (and I also have decorating tools, stampers, etc. for this center)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-DUPLO-Creative-6059074-Educational/dp/B00IANUGI0/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=duplo+blocks&qid=1561829191&s=gateway&sr=8-5">Duplo blocks</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Magnet-Build-Magnetic-Building-Educational/dp/B01LZ7L308/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=magna+tiles&qid=1561828762&s=gateway&sr=8-11">Magna-Tiles</a></li>
<li>Puzzles (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/What-Kids-Want-Explorer-Hopscotch/dp/B0008JILGI/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=dora+the+explorer+hopscotch+puzzle&qid=1561828819&s=gateway&sr=8-1">they especially love this HopScotch mat!</a>)</li>
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I used to have kitchen toys (play food/tea party set/etc.) but they disappeared in one of my classroom moves. :(<br />
<br />I also let them color with markers and sometimes I put out watercolors, too. Technology is also always a choice (computers) but interestingly very few of them choose it except when the other centers are full!<br />
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Here are a few pictures I found on my phone of "Fun Friday" in action!<br />
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The students LOVE Fun Friday time. They think it is just the best. Here are a few notes about management:<br />
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1.) I only allow 2-3 kids per center. Ideally it would only be 2. The noise level is much quieter and there are less conflicts to iron out with only a couple of kids in each group. The computer center can have more since we usually have 5 or 6 laptops in our room and Play-Doh can also hold more students if needed.<br />
2.) Since there is a limit to how many kids can go in each center, it is in a student's best interest to rack up as many Dojo points as possible. The kids who have the most points get to pick first and once a center is "full," that's it!<br />
3.) I allow them to swap centers as long as there is an open spot. If this becomes an issue, we don't swap.<br />
4.) The best part is during this 30-45 minutes on Fridays I can have a few minutes to progress monitor, clear off my desk, or accomplish other teacherly things because the students are completely engrossed in what they are doing. It is a great time for me to straighten up a little and get my mind clear for the weekend and the week ahead!<br />
5.) PBIS time is recorded in our lesson plans on Friday (under Social Studies).<br />
6.) The only way a child does not get to participate is if they earned zero Dojo points that week. That never happens because everyone usually gets at least a couple of points. However, if they earned negative Dojo points they have to come chat with me or my para first to discuss their choices for that week. Since they will be last to pick, they have fewer options.<br />
7.) At the beginning of the year I teach them that pretty much anything goes during Fun Friday except they cannot get too loud and I expect them to work out their own issues. Individual groups get 1 warning about noise/bickering/etc. and after that they have to clean up if they can't resolve their issues. I have very few problems during Fun Friday as a result! No one wants to give up any of their play time so they will exert peer pressure on one another to play quietly and to handle their problems.<br />
8.) I did not spend much AT ALL on the center materials. Most have been donated to my classroom! When I first started doing this more than a decade ago I let it be known that I would take any donations of Legos, blocks, building toys, etc. to put into my classroom. Then, about 4 years ago I wrote a DonorsChoose proposal and got some building toys that I had been wanting (the Squiz, car building kit, Magna Tiles, etc.). Prior to that proposal getting funded, though, I just put out more art materials and extra literacy station materials like magnet letters and they had 3-4 kids per group instead of just 2.<br />
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So there you have it! This is my no-stress approach to having classroom rewards that doesn't require a ton of money or set-up on my part. After the first couple of Fun Fridays of the year the free choice center time pretty much runs itself and it is heavenly. I would encourage anyone who is looking for a low-maintenance approach to classroom rewards to try it this way! If you do, let me know how it goes!<br />
<br />first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-42698461044591146942019-06-20T14:32:00.000-04:002019-06-20T14:32:47.351-04:00llama classroom themeIT'S SUMMERTIME! You know what that means...time for me to work on fun classroom theme sets for the upcoming school year! These are my FAVORITE things to work on in the summertime. I upload 2-3 to my TPT store every summer and have so much fun creating new sets!<br />
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This past week I added a llama set. I don't know why, but llamas are everywhere these days! I guess they are just "llama-zing" and people love them! ;) I love the neon backgrounds I picked out for this set. They are all colors that I have in my own classroom! In fact, I think I have plastic neon baskets in all of these colors!<br />
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Not gonna lie...my very favorite part of this set is the quote poster collection. Here's just a few of them:<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Llama-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-4633041"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="948" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR3mDTbdI-_gPos_PEJGNrzx71kkEDLOJ-vCOezSeca1yQHQfH5qNOleHGlg20HTn70HQW36R1YknqC2nj_2c1AnYkZeGyUhaN98f8dorhEslRCRQbIEncz7HuiksRR9oPiG82moGU-_Y/s640/llama+quote+posters.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Aren't they cute? The llamas at the bottom, the watercolor neon backgrounds, fun fonts...just love them.<br />
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The set (like all my sets) is very functional. I created them thinking about what I want and use in my own classroom! Starting with the basics...the ABC posters. I MAY have gone a little bit overboard with all of the options...what I think of as "regular" print is included (Zaner-Bloser) along with D'Nealian and cursive. The original set just has the letters set on the cute background with llamas, but then I made another set with phonetic clip art. And then another version with the clip art AND the word. Basically, I made an alphabet set for every possible situation that I could think of. (Um, unless you're from Australia. I know, I know...you guys use a different handwriting font down there. If that's you and you want this set, send me an e-mail! I have the font and I will add it just for you!)<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Llama-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-4633041"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiuj6Yb9rpdykE-XjZZ40kEmNX2X9zD4HLxaGiteODbKacQJUr8FPF0-gmoSwYGw08Eac17tJ2fG-rHBqX5zRZ9nWxkdn4vgo4NoYMSOQg4bXZMZRjhCLGotUFcNeOtTrGKEiesmfi0uA/s640/Slide2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Next up, all the other fun classroom posters: numbers, colors, shapes, supply labels...<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Llama-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-4633041"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JLwhouEy5tibJzCTst7gGccyf66htYb8-6vQhGyWuWpXsYI9HOdFnMs9Maf8dgKZ-MCZGbGDu35ye3ybV9hbRCGmdJSaTnnQBDHXwlXsQnAXm7ox_nF1QswLrFuFY26LiRtbEk7KsL0/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I absolutely adore how BRIGHT and FUN these are! The llamas on the color posters are just too cute!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Llama-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-4633041"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNy5nb0AhQT6RiITOwPrq7sRCo1ZLm4m_wpqNYpz9HOpuV4hreKEaIypZuuduZOASWzgB1cV0eL6Y7YR3Ja_4JXWGMk1_t7hXDTfVl0sKmcaeInY6CfSz84T6CU_lyvhyAhUJnVFrAPFc/s640/Slide3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Then I included everything that you need to manage a classroom. There's a behavior clip chart if that's your style...a super cute "Where Are We?" display to hang outside your classroom door...jobs for a Classroom Jobs pocket chart...hall passess...a "How Do We Get Home?" display...desk plates...a display for centers pocket charts/bins...table numbers both big and small...the word wall headers...calendar signs...and schedule cards.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Llama-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-4633041"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Djz2RLaEVa09lfCq-NSv245Y8yDh3Jr9Aq7SJQKlZp_89bDH7l6zGmNxxX95cbqR-kBdvk4dZ_6Xwo5voJaU3wKN38izrG3NS5OADvtUQw1nagO9zJ8D2NiazfNyZpeVMnoW7Th60yY/s640/word+wall+schedule+calendar.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Last but not least...THE TEACHER BINDER(s). I love these so very much! There are a million ways of using these. You can print out the dividers you need for one big jumbo binder OR you can have multiple notebooks to organize your teaching life. I also included all of the forms that you might need! And of course matching binder spine labels in various sizes are included.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Llama-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-4633041"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaBRj92KC-3RISuUJr5zYTZ67Gdgcx4sbINlLhmHzfaDU9g-Q1sdAABQ-O0eUePSQ5jXx_zTIHXa6s2wvINg77H_N0FihJdBVuperBwnOyu5wlVN9gpQowFhKHncUu1Ql7RQjmvcYTdQc/s640/Slide5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I couldn't decide whether I liked the llama version of the dividers or the kiddie clip art, so I included both. They both look awesome against the bright neon stripes!</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Llama-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-4633041"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1zCw73xS6zUfNXe_foRY9RDm9ALBTNeW5JOouBChu7Jz2p91ZHCsEx1liR17ixFUuT87Li7-m-slRLLnlxZ06famYF8PEKHO9vHinP2opYgxpGLZpeG9xWKthE7TvIbQhIGI7fvZcAI/s640/Slide6.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I already mentioned the quote posters, but here is another screenshot. I had a lot of fun finding quotes for these!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Llama-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-4633041"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipipNus-rJUNfHDESRcCIjcfEHOu2xQkZIWja9Z-03nLhlUoOIWEbfzqflPXV61wgHCG64CYiBF0sRAvm3BwsC8gYHTNJM_4Leh8zjGdtCtiw_J627yv1NBvhcJMQL8f3QHg08bLCAFIA/s640/Slide4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Annnnd...since everyone's teaching situation is unique...I included editable templates in case there are posters or materials you need that aren't included. They have text boxes loaded and ready to go for you to enter your own content. There's always something I wish were included in decorative files that I've purchased...this fixes that problem!<br />
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If you love this look and want it for your own classroom, you can click on any of the pictures in this post or purchase it <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Llama-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-4633041">here in my TPT shop. </a><br />
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Thank you for checking out my blog! Make something wonderful happen today! <3first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-43094235119318634832019-01-21T10:58:00.001-05:002019-01-21T10:58:30.575-05:00The 100th Day of SchoolOur 100th day of school was this week! Confession: The 100th day ALWAYS sneaks up on me. ALWAYS. I like the IDEA of the 100th day and I want to celebrate it well, but it is a lot of work! A couple of years ago I put together some LOW-PREP 100th day activities and it saved me this year. Here are some pics of what we did:<div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/100th-Day-of-School-Easy-low-prep-activities-2964753"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47Z9YCuPQoHCdyVundtGLcmLdeh5fDzA3Ruz8PC_xbhSkkMU2cqZzWKGPDRXuc1YxThIKL1EWPETcei_GRB61Mk6s18zXuanermEWPy_Rorbd2aEX9LfaddvKOGDnlug-6PqmgG5YKqQ/s400/Slide5.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/100th-Day-of-School-Easy-low-prep-activities-2964753"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFyzDXnutaucB3sW60DtLcI28lrGv-NIvybhPuhxdbEi69albJsmiKBX4oi0u9ghdQxilR1KABf2MX619IjqbXMJE3gQdyWbl-4jbXe0J_FpW7sLb054XFx2Bhs_2NF2ukQKoVvr0Zlc/s400/Slide6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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First, in the morning we made this class book. We brainstormed a whole bunch of foods that we LOVE and could eat 100 of. I heard some really interesting things...M&Ms, hot Taki chips, gummy bears, ice cream cones, pieces of popcorn...they had some great ideas. Then we brainstormed the things we would NOT want to eat 100 of...some of my favorite answers were hot wings, brussel sprouts, and rotten pumpkins. (Bless!) Then they did their writing and drew pictures. It turned out really cute and this will be a great addition to our classroom library!</div>
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After lunch we did our 100th day math stations. Some years we are able to stretch out our 100th day stuff a little longer, but we are CRUNCHED for time right now with our pacing guide so we did alllll of our 100th day things in the same day. I have made a bunch of the stations from my 100th day packet and used them in the past, but since we didn't have time to explain a lot of games or practice them I had them practice their skills with some of the printables instead. </div>
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At my table, we worked on tallying (still a hard concept!) with this printable:</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/100th-Day-of-School-Easy-low-prep-activities-2964753"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFmDXK-aa3R8CHv6i3O9pQCizMFlKsAoeg3M-k0cOieppZ3X0QgGe1dSNqA6O8yWBJaqkffdNR1DNGsfI55ekz3M3QU2A6mwLEnX7DG9jby0YR614xpNwvQuM37ri-MrbpRBk88HCNj0/s400/Slide7.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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At another station, they used highlighters (which they LOVED!) to find all of the 100s:</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/100th-Day-of-School-Easy-low-prep-activities-2964753"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKLu2JT7_DiKtK3Yqmy5QQDN8xf7ZqOu0ezFIIGmu5fSaNgTNFvPPPu6DA5z2EVvLdzPNnRAFV7krI9ELnXkjexOXUCJE5TrTfHVWbxcgliNyxcPScJVbaxl8H5EhhvykJp24HGS69SXo/s400/Slide3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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In the cut and paste station, they practiced skip counting by 5s to 100:</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/100th-Day-of-School-Easy-low-prep-activities-2964753"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYsTL9CFUQTAvvK9g7Qv7VoXcZ0Xs8rioQ15AXRu4Msj1lMjdQkU7mGXQHYt3Ft3nfmpvOYr9iHOK4F8rqaQofK9v91DbOTEJAqaj-0esEPS9_BIXXzt0uK_5hEdhlII9bw6PDqNKqe64/s400/Slide2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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And in my para's station, they made their 100th day necklaces to wear for the rest of the day:</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/100th-Day-of-School-Easy-low-prep-activities-2964753"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBY5k0tc1Pd01eD0G_fvwh0l6p4Xv1OJUP8rd4569IiCjCc9Cg-al2Fc6_N0kDQYsvitgq_O4PBTxblIA-qoThP-Ita2GHPfk958nCoAFh_FHMN92PNAw4qeqfihyphenhyphenv4U_NYRZNmEcEzN0/s400/Slide4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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That's it...nothing too fancy! We had a good time, though, and the best part is we are 100 days into the school year! My mind is definitely pre-occupied with prepping for maternity leave and getting everything squared away to be out from Spring Break until the end of the year. It was soooo nice to have these print-and-go activities at my fingertips! If you are looking for low-prep stuff for the 100th day, everything in this post is available in this <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/100th-Day-of-School-Easy-low-prep-activities-2964753">100th Day packet here in my TPT shop! </a></div>
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first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-86066838263787169992019-01-12T12:12:00.000-05:002019-01-12T12:12:06.955-05:00Farmhouse Classroom ThemeI have been super hard at work this week wrapping up another classroom theme set. I start this last summer for my own classroom, but I didn't get around to finishing it because my grade level decided to go with a first-grade-wide camping theme. I finally found a few minutes as my break was winding down to take a look at it again and it's now DONE! I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone that farmhouse anything is a hot decor trend right now...shiplap, Rae Dunn, shabby chic, Fixer Upper...it's one of my favorite classroom themes that I've made so far.<br />
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Let me show you my favorite piece of the whole set: the quote posters! I am OBSESSED with how these turned out.<br />
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<a href="http://product/Farmhouse-Classroom-Theme-fully-editable-with-teacher-binder-4299457"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDRDisvMzBDA1vzdGpyXQOsDcwD9Q7TUO2phQh0tGuOy_GP8S8kc_gUBYCcemvrltvz6zk6LyNC6GaCGFNEH2ZMIokTxWNyqzrGxYoenapEZlFQA4AvhhPzcdQ_mbVmT5tlOUMTwkvYQ/s640/quote+posters.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Some of these are based on things I say all the time in my own classroom! "Have a great day...or not! The choice is yours!" is a quote that our school does on the announcements every single day.<br />
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What else? Well, of course ABC posters! This time around I went with super simple black and white clip art for the primary versions of the posters. I included them with both Zaner-Bloser font and D'Nealian with the phonetically accurate clip art. I also made a set with cursive letters. I love the chalkboard with the pops of greenery on these!<br />
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<a href="http://product/Farmhouse-Classroom-Theme-fully-editable-with-teacher-binder-4299457"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu6Pp9zPZ7avoEK8mdioyETKRFxhQj3cILTnS1kTQN8tZ8pML8sXWjwEzfRWP8gie9-POnqnxNpIfUTazrGPcin_SaYjNZe4Wz8YTsCr5xSLgf-qPAY7uyBiP9NxUWD32cq3r89HWkfcM/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I like this style of number poster, too. This is actually the same way I display my own number posters in my classroom: numeral, number word, and ten frame. They are SO useful and the kids reference them all the time. For shapes, I used sweet little farmhouse birdies to model the colors!<br />
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<a href="http://product/Farmhouse-Classroom-Theme-fully-editable-with-teacher-binder-4299457"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAHB9z0lnT6AzaqCFTFg0xzIm4Cirur3NKEwaxGfrCSDZTLLlfJTxVWsQiS6CpxrHGEaeWefXgoH75c-1JVN_vGgdkzbGYFdkaIE2H-3cAxctK4120uq7aUFT0dxeeDwneaQVz_ViOvRE/s640/Slide2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Shape posters are up next. These are also often referenced in my own classroom! Kids look at them all the time to check the spelling of shape words.<br />
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<a href="http://product/Farmhouse-Classroom-Theme-fully-editable-with-teacher-binder-4299457"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJaXQm8_e9WDTuzYlRbME931MAj67w4H_D6buAU0l_1t4g6TT3xw7-v-qU0goREm-fmhaQT1puppXGQbDU9RG5OJJ51VoIamEtXhSl4P5tlIXBcD7RwAqJ1Tvyp0jTJC27AKh6spJQLg/s640/Slide3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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One of the reasons I love making these classroom decor sets is that I hear from teachers that having coordinating, ready-to-print classroom management tools helps them start the year off right! I personally LOVE to decorate and organize my classroom at the beginning of the year. Hanging up pocket charts, adding posters to my collection, thinking about how I'm going to use various displays to make the classroom run smoother this year...that's some of my favorite work at the beginning!<br />
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It's all here...word wall headers, clock numbers, welcome/word wall pennants, calendar printables, schedule cards, classroom jobs display, "Where Are We?" display, behavior/clip chart, hall passes, "How Do We Get Home?" display, and LABELS galore! I adore the Rae Dunn font, but for most things I also included a simpler primary-style font. I've heard from primary teachers that they prefer for things that the students are going to use to be very readable for the little ones and I totally get it!<br />
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<a href="http://product/Farmhouse-Classroom-Theme-fully-editable-with-teacher-binder-4299457"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjfzKDJUPCyul-uzLM_r0k0wzVgcsSwneG96WWZJ8RAjtUEpaTUHkPCPwDOJL2IcTqZYJn9GG6rJMZUh6ccwitH5fevPyU9OIFF7DVOWJX31E4SHpO5VUSgQiRincwFOuGN-_noLYZoDY/s640/Slide4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://product/Farmhouse-Classroom-Theme-fully-editable-with-teacher-binder-4299457"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLR0CFxj74b27S3Oe75LtolJhHeQ6Q7-pXpMK-O0LNthb6jszq2zJSROx-UApdKDdVW-lpHSPF973ehLl_B4nb15uZK624B5GIKOBDsBm9q5eRs7XOMMvy41nJZXiSUpSnB43S5bAUL8/s640/Slide7.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://product/Farmhouse-Classroom-Theme-fully-editable-with-teacher-binder-4299457"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0uToNV8EMTCt3ytZzIjHik1fJvCFtJSkMtEHz10o8UkYdG5TBC6bVNhTn8ax0UeI2hvWIVjN6A2Zq2rno00QJGguzINtaAC-I44gnTd7wxLAnhV8Vnz93xlgs_RzSaJLBRiO1ngdBCXk/s640/Slide5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://product/Farmhouse-Classroom-Theme-fully-editable-with-teacher-binder-4299457"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguirsIbsN7W5v_FI2W8k1rRMWtLvpOX5d8odSc8wwgj5XP4dIJNqLn1sbKyy0V7z52ThF4x8ZmSTqp5JpuQ5DaVeaVc2iDHUOC0jiN2LVjUBcBXpQVZx8SjPgQ6FfZlx3y-1H6_9YbpuA/s640/Slide6.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Lastly...the teacher binder. I LOVE my own teacher binder. It keeps me soooo organized and there are dividers for everything. I really do use these forms, too, in my own classroom! I have been sending home that student info sheet now for YEARS.<br />
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<a href="http://product/Farmhouse-Classroom-Theme-fully-editable-with-teacher-binder-4299457"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0sZXXtIrphlv8ayO3yVcQtaccD5K_gEGMkZqjkEqgeucMl8cbcvHZtjYK_9ysgY8FMK6oZChttxkcaBkfB1Y01jx9jydJ_18wNEjl3Gy50qxggZ1zdttS1OCGFhM7iKtrea6Wf_PIjLc/s640/Slide8.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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As with my other decor sets, I included blanks of every single poster, label, card, divider, binder spine...every single one! There are blank printables in the .PDF as well as editable PowerPoint files (pre-loaded with text boxes) so that you can create anything extra that you need. When I've purchased decor items on TPT in the past, there have often been specific things that I wanted/needed. Editable templates fix that problem!</div>
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Do you want this set for your own classroom? Then hop over to my TPT store to check it out! You can click on any of the pictures to take you there or just click <a href="http://product/Farmhouse-Classroom-Theme-fully-editable-with-teacher-binder-4299457">here</a>.</div>
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Thanks for checking out my blog! Make something wonderful happen today!</div>
first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-52931729654799393782019-01-05T11:55:00.005-05:002019-01-05T11:55:42.354-05:00Happy 2019!Happy New Year! Was it just me or did this Winter Break fly by SOOOO fast? Just around the time that I got used to being on break it was time to get back into the groove of an everyday routine again. Teachers in my district went back to work on January 3rd and kids came back yesterday. Yes, on a Friday! It was kind of weird but in a way I appreciated the chance to ease back into the routine for a day before having to hit the ground running for a full week.<br />
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I have been teaching lower grades for a long time but it still never ceases to amaze me how much the little ones change in just a couple of weeks. We had a very sweet day on our first day back, although I was very happy to exit the classroom at quitting time and head home for 2 days of rest and recharging! Today I'm popping in to share some of the New Year's activities we did on our first day back.<br />
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One of my favorite things to do on the first day of the new semester is some goal-setting. We talk about how we have half a year to work on mastering the things we know are important. For the last 3 or 4 years I've read the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JRMXXWE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1">Squirrel's New Year's Resolution</a>. It is just the cutest little book to explain what a resolution is and to jump-start a conversation about our own goals for the New Year!<br />
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We brainstormed some things that might be good goals for first graders here at the beginning of 2nd semester. I asked them to think about 3 kinds of goals: reading goals, math goals, and "just-for-fun" goals. For reading and math, this year's class came up with things like "meet my AR goals," "learn all my sight words," "get really good at sounding out words," "finish learning my letter sounds," "learn my math facts," and "learn my numbers to 120." I always love reading their "just-for-fun" goals! This year a lot of kids said they want to learn to ride a bike without training wheels. I also had some kids who said they want to learn to cross the monkey bars or how to tie their shoes.<br />
<br />Now, we are a Leader In Me school so we actually have a goal-setting template in the kids' leadership notebooks. (Leadership notebooks are a new thing for my classroom this year and worth a separate blog post...I'm putting it on my to-do list!) As it so happens, the kids are supposed to set both academic and personal goals for themselves. They are called WIGS (Wildly Important Goals) and we have them at the school level, grade level, and individual student level. Since we already had that template in our notebooks, I let the kids do their initial thinking/brainstorming on that template.<br />
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Then we did something a little crafty and fun. We rewrote our goals on some bright colored paper and decorated New Year's hats...these are now on my door and out in the hall!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREEBIE-New-Years-activities-craftivity-mini-book-coloring-sheet-and-more-3562916"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-LMihs3czP7KpNOLQ0fgPthfVsXnN4pLZc4PGLfK2kdk2hILpl3UnCXmGVHjfH0d3ccXwEGHcQFt1JSNmhWXVENhLGnQiNa0ZoHiJnOujJVKsBC87tsEHN3t-8wmmremgGzif8_CbrlQ/s320/goal+w+logo.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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If you want the templates for these, they are in a <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREEBIE-New-Years-activities-craftivity-mini-book-coloring-sheet-and-more-3562916">FREEBIE download in my TPT store</a>! There's also a free coloring sheet, easy reader, and read the room/write the room center.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREEBIE-New-Years-activities-craftivity-mini-book-coloring-sheet-and-more-3562916"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyRQzybJjAhF2Glg1fooH7hYVrbBaVA9MLZ8O453jwPndqwa5BgS763wVf1R9IofTlxtUFiq7oxxrblvL16fX9tUSPON9ZcM8sBgoudkmd-eTHI6OMRD3Op-rAKd-X64n6okjDqAZElBY/s320/new+year+coloring+sheet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Click any of the pics or the link to snag your free copy!<br />
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For math yesterday we didn't do math stations or some of our usual things...not on a Friday after break, haha! Instead we reviewed addition & subtraction and worked on some problem solving. Then we made some cute snowmen to add to our word problems and they are all also hanging in the hall! Didn't they turn out cute?!<br />
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The face on the last one just cracks me up. Bless first graders! They are so fun!<br />
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This was SUCH an easy activity to do on our first day back. It's up in my TPT shop, too! I included both the word problems that I used with my own kids as well as editable versions.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Snowman-Craft-with-EDITABLE-word-problems-4288324"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLpaKuG94KMNNEfdw45IJ4rE8vHDTs5IwEDl7HDa0Mj5p7feX_5-BIg0N0pDlnWJor-tHaBCQ4ejnsEGAtdfIa5GkvFBkmT1vXfP92wYAS4vxkIegy5_vVJEyrt17-H60z-38vOqOzB9Y/s320/snowman+craft+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You can click on the picture above or <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Snowman-Craft-with-EDITABLE-word-problems-4288324">click here</a> to check it out in my TPT shop!</div>
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Next week we will jump back in to our regular routine. I am really looking forward to second semester...for more than a few reasons! One, I LOVE how independent first graders are the second half of the year. The fall semester to me always feels like a little bit of an uphill struggle. After Christmas, though, they come back ready with longer attention spans and with more skills, so we can really rock and roll in reading and math! Some of my favorite units come up in the winter months, too-penguins, Jan Brett, black history, groundhogs....so much good content to teach! And on a personal note, I am going out on maternity leave in March and I'm excited about the changes for our little family. </div>
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Hope everyone had a great holiday season and feels well rested as they head back into their normal routine! </div>
<br />first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-44272591369505378892018-12-08T08:46:00.000-05:002018-12-08T08:46:25.027-05:00December 2018: Holidays in the Classroom (including a subtraction freebie)Stopping by today to drop some pictures of what we are up to this month! With Thanksgiving being so early this year, it seems like we have a lot of time before the next break. Here's how we've been spending our time lately...<br />
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1.) This week we started some holiday-themed writing with a candy cane project. On Monday the kids got to sample a candy cane with their 5 senses (this was a BIG hit!) and then we brainstormed words that described our candy canes. I projected the graphic organizer on my panel and recorded students' responses...then they filled in their own graphic organizers with words of their choice.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Candy-Cane-Craftivity-2903475"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1VncPq1Qr8OUFPCbXZfW_6XJ1aVhdUTlWAkn33qzH1i-6hYVZWRX5o0G7J2rWKz9EB8Qcu-2_6fNSplPZq2rb1i2Xdb6l5noun6AcXLRDXwvAsnP304e7wAgqhopyD9ZHHVox_OX9_jY/s640/Slide2.JPG" width="640" /></a><span id="goog_1517516825"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1517516826"></span></div>
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Then they spent some time drafting their "sloppy copies" using their graphic organizers to help. Last, we edited to make sure the sentences were perfect and rewrote it as a final draft. As a finishing touch, they made a simple candy cane page topper for the top. These are now outside my door...December decorations DONE!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Candy-Cane-Craftivity-2903475"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTwsywqTbquMO-KWF8-8aw_sbFFjqcYe9dETs_8LaEVoPJefqLh6a5iwxI4awlJGKO26QY_ik3pEAa_Nra99OMZI2vKpWlr2qfvIBU5qyJeNMRuwceDIs31kU8nMgmCVN2LvWZdaGA9Q/s640/Slide2.JPG" width="480" /></a><a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Candy-Cane-Craftivity-2903475"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiva_7bao4PuuWneoNW7H-xjySc9jE6bTQFt324a5xxdqIBfgMTDEHHeDKJ5NWpYQcIetyGcPuqnWTj_YJwSn4tCIsF0iZFIOlE2kY4QsyzhBjVjnXxopCVJTIyyVEaBVKUEiYU3SV14o/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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You can find the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Candy-Cane-Craftivity-2903475">candy cane craftivity</a> in my TPT store!<br />
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2.) Next week we are gearing up to embark on our Christmas Around The World unit. This is one of my FAVORITE units to teach all year! I've been doing it for years! This year I spent some time over Thanksgiving Break completely updating all of the files with new informational texts and clip art. I am so thrilled with how they turned out! This weekend I will be prepping the mini-books...probably while watching a holiday movie.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Around-The-World-997410"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVbPIIwH3sJEJAZ2C9ZEUZHmA7-haz3orhjafuTgZUD4gT5Cvwb48Ifq4SMuRLjEP_cO0bmbkfOAto-ZxFQO5xmQZy5Gg44OrxgRug_Huq_UbUesWVIHFva9fk5WmmypNGt_2XrpODms/s640/Slide3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The way my team has done it the last few years is to present the informational text in whole group reading and talk about key details. In the past we've used the student minibooks plus the big teacher sized version. This year, I added informational fact posters to project with real photographs so that the students can get a good idea of what some of the traditions, foods, and places look like in real life:<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Around-The-World-997410"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAscY7as-ZP79Jd4mzIKVb2liseWpnM_1vu3GJw4LyGfYg7KMyHEJk9B10mWeCwv6cfJNhBPbBqrKoFkA2VCbPt6IqTDIZqrEbxIJw0yOFOV4t3vWfvO1SLtjreoc56nKPdM7AAXFjqs/s640/Slide4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I am SO EXCITED about using these! I think they turned out bright and eye-catching.<br />
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During the work session, the kids will write down some of the facts that they learned...and during writer's workshop they will put their finishing touches on informational pieces about each country.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Around-The-World-997410"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOof3Yr6u8F32QebN24jC5Ep5vgnutvMCUFDsQyqVB7Et3sHbMUMFMe6A0THBKyXtES8ZRT0h09Gqozoy5hygrv90xMhZZWIlK0prmfs2XRA3Wbp4WnWvvHVN9MsZBkkB2CxKAygLvqBA/s640/Slide5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I haven't decided yet whether we are going to make the suitcases that I've made in years past. They are a great project, but we will be short on time the last week due to all of the holiday festivities going on at school! This is what they look like on the inside once they're completed...<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Around-The-World-997410"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3K7yr3x1OGLU7DyVapzRXx3AhTdLcWACtpuENQmTZuPgqX9sLzC15d2_2gq9185x-ARl899n-fCfWVRT8BiNYL0_2Mb53FgK5kbZSc1GswkyB_w0Qie21bIf4F_PjmW6NJ3XmJ28feJQ/s640/Slide7.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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They are so cute...I may have to try to squeeze them in! We'll see! At the very least the kids will have a nice writing project to take home.<br />
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The Christmas Around The World pack is in my store...if you've purchased it before, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Around-The-World-997410">go download all the new goodies</a>! Click any of the pictures or the cover below!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Around-The-World-997410"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1BwzCR6ZjVAjABHGAM9FQggW6EWGMkpsM4ys8GEdadCn9h7sKgHsWCgVced-xKuqLx0GH6y-Oqm9Z5z0AHLBwMeio-3Iwm6MlstX5FJ_CjgwuM_vLYNSWL0oPe18BSftRPOjbm1yXzuk/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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3.) I've been trying to incorporate the holiday spirit into math, even though that's a little harder...we've been plugging away at subtraction for the last little while. This year my class has been sluggish to catch on but I think we finally made some breakthroughs this week! I created a few holiday resources to supplement what we've got and I uploaded them as a freebie on TPT. There's a cute math station where the students use pictures to solve...<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Holiday-Subtraction-Freebies-K-1-4241411"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFwQhnsOJytFD5eGvXhqR-d0r7kd1RPQq2BB1G-P7YvmifRBivA0LPKr-EoxxtTwrXBePQOTFUd1BgDhklheXTev-GddU6vsD963aVssAOXij42eIrYDngcZFozMgkEE7sK1TmBJIR9mw/s640/Slide2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And a story problems booklet + a couple of easy worksheets.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Holiday-Subtraction-Freebies-K-1-4241411"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZWavsZOJCJNkskEl7iPSR-vFcPAffTOirxhEdWwBudX8kBwWXNTNb4FKPAxRB3wmhNAm5eFmSM6ekm6BrhoM_Iw2ACDn27UQYVGgrHbDvn7brVTIWJk0tF1DAnMRguz19nq2dBSENoI/s640/Slide3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Click any of the pictures or<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Holiday-Subtraction-Freebies-K-1-4241411"> click here</a> to snag the freebie!<br />
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4.) Ornament-palooza....this week sometime I have GOT to have my kids make some ornaments! We usually do the cinnamon gingerbread ornaments that I've blogged about before, but I am thinking about doing something simpler this year...possibly a Popsicle stick ornament and a snow globe ornament. I will post pictures of what we decide to do! I wasn't going to go out today-the weather is cold and yucky today, plus I could really use a day of house cleaning!-but Michael's sent me a $20 off a $50 purchase coupon that I feel compelled to go spend.<br />
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Happy Holidays!first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-28154195800436275532018-01-02T21:07:00.001-05:002018-01-02T21:07:47.864-05:00Happy New Year...and a freebie!Happy 2018!<br />
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Just popping in today to dust off the old blog, say Happy New Year, and drop off a quick freebie I made to use with my first graders this week. It's a simple New Year's emergent reader and a Read the Room, Write the Room center. Here's a quick pic I snapped as I was organizing my stuff to load up in my teacher bag (ugh):<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Year-freebie-Emergent-Reader-Read-the-RoomWrite-the-Room-Center-3562916"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDdCBlbwuVCyq8Kgs8c2sc4lsCbZ6I9jBDKHpOJmFvcPCYoy_0392Sw3DoC_8rhuyIt1qZ0clQqCiLA9ZPaNQ_godAUMYrgOZKNcjCJVQXpaVAdDLcX8M9B7bf5b0EQ3MwKATb14oVCg/s640/Presentation7.jpg" width="640" /></a><span id="goog_236936963"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_236936964"></span></div>
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If you want to grab the freebie, click on any of the pictures to download it from my TPT shop or just click <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Year-freebie-Emergent-Reader-Read-the-RoomWrite-the-Room-Center-3562916">here</a>. If you do download it, I would love it if you would leave me some kind feedback! :)<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Year-freebie-Emergent-Reader-Read-the-RoomWrite-the-Room-Center-3562916"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3rpsOh7oZXw5yhh4nH6ITEVPkWjsOb6ZA64co6R_LmtOwN643ViewSUbX5Hts4orwcSCgyiW23lYSUo4eA7b0swlhUirDIWCCkSJfmuigZ6lDaIA0LgsZ3SBOx91-eWu2VM-k9pHbLE/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-81241440555964949702017-07-19T08:48:00.000-04:002017-07-19T08:48:40.615-04:00The Summer Stash: Summer 2017Hello, beautiful teacher friends! I hope everyone is making the most of these amazing summer days! Somehow-I'm not exactly sure how-my summer is drawing to an end. :( It really flew by this year. I've been gone for the last couple of weeks to conferences and on family vacation (hence the lack of blog updates!) and now it's almost time to head back to reality. And my classroom, which I haven't set foot in since May 31st. (That changes tomorrow...I am hoping to get it all put together in just a day...we'll see if that actually manages to happen!)<br />
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I'm popping in today to share some of the things I've picked up this summer and stashed for the upcoming school year. We all do this, right? Start stocking up on things when the goodies start to appear in Target and Hobby Lobby and Michaels and then squirrel them away until we can get in our classrooms? I think it's a universal teacher trait.<br />
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This summer I have been good...very, very good. Mostly because our house is on the market and I can't have random piles of teacher stuff hanging out in my office. (That has been the case in summers past for sure!) I have gotten a few things here and there but for the most part I've kept them in the trunk of my car! These were the first things I picked up:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0-LW_HtBoHK5Do2qaPoq-nH9zQ7KjgN1slqCgMpRH3E6rI5-ja-zDEtmkXXLAzQRPw9-gike6ICjRp24x_kJnRjMyKyGAYfdWOwIz6A6UP5IbXXAZHriBlqGPH8zipBUXH8546VfEds/s1600/tubs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ0-LW_HtBoHK5Do2qaPoq-nH9zQ7KjgN1slqCgMpRH3E6rI5-ja-zDEtmkXXLAzQRPw9-gike6ICjRp24x_kJnRjMyKyGAYfdWOwIz6A6UP5IbXXAZHriBlqGPH8zipBUXH8546VfEds/s640/tubs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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These tubs are giant. I got them at Michael's. I think they are actually beverage containers, but the colors are perfect for my room. I will put them to good use at Open House to hold supplies and then after that we'll see what use I find for them! Speaking of Micheal's...I saw on Instagram that they have more things out now...I'm going to have to go by there to check it out. They also have some amazing planners! I bought this one with a 50% off coupon last month and I am OBSESSED with it:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEips6qFrJYFtmgiGQ0bapqLWkx9qmflHj5ZNxD9ehs5CrRLEFaS0ihR9aBrOIGXODoRnRkfugq_7kCqVw-UDtmcrZ49N7IbyP-odh2BQo9t_5doAdSEXbHURZdbVxhiU_9Skkyl7uOhYjU/s1600/planner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEips6qFrJYFtmgiGQ0bapqLWkx9qmflHj5ZNxD9ehs5CrRLEFaS0ihR9aBrOIGXODoRnRkfugq_7kCqVw-UDtmcrZ49N7IbyP-odh2BQo9t_5doAdSEXbHURZdbVxhiU_9Skkyl7uOhYjU/s640/planner.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
It has nice monthly spreads as well as weekly layouts...plus handy pockets in the back for storing extra stuff. The brand is Recollections. It is similar to the Happy Planner, which is what I actually went in there to get. I may have spent an embarrassingly long time in the planner aisle going back and forth between all of the options. Ultimately I went with this one because I liked the design of the pages and many of the Happy Planner "extras" will work with this one, too (not insert pages, but pretty much anything else-stickers, etc.). With the coupon I only paid $15...for a year's worth of organization I think that's money well spent!<br />
<br />Here is the majority of my summer stash. See, I told you I've been very good this summer...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2g0C3wCFO4suYZ2YvqWrO9teVtl2BJEptpxWMIKdQVfJETG7S3FsdG-_yfWd44dwD3tYUpZ2nQlqHijLJ_j4T0HFBA6OO1LuObV-UD7ADtDZQg4XKfpmp4p4_8PBhWvn1GUQljeKvR8U/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2g0C3wCFO4suYZ2YvqWrO9teVtl2BJEptpxWMIKdQVfJETG7S3FsdG-_yfWd44dwD3tYUpZ2nQlqHijLJ_j4T0HFBA6OO1LuObV-UD7ADtDZQg4XKfpmp4p4_8PBhWvn1GUQljeKvR8U/s640/Slide2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Most of this came from Target. I was able to score all of those neon book bins and couldn't believe it. (I even left some one the shelf for the next person, believe it or not!) I also found that cute little easel (which will be put to use at Open House) plus the glitter apple banner and the plan book. I also had to get one of the Mo Willems stuffed animals at Kohl's. I went in there yesterday for something completely unrelated (new pillows, actually) and got completely sidetracked by the Kohl's Cares for Kids display. I only bought Elephant because Little Miss picked him out, but at the last minute threw two of the books in my cart, too. I am still thinking about the rest of the crew (Piggie, Pigeon, Duckling)...I may have to go back over there sometime this week to round them up.<br />
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One last picture...this is actually a stash of freebies I got yesterday!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAxPDMzBeSMkpDlFHH4nQrnMCobObrZKMrBcupB7NRUJkgvTUFIzx1gbTwKRIvzh9F4VTr6GsYnW4YiSPK9jesgNOlmX51hXxsa6NhtUD4UCFbWts0XaA6_zJ9UI7fuWFPQFcsfWlLCek/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAxPDMzBeSMkpDlFHH4nQrnMCobObrZKMrBcupB7NRUJkgvTUFIzx1gbTwKRIvzh9F4VTr6GsYnW4YiSPK9jesgNOlmX51hXxsa6NhtUD4UCFbWts0XaA6_zJ9UI7fuWFPQFcsfWlLCek/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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One of the big grocery chains in my area is Kroger. They do a supplies giveaway for teachers every year and it's always awesome! It's stuff we teachers actually need: construction paper, paper towels, soap, sanitizer, tape, bandages, Kleenex, dry erase markers and copy paper. I appreciate it so very much...This stash of goodies usually helps me in that first wave of cleaning when I get back to school to set up my room. So awesome!<br />
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That's it! I have barely one trunkload of stuff to take to school tomorrow, which is pretty great for me. I do have an Amazon order coming at the end of the week with some books and Play-Doh...that might be content for another post! (So excited about some new books I've found to add to my back to school reading repertoire!)<br />
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What have YOU found while out and about this summer? Anything fun to share?first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-42211253068445784532017-06-24T10:41:00.001-04:002017-06-24T10:42:59.389-04:00A Post About PrintersGood morning! Today I am typing up a post about printers to share with you. This was inspired by many conversations that I have had with teacher friends (both online and in real life) about printer woes and printer love. Yes, "printer love" is a thing! I have a deep and abiding love for not one, not two, but three printers in my life...haha! I thought I would highlight each one, explain where and why I have it, and detail each one's pros and cons.<br />
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But first...you're probably thinking, "Honey, why do you need THREE printers? Isn't that a bit excessive? One printer should do you just fine." Yes, it probably should. However, I consider owning three printers to be an investment in my personal sanity. Also, I am spending less on ink and toner now than I did three or four years ago, yet I'm printing a lot more...and spending a lot less time standing around at the copier.<br />
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Here's my breakdown of printers from oldest to newest!<br />
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1.) First...my trusty Brother laser printer. I've blogged about this little guy <a href="http://firstgradepizzazz.blogspot.com/2015/07/back-to-school-planning-and-why-i-dont.html">before</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvpFPn1CZxBxfggl4wK7_Y7GIzZ_iiYIIL5lGDcnPmypMqX44aMt_hsRsfKlhaOETHqhF96zqQNYfvZKgkZ7QSq_E5UHpkGiGpvsrploe9DDURy9mDfJbuI67NC4Gi0dMV7KBE8U03XA/s1600/printer+love.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="735" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvpFPn1CZxBxfggl4wK7_Y7GIzZ_iiYIIL5lGDcnPmypMqX44aMt_hsRsfKlhaOETHqhF96zqQNYfvZKgkZ7QSq_E5UHpkGiGpvsrploe9DDURy9mDfJbuI67NC4Gi0dMV7KBE8U03XA/s640/printer+love.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is an older version of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Brother-HL-L2340DW-Monochrome-Wireless-Replenishment/dp/B00LZS5EEI/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1498311394&sr=1-1&keywords=brother+printer">this printer</a> on Amazon. It is a workhorse of a printer...it can turn out class sets of documents quickly and efficiently. The best part is, my toner is dirt-cheap. I buy generic brand high-yield toner for between $11-$12 and that lasts me 2-3 months (depending on how much I run). I get about 3,000 prints per toner cartridge. My system is basically to run what I can at work with the limited copy numbers that I have...then print everything else and NOT STRESS ABOUT IT. $11 for toner every couple of months is more than worth it in my sanity. Also, there is something to be said for being able to hit the 'print' button on my computer and letting it print while I go about my business at home, versus having to baby-sit a copier at work.</div>
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2.) After I discovered how AMAZING it was to have a black and white printer that worked well, it wasn't long before I began looking for a solution for my color printing needs. Like every teacher, I print a ton of stuff for centers and classroom decorations. We have a color printer in the media center, but it is temperamental to put it mildly. At home, I used to have an inkjet that seemed to drink ink through a straw. I thought I was being savvy by buying my ink at Sam's and I tried to stock up whenever there were good deals on the multipacks. Still, I was shelling out a small fortune for ink that lasted for what seemed like no time at all! It was around this time that I started hearing about HP's Instant Ink program. I'm sure many of you know and participate in it now, but in case you haven't heard about it, here's the scoop. You pay a flat fee per month for your ink. The price levels are tiered and based on the number of <i>pages </i>you print, not how much ink you use. (Think about that for a minute!) I have the most expensive package and pay $9.99 for 300 pages. You can also roll over unused pages, up to 300 pages. I blew through all my prints last month but still have 300 pages left in reserve, so for this month I could print 600 pages if I wanted to for no extra cost. If you DO go over, you pay a small fee per every page you print. (I've only gone over once and it was a tiny amount.) You can track your printing and how many pages you have left through the HP Instant Ink website.</div>
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So, I decided I waned to try the HP Instant Ink thing and needed a new printer to replace my inkjet. Since I have been so happy with my Brother printer (which technically is meant for small office use), I decided to look for the equivalent in an HP printer. There are many printers that participate in the Instant Ink program, but I didn't go with the cheapest one. Instead, after consulting many Amazon reviews and feature comparison charts, I chose this one:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYO_aOhLs2zPMr6dmsOM-8qrTpRoaj_Dn0hIjzJ9WvgiaBNNBzBj3_HC-md037nKKJjx-Wsr88CZMvUbDi-vGc-0SgFr6BnJkv40nJBqk17S7vpVEJPu0MmeVZRhjzEOQUCHnlpbs5QEE/s1600/printer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYO_aOhLs2zPMr6dmsOM-8qrTpRoaj_Dn0hIjzJ9WvgiaBNNBzBj3_HC-md037nKKJjx-Wsr88CZMvUbDi-vGc-0SgFr6BnJkv40nJBqk17S7vpVEJPu0MmeVZRhjzEOQUCHnlpbs5QEE/s640/printer.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's an OfficeJet Pro 8610. There is a newer model out now but it looks exactly the same. This printer is as amazing for printing items in color as my Brother printer is for printing items in black and white! Now I don't usually print class sets of anything on this printer-I am limited to my number of pages, after all-but I print all of my centers materials, Brag Tags, and anything else I want in color with this printer. It handles large volumes of printing well (it doesn't get hung up mid-print like some of my other HP printers did in the past) and I can also print remotely, which is a handy feature (although I rarely use it because I never can remember what kind of paper I've left in the tray). And perhaps best of all-I NEVER RUN OUT OF INK! The printer communicates with HP when it hits a certain threshold of ink and they immediately ship new cartridges. I get the new cartridges well in advance of when the printer is actually out of ink. (I was super skeptical about this initially-I thought for sure there would be a lag time and I would be left waiting on the postal worker before I could resume printing, but that's not happened once!)</div>
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I highly, highly, recommend the HP Instant Ink program. It's awesome and has saved me a ton of money, even when you factor in the cost of the printer. If you're interested, you can check it out through my referral link here: <a href="http://try.hpinstantink.com/dFH3H">http://try.hpinstantink.com/dFH3H</a> You get a free month and I get a free month! Also, I've heard that the printers still ship with several months free. You can stack a bunch of those codes and get up to 6 months free! (One more thing: When I bought mine, my "free" months didn't start until I used up all of the starter cartridges that came with the printer. They sent me the new ones in the mail but my subscription didn't start until I installed them. How amazing is that?)</div>
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3.) So, I had dream printers for b&w printing at home as well as color. What more could I need, right? Well, this past year I had to add printer #3 to the rotation...at school. Here's a little bit of backstory: As long as I've been teaching the school has provided me with a printer in my classroom, but that ended as of this year. We went to a "communal" printer in the workroom...and that just does not work for me. There are times that I need to print something out RIGHT THEN and it's not feasible for me to line up my class to walk down to the workroom every time I need to fetch something out of the printer. I ranted and raved when I found out about this little change at the beginning of the school year last year. Basically, the mister got tired of hearing me complain and he told me to pick out a new printer. I would have liked to get another Brother printer (or simply taken my printer from home to school) but that idea was a bust because our district's technology department would only install certain printers onto the network. To summarize, my hands were tied and I had to purchase one of the printers they would support or go without a printer in my classroom. So this is the printer I ended up with:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqLwol5Zi5AmYLLJzMjc40Y1_BYdtQ_1EL07atAiimRKxSEe0wSSW1082Yv0-qGlpTk9b78TFfPAxBF6ujkNHAbZLN15hyTfhTeb7F9iWTrsl-bY2SrqxYfUKeUu9jusKFVJbvQjsrjE/s1600/printer+2+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="886" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUqLwol5Zi5AmYLLJzMjc40Y1_BYdtQ_1EL07atAiimRKxSEe0wSSW1082Yv0-qGlpTk9b78TFfPAxBF6ujkNHAbZLN15hyTfhTeb7F9iWTrsl-bY2SrqxYfUKeUu9jusKFVJbvQjsrjE/s640/printer+2+cropped.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This was the only printer on the district's list that was in our price range. All of the other printers were super-duper-office printers with the ability to fax, make mega amounts of copies, and consume way too much space. I was not expecting a whole lot out of this printer, to be honest...but I've been pleasantly surprised! It is a little more fickle than my Brother printer (mostly it's too smart for its own good sometimes and tries to warn me about a potential problem that's not actually a problem) but it prints quickly and can handle double-sided printing no problem. I purchased generic high-yield toner for this one to the tune of about $30 a cartridge. I replaced it once all year long and I printed a good bit on it...at least 4-5 class sets every week plus all of the random single prints that I needed (RTI paperwork, class rosters, etc.). I also learned that it has a lot of toner left even after it starts to send error messages that it is running low. I ordered another toner a few weeks before school let out because it told me I was below 10% left, but it just kept printing! </div>
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I will also say that when I got mine last summer it was much closer to the list price than it is right this second on Amazon. For $80, I would absolutely buy this printer again...I think we paid $120! Eeep! One of my coworkers also purchased this printer and she feels about the same way as I do about it...worth it for the peace of mind it gives us!<br />
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<u>Some General Advice About Buying A Printer</u></div>
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If you're in the market for a new printer, turn to Amazon and the product reviews. Read what other people have to say! And then watch the price like a hawk. Amazon will drop their prices to match their competitors'...so when Staples and Office Depot start having their back-to-school sales, you can expect to see some of the printer prices drop on Amazon, as well. You can also Google "Amazon Price History" and come up with a site like camelcamelcamel that will show you an item's price history. You can see whether it's at a low, average, or high price right now and plan your purchasing accordingly!</div>
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So, there you have it! This is everything I know about printers and how I keep myself from stressing about copies and printing! I know some people will say that I'm crazy for having three printers, but I say that the peace of mind and extra free time is worth it. </div>
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first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-18094439376854217292017-06-21T14:31:00.000-04:002017-06-21T14:31:10.330-04:00Creating A Summer VisionHappy...Wednesday? Is that what day it is? I forget in the middle of the summer! Hehe. Today I've been super busy! Little Miss has been at Camp Grandma's for Vacation Bible School, so I've had the house to myself while the mister is at work...sounds peaceful, right? It would be EXCEPT we are currently trying to sell our house, which means a LOT of cleaning and re-cleaning has been taking place. If you've ever tried to sell a home, you know how it goes...the realtor calls wanting to know if they can show the house and OF COURSE you want to say yes because you want someone to buy this house, but then you have to run around like a crazy person swapping out every day towels for "fancy" towels and wiping down the counters with smell-good cleaning stuff and vacuuming the carpet so it will have vaccuum tracks so that MAYBE the people who come look at the house will think we are clean people and not the normal slobs that we are! Hahahaha. Funny because it's true!<br /><br />Anyway, I'm sitting here at the coffeeshop while our house is being shown. I did a little bit of work while I was here putting together some updated calendars for this year. I'm not quite in fullblown planning mode yet, but one of my big goals for this summer was to put together a cohesive curriculum map for the 2017-2018. Our district provides us maps, which is lovely...only we have a separate one for each subject. Five maps is a bit too many to keep on top of, so I try to combine them down to one single calendar. That also helps us see where we need to focus our time and energy in any given week. If we have five weeks allotted to teaching weather but only one week to teach Ruby Bridges, it's easy to see which standard should get the most focus that week, am I right?<br />
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Speaking of summer goals...do you create a list for the summer? More importantly, do you have a summer vision? I didn't, really, until this summer. I got the idea from Angela Watson's podcast. (PS: If you don't follow her website or listen to her podcast Truth for Teachers, you should. She's really great and has wonderful ideas about how teachers can be more efficient with their time!) She has a great podcast about maximizing the potential for your summer and I recommend listening to it. After I was reminded about it and went back to listen to it, I was inspired to jot down my own goals and vision for this summer. This is what it looks like:<br />
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My vision for the end of the summer is:<br />
1.) to have my fall semester mapped out with complete calendars (hey, that's one thing that's pretty much done!)<br />
2.) to have some routines for working on my TPT projects (because during the school year I find it really hard to find the time for my store)<br />
3.) to have a solid fitness routine in place that includes at least 10+ miles running each week<br />
4.) defined procedures for working at work so I don't end up taking home stuff that I don't want to do at home<br />
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I even broke down each week of the summer with specific tasks and focus areas for each week. Now to some this may seem like a real joy-killer. "Who wants to micromanage their summer like that?!", you may be asking. Well, although it seems counterintuitive, this actually has helped me enjoy the last few weeks a lot MORE. Instead of having nagging tasks hanging over me (which, let's face it-without a timeline, I'm very prone to pushing the things I don't want to do 'till the end of summer and then lament that there was 'no time' to get it all done), I have them delegated. There's not too much for any one week! And when I really get down to it, some of the tasks that are on my "must-do" list are things I enjoy (going to the gym, running, working on TPT stuff). If I can accomplish this vision...I will feel like I had a productive, well-spent summer.<br />
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If this sounds like something you'd like to try, I HIGHLY suggest listening to Angela's podcast (Season 3 Ep. 20) or checking out her post about sketching out your summer <a href="https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/truth-for-teachers-podcast/6-simple-steps-best-summer-ever/">here</a>. I found it to be so inspirational and I think you'll get a lot out of it!<br />
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If you decide to try, I'd love to know what you think and what YOUR vision looks like!<br />
<br />first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-36822444884471553542017-06-17T21:49:00.005-04:002017-06-17T21:49:48.276-04:00Cactus Classroom ThemeHey, hey! I hope everyone is having an amazing week! I am definitely enjoying the summertime. It's funny-once I've been out for a few days, my brain wants to start thinking about school again in a fun and creative way. Is anyone else like that?! I love my laidback summer days, but I also enjoy creating things for the upcoming school year and my TPT store. Over the past few weeks, I've been having a lot of fun making classroom theme sets. I change my theme out every 2-3 years, but I have a blast creating new ones every year. Over the next few weeks I'm going to spotlight some of my favorite theme sets in my store! I'm super excited though about the latest one I just uploaded to my store. It's CACTUS THEMED! Have you seen cacti (cactuses?) popping up everywhere? I have...at Hobby Lobby, Marshall's/T.J. Maxx, Target...they are definitely a trend right now! Here is a preview of my set that I made. I am so pleased with how it turned out...I am contemplating changing my own theme this year to match. (And then I remember the hours I spent prepping the black and neon posters last year, and I try to tell myself that I don't NEED a new theme. We'll see which side wins out by the time I go back to work in July!)<br />
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Starting with the basics...ABCs and number posters. I started including cursive letters in my sets recently. I don't have to teach cursive, but I can definitely see this theme appealing to teachers who work with slightly older students than I do, so they'll have them if they need them!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cactus-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-3206592"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98VXVmf1EGBjg7KSsO9wGXLNNHjicER6wk-qBXn7uQ5b6RNMOJTacTNAHL1jhSBHY4PAoC-N3pTaiYHOXPB4FMIeELcPXFCDGAxPC-oRHA_M4HtA71wv7xLASq2IyJSTRxJvyYLCl23U/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Don't you love the cactus border at the bottom of the posters? I created it using some beautiful clip art from an <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/476051693/watercolor-cactus-clipart-hand-painted?ref=hp_rv">Etsy shop</a> that I purchased. Here's a close-up:<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cactus-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-3206592"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAa_uEfTlZYrXNyqBRbyKyWbEe-ObaUrNZGiPpYlEpg6aKbwBZV8-z6-y_JChfL-L5Dx60uEicKteUfniTFwwNiXoFG7AAL2EmEQF_kA3HWHRJsQGsTFFDe1c1QdMlqO-83WvoO5-40pI/s640/Slide3.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
Here are some more posters: shapes, colors, and a welcome pennant. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that this welcome pennant alone made me start thinking about changing my theme. I could so see it hanging on one of my bulletin boards!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cactus-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-3206592"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6K3o2VWG7-7W-j47Jksd79pbX78ET8_gejreKqmTILNKs-vHjs90ys4hbYyFHhndX6aCpP5NZHoO4hhKVB8OL6Qe7NKg1Moj6j9zdJ-qbeXIX5WCmydKqCarj6WO2zyu_gx6Z9hSCe74/s640/Slide2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Here's some more organization-ey stuff. Hall passes, name plates, table numbers, and labels. LOTS OF LABELS. I am obsessed with labeling things in my closet. I don't know if I've ever shared a picture of the inside of my closet at school. It is full of clear Sterilite tubs and every single one is labeled. When it's pristine at the beginning of the school year, it makes my heart so happy! (And then the first week of school happens. And then I am stuffing it full with all of the extra supplies my students bring in. Teacher truths!)<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cactus-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-3206592"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvqAsyXfkR72SNHIWzWy32QMtXaVEnP2U55vW-AuZTqRN8OCTlf4tujyPYNI3R1TXg6OiSMWeZQ-Zct1Fceq1Rn1BZTp5VL9KIGB6wP0BEowyV2XEhem7sWxeP27LwkbdZ5RVHOh8xPk/s640/Slide3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Here are a whole bunch of printables for organizing a calendar display and center organization. Now, to be totally honest I haven't done much with calendar math in the past year. It's one of the things I had to put to the side when our math block moved to the afternoon and we dedicated a 45 minute window in the morning to intervention time. It makes me so sad, though, because I LOVE calendar time! I truly believe that the students learn so much from just a few minutes of regular calendar routines every day.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cactus-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-3206592"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUzyJsqafUitJyYb-3EXrs1ZKsPqlLBNNmIYPAB5OJcIEnWjcOgW8YN-HdVT7NKYAFdC1EHp23UTkBeCIE2_vlSNhmNq2GHOEs1Io4iZTO-Z6cDtHIirUJGb0uz0TYradfzrgf5zS5X_Y/s640/Slide4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here are even more printables for the classroom! Schedule cards for the board or a pocket chart...a How Do We Get Home Display...a Classroom Jobs display...clip chart posters...and Where Are We? signs to post outside the classroom door. Speaking of class jobs...that's going to be a whole post next month. We are going to be a Leader in Me school next year and that's one of the things we were challenged to incorporate next year. (Anybody else do Leader in Me? I would love to hear your experiences!)</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cactus-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-3206592"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4_fCR1Rq2bLhecSiamqKd3b37YobF_gohPpV4doz2Qd3w_zaI2MgooiaFRIX-mZQ7oJn388wrSDoqPXBI83m9R3_Ox_23SoGDWQqk80S4N6s_KXdmsV8luJCZU7zJcAM1Qv8xQ6fq0_U/s640/Slide5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, now on to the teacher binder stuff. I LOVE my own personal teacher binder. I made it a few years ago and when I say it changed my teaching life I really mean it! Although, to be honest, I don't just have ONE teacher binder. I have the main one that stores all of my planning documents, notes, and a lot of other important papers, but I also have separate binders for data, lesson plans, and parent communication. Each of those topics is so massive I really do need the information organized in a separate binder. Anyway, here is a snapshot of the dividers and binder covers in my cactus set! I started off with the templates I've used for other sets but I was so conflicted because I loved the cactus garden art, too. I started playing around with it and ended up creating two versions. I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I put them both into my set. There are divider labels/binder covers for every topic under the sun that I could possibly think of. It's a lot!</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cactus-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-3206592"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnaz7TN-pneZ0Ui9voGcXweoqjpgqarHy7qxJGQYEcSjTIiy2zy9zXZv2k7cZjQB4xis45tRNYig3ITScSRqN3Fn4N-r60o2gLUa5k7t1nEmX88l00RKwUkhCQEe1aK1JnynRq-JlQ14/s640/Slide6.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I also created a bunch of forms for my own binder. Some of them are forms that I send home in my beginning of the year packet. Others are forms just to help me keep organized...and others are informational sheets for substitutes or student teachers (such as info about allergies and safety procedures).</div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cactus-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-3206592"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKegdzi_ul1c6vNaSSVBz-PL06HCQ_zhmfgydZTuOuTcIkfdyBPct2TT_0hnHUmKm-8E2BcFLSOBQKfJkBn54gE3z7RMRXBnduZD-AK4V6iA5nflSJVABsNQS8McJps09JoGcnZ6Sg08/s640/Slide7.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
And lastly...I made a whole collection of quote posters. Some of these are based on things that I say ALL THE TIME in my own classroom, such as "You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit!" I understand that in some parts of the country, those words don't rhyme...but here in Georgia, "get" and "fit" rhyme more often than not. I have a friend who teaches in Chicago now who says "You get what you get and you're grateful for it" instead so I included that version also. Take a peek...I am really thrilled with how these came out!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cactus-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-3206592"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLEihMiSnPe4pFlXm34vmBBPQotkM6rgUfzoaYzSIYa4UcApGSrK7xKv6wwXbgiSZDqQw-bLKFG5R9vb4AbGzyN7PeMMQF0-OIilNk-9_bKCChHPJvKMMsYtWHRiRL-X69AflPLH21xyg/s640/Slide8.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Since I know every teacher's classroom situation is unique, I also included editable templates of all of the teacher binder stuff and decorative files. There's always something I wish were included in decorative files I've purchased...editable templates fix that problem!<br />
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Do you want this set for your own classroom? Then hop on over to my TPT store to check it out! You can click on any of the pictures to take you there or just click <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cactus-Classroom-Theme-Editable-with-matching-teacher-binder-3206592">here</a>.<br />
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Thank you for checking out my little blog...Make something wonderful happen today!first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-78080393578022279022017-06-13T22:04:00.001-04:002017-06-13T22:04:32.200-04:00Father's Day FunHey, hey! Today I'm popping in with a quick and easy Father's Day craft idea. I know a lot of us are out by now, but I hear that there are some sweet teachers still teaching through the middle of June! Eeep! (On the other hand, our kids come back August 1st, so I guess it all evens out, doesn't it?) This year I was way ahead of the game and bought my husband all of his Father's Day gifts a while back (okay, it was Memorial Day weekend, but still). I won't give away any of the gifts since there's an off chance he might read this but I don't think it's giving away too much to say that all of the things are going to be Star Wars themed. He loves Star Wars...has since he was a little kid...and I found one thing that was Star Wars related, and that led to another, and then another.<br />
<br />So the inspiration for this card came from his Father's Day gifts! It's an EASY little craft that Little Miss and I put together in about 10 minutes (if that) this afternoon. She helped me make both of the models...aside from the coloring, I did that. (I secretly love coloring! It's so relaxing!)<br />
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How cute are these little projects? The caption says "I love you to the moon and back." It's perfect for any daddy figure!<br />
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I also loved the sweet little surveys that were circulating for Mother's Day, so I made one for Father's Day, too.<br />
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How cute, right? I haven't done the survey yet with Little Miss, but I definitely will before Sunday. Her answers are likely to be hilarious!<br />
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If you want to snag your own copy, I posted it in my TPT shop. All of the masters are included for the rocket ships (either version-one is low prep, the other version is just a teensy bit more cutting) as well as multiple versions of the survey to suit dads, grandpas, or other father-like figures. I also threw in an ABC order and word search activity because I know some are still teaching (or doing summer school, or Vacation Bible School!). If you want to check it out, click the picture below!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fathers-Day-Craft-Love-You-to-the-Moon-and-Back-3199271"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWmWRTTRDNOH6tFCuhvyAGfk7wPnO_nK0Mq70S-kYjCXYrMmlZojTPNZMqpWjstbC3-zLNo8xznmDZediMRz5N-tr0varvXh5HZf8VcbaqCYifrcx-QL-8hIhaMnipU4pv667tkkVZEGg/s400/Slide1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Thanks for stopping by!first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-83248128375276269622017-02-04T11:04:00.000-05:002017-02-04T11:04:35.770-05:00Groundhog Day 2017Hey, hey! What's this? A second blog post? Two in two weeks? Don't get too excited, haha!<br />
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This week was all about groundhog fun. As I'm sure you know, Groundhog Day was on Thursday. (Georgia's groundhog, Gen. Lee, did NOT see his shadow...and we always go with what he said over Punxsutawney Phil...so early spring it is. Although I would love to see some snow, I don't want any snow days to interfere with our February break...so bring on the warmer temps!) This year we decided as a grade level team to spend a week researching groundhogs, storing up facts on the little animals, and then write an informational report. I am so pleased with how everything turned out!<br />
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We started the week by frontloading our brains with facts about groundhogs. I made a set of informational posters that I projected on our interactive panel for us to look at as a digital text.<br />
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I also printed the posters for kids to look at, but we did more with the digital texts than anything. Side note: I LOVE our new interactive panels. We got them at the beginning of the year and they are so awesome! I can put a PDF file up with no hassle. I can also put the items into the panel's note-taking software and then use annotation tools like highlighters. This panel has changed my teaching life for the better!<br />
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Here are the posters all printed out...as you can see, we had a lot of information to look at!<br />
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The writing part of this was really interesting. My kids have such diverse needs as writers, and I don't feel like I always address all of their needs like I should during writing time! This week, though, I really felt like they accomplished some excellent writing no matter what their level of writing proficiency might be. We started with a graphic organizer...<br />
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Don't you love looking at first grade writing? Look at how this little friend spelled 'holes!' Love it.<br />
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After we did some work with the graphic organizer, we moved to the drafting stage. Now, I'm not going to lie...for some reason this week making the jump from the GO to the "sloppy copy" was a bit...difficult. I had kiddos who wanted to straight up copy everything they put on the GO onto their sloppy copy without converting them to sentences. There was conferencing...a LOT of conferencing...going on in our class this week. Of course, I had some writers who just needed to be let loose and they had amazing, informative pieces by the end of Day 1. For those kiddos, I pulled out some extra pages for their reports. They wrote about what groundhogs eat in detail and completed diagrams. If we'd had time, I might have also encouraged them to do a glossary because I think that would have been a neat component!<br />
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Here's how they turned out! They came out so cute that we hung them in the hallway. Funny story: I completely forgot that their groundhogs were supposed to have whiskers. I cut out all of the other pieces but forgot to give them strips of construction paper to make the whiskers. Ooops! Teacher fail! I still think they are really cute, though, and I am so happy with how they progressed from Day 1 of writing to the finished project.<br />
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(And yeah, we still have our 100th Day Rock Star guitars hanging up. I couldn't quite bear to take those down yet!)<br />
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I made all of the printables and resources for this unit. It's in my TPT shop! If you bought it, I would love to hear how your projects turned out in your classroom. This is definitely something I will do again next year and I will be creating more informational units like this one!<br />
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One more picture that has nothing to do with groundhogs...<br />
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This is one of the things that is making me happy this week! (Does anyone else listen to the NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast? If not, you should because it's a great way to stay in touch with what's going on in pop culture when you're a teacher and have NO LIFE! Or maybe that's just me? LOL!) At the end of the podcast each week, the hosts share something that is making them happy that week. Well, this week my Read to Self time and reading conferences are making me so happy! I have some little friends who are taking off in reading and it makes my teacher's heart so full! We've been conferencing about picking books that are on our level but that are also INTERESTING to read. This sweetie right here picked up a Jon Klassen book last week (<u>I Want My Hat Back</u>-I love his books because they are funny but easy enough for beginning readers to read) and I told her she could definitely start reading Dr. Seuss on her own. She was so into reading <u>Green Eggs and Ham</u> that she didn't even notice me snapping a picture. This is the magic that is first grade...kids getting so wrapped up in awesome books that they can finally read themselves!<br />
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Have a great week, everyone! If you live in the Southeast, hopefully our groundhog's prediction will be accurate and spring will be here to stay soon. :)first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-58386494451530788542017-01-29T08:33:00.000-05:002017-01-29T08:33:10.922-05:00Hundredth Day FunHey, blog world! I wanted to pop in quickly this morning to share some fun we had on the 100th Day last week. First of all, can you believe that it's time for the 100th Day? This school year is going by really fast for some reason.<br />
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A little confession: I usually let the 100th Day sneak up on me. I am not the best with keeping up with how many days we've been in school. Due to a strict schedule, I've had to give up my calendar routine (I know! No calendar in first grade? That seems sacrilegious!) and with that went the day-counting activities I've always done so this year it could have gone by completely unnoticed. Luckily, I remembered well before the holiday break and put it on the calendar. I may have had to double-check with a kindergarten colleague to make sure I had it right.<br />
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This year I wanted to do the 100th Day "right" and keep my focus on fun but educational activities! The point of celebrating it is to 1.) acknowledge that we've been in school for a whole lotta days and 2.) review those counting skills and talk about some larger numbers. My secondary goal was not to have a nervous breakdown prepping materials that we'd only be using for one day. Here are some pictures of what I put together!<br />
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First up, math stations! This year I got smart and made a series of math stations that related to our counting standard. I may have cheated a little and put them out in math stations earlier in the week so they would have multiple opportunities to work and play in the stations.<br />
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Here is one of them called the 100th Day Dash...it's very similar to a game called Race to 100 that I'm sure you've seen, but instead of kids moving a counter across a hundreds chart they fill their ten frames up with counters or cubes. The thought I had behind this game was for them to see visually that 100 is 10 groups of 10.<br />
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Next up, number puzzles. I made a bunch of different puzzles with different skip counting skills. Their job was to re-assemble the puzzles by counting by fives or tens. They LOVED this center even though it was so simple!<br />
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Next: Skip counting by 5s to 100. Believe it or not, some of my babies are still struggling with counting by 5s and we still need practice! This station was for them. They had to take their deck of mixed-up cards and lay them out in order. (This would also work on a pocket chart, but I wasn't that feeling that fancy.)<br />
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The last station is Piggy Bank Dash. I came up with this game idea all on my own and it was by far the favorite station. They were still begging to play it a week later! The basic idea is that students roll a die and cover that number of spots on their pennies ten frame with pennies. When a student fills up his or her ten frame, they trade their pennies for a dime and put it in the piggy bank. When the piggy bank is full of dimes, they can trade for a dollar and win the game! We have a standard about pennies and dimes in our math standards and our curriculum map doesn't have us covering it until later in the school year. Guess what? I think my kids will remember that 10 pennies equal a dime!<br />
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In other parts of the day, we did some writing with a really cute crafitivity. The prompt was "I am rocking this school year!" We brainstormed some things on the rug, but I encouraged them to write their own thoughts down when they got to their seats. I was blown away by their responses. One little friend said "I am rocking this school year because I know a lot of onomatopoeia." Another sweetie said "I am rocking this school year because I have good character." Several kids said "I am rocking this school year because I am reading chapter books!" or "I am reading on a second grade reading level." This was a really fun activity and best of all, there wasn't a lot of prep work involved (printing/copying, mostly-I let the kids do the cutting!)<br />
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One of the last things we did before going home was for me to give each one of them a book. Scholastic had the book 100 Snowmen in one of their recent fliers for $1 and I ordered a class set. I want to do this more often-give kids a special book for a holiday or fun day. The $1 books are a great deal, especially if you get them with bonus points, and the kids get SO excited about a new book.</div>
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Not pictured are their 100th Day Brag Tags. I gave them a Brag Tag to stick on their necklaces to commemorate their day. I'm not sure which they were more excited about, the book or the Brag Tag!<br />
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If you want some of these activities for your own 100th Day fun, everything is now available in <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hooray-for-the-Hundredth-Day-easy-low-prep-activities-for-the-100th-day-2964753">my shop!</a> I'd love for you to pop over and take a look. There's more in the pack than I could possibly do in a day, but I'm hoping that next year since I have the math stations already prepped I can incorporate some of the other activities.<br />
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Hope your Sunday is relaxing and your Monday mercifully short! :)first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-233750004043679702016-08-15T22:04:00.000-04:002016-08-15T22:04:35.840-04:002016 Classroom RevealI thought I'd pop in tonight with a quick classroom reveal. School has already been in session for 2 weeks, but the last month or so has been a whirlwind of activity. Summer was short and sweet this year...and before I knew it, there it went!<br />
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We had to pack up our entire building again this year due to more crazy construction. Last summer, as you may remember, they gave us a new roof, ceiling, and heating/air units. That was a really messy project that had me scrambling at the last minute to pull together a classroom before the first day of school!<br /><br />This summer's construction was not nearly as dirty...but it was definitely chaotic. About 2 weeks before school started, this was the situation in my classroom...<br />
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A nice, fresh, neat space, yes? Don't you love that bright blue wall? I sure do! This was NOT my classroom last year...this is one of the rooms down the hall. I got asked to move and since the wall in my old room was going to be painted a lovely shade of orange...I didn't have to have my arm twisted too hard. And look at that cute little stack of boxes! So cute! Amazing how compact you can get a classroom, isn't it? (Although I'm not sure what the piano bench was doing with this pile of boxes.) OH...but wait...that little petite stack of boxes in the pictures was definitely not mine. Nope.<br />
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So that was two weeks before school started. The following week...the week we actually came back to work...my room looked a little...well, more full.<br />
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Oh, look, the gang's all here! Yes, that's more like it. All of my stuff, plus a few bonus boxes that weren't mine thrown into the pile for good measure...but for the most part, this was my familiar pile of boxes. And my blue rocking chair, which I love very much!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssdtacKsISwycbCk8-VoN42XLD6Br8fC28YBBvd3gUmI3_bfjN1As8FcdT2-4KaHeNgpr8nmjx90NUbWNbtliqKDv7F196bzxh56Au_8rZuvkkF_d_p5Hc2IiCuuXXNtvy1QfNNPxz1A/s1600/IMG_1976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgssdtacKsISwycbCk8-VoN42XLD6Br8fC28YBBvd3gUmI3_bfjN1As8FcdT2-4KaHeNgpr8nmjx90NUbWNbtliqKDv7F196bzxh56Au_8rZuvkkF_d_p5Hc2IiCuuXXNtvy1QfNNPxz1A/s400/IMG_1976.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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At least that cute, petite stack of boxes (plus the piano bench!) disappeared and I had a clear path from the door!<br />
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Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me. One of the added challenges of putting a classroom together during pre-planning is that there is actually NO TIME to work in your room. The very first day we had to get on a school bus (yes, a school bus) and ride downtown for our county's convocation. Later that day we had a safety briefing...so there wasn't much time to actually work in my room! So stressful! Luckily, the next day I was able to work. And work, and work some more. And then my amazing family came in and helped me put some finishing touches on things. Oh, and the furniture arrived (small detail). That definitely made it look more like a classroom!<br />
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Here are some pictures of how it looked right before Open House:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbG14NXooGjaAZLzcjADqP7wDWKxHKtBsvgt3WvocFXGZ5WJsoJWWo3bxLNjOdsi3tOwmdlIWXEWUyWrxLs7WQu4znBMJGgj_eQNluyiUBC07VEb-KYj6-6K-mQhI8Dk_gHK4i1SzyrWc/s1600/IMG_1990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbG14NXooGjaAZLzcjADqP7wDWKxHKtBsvgt3WvocFXGZ5WJsoJWWo3bxLNjOdsi3tOwmdlIWXEWUyWrxLs7WQu4znBMJGgj_eQNluyiUBC07VEb-KYj6-6K-mQhI8Dk_gHK4i1SzyrWc/s640/IMG_1990.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
This is the view from my desk. I am OBSESSED with my black posters. I made them myself (yes, I will probably put them up on TPT someday) and I think they just pop against that bright blue wall! I'm sure someone is probably wondering if I printed all that at home...why no, I did not! I do have an amazing printer (okay, TWO amazing printers, which I've blogged about before!) but that's so much ink. I paid about $30 to have the posters printed on cardstock at Staples and then I laminated them myself on my small personal laminator. I love, love, LOVE how they turned out. Here's an up-close shot of the shapes posters:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL__tmsdrgxfHb_K2O97tvn0BWhVsg7LEfLCl1OB_PLqwlSImV4UMgAAgAHNPRVW6s7hyglglYU-bKHqh_a7Jf9USwLtpgStWhKf3DmPNWEpN2cRGWx7p0OTP1BkU-H1tVVNFcQ6f5u-A/s1600/IMG_1994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL__tmsdrgxfHb_K2O97tvn0BWhVsg7LEfLCl1OB_PLqwlSImV4UMgAAgAHNPRVW6s7hyglglYU-bKHqh_a7Jf9USwLtpgStWhKf3DmPNWEpN2cRGWx7p0OTP1BkU-H1tVVNFcQ6f5u-A/s400/IMG_1994.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here's a classroom library shot. The library is still (as it usually is!) a work in progress. As you can see I kept my ancient wooden shelf. Even though we got new furniture, the bookshelves that they got us were too small for my book collection. I'm still working on organizing some of the boxes...I keep finding random stashes of books in odd corners of my house/car/garage.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRO6jFOk9AzLGlj6aczsTMkOplJ_IgYZ2jEq4Nnnf-x-jW-TFwoz9NQbXEAMERCCecpS5BjJSM1cNrUX9RO_Uupq2rTVsATUElsUr191JUjDlmoNqO-B_-6VzGlLGX8tYge2mEr-Lsh4/s1600/IMG_1991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRO6jFOk9AzLGlj6aczsTMkOplJ_IgYZ2jEq4Nnnf-x-jW-TFwoz9NQbXEAMERCCecpS5BjJSM1cNrUX9RO_Uupq2rTVsATUElsUr191JUjDlmoNqO-B_-6VzGlLGX8tYge2mEr-Lsh4/s400/IMG_1991.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Here's my new teacher desk. I haven't had a desk for the last couple of years, but since we were getting new furniture I thought I'd give this one a go. It's pretty small, as teacher desks go, and it's on wheels so I can move it easily.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HRvWuqVvU1leOCF7QgxkvTXoU2bepV4t30EPybs-aRnm_wfQbj0J3iQ2WtkqeOA2sb0RNHG6EvzHL5RjJSlhkyGPqK63g9bwqk73Ua8rzhX81dASCVjM0W32B-Pxu4wPs5ZDUSxFAdE/s1600/IMG_1992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HRvWuqVvU1leOCF7QgxkvTXoU2bepV4t30EPybs-aRnm_wfQbj0J3iQ2WtkqeOA2sb0RNHG6EvzHL5RjJSlhkyGPqK63g9bwqk73Ua8rzhX81dASCVjM0W32B-Pxu4wPs5ZDUSxFAdE/s400/IMG_1992.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
And this was the school supply situation for Open House! Approximately two hours after this picture was taken, all of those bins (plus the paper box, plus the entire back counter) were swamped with supplies. I am so thankful for the supplies...and especially thankful for an awesome parent volunteer who got everything stashed away in my 3-drawer carts and supply closet after the first day! Without help, I would definitely still be stepping over random piles of supplies a week later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsNNz-6oXnlXGEbKQ4tdn4yXnDcjiEzLzqOZ_cGNXf8HFy46x1M6TpjVGMFoIUUfkoOZCgte5Jf0UAkTgyrCPejIuJdzDqVvbML1-XxN-eRzfgT-sEHJud6IyMbiqon0tkS4g3uzkqyw/s1600/IMG_1993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsNNz-6oXnlXGEbKQ4tdn4yXnDcjiEzLzqOZ_cGNXf8HFy46x1M6TpjVGMFoIUUfkoOZCgte5Jf0UAkTgyrCPejIuJdzDqVvbML1-XxN-eRzfgT-sEHJud6IyMbiqon0tkS4g3uzkqyw/s400/IMG_1993.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I will try to take some more pictures this week because already I've changed some things (mainly the furniture configuration because I have 26 students at the moment). I hope you've enjoyed the peek in my classroom! It was a lot of work to get it set up but it's nice to be in a fresh, clean space!<br />
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<br />first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-24664625640810687322016-06-22T09:13:00.000-04:002016-06-24T22:59:47.324-04:00Project of the Week: Substitute Binder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Happy summer! I have been on break for two amazing weeks. For the first week we went to the beach for our annual family vacation...and last week I recovered from vacation! Haha! This week I am in a literacy workshop all week, and I'm already thinking about next school year. Why is that?! Two weeks away from work and I'm already thinking about going back to work! </div>
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One of my projects for this summer is to get some sub resources organized. Believe it or not I already have some scheduled PL during the school year! That means a sub will be coming in. I have a confession to make: I hate putting together sub plans. Hate, hate, hate. In fact, I hate being out just because I have to work so hard to get everything together for a substitute teacher. It's one of the unpleasant parts of being a classroom teacher, isn't it? And it seems so unfair that I have to work twice as hard to be out of work! When my husband needs to take the day off, he takes the day off...his work is waiting for him when he gets back to the office. Unfortunately, that's just not the case for teachers. We have to work hard to make sure our students are occupied and learning while we're out, and then when we get back we have to play catch-up to figure out what the class did or did not accomplish while the teacher was away!</div>
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I finally got my act together this week and put together a substitute binder. I've been wanting to make one for awhile and I finally did it!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZwHZkto3FxtZTDo_ZflypCnN0UXKyV0ZLLGnMN6c75azMa8dtq0lqn5-E9qu7RmITV83ShV4lrf2rhQ30VVIOZndyAVBFXLYpfTfg9yxEiUW2DoKQ4PcWBQ0Fc_wj29xJsNfZrXY3eo/s1600/File_002.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZwHZkto3FxtZTDo_ZflypCnN0UXKyV0ZLLGnMN6c75azMa8dtq0lqn5-E9qu7RmITV83ShV4lrf2rhQ30VVIOZndyAVBFXLYpfTfg9yxEiUW2DoKQ4PcWBQ0Fc_wj29xJsNfZrXY3eo/s400/File_002.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I am really excited to have this resource to help me out when I'm prepping for a sub. Here is what it looks like on the inside:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q-N7T9CrbvvAFBqZVV0oEGgmxohMOLtsHxRCcUyfx8x2VT2_Gv7CWqMYvMH-U0nBZVTYeGQr_VVtO6p1RQxqAfu-cPY6Iqnx0UcVvVZz7cvUlzT3PUY2XlOxmmixaWp5k0bUEfseo8Y/s1600/File_003.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Q-N7T9CrbvvAFBqZVV0oEGgmxohMOLtsHxRCcUyfx8x2VT2_Gv7CWqMYvMH-U0nBZVTYeGQr_VVtO6p1RQxqAfu-cPY6Iqnx0UcVvVZz7cvUlzT3PUY2XlOxmmixaWp5k0bUEfseo8Y/s400/File_003.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I started off with a generic welcome letter that explains what the binder is for. Then I have the additional information broken down into sections. Some of the sections are still empty because I don't have updated information yet for the 2016-2017 school year. I'm still waiting on my finalized schedule, for example. Also, I can't put in the student information pages until after I actually know who is in my class! I went ahead and did the sections for the information that will not change. (That does mean one of my tasks to complete the first or second week of school will be to fill out the remaining sections of the binder.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWwteFOa6JOKHhJphQan8HImbMkDLzPnTs4F1yh0MG27XicrijbvGF4weV3479NJFCVPGXdC3MHet00Vb0psou3udTheZQcb3-nxodKj8DoOOI2uViPoQCzbK_y1PJsJk8MLa98FiZxQ/s1600/File_004.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWwteFOa6JOKHhJphQan8HImbMkDLzPnTs4F1yh0MG27XicrijbvGF4weV3479NJFCVPGXdC3MHet00Vb0psou3udTheZQcb3-nxodKj8DoOOI2uViPoQCzbK_y1PJsJk8MLa98FiZxQ/s400/File_004.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here is a snapshot of my classroom procedures section. I didn't leave anything to the imagination-I outlined every single procedure that I could think of. It's three pages long, but everything is covered!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH69vS-uTSRzSFnvdZCn_Udv96DT2zcq5IQWrnit6opUSw4ogo2vL_2KYnhfNyzZTrtkwza5rkyRudW7ehNKMIhi1AhLOCodn8D3opYpj-qDhxPQUZ8gKUfctapx8CzZE_yGgmS_BUkug/s1600/File_005.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH69vS-uTSRzSFnvdZCn_Udv96DT2zcq5IQWrnit6opUSw4ogo2vL_2KYnhfNyzZTrtkwza5rkyRudW7ehNKMIhi1AhLOCodn8D3opYpj-qDhxPQUZ8gKUfctapx8CzZE_yGgmS_BUkug/s400/File_005.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There is a separate section for emergency procedures. I included everything on these pages for emergency procedures. While I was at it, I made an extra copy of my procedures and laminated them. When I get back to work I will hang them on a Command Hook by the classroom door.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC565laIP3M082DJDyfhJZ0EqBfwlX7YoRspHsARRknI2mi5lrchkAv66lyO7GtdZRkzkbGDChKT0-7DMbbhbuaCUqI02xJmiWlSkHwkUx6f9J6dvu-7DiJr8gPLYsnrFxSNtVdU1TdAY/s1600/File_007.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC565laIP3M082DJDyfhJZ0EqBfwlX7YoRspHsARRknI2mi5lrchkAv66lyO7GtdZRkzkbGDChKT0-7DMbbhbuaCUqI02xJmiWlSkHwkUx6f9J6dvu-7DiJr8gPLYsnrFxSNtVdU1TdAY/s400/File_007.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jTfOuLjxIml5hRuBqx78Tcj9uZZtG0NPnpvlFbOA-U8lwgeGFCwkru493Bwk73WPbf47a1KKNw_EhE1sRSmACtIEGiJaWZAF9JPyIyzkXpUabS4UzVJlWxH_rRQvpFIesdNjMDe4J24/s1600/File_008.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6jTfOuLjxIml5hRuBqx78Tcj9uZZtG0NPnpvlFbOA-U8lwgeGFCwkru493Bwk73WPbf47a1KKNw_EhE1sRSmACtIEGiJaWZAF9JPyIyzkXpUabS4UzVJlWxH_rRQvpFIesdNjMDe4J24/s400/File_008.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I even included a section for time filler activies and ideas for indoor recess...easy, simple things even a sub can do to keep every minute occupied. (Because let's face it-the last thing we want for the class to have is free, unstructured time with a sub. That's a recipe for disaster!) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70tOsW1Btp80Jj3M3ZGzQvYghiKk5tNeu7x55oTzdWPcvnbiIHSkrSCfBxWJTZmaTwN0bDUgknweETkARslRrPzC6E4LwdlYYYLzzxuOjCwIEQSG2VB6DC7hQy0NCnJmyHMJWBW_avHA/s1600/File_006.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70tOsW1Btp80Jj3M3ZGzQvYghiKk5tNeu7x55oTzdWPcvnbiIHSkrSCfBxWJTZmaTwN0bDUgknweETkARslRrPzC6E4LwdlYYYLzzxuOjCwIEQSG2VB6DC7hQy0NCnJmyHMJWBW_avHA/s400/File_006.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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At the back of the notebook I included a stack of "While you were out" forms for the sub to fill out. Hopefully my subs will use this instead of trying to record everything on sticky notes or scratch pieces of paper!</div>
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I am really happy with how my binder turned out! My next step is to work on emergency lesson plans and have them ready to go (with copies run as well) before I head back to work. That will be a huge load off when August rolls around!</div>
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UPDATE: My sub binder is now available in my TPT store! Click <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Editable-Substitute-Binder-2610385">here</a> to take a look!</div>
first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-82137540840323415312016-01-23T09:14:00.002-05:002016-01-23T09:14:54.629-05:001.23.16: Best of the the week + a little bit about math stationsThis week was a great week in first grade, although it ended on a crazy note! We were out on Monday and that always makes the rest of the week seem a little strange.<br />
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First, this week was the hundredth day of school! Such a big milestone...although we are going to have a little bit of fun this year on Day 120 since our counting standard is all about the big 1-2-0. This year I toned down my hundredth day stuff...some years I go all out, but this year I got done planning for the week and then realized, "Ooops, the hundredth day is on Thursday!" We did make hundredth day necklaces during indoor recess and we did lots of counting...I will try to up the ante next year.<br />
<br />One of my super sweet parents made me a shirt as a surprise...here is a pic:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PozglI-0HPiHBVrn93-9NLcDXYrJNoiRYTKvmjVN5ev2C6xSfO4wQbW1pDtPMK0PAFMnuW7sTVdBBY0AWL0wn54HIcdWBzJAO6lBplSP0jTHjsBcHpvTEfrWkDDZhMWPQGzKyFxcPwg/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9PozglI-0HPiHBVrn93-9NLcDXYrJNoiRYTKvmjVN5ev2C6xSfO4wQbW1pDtPMK0PAFMnuW7sTVdBBY0AWL0wn54HIcdWBzJAO6lBplSP0jTHjsBcHpvTEfrWkDDZhMWPQGzKyFxcPwg/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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It says "I survived 100 days with my first graders!" And she made a shirt for her child that says "First grade survived 100 days of me!" LOVE it. And she stuck my monogram on the front pocket. So awesome!<br />
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One of the things we did this week was work on our Dr. King writing pieces. We started the pieces last week and went through editing and publishing this week. Then I let the kids self-assess their own writing. Here's a pic of one of my little sweeties self-assessing in a writing conference with me:<br />
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I just happened to be observed while we were working on these writing projects...on the hundredth day, no less! Luckily the kids were engaged in what they were doing and SO excited to share with the principal their writing...but man, what a wild day to get my observation done. PS: If you want a copy of the informational writing rubric, let me know! I made it and can post it if you're interested.<br />
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I was kind of hoping she would come in during math centers, because I feel like we've been doing an amazing job in math lately. Before this year I would have said "PLEASE don't come observe math!" because math is just not my favorite thing. Part of the issue is our district resources are all over the place and no one can ever explain exactly what they want to SEE in math. But this year, I think I have finally hit my groove when it comes to math centers and guided math. I thought I would explain a little bit about how I'm managing it all this year.<br />
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First, I do math workshop daily. Opening, work period, closing, the whole shebang. We start on the carpet each day and we chat about the standard and learning target for the new math that day. Some days we make an anchor chart; some days we play a game in a math circle; some days they get whiteboards and we do something related to the standard on the whiteboards. This takes us about 10 minutes. Then I spend 5 minutes or less explaining what's new in math stations that day and put them into their groups.<br />
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(Side note: How do I group them? Sometimes I give them a quick mini-assessment the week before on the new skill that's coming up. Some weeks I pull from other data I already have to group them. For example, next week we're moving into 2 digit addition and I have some AIMSWeb data from the schoolwide screener on addition, so I used that to put my groups together. I almost always do ability grouping because I am seeing kids at my table and want them to be grouped similarly. The groups change up every week or two since our instructional focus changes about that often.)<br />
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Then we spend 45 minutes-1 hour in math stations. Yes, I rotate the groups through! My goal is to see at least 3 groups every day and if I can fit all 5 in, awesome! I set the timer for 14 minutes and we get busy.<br />
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This is my vantage point for guided math. I am always at my kidney table working with 4-5 students. This past week we were working on comparing numbers, so you see my kids here are putting a string of number cards in order from least to greatest. Earlier in the small group session we worked with the symbols and practiced using them to compare. One epiphany I had this year about small group time is that differentiation does not always mean something different for every group that comes to me. It can be the same activity, just scaled up or down as needed. With this particular game, I pulled out all of the numbers less than 20 for my lowest group and we worked together as a group to set up the comparisons. My highest group was given a stack of 4 cards and challenged to use both their greater than and less than symbol cards to set up true comparisons. (It took them a minute to realize that they could switch the NUMBER cards around the symbols to make the comparisons true.) The groups in the middle did a couple with me to get started, then worked with their own stack of cards.<br />
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So, I'm sure you're wondering "What are the other kids doing?" They are in their own small groups working in math stations. I set up 4 activities beside the one at my table each week.<br />
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Here is one of the activities we had in stations this week. It's a missing number station from my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/January-Math-Centers-for-First-Grade-2280346">January math centers pack</a>.<br />
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I ran one copy of the center and then split up the cards into rings. Each student grabbed a ring of cards and filled in the missing number on their ring. Then they began working on the recording sheet. If they finished their recording sheet before time was up, they could grab another ring and fill in those missing numbers. In this center they got to practice counting on, counting back, and skip counting!<br />
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The planning stage for centers happens the week before. This the planning sheet I use:<br />
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TT stands for "Teacher's Table," "IN" is Interactive Notebook, and "PV" is for Place Value. You also see that the opening is blank for Wednesday and Thursday...I wasn't sure what I wanted to do yet when I put together the planning sheet. I make some things up on the fly. :)<br />
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I plan around the same basic 5 activities: math tub related to the math standard we're working on in small group with me, math tub related to a review standard, cut and paste activity (can be either the new standard or a review standard), and interactive notebook. A lot of the math tub activities come from the sets I make or from a set I got from TpT. (<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/First-Grade-Math-1151859">Latoya Reed</a> has an amazing bundle for first grade!) For interactive notebook, I use activities from <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Math-Journal-Bundle-First-Semester-1276935">Reagan Tunstall</a> or <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Math-Interactive-Notebook-1ST-GRADE-COMMON-CORE-1135442">Blair Turner</a>. They both have amazing sets! They are a little expensive, but I use them all year long!<br />
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We also have laptop carts in our building and I get one whenever possible during math workshop. We don't have a student set of computers in our classrooms anymore and the laptops are what the school got to replace those. When I do have the laptops, I take out one of the other centers to allow them to work on our school's math software. (There are a million great websites out there that you could use if you don't have a program purchased by the school.)<br />
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The big thing is I don't try to see all my groups every day unless it just so happens we can fit them in. On this week's schedule, you can see I set time aside on Friday to wrap up any centers we needed to finish from Thursday. We actually didn't need that time, so the kids did a quick formative assessment on place value and then spent time working on the laptops while I pulled students who didn't do well on the assessment to go over tens and ones with them. As you can see, there are some centers that stay out all week long so they should have plenty of time to visit every one 2 or 3 times.<br />
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My last thought is about accountability. We are being encouraged by our district to include recording sheets in all of our centers so we can make sure students are "accountable" for their work. I have mixed feelings about that, but I do try to make sure there is something written for the kids to do in almost every center. If the game that is in a tub is going to take up the whole center rotation, though, I don't sweat it. I put the accountability piece (written work) in the FOLLOWING center. For example, in my counting center above I could have chosen to put the counting practice in the next station that would follow the missing number rings. Also, sometimes I put a laminated copy of the recording sheet in the center the first few times they do it. Then, when they've had time to work in the center 2-3 times I will put an individual paper copy in the center for them to do and turn in. A quick tip about managing those paper baskets in centers: Teach the kids to put their completed paper at the BOTTOM of the stack. The fresh papers stay on top, the completed work goes on bottom. I used to put 2 baskets in the station and that worked okay, too, except it took up table real estate!<br />
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I don't put a numerical grade on every last piece of center work, either. I don't have time to! I have started passing the recording sheets from one center back out to the kids during closing for us to go over together. They can make any changes if they made a mistake or we can talk about what was hard/easy about that skill. For the rest of the recording sheets, I glance through them to see who finished them, who struggled, and who did really well. This gives me feedback about what we still need to work on. (I put stamps on those, in case you were wondering, and they do go in sign papers!)<br />
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I hope that is helpful to someone. Math centers used to be my least favorite time of day-now, it's one of my favorite. I jokingly say that I feel like a "real teacher" when I look around and see all of my kids engaged with their math center. The benefit is huge: I feel like I really know where my kids are in math! As a class, their midyear data showed that we are on target at this point in the year. I think I can attribute that success to doing math centers faithfully this year and seeing my students in small group for guided math.<br />
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If you have any questions, do ask!<br />
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Hope everyone has an amazing week! I know a lof of East Coast teachers are snowed in. Down here in middle GA we got the lightest dusting of snow that you ever did see, but it's enough to thrill Little Miss! She wanted to go out and play with the handful of snow that accumulated on her play set last night! LOL!first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-74616019603851602032016-01-17T09:13:00.000-05:002016-01-17T09:13:12.512-05:001.17.16: Conferences, blubber, and Benjamin FranklinHi, teacher friends! I hope everyone had a great break and feels like they are getting back in the swing of things...just in time to enjoy a long weekend now!<br />
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I thought I'd share a few things we've been up to over the past couple of weeks. Yet again I have been a terrible photographer...I have a cute writing project we did for the New Year that is hanging in the hall and I completely forgot to take pictures. Maybe it will make a guest appearance next week! :)<br />
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Right now we're talking about winter weather patterns. Our standard is a little on the vague side, so this week I focused on specific weather events that only happen in the winter (snow, ice storms, etc.) and we also talked about how people and animals adapt to the cold. On Friday we did our annual blubber demonstration.<br />
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If you've never done it before...you should! It is so easy! All you need is a tub of shortening, ice, and Ziploc bags. The kids feel the ice without the "blubber," then put their hands inside the "blubber glove." They catch on pretty quickly that the blubber keeps their hand warmer.<br />
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I made a couple of recording sheets for this activity. You can download them for FREE (plus more detailed instructions) <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5BA80fBJAgSaHE5eGI1bENfZmc/view?usp=sharing">here</a>!<br />
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We've also been learning about Benjamin Franklin. Don't ask me why he's in our GA Social Studies standards...he just is. We did some activities out of my Benjamin Franklin unit, such as these webs.<br />
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After we read some excerpts of books about Benjamin Franklin, the students recorded some of the key facts they learned. (It totally worked out that our standard we were working on in reading was about key ideas and details!) This web plus several other Franklin activities are in my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/All-About-Benjamin-Franklin-770329">Benjamin Franklin unit</a>.<br />
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This week was so busy because we had winter conferences on top of everything else. This year I did something a little different. I let my parents sign up for their own time on Sign Up Genius, which is a site that allows people to sign up for things online. I created the conference event and set up the time slots. Then I sent home this letter:<br />
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<br />I met with the parents of 14 kids last week (keep in mind that I have a set of twins plus cousins who live together in my class this year). I have NEVER been that efficient about conferences. I have 2 more conferences this week plus an RTI meeting later in the month...which means I will have met with 17 out of 23 parents. Not too bad! I will definitely use Sign Up Genius again in the future!<br />
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Hope everyone has a GREAT long weekend and takes some time to recharge their teacher battery. I ran a 5K yesterday and that was quite enough productivity for me! Aside from church and a grocery store run, I will be hanging out at home with Little Miss today and tomorrow. So nice to NOT have to get up early in the morning unless I just want to!first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-16674805095898862492015-12-19T08:47:00.000-05:002015-12-19T08:47:53.964-05:0012.19.15: The Best Things We Did This Week!Hey, teacher friends! We made it! I am sitting here with a lovely cup of coffee and relishing the fact that I have 16 days of blissful break time. This is one of the times of the year when it's GREAT to be a teacher!<br />
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I am really sad, though, because I didn't get nearly enough pictures of all the cutie-patootie things we did this week. I was so busy doing the fun stuff with the kids that snapping pictures just didn't happen. Sigh.<br />
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Wednesday was Grinch Day...we read the story, did some character anaylsis, watched the cartoon version, and did some writing. I do have pictures of the writing activity, which I saw over on <a href="http://www.stepinto2ndgrade.com/2014/12/a-whole-lotta-christmas.html">Mrs. Lemon's blog</a>:<br />
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"I feel grouchy when my mommy wakes me up." HA! Yes, waking up makes most of our class grouchy, it seems!<br />
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I made the pieces myself but I found a pin on Pinterest that showed <a href="http://jeanscraftycorner.blogspot.com/2010/12/day-10-of-20-days-of-christmas-grinch.html">exactly what pieces you will need</a>. I used a frame I had in a set from TPT to make the face and then played around with some shapes in PowerPoint to create the eyes and hat.<br />
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We also made Grinch ornaments. I don't have pictures of the exact ones the kids made, but this is the one Little Miss made last year:<br />
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They are super easy to make. I buy two bags of green feathers at the craft store and clear ornaments. (This year I lucked out and got plastic ones at Michael's for 70% off, which made them .29 each!) I pop the tops off and let the kids stuff the insides with feathers and then stick a red glitter heart sticker on the front. Boom! Easy peasy Christmas craft.<br />
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What else did we do? Let's see...I did some things that I've seen on other awesome blogs like the adorable mice from <a href="http://thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/2010/12/if-take-mouse-to-movies.html">The First Grade Parade</a> to go along with "If You Take A Mouse to the Movies". I found the craft templates that Mary from Sharing Kindergarten posted as a freebie <a href="http://sharingkindergarten.com/if-you-take-mouse-to-art-freebie/">here</a> (with Cara's permission, no worries!). They turned out really cute and I am sad I didn't snap any pictures. :( We also did some snowmen word problems. I was going to be SO ahead of the game and post them in the hallway yesterday afternoon to have ready for January...but then my parent volunteers accidentally passed them out to the kids yesterday when we were trying to get all of their ornaments/crafts/goodies into their goody bags. I didn't realize it until yesterday afternoon when I was getting the room straightened up. OOPS! I will have to come up with something else cute!<br />
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Yesterday was party-palooza. We used to spread all of the holiday stuff out a little bit, but now our principal prefers for us to have all of the crazy stuff on one day! Yesterday we watched The Polar Express in our jammies, went to the holiday sing-along, and had our holiday party in the afternoon. I had approximately 17 minutes with the kids aside from all of that, haha! It was a crazy day but a good one.<br />
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I hope everyone has a merry Christmas and a fabulous holiday break! January will be here before we know it!first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-48044984487145502962015-12-12T09:19:00.000-05:002015-12-12T09:19:01.835-05:00The Best Things We Did This Week (12.12.15)Hey, hey! 2 blog posts in one month? Yay!<br />
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I don't have a LOT to share with you this week. I had grand ideas for this past week, but then on Monday (at about 11 AM) I was told that I would be out for the next 2 days at a workshop. Surprise! It was a little challenging to get 2 days worth of sub plans ready in an afternoon with no planning, but I did it. (Thanks to a wonderful parent volunteer who ran all of my copies for me!)<br />
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So, for two days this week I wasn't even in the building...I learned all about PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention & Support) and had a lovely time with my school's team (especially the 1.5 hour lunches!), but I wasn't doing anything fun in the classroom. (And neither were my kids. Bless their hearts, but they had such a fun, WILD time with the sub when I was in California that I left them with zero fun things and lots of worksheets. They were angels this time around...)<br />
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Thursday and Friday I played catch-up and we did get to a few fun holiday things. First, let me tell you about one of my favorite teacher store type places; Micheal's! I went in there last weekend to get something I needed for someone's Christmas present and they were having an amazing sale. Their DIY ornaments were 70% off and their foam craft things were 50% off. I bought a class set of the clear plastic ornaments, a pack of Christmas trees, and a pack of foam stockings for less than $20. This is what we came up with:<br />
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I know, the fire in the middle is pitiful. My PEC co-teacher found some tissue paper and I am going to work on it on Monday. But the stockings are adorable! I did bust out the glitter for this one...my poor custodian. My para and I split up the glitter supervision and I didn't realize at first that she was letting her kids do their own glitter designs. Ahhh! Puddles of glue. PUDDLES. I am a little too much of a control freak to let them go with glitter and liquid glue!<br />
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We did these yesterday. My poor door is so beat-up. (They all are, it's not just mine!) Most teachers don't cover their doors at my school, although some did for the holidays. The trees came out so cute, though! More glitter. I figured what did it matter since we'd covered most surfaces with glitter the day before. HA.<br />
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That's all I've got for this week. Next week I have a ton of good stuff planned, though! We're going to work it in around the holiday sing-along and AIMSWeb testing and sight word testing and the million and one things that are happening around the school.first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-80784470545137442702015-12-05T16:58:00.001-05:002015-12-05T16:58:07.054-05:00The Best Things We Did This Week (12.5.15) & a gingerbread freebieHey, teacher friends! I hope everyone is hanging in there these last few weeks before break. I LOVE the month of December...but these three weeks or so seem to stretch on for forever! Being a first grade teacher in December is pretty magical because the kids are SO pumped about Santa and their elves and Christmas lists and Christmas decorations and presents and alllll the things that December brings. It's also pretty exhausting keeping up with their...um...enthusiasm. And energy.<br />
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This past week we were working on our story elements standard so I ventured away from the basal (sorry, <u>Journeys</u>) and did some cute gingerbread things. I LOVE a fun week of gingerbread stuff and some may end up spilling into next week because I didn't get through everything I wanted to do.<br />
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For starters, we read three of my favorite gingerbread stories. Of course we started with t<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gingerbread-Man-Jim-Aylesworth/dp/0545235146/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449350036&sr=1-3&keywords=the+gingerbread+man">he original</a>! Then we read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gingerbread-Girl-Lisa-Campbell-Ernst/dp/0525476679/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449350094&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gingerbread+girl">The Gingerbread Girl </a>by Lisa Campbell Ernst. Last, we read my FAVORITE...The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gingerbread-Baby-Jan-Brett-ebook/dp/B00E8OLHQA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449350137&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gingerbread+baby">Gingerbread Baby</a> by Jan Brett. There are other great versions out there but that's all I had time for this week. We read the stories and then charted the key story elements.<br />
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The kids glued their graphic organizers down into a little construction paper folder and added a gingerbread house to the front.<br />
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Easy peasy. These are now hanging outside of my classroom. If you want the graphic organizer and gingerbread house template, you can click <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5BA80fBJAgSdUJnOTh1dFF4b1U/view?usp=sharing">here</a> or on the pictures to download a free copy! I included a blank version of the graphic organizer just in case you want your kids to compare different texts than the ones we used. I would have liked to outline parts of the house in glitter but <strike>I couldn't face the mess that would ensue</strike> we ran out of time. (Truth: We are still recovering from the Glitter Pumpkin debacle from a few weeks ago!)<br />
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Yesterday we had fun chasing that silly gingerbread cookie around the school. I used this adorable <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-To-School-Gingerbread-Man-Scavenger-Hunt-1981292">FREEBIE</a> from Teaching Hearts & Minds to create the clues.<br />
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We started with the envelope the crafty gingerbread man left taped to our door, then followed the clues all around our school building before we ended up in the principal's office, where he had left us a basket of yummy treats!<br />
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Most years I make my class their own set of teeny gingerbread babies that I have decorated, but this year I let Little Debbie do the hard work me. The kids loved this activity and it was a great way to spend the first few minutes of recess on a super cold day! (The day before I was literally running in place on the playground to stay warm. It has been so chilly this week!)<br />
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Then I tried a new activity. One of the stellar teachers in our building told me about an easy cinnamon ornament class. I love EASY crafts. This one definitely fit the bill! I found some directions online and I basically followed along with <a href="http://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2013/12/easy-3-ingredient-cinnamon-ornaments.html">what the lovely blogger at The Kitchen Is My Playground did</a> as my guide.<br />
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You need a big jar of applesauce, a big container of cinnamon (I got one for $7.99 at Kroger!), and a little bit of liquid glue. You will also need a rolling pin, big mixing bowl, gingerbread man cutter, and some aluminum foil or wax paper. Here are some basic directions for how I did it with my class. I did have both a parent and my parapro with me while we did it and the extra help was really nice, but I definitely could have done it solo.<br />
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1.) Pour about a cup of the applesauce into a big bowl. Add a lot of cinnamon. I started with 6 tablespoons and then shook in a lot more as I mixed. Add in about 2 tablespoons of glue. Start mixing (you can begin with a spoon, but I ended up getting in there with my hands to knead it all together). You're going for a dough that is the consistency of Play-Doh. If it still looks wet and more like the texture of applesauce, keep dumping in cinnamon. If it starts to get hard and clumpy, add in more applesauce and glue. Eventually you will end up with a ball of a dough-y substance. I did this about 3 times to make enough dough for my class of 24.<br />
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2.) Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. I put my ball of dough between two pieces of aluminum foil to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin. That worked really well!<br />
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3.) Use a cookie cutter to stamp out the gingerbread men. I have a set of cookie cutters for a boy, girl, and a baby so I let the kids pick.<br />
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4.) Use a straw to punch out a teeny hole in the top of the gingerbread men. When they dry, we will thread a piece of ribbon through the hole to make it an ornmanet!<br />
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5.) Lay the gingerbread men/people out to dry. Before you go home, some of them may start to curl up a little bit around the edges. I mashed them back down flat. We'll see if they curly up again when I check on them on Monday.<br />
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6.) On Monday I will flip them and make sure they are dry. Later in the week, we will paint them with puffy paint (which will then need to dry) and add the ribbon.<br />
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So there you have it! This was our week of gingerbread fun! If you snag the freebie, I would love some lovin' in the comments! Hang in there friends...just a couple more weeks! We can do this!first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-21882427779972754202015-11-01T19:43:00.000-05:002015-11-01T19:43:00.591-05:00November CurrentlyOh, bless it. I just am not good at keeping up with this blog, am I? Ha! Oh, well. Here's this month's currently from Oh' Boy 4th Grade!<br />
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<b>Listening:</b> This is my current situation right now...<br />
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The struggle is real, people. The only reason I don't have more to cut out is that I ran out of laminating sheets. (Not only that, but my grade level buddy texted me two seconds after the last thing went through the laminator to ask if I had some she could borrow. Pretty sure we are keeping the Amazon suppliers competitive when it comes to these laminating sheets! I go through soooo much!) I just uploaded a brand new set of November math centers to my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/November-Math-Centers-for-First-Grade-2182174">TpT store</a> and now I want to prep them all so I have my centers set for the month. Oh, the life of a teacher! (Random side note: I used to think it was SO COOL to watch my teachers cut out laminated stuff. I was amazed when I was little how they could take the scissors and slide it through the lamination like magic without even cutting. The awe has definitely worn off over the years, LOL!)<br />
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Everything else is self-explanatory...except the <b>NEEDING!</b> I am going to Cali this week for a conference and I am sooooo excited! At least when I'm not stressing over a thousand details (sub plans, packing, leaving the house in order-yikes!) I am excited. I am going to Costa Mesa for the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers conference-I hope it's a blast!<br />
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So that's my November Currently. I am really going to try to do a better job of updating, but I keep saying that...maybe I need to resign myself to the fact that I am a lazy blogger!first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-32606681120510789422015-08-01T19:39:00.000-04:002015-08-01T19:39:47.428-04:00a little peek at my room (2015)Hey, blog world!<br />
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This week has been NUTS. Absolutely nuts...quite possibly the craziest pre-planning week I have ever had. We had to do the usual back-to-work meetings in a building that wasn't yet complete (construction & cleaning were still taking place). My room was 'finished' Thursday morning and guess what? We had Open House Thursday afternoon! CRAZINESS. For the last 9 years, I have always been done with my room at the beginning of pre-planning...this year I went up to school on a Saturday to get it all finished up.<br />
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Here are some pictures from my classroom! A lot of it is the same as last year, but you'll see some changes. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TkoUrbvILiN9eGmgdgsN_NS8EMak1YbHYrKSdow51Qd8bOOGjFBGPNDaxhioDChw15yphYYj7JTqyQg0ELyuK_gKbMKAeuRPGGVljaIflJsX2QYG9HzvmvzMzOhzz2R9mkRTXmR_w_s/s1600/from+the+door.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TkoUrbvILiN9eGmgdgsN_NS8EMak1YbHYrKSdow51Qd8bOOGjFBGPNDaxhioDChw15yphYYj7JTqyQg0ELyuK_gKbMKAeuRPGGVljaIflJsX2QYG9HzvmvzMzOhzz2R9mkRTXmR_w_s/s1600/from+the+door.png" /></a></div>
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Here is a picture taken from the door! You'll see I went back to tables this year...although I may have to add another one, since my class roster has 27 names on it. (GULP. It was soooo nice last year having only 22...that's probably not happening this year!) Do you see the tall shelf over by my kidney table? It's amazing...I bought it from a teacher who was leaving our school. There's storage on the back side, too. I love it! (And the blur to the right is Little Miss...I was so desperate today to get some work done I took her to school with me. She was actually a pretty good little helper, aside from wanting to color the first day of school coloring sheets that I put out yesterday!)</div>
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Calendar. I will do another post about calendar later...I am doing some things differently with it this year! The white bulletin board to the right is going to display my learning targets, but I haven't made those posters yet. (I'm telling you, it's been a race to the finish!)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QPP6hNV0HddeW3oC0ua41TUJ9cFwcqX9p7AZH45KdRbnxWZvDuMi7G1LCKcJ9zLRk0UWHnAX6UzPBVNEO8P7ypDzRi9emu9Vom9QwssMSUOP2oS0l3BS8Kfp2rvqJ62hyphenhyphen4H3_uaHFZg/s1600/classroom+library.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QPP6hNV0HddeW3oC0ua41TUJ9cFwcqX9p7AZH45KdRbnxWZvDuMi7G1LCKcJ9zLRk0UWHnAX6UzPBVNEO8P7ypDzRi9emu9Vom9QwssMSUOP2oS0l3BS8Kfp2rvqJ62hyphenhyphen4H3_uaHFZg/s640/classroom+library.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is quite possibly my favorite place in the whole classroom. I LOVE my classroom library. It, too, is a work in progress (there are some bins that need labels because I added more) but it is overflowing with books and it just makes my heart happy! Aren't those chairs cute? I got them at Kroger for $8 each. (PS: The neon dish tubs are the ones I got from Dollar Tree. They are alllll over my classroom because I bought as many as I could find. So cute and so sturdy, too!)</div>
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The front of the room. I made new posters this year. All of my polka dotted classroom stuff is in my TpT store <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Crazy-for-NEON-polka-dots-with-matching-teacher-binder-1979679">here </a>. My board is super empty because supposedly we're getting SmartBoards soon! Whoo!</div>
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School starts Monday. Ready or not, here they come! I feel much more ready TODAY than I did even YESTERDAY, and since my furniture was still in a pile on Thursday I think I've done well. I am so tired, though! Here's hoping the rest of the weekend crawls by! :)</div>
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first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890226101273172583.post-44100673040788305152015-07-26T19:41:00.002-04:002015-07-26T19:41:39.994-04:00assess me! week 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.thetattooedteacher.com/2015/07/assess-me-a-get-to-know-you-linky/"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0wKQ9Av5o6ENaHAGdSwW7CLc_qerlw_Stl7YiTklTSmTOay4rNzvWAqBsrQAxnufA9SHzAx2Rzh4-4Ibl7YpgelAibX357tUi81FaYy-ie91nJlSd08pkMX5NHBVydQTI_lVs1c160KM/s320/assessME.png" width="292" /></a></div>
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Mrs. Lamb is hosting a linky party! How fun! Here are my responses:<br />
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I am going to have fun reading what other people have to say. I gotta say...#3 sends shivers up my spine.first grade pizzazzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00780184143643509220noreply@blogger.com1