Second Week-Late Post

Well two weeks into this school year have some routines settling in and some still needing reteaching. We are up to 11 minutes for Daily 5 but the district requirements for assessments will slow our progress. We'll make it though--this is already so much better than last year. I've exposed to a couple of CAFE skills but haven't formally done enough. I did spring for the Dollar Tree baskets The Sisters bragged on during my CAFE conference last February here in town. They are working so much better than the Baggies dropped into various boxes and tubs around my teaching area. I thoroughly enjoy teaching my munchkins to read and can't wait to get into the group/conferencing routine. Some have a long way to go...

I'm still not sure anyone out there is able to read this blog. I think I'll try someone with a bit more technical expertise than I next week. I've exhausted my brain and the Facebookers in my household to see if it's working. I think I left out a step in my set-up...we'll see.

I want to try one of the Currently's I've read on some other blogs and will try Farley's from Oh Boy Fourth Grade--if I ever figure out how to do it. HELP??? I'm giving up until I can figure out--I'm probably making it harder than it has to be but I'm done spending time on something I can't make work for today. I'm not usually a quitter so maybe next month.

Later,
Pam

Birthdays and Open House

Birthday Celebrations

I celebrated another candle blowing day this past week. It reminded me I haven't posted my ideas for celebrating birthdays with the students in my class. We usually begin the day with the students writing or decorating a "love note/birthday greeting" for the birthday boy or girl on a half sheet of colored paper--either construction paper or copy paper works. I have a little sign I put up that says, "Happy Birthday" and I write the birthday boy or girl's name under it. The birthday child decorates a white lunch bag for the container while the others are writing to them. All notes are placed in the bag for enjoying at home. At day's end we gather together and sing (with me it will be off key) and I read my greeting card and give them a small token present (which is merely a toilet paper tube with small birthday items inside and all wrapped up with birthday paper.) I usually make ten to a dozen of them up at a time after shopping the dollar stores for balloons, confetti, party blowers, noise makers, finger toys, small balls, tops, and other small items that will fit inside the tube. I portray it as a birthday in a tube and for them to not expect anything expensive or large. The fun part is the anticipation in waiting for it all day AND having to wait until they get home to open it (the confetti might make a mess anyway.) They are not allowed to tell anyone what is inside and I tell them each one has different items inside--which they usually do. On the outside I tape the small poem below:

A special child was born today,                    A special child was born today,
That's what his friends and teachers say.      That's what her friends and teachers say.
Happy Birthday, Friend.                                Happy Birthday, Friend.

The author is unknown and I usually make a page or so of them and have them cut apart to tape on the tube the day of the birthday (or the Monday or Friday before if the big day falls on a weekend.)

Below is a picture of some of the goodies for this year's tubes. 

Here is a completed tube ready for giving.

Open House

This past week included getting all DRA testing done, Open House, AND our first set of Progress Reports--with only 15 days of school to gather grades! I know I ate a couple of birthday cakes and certainly slept well at night--from sheer exhaustion. I was so pleased to have a nice turn-out for Open House. It's certainly a lot of work getting ready and when only 3 sets of parents show up, it's a little discouraging. However, this year I was even able to get my slide show presentation to work (with a little help from my sweet neighbor at school.) I'd love to share it but the pieces came from so many different places, I don't know about the freedom to do that. We've gotten our Daily 5 time up to 19 minutes and switched out our books twice. I introduced Word Work at my station but haven't had time to demo Spelling City on our iTouches. Next week's goal will be to train access to our Net Books...and that will mean I'll be making some favorites again. The Net Books were reimaged and all I had on them was wiped out in the process. I feel lucky to have these pieces of technology in my room though. 

May this next week be less eventful and may routines really become second nature with fewer reteachings and modelings.

Later,

Pam

First week--again

Even after all these years, the first day is always daunting. Yes, I still have the nightmare a day or two before school where the children walk in and everything is still in boxes and the walls are bare. But that was not the reality. My black and white polka dotted theme was added to again this year. I made two "of those crate things" as I read in another blog last month. I managed to clean up many of last year's piles of filing, etc. I know, I should have simply trashed them but it's difficult to do that. 

The curriculum in my district seems to be pretty aggressive for struggling readers, so there are many accommodations I need to make. The biggest struggle will be our switch to Singapore Math. Everyone says I will love it but the transition piece is a struggle for me just now. We've got new TEKS coming and are directed to operate under the new ones while our students come to us only knowing the old ones.  I am once again implementing "Daily 5" and making greater efforts to include "CAFE" along with it. Some of my students were exposed to "Daily 5" last year and they are coming along just fine. But the biggest hit last week was the craft we did following First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg. It was one shared in Nancy Vanden Berge's blog, Firstgradewow.blogspot.com. It's amazing what skills show up in completing such tasks. I don't have everyone's permission slips back just yet or I'd show you their work.

Is everyone else finding it tough to get back in the lesson planning groove? I guess I've lost it...but it's coming back...very slowly. Well, I must put my chatting on the back burner and get back to some organizing for next week. My goal for today was not accomplished--I still have some goodies to get finalized to share on TPT. 

Later,
Pam

BACK TO SCHOOL

It's certainly hard to believe we're already into in-services. I had so many intentions for the summer months...

Anyway, it's time to gear up again and I want to share a couple of ideas I've used with success in my classroom. The first is some whiteboard or small chalkboard erasers for students to use. I start with a large black eraser (I've even used my old, used ones, now that I'm blessed with a whiteboard and Activboard in my classroom.) First, you go into the stitches between the part you hold in your hand and the folds of felt and snip the stitches. There will be single flaps on the ends and doubles in the middle. Once removed from the stiff board, you will remove the stray threads and then cut the middle flaps apart. Last, you can see from the picture below how I've taken one felt rectangle and glued it onto a large tongue depressor. Elmers or wood glue works fine, but be sure to get the corners. Let them dry and you have 6 small student erasers for the price of one larger one. They are much cheaper than commercially made ones. 

The other "goodie" I want to share is an idea to save the disagreements over whose coat hook is whose in the closet. For this I simply used cleaned out milk cartons.First, I cut them apart and removed the top and bottoms. (The top does make a good funnel and the bottom can make a small dish for holding word cards or other small items, like paper clips. For this purpose, though, that makes for a lot of precise cutting and maybe those would be better made from another milk carton.) Second, I cut the long sides into rough rectangles (the dips and indentations won't matter so don't be too particular about using only flat pieces.) Then I take them to the die-cut machine and select ovals or other fist-sized cutouts. I cut one shape for each student and I punch a hole at the top and voila! You have a very sturdy tag on which to use a permanent marker to label student names. Our rule is: this stays on the back or bottom part of the hook and the jacket or coat goes over it. The backpack is kept on the front or top hook for easier access. Once you put these in place, many battles simply subside. Our closet is small, if I have a large class; so I often have to place early "arrivers" on the bottom rows and late "arrivers" on the top row. At year's end just use lighter fluid or some sort of acetone (nail polish remover works too) to erase the names and you are ready to go for the next year's prep.

I'll try to include another idea or two soon...I hope. For the rest of my time this evening, I'm off to soak up a mystery on TV and maybe tackle some of the dreaded ironing.

Later,

Pam

Here I Go--Jumping in with Both Feet

Welcome to my new blog! 

I have been doing research for months now and really want to get more involved with fellow teachers who share some of the same dilemmas and have such great solutions. My name is Pam Walker and I have been teaching for more years than I can count with all of my fingers and all of my toes. I have spent my time at the primary elementary level. I am currently in second grade, which has easily replaced my first love of first grade. I have a wonderfully supportive husband and grown son. I know you will hear stories about them in future blogs.

I'm giving up on trying to get very fancy at this point in trying to get my blog up and running. Coming up with a name for my blog and future TPT store has been taxing enough. I've had to learn my technology skills in "The School of Hard Knocks", since computers were room sized when I went to college. I hold my own and I've learned so much this summer; but I am certainly open to any tips you care to send my way. YouTube is wonderful but I can't call out any questions to clarify. I've been falling into the "black hole" of Pinning--you know the one I mean...you sit down to peruse Pinterest and get swallowed up...the next thing you know...hours have gone by and you've had so much fun. However, I've spent additional hours tackling many of the cool things I've seen pinned there; but I still have a huge list of want-to-dos or want-to-buy.

I made it to my classroom today--everything clean but against the walls and pretty bleak looking. It was certainly good to get rid of a few piles in the dining room. Now that those are gone, I'll have to do a bit more cleaning...maybe a lot more. I did get a couple of neat things made that I will share in my next blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by and please look for my goodies on TPT in the near future.

Pam