Back to School Time

Ready or not, it's almost that time! I can't believe some teachers across the country are already back in your classrooms!   I start back to school on August 13th and that seems early!  Oh well, it is what it is.  I really am excited to see my new group of first graders.  I'm just not excited to let go of the lazy days of summer!

I went into the classroom today and dropped off all of my summer purchases from the dollar spot, dollar store, Michael's, etc.  Why do I do that?  I'm sure I didn't "need" any of it!  But from the looks of IG, I'm not alone!  LOL!

I'm going through my Back to School Resources and printing and laminating from home!  I want to get ahead of the game, so I can focus on my classroom when I get back.

My school is implementing a new ELA curriculum so I'm focusing mainly on supplementing my math program.   These are some of my favorites for the first few months of the school year.

              



 I like introducing some games and coloring sheets while I'm teaching procedures and assessing my new students!  If any of the resources look like they might help you get ready for your new class, just click on the picture to see a complete description.

Thanks for stopping by!

The End is Near!

Hello!

I don’t know about you, but I’m in disbelief that I only have two weeks of summer left! Where did it go?

On the last day of school, I packed up my classroom, filled up my teacher bag with all the things I wanted to work on during the summer and left for summer break! This was the first time in my 22 years of teaching that I left my classroom on the last day of school!

The only school related thing I’ve done was a professional development in Vegas! My school is adopting the Expeditionary Learning Education curriculum

Well, best laid plans...I haven’t worked on anything that was in that teacher bag! LOL!

I decided to embrace summer for the first time in 22 years! I have read numerous books and vacationed with my family...without my computer!

We took lots of fun pictures! Can you guess where we traveled?

Now, with only 2 weeks left, I am feeling a sense of urgency in the pit of my stomach! I have begun the inevitable...making name tags, class decor, class lists, you name it! Here’s what my living room looks like….YIKES!

The piles from Summer shopping are out of control!  

I’m also am changing the color scheme in my room this year. It’s been a little bit of a hodge podge the last few years, so I looked for something pleasing to MY eye! I love the farmhouse / rustic look, but I need a little color. Imagine my excitement when I discovered Hollie Griffith's Farmhouse Flair Collection! OMG! It's perfect!

So now I'm printing, laminating and cutting like crazy!  

I'm also creating math resources for my new group of firsties!  I'll have to post pictures as soon as I've finished.  Right now, I'm focusing on those beginning of the year skills my new students will need to practice (subitizing, number identification, ten frames, beginning addition and subtraction)!  Until it's finished...here's a sneak peek!

  

These will be great for teaching those beginning of the year procedures: using scissors, glue sponges or glue sticks, subitizing, number identification!  I'm working on a back to school theme!  My plan is to have the skills increase while keeping the directions / activity the same.   

Leave a comment if you have other skills you would like to see!  

My New Morning Routine

We are on day 13 of our new school year and I finally feel like I might be able to take a breath! You would think that after 20 back to school seasons, it would get easier, right?  Nope!  I seem to change, add or tweak something every year!  This year I changed my morning routine!

Why the change?  I wanted to allow my students some time each morning to greet friends, ease into the school day with routine,  start each day engaged in meaningful collaborative activities, and have a few minutes for those early morning tasks like taking attendance and spontaneous chats with parents!  Oh, and did I mention,  I needed this new routine to be something sustainable and easy to manage?  That is a must for me or it will fall apart!

So I did what any reasonable teacher would do...I went to Pinterest!  I searched morning routines and discovered a huge variety of ideas!  I liked some and knew I would never be able to keep up with others!  What I came up with was my own twist on Morning Tubs!  I introduced my students to the idea of  Morning Tubs on day 2!   They love it and I love it! WHY didn't I try this sooner!

Materials Needed: 

Once I decided I wanted to go this route, I went shopping for supplies!  First stop, Amazon!

I ordered 5 Sterlite tubs, one for each table group!  Next,  I needed some engaging activities for the tubs!  The first week I wanted to keep it simple so I simply put a different set of manipulatives in each tub: pattern blocks, linker cubes, scrabble tiles, wooden blocks, and dominoes!  Every morning I rotate the tubs so each group gets to experience a new tub!

 

Okay, now for the true test!  Remember when I mentioned, I needed this new routine to be something sustainable and easy to manage?  Week two arrived and, guess what!  It was EASY to change out the contents of the tub AND keep my students engaged!

I love walking around, listening in on and having conversations with my kiddos each morning!  I can help when needed if a child has difficulty with an activity.  I encourage my students to ask tablemates for help, but I'm also there for guidance!

Where do I get the activities?

I spent the week before school cleaning, purging and organizing my classroom cabinets, and I had uncovered some hidden gems! I'm sure you have lots of gems of your own!  This is another thing I love about Morning Tubs...I'm using resources that have just been collecting dust!  Now they are being used by little hands!  

I also visited the Dollar Store and found small 48 piece puzzles in metal tins!  These are PERFECT for collaborating as a team, working together and greeting friends in the morning!  I bought 15 different puzzles.  I've only used 2 each week!  

I added some puzzles from my Short A Word Family resource, Subitizing Matching Games and 120 puzzles! I found some addition and subtraction puzzles that I normally use in math tubs during Daily Math.  I went ahead and introduced them in a morning tub and my kids loved working together and completing these puzzles.  Now when they go into a math tub, they will be familiar and independent!  

In my short experience with Morning Tubs, I can tell you that I love this new addition to my routine!  My students enter the classroom and know exactly where to go and what to do!  They are visiting with friends and engaging in their day right away!  Their school day is starting off with intention and purpose...they are not waiting on me to take attendance or finish up a conversation with a parent.  They are engaged and completing a task!  

If you've been looking for a new morning routine for your kids or want to try something new this year, I highly recommend Morning Tubs!  

Some Resources I'm Using:

Back to School - Day 5

Day 5 began like any other first grade days...flag salute, walk to class, morning hugs and then...

one poor baby throws up in the middle of the room. Right before said child got sick, mom had taken him to the bathroom because his tummy hurt.  Well, it must have really been hurting!  Meanwhile, another sweet baby misses her mommy and proceeds to wail...and so went the day!

 Luckily, I work with great people and had lots of support with my little class of 22.  

I am happy to report that we are rocking it with Daily 5!  I'm taking it slow (which is soooo hard)! I have some great new seating options for kids and they love Read to Self!  We are up to 8 minutes!  I'm sure this will fluctuate as I introduce other choices, but I'll take it!

 

They love taking the pillows and turning the chairs over to create a comfy spot...thank you Pinterest!

I also introduced Math Daily 3 and this little roll and color activity!  They each had their own die and completed Math by Myself perfectly!  The goal was engagement and independence to learn procedures!  They did it!  Download this freebie for your kiddos!

Next up...Work on Writing! Are you using the Daily 5?  

Tried and True First Day Activities

I love the First Day of School!  Truly!  I can't wait to meet my little kiddos! I usually overplan for this day because I feel like I'd much rather have too much to do than not enough.  Of course, I plan lots of getting to know each other activities and begin introducing procedures, but I also read, read read!  I make sure I have all of my "back to school" books in a basket and at my fingertips!

I make some very purposeful choices to read books targeting specific behaviors or concepts.  These help set the stage for our discussions about classroom expectations and procedures!  

Afterall, just about everything that needs to be taught, can be introduced with a book!  These are some of my favorite first week of school books and activities!

Since there are three first grade classes at our school and we are the First Grade Froggies,  we always start the year with Froggy Goes to School!

The Froggy books by Jonathon London are a favorite with our group!  After reading this fun book we are going to make this cute little craft. This provides a great opportunity to go over expectations and procedures! Plus, I love having hands on crafts the first day. They can take something fun home from the school this first day, or I may try to convince them to let me hang them up for our first display!

Two of my favorites are No, David! and David Goes to School by David Shannon. The kids always giggle and laugh and pay attention to the story.  We follow up with a super cute directed draw!  You can find the directions here! 

We then brainstorm appropriate choices to make at school.  What did David do?  What should David have done?  We complete a writing activity which is perfect for the beginning of the year.  You can download this freebie here!  Students choose either a "Yes" or "No" paper, write their name and an appropriate or inappropriate thing to do at school and illustrate!  It's hilarious and makes a great class book to kick off the year!

I also love to share Officer Buckle and Gloria during the first few weeks of school as we discuss school safety and review procedures such as fire drills, code reds, etc.  After reading the story, each student writes a safety rule for the classroom and draws Officer Buckle!  I love how different they each are!

 

Here are some of the books I will have in my "Back to School" basket!   

What are some of your favorite Back to School books?  Please share your favorites in the comments!  I'm always looking for new books to add to my classroom library!

Speaking of "Back to School", be sure and and enter my back to school giveaway!  There are some great prizes for your classroom!  Good Luck!

An InLinkz Link-up

Back to School Giveaway (S)!

I am so excited about my Back to School Giveaways!   That's right....GiveawaySSSSS!  I'm teaming up with some amazing people to offer you four fantastic prize packages!  I was lucky enough to meet the creative minds behind these classroom products while I was in Vegas and love their products!

My motto is "kid tested and teacher approved" so you know I love it if I use a product in my classroom!

SitSpots are absolutely GENIUS!  These spots really stick to the carpet and don't budge until you move them!  They make great spots for kids to stand on when lining up or to incorporate into a game. Write words, numbers or equations on the spots for a fun interactive game!





a Rafflecopter giveaway

KleenSlates are an amazing twist on the usual whiteboards!  (Designed by a teacher!) These slates have a plastic sleeve that you can slip an number of templates behind!  Write directly on the plastic and wipe right off!  It is so versatile!  Kids love them, too!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

I also got to meet "The Apron Lady"!  I loved all the aprons I saw!  This is the one I bought and I can't wait to wear it in class...I know my firsties will be engaged in word building, sight words and math equations while I"m wearing this beauty!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dr. Klemm is the creator of NumbersAlive!  Everyone of her products is created to intentionally teach about each number. She believes STEM education must begin at an early age and that numbers can be fun for all children.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I know you and you're students will  love these products as much as I do!  Good luck!  

Back to School Freebie!

I've been working hard getting ready for my new little class of First Graders!  I haven't been in my classroom, yet, but I've been drooling over the instagram photos from others!

I'm getting so excited to meet my new group.  I'm planning some fun activities for the first few weeks and I've been creating and planning my word work tubs for the first part of the year!

I want my kiddos engaged in hands on activities right away!  I like to start teaching routines, procedures and expectations as soon as possible.  And, we all know that those little first graders come to school ready to do some first grade work!  They are excited to learn...one of MANY reasons I LOVE teaching first grade!

Most First Graders will have mastered letter sounds in Kindergarten, but this makes it the perfect concept to review while teaching procedures. It also gives me a quick look at who may need interventions or a little more reinforcement!

These activities are intended for an interactive "Word Work" book.  I plan to have my kiddos use a composition book that has been cut in half as their "Word Work" book!  I like using the half size, not only because I get twice as many, but it's less "white" space for the kids.  These word work activities are intended to be completed quickly and reinforce the concept.

After thinking about how I could make this word work activity meaningful for my kids, I started creating the Alpha Match resource.

This resource not only reinforces letter sounds, but provides opportunity for letter formation.

 Reviewing letter sounds is such a great way to build confidence while refreshing this important skill.

I've also created the first two short vowel word family packs!  

                       

As these units are completed, they will be added to the "bundle".  Currently the bundle sells for $5.  As I add each unit, the price for the bundle will increase!  Buy it now and download the revisions as they are posted!  

Click the image below to download a free sample of this product!  

Enjoy!