Labels, Labels, Labels

Tonight I have been working on making labels for all of the folders and notebooks that my first graders will be using this year.  I copy all of the labels onto pieces of full or half sheet label paper.  Once it is copied, I just peel the back and don't have to write the same label on EVERY single notebook or folder that I have.  I just have the kids write their name on the label!  I'm not sure why I didn't start doing this a long time ago. 


Every day my students do Writer's Workshop.  They have a folder that they keep all their drafts of stories and unfinished books in.  When it is time to do Writer's Workshop, I have them move their desks away from one another, take out their Writer's Workshop Folder and get to work.  I play piano music in the background while they are working.

Labels for Writer's Workshop

Last year I started doing a daily math prompt.  The first 10 minutes of the day, students would get a daily math question, they would glue it in their math journals and they would answer it.  This year I am going to start doing this with Language Arts as well.  I found this idea from Anna Brantley at Crazy for First Grade.  You can see the idea here.  Anna Brantley.  This year I will be doing the Literacy ones that I found on her blog as well. You can find them here: Literacy Journal Prompts.  I did label my journals Language and Math.

Daily Language Arts Journals

Literacy Journals

Daily Math Prompts

Every day we do a morning meeting.  I have my kids share something that they did the night before or are excited about.  We then do a free writing for about 10 minutes.  At this time, I do not correct their work.  This is a time for them to use inventive spelling, spelling words that they are learning and just write.  I label these Writing Journals.

Writing Journals

Finally I send blue Parent Communication Folders home with my kids daily.  In these I have paper.  I may write notes to parents in them or they might write notes to me.   I check these daily and send them home at night.





Parent Communication Folder

I hope that you can use some of these!

You're Finally Here!

I can't believe summer is almost over and we are about to start school again!  Last week I did my first 5K!  I took part in the Dirty Girl Mud Run!  It was soooo much fun!  I will be doing another one on September 1st, called The Glo Run!  It's at night and we will be wearing glow in the dark t-shirts.  I think I might actually like running!

These past few days I have started to prepare for school.  One of the first activities that I am going to do is read the book, You're Finally Here! by Melanie Watt.   We will talk about how excited I am that the students are in my class and how we will have a fun year.  I will take each of their pictures and attach them to the frame I created.  I will hang them in the room for them to see and be reminded of how special they are!  I am excited for school to start and to meet my new kiddos.

Get your copy here...





Summer

Wow!  I can't believe that we are half-way through July already!  My summer has been super busy and I don't want it to end.  I already have some fun stuff that I am working on for my classroom and will start posting things soon.  Here is what we have been doing this summer....

I went to see The Blue Angels airshow with my dad, husband and boys in the beginning of June.

 After almost two years of being on dialysis for kidney failure my mom (on right) received a kidney from my cousin (on left).  My mom had her kidney transplant on June 26th.  Both my cousin and mom are doing well...it's a long healing process.  My family is sooo grateful to my cousin Thea.  Words cannot even begin to thank her enough for what she did for my mom.

I have hung out with my boys....Aiden (age 8)

Riley (age 10)...  We have gone swimming a lot..and have stayed in the house a lot and we have had record high temps.

My cousin, Devin (4th from the left in the back row, son of my cousin Thea who gave my mom a kidney), was awarded a dream vacation to go anywhere he wants.  Some of my family and friends got together and attended Hairball (a band that does 80's music), where he was awarded his vacation through the Angel Fund.  In April/May he had open heart surgery and had a pace maker put in.  They will be going to Jamica when he and his mom are feeling well and recovered from their surgerys.

My boys have followed my path and have proven they love to sleep as much as I do.  They have been sleeping in daily until about 11:00 a.m.  We do stay up a bit later at night....but they are getting a full 10-12 hours of sleep nightly!  I LOVE it!!!

 I got to go see Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw play at their Brothers of the Sun tour.  I got tickets the morning OF the concert.  It was the FIRST concert EVER played at our new Twins outdoor stadium!  It was 6+ hours of fun!


We still have a trip to Mount Rushmore/Black Hills planned and I am going to be doing the Dirty Girls Mud Run with some friends!

I hope you are all having a fanstastic summer! 
Sara

They hatched!

Our chicks hatched last week and BOY was there EXCITEMENT in our classroom!  We watched the WHOLE process.  We came into our room in the morning and noticed that 9 eggs had pips in them.  We observed the first chick breaking through right before we went to lunch!  Some of the kids said it was their best day ever in first grade! I used my Document Camera for the whole thing.  I focused it on the incubator and the kids got to see everything on my Smart Board. I was also about to record the whole thing with my Doc Camera.  I had a first grade miss the entire week...so we were able to show it to her. 

 12 chicks hatched...

 They each got to hold one...

First egg...first chick...

Almost all the way through...

On Smart Board...

Hello little one...

Watching in the dark....

Doc Camera set up on incubator...

My son and sister came with me at night to check on the chicks.  We got to observe two more hatching.

My first graders set up some chicken books by the incubator for the chicks to look at. We found this little chick "reading" the book during the day.

Hello...little one!

I came in the morning and the incubator was full!!!

Poetry...Oh Lovey

This week our school is having our SPAC night.  It's an academic night where every student in the school has art work and projects displayed for their parents to come and look at.  Every child has at least two pieces of work displayed.  First grade always does poetry projects.  For the past few years I have had my kids bring in their LOVEY to school.  A Lovey is something they have a special attachment to.  It could be something they have had since they were a baby or toddler.  It is something they feel a connection to.  I send a note home to my parents and have them send them to school (reassuring them that we will only take the item out for a picture).  Some parents fear that their child my lose their item...and it would be tramatic...because they can't go without their special blanket or stuffed animal.  The first thing we do is take pictures with our Lovey.  We then brainstorm adjectives and feelings that we have towards our Lovey.  The children then write about their Lovey...why it is special, how long they have had it, when they use it, ect.  After writing about it, we edit their writing together.  I then have them copy the poem on a big sheet of white paper.  I attach lines behind the paper so they have guide lines to write on.  When they are finished writing their poem, they trace the words with Sharpie markers.  They then pick two colors of chalk and use the sides of it to color their paper.  When done, they take a tissue and blend the colors together.  I then look at the colors they selected and mat their pictures on paper of the same color and attach to their poem!  This project is a lot of work...but SO worth it and parents love it!!!

 First step...take pictures of kids with their Lovey.  I develop the pictures in Sepia.

 Next brainstorm words to describe Lovies.  Have them write about their Lovey.

 Transfer to big white sheet of construction paper.

 Use two colors of chalk to color paper.  Color over words after they have been traced with Sharpie markers.

Finished projects.

Here is a copy of the note that I send home to parents.

You can get it by clicking here:

Lovey Note to Parents

Chicks

Whew!!!  Today was a busy day!  It was an exciting day in our classroom.  The chicken eggs arrived and we put them in the incubator.  We are now counting down 21 days for their arrival.  They can hardly contain themselves.  Today we read the story Chicken Chuck.  It was about a chicken who ate a blue seed and sprouted a blue feather at the top of his head.  He thought he was special and became quite bossy.  We talked about the CH blend and listened for CH words in the story.  We then pretended that we sprouted a blue feather and made a self portrait.  They turned out super cute.  After making our self portraits we wrote about why we were special. They turned out super cute.  When my sister (who is an art teacher) came to drop off the chicken eggs she saw them and said they were pretty cool.  She asked if they made them in art class...and they said, "NO!"  If you can't tell...I am pretty impressed with myself...I have no artist talent what-so-ever.  Here is how they turned out.

Tomorrow we will read Chicky, Chicky, Chook, Chook and do the following activities. 

Worksheet 1

Worksheet 2

We also started our Chick Math and Literacy Centers today.  The kids worked on the H blends one today.    You can get that here.

Chicks Math and Literacy Centers