The stories to get me through...

These stories are for the days (that we all have) that are not full of so much smiling, laughter, and childlike joy:

Story 1: My class enters the hallway from the cafeteria heading towards academic arts.  I realize that one of my more confident students was observing his reflection while showing varying emotions.  Out of the corner of my eye I noted he had a Spongebob type expression (wide eyed and mouth open) while snapping and pointing his fingers once at his reflection.  I approached him and said, "What are you doing, sir?"  I fully expected him to take his place in line and begin following our hallway procedures, but I should have considered his personality.  His response was, "Miss Thomas, I was tellin' myself I am lookin' gooooood!"  At this moment, I took my place and try to keep myself composed until passing my class to the next teacher.

Story 2: About mid-morning I look out into my wonderful class to see that all of them are steadily working on their writing.  I could not help but think, "How did I end up with a class of first graders who love writing SO much?"  Then, I spotted him... whistling and piloting his brand new paper air plane (engineered from his writing paper of course).  I called him over to my table to discuss work-on-writing procedures.  I said, "During this time we are working on our writing by getting our ideas on paper through pictures and words... here is a new piece of paper for you to get started."  He sat next to me at our conference table and told me that he did not know what to write about.  I instructed him to look around the room for ideas.  He looked around the room for what seemed like eternity or... 2 seconds, and spotted the container of jellybeans.  He said, "I don't know how to spell that word".  I reminded him of our work-on-writing procedures, and that he was to underline it if he was unsure how to spell it.  I then overheard him sounding it out... "Jo-ey-beans".  Looks like that will be a new nickname for the remainder of the year.

Story 3: Our class had just endured the entire Everyday Mathematics block, and was heading into Science.  I turned on what we call a wiggle song, and the children did the usual and jumped up to dance and sing to the song.  Suddenly, I got a whiff of something that belonged... well, not in the classroom.  I asked the student closest to me if they needed to use the restroom (thinking that they just had gas).  The response was, "Nope! I don't have to go... I just did!"

Prologue: I have a child in my classroom whose entrance to a room cannot go unnoticed.  Story 4:  We were mid-lesson this afternoon learning about the properties of water.  The children were very into the experiment of water taking the shape of the container it is poured into.  This highly entertaining child enters the classroom from using the restroom and (without a breath) shouts, "Miss Thomas, I had to poop and I couldn't but then I did and then I couldn't get it off and I thought I was going to have a heart attack but then I got it off."  (Side note: Your facial expression right now times 21... mmhm) 

Story 5: One of my children trips over their shoe laces, forgets to tuck in his shirt, and bumps into the person in front of him in line ALL on the way to recess. When he makes it out on the playground he approaches me and says that he has bad karma, and explains the situation.  When I explained to him what karma was... we agreed that what he actually had was bad luck.  At the end of recess he approached me and said, "Actually, Miss Thomas... I do have karma... I knocked over my neighbors folder this morning."  I LOVE the little teachable moments!

Week 2 and 3

Okay, so week 2 and 3 have officially passed.  What does that leave... 33 more? I am SO just kidding.  I absolutely love the children that I have the opportunity to work with this year.  We have practiced wanted behaviors for Read-to-Self, Read-to-Someone, and Work-on-Writing.  The children are doing a fabulous job with the expectations of each of these.  This week I introduced Read-to-Someone on Tuesday (the day after a long holiday weekend).  It was a struggle for my children to come up with the ideas of wanted behaviors, but when practicing they did it with ease.  By the end of the week I was able to have them try a half-and-half split.  Half of the students were doing read-to-someone while the other half were doing read-to-self.  When half of the allotted time for reader's workshop had passed I clapped twice and they switched.  Next week, I will be introducing Word Work and Listen-to-Reading.  Once these have been introduced the schedule will finally be on track to normalcy.  My goal for the upcoming weeks is to have 3 types of assessment per lesson that I teach, and use the results to drive my instruction.  I am going to keep it short, because it has been a LONG short week (as we had a school holiday on Monday).  See y'all in a week!

Week 1

As I sit down to figure out what I am going to do for Open House next week and to describe my first week in words... I am failing.  It was an absolutely AWESOME week!  I originally had 22 children on my roster, and 20 of them came to Meet and Greet the Friday before school began... for a Title I school I'd say thats pretty impressive.  I have 21 first graders now which is way better than many teachers across the state (from what I am hearing).  Each one brings so much to the environment of the classroom.  I have had a breakthrough with a student who has had difficulty at school in the past.  On day one when I asked him for his agenda book, I had to assure him that I was writing a good note to his mom before he would surrender it from his death grip.  Today, I had forgotten to sign it and he came up to me as we were walking out the door and said, "Miss Thomas!!! My agenda book!".  I know as teachers we can agree, but it really does not take much to make us get all ooey gooey inside.  The first day of school I began implementing The Daily Five, and the first day my students were determined that they were going to get settled for only 30 seconds before their lack of discipline (on the first day of school... imagine that) caused me to ring by bell and join together to review wanted and unwanted behaviors.  I am also proud to say that after only a week of implementation and practice of the "Read to Self" strategies, my student have already built their independent reading stamina up to almost 10 minutes!! Minor Celebration on my end.  They even know what it means to "build stamina".  I do have table place mats that I place around the room on the floor, and the students know that is a place they need to put their bottom (MAJOR help in making sure they choose a space where they can be successful).  I was a believer after reading the book, but I am DEFINITELY a believer now that I have seen the impact.  I can actually visualize painlessly pulling my students to do reading assessments in the upcoming weeks... painless for me at least. 

We have practiced, and practiced, and practiced walking in the hallway using the acronym Hands by your side, All eyes forward, Lips zipped, Low speed... and if we practice, and practice, and practice some more I think we will get it.  I used many of Julia Cook's books to set expectations.  I read Personal Space Camp and we discussed why it was important to have your own personal space.  I read My Mouth is a Volcano and we practiced raising our hands and waiting our turn to share our "very important words".  I read Bully B.E.A.N.S to show the importance of standing up to bullies, but also giving them a fresh start at the beginning of the year in case they have changed.  I also read Tattle Tongue and we created an anchor chart of the difference between tattling and telling the teacher something important.  One of my children was actually convinced that he was getting "tattle tongue", because his tongue began to itch after we read the book.  After much discussion of the credibility of this book one of my students came to the conclusion that a teacher read the book so it must be true and we better stop tattling... so, I am considering it a success. 

I am so looking forward to learning from and teaching each of these students.  They have already become a huge part of my life, and I know I will shed a few tears of motherly pride as I pass them on to the next teacher.

cute, Cute, CUTE notebook labels!

I found these on http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chevron-Binder-Covers-editable-and-free.  It gives step-by-step instructions on how to get the font.  I am IN LOVE with these!  I created all of the binder covers that I thought I would use this year.

Prepared for Week One

There is no guarantee that this is everything I will use the first week, but these are a few things that I wanted to post to help me remember for next year.  I hope you find it helpful!

This will be displayed in my classroom next Friday evening for our Meet and Greet.  I will have a smaller version of this poem for each child to take home with them along with the baggy of goodies to describe our year.  This idea came from pinterest so I cannot take credit.  I just tweaked it a little to make it fit my theme.




This is another fabulous idea I found on pinterest.  I simply added the quote at the bottom.  I am looking forward to doing this at the Meet and Greet to symbolize that each member is equally important.



I am using this newsletter for the first week to introduce myself to the parents of my students, and to get them familiar with the layout of my newsletter.  I have also included important dates, helpful websites, and a few to-dos (under "Notes from Miss Thomas) for the parents.

Each year I have THE hardest time trying to keep this document brief.  I have included what I consider to be THE MOST important information for the school year.

I LOVE doing interest inventories at the beginning of the school year to learn more about my students.  I also use this document as a guide for my students' learning styles to include in my long range plan.  I have included questions that I feel help me best know the student quickly... in addition to conversation and observation.

Last year I found that many parents did not read the newsletter that I sent home weekly which meant they were unaware of upcoming events, school holidays, homework, what we were learning in class, and it was a waste of paper.  At the Meet and Greet I will be giving the parents an opportunity to receive it electronically so that it is no longer the student's fault if the parent does not read it.



The parents will write their child's transportation for the first day and remainder of the year.  I will hang this next to the door so that I (and substitutes) know at-a-glance who should be going where.



I found this student information card on pinterest, and I did not change it one bit.  I thought it included ALL of the fabulous information you would need to take on a field trip, call home, etc.  Thank you pinterest!

This will go in the 3-prongs in the center of the folder that they bring from home to school.  This will be used to let me know when money was sent, and let the parents know when money was received at school.  It never hurts to have documentation of... EVERYTHING!

I will be printing this and the money log double-sided and placing it in the prongs of the folder.  When the students have filled up their reading log they will get their choice of reward (un-purchased).  They may get extra recess, a homework pass, or get to use art supplies the following morning in place of morning work.

Classroom Organized... Check!



This is the back of my classroom.  This wall will be used for my word wall, an area for each student to display work their are proud of, and for my cafe board.  The word wall does not have any words on it at the moment, but they will be added each week when they are introduced.  The student displays will show work that the students are proud of.... not necessarily uniform.  The Cafe board does not have any strategies currently listed, but they will be added after they are taught.  The students will have a clip with their name on it that they clip to the strategy they are currently working on.  The reading center will take up the entire nook at the back of the classroom, but the library is to the right.  The "I'm Done!" basket is by the left door.  My behavior management system is on the wall on the left.




This is the wall that I originally thought would be my word wall, but instead it is the math wall.  The empty wall space will be used to place anchor charts to review material taught throughout the year.  The shelving on the left are the word work manipulatives and the everyday math manipulatives.  The computer station is in the middle.  The listening station is on the right.



This picture shows you what this wall connects to.  On the left is my classroom library.  In the middle are my manipulatives (word work and everyday math).  On the right is my computer station.





On the left is my small group station.  In the middle I have dots on the window with their color written on them.





This is the same wall as above.  Under the cabinets to the right, I have their mailboxes.  To the right of that is the behavior chart.





This is the front of my classroom.  To the left is our whole group meeting area on the rug in front of the Promethean board. To the right is my small group table.  Thankfully, I was able to trade out my desks for some tables... SO EXCITED about this!





This is my reading nook just as promised... super cozy!  Each student has a laminated piece of paper hanging with 2 clothes pins.  This makes hanging and changing work easy.  I will write each student's name on the top of each sheet so they have a designated place for their work.  It is time consuming to laminate enough paper for each child, but if I have a new student come in all I have to do is use fingernail polish remover to remove a previous name and put up the new students name.  My cafe board will be directly above the reading center so that students can reflect on their goals during independent practice. 




This is my classroom library.  I am not completely satisfied with how I organized my books, but it will do for now.  On my book display I have kid friendly magazines on sports and animals.  This will also be great place to keep books that we make as a class.  This area will be where students "Read to Self".





This is the new and improve behavior system.  The students have a clothes pin with their name on it.  When they are caught making good choices they move their clip from the green bowl beside "All Aboard" to the green bowl beside "On Course".  The "I'm Done!" basket to the right will be used to place ALL completed work (homework, classwork, etc.)




My students will have one folder.  In the morning they will come in and put their book bag on the hook and pull out their folder.  They will empty their folder of completed work into the "I'm Done!" basket.  They will then go to this area and fill their folder with classwork to take to their desk.  At the end of the day when they pack up they will fill the folder with homework to take home.  Oh... and the lunch money basket is just a pencil holder.





These are my Everyday Math manipulatives.  I have labeled all of which I have photographs for.





These are my word work manipulatives.  These will be used for the "Word Work" portion of the Daily 5.





This is my "Math Wall".  I will use this wall to post strategies directly related to math.  I got the idea for posting the minutes around the clock from pinterest.  I placed clear tape on the wall surrounding the clock, and wrote on it directly with permanent marker.  At the end of the year it will peel right off! :)





This is my small group meeting area.  I will use this area to meet with a small reading group or math group.  There are 4 pocket charts hanging.  The first one is for the "Learning Goal".  The second is for the "Common Core Standard".   The third is for the "Essential Question".  The fourth is for the daily schedule.





Due to not having tons of leftover wall space, I purchased these at Target and wrote the name of the color on the largest circle.  It also helps to block out a little light so that we can use our Promethean Board.



My, Oh My!

Wow, is this summer a little different than last.  Last summer my main objective (going into my first year of teaching) was to have EVERYHING in my room matching so it looked fabulous.  This summer I have spent countless hours looking on http://www.pinterest.com/ to get crafty and inexpensive ideas on classroom organization, because (lets face it) practical things should be cute too!  I have also gotten some really great templates from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/.  Lets just say I am incredibly thankful for how great teachers are at sharing!  I feel much more prepared for year 2 than I did for year 1.  I am teaching in the same school and same grade level this year, but am moving to a new classroom which has its pros and cons.  I love having a new space to call home, but with a new space comes a new set of challenges as far as classroom design goes.  It is a good thing that classroom setup is so fun!



This is a photo of the back of my new classroom.  At this point, I am thinking that I will use the back wall for a math word wall and the small white board for my calendar display.  This way, the children will always know where to look to find what they need.  I want to build a cozy little nook by the door on the right to create spot for my classroom library where the students will Read to Self (one of the five elements of Daily 5).




This is one of the side walls of my new classroom.  I am thinking I am going to divide this counter top... half would be computer and the other half would be a Listening to Reading (one of the 5 elements of Daily 5).  I will use the wall behind it for my word wall.



This is the other side of my classroom.  Yes, it has the beautiful spanish moss blowing outside the window.  I LOVE the Beaufort, South Carolina.  I am definitely blessed with a lot of cabinets which with the right labels will be great for organizing the students' supplies in a way that is accessible to them!



This is the front of my classroom.  This is where I will do whole group instruction on the rug, and will be a great place to Read to Someone (one of the 5 elements of Daily 5). My small group table is a kidney table directly adjacent to the rug.  I have not decided for sure, but I think the students will use their desks as a place to Work on Writing and Word Work.

Overrall, I am looking forward to adding color to this room and spicing it up a bit so that it is as energetic and fun as all the little bodies that will be in it!  I cannot wait until I am able to get in there and start working!