First Grade Blogger

100 Days of School!

2012-02-03T15:19:00.001-10:00

Happy 100 Days!

As a teacher, you know that not ALL of the 100 days were happy ones. But it never ceases to amaze me how special it is to know that I've spent 100 days with these kids. Make that 750 hours. My head is spinning already. Just imagine how much time that is and how much of a difference you make in someone's life. What would you want out of someone who was willing to spend 750 hours with you? It's a crazy thought, but one I'd never really sat down to think about before. I'd love to hear what you guys have to say!

In celebrating the 100 days of school, our students counted everything from beads,

to crayons,

to Pokemon cards!

We counted in groups of 2s, 5s, and 10s. It was a great event and we even strung our 100 beads into a necklace! Now on to the next 80-something days! Looks like we'll be having 6 more weeks of winter. Glad we're in Hawai`i!!!

A Hui Hou!

De-segregating Fraction Circles

2012-01-26T11:27:00.001-10:00

A funny thing happened today when we were began our unit on fractions. Our discussion started off simple: equal parts and what are they. They are the same size, shape, and they match. Okay, simple. Then I brought out the fraction circles and had the kids explore them.

The kids noticed right away that they had to match the colored pieces to make a full circle. They were especially pleased with themselves because we had just been talking about equal parts and they discovered that each piece was equal.

Perhaps it was because we were studying segregation and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. last week, but I looked at the circles and said "Hey, let's see if we can desegregate these guys!" Most of the first graders looked up at me with the most puzzled faces they could muster, but a few of them actually figured out what I was trying to say. "So you mean, mix up the colors?" Yes!! Who says the reds have to stay with the reds, or the blues have to stay with the blues. Let's mix them up and see if we can still make a circle.

Granted, life doesn't always work out so cut and dry, but this turned out great! The kids had a grand ol' time mixing up the parts, finding out what worked and what didn't. We will continue to work with our fraction circles all week, and though we'll have to revert back to our segregation days for a couple of lessons, the kids and I know that desegregation is much more fun!

A hui hou!

Teaching off of a Whim

2012-01-25T15:25:00.000-10:00

It amazes me how much we try to cram into a week of school, much less into an entire school year. I spend my weekends planning for the following week, occasionally I'll get excited and do a week and a half, or on the rare occasion, two weeks! But things come up, new ideas get found, and like a kid in a candy store, I have to try it!!!!

Today was one of those days. I picked up a book from the local library called The Perfect Square.

This book called out to me from the new picture bookshelf primarily because we are working on geometry in math. So as I browsed through the pages, I realized that there was so much more to this book! Now without ruining the story for those of you who haven't read it, it's the story of a square who is perfectly happy being a perfect square. But then it becomes no longer a perfect square, but the square still makes the best of its situation.

**LIGHT BULB MOMENT!!!**

Math and Art! I passed out perfect squares of construction paper and the kids made them not so perfect. Here are the results:


I was a square, but now I'm a Valentine.


I was a square, but now I'm a big scary monster!


I was a square, but now I'm a town.

I was a square, but now I'm a heart.

I was a square, but now I'm a tree.

As the glue dries on these fun and creative works of art, I will be compiling their creations into a book after typing out their captions. I recommend this book to everyone studying geometry! Such a inspiring story and fantastic artwork for adults and children alike.

A hui hou! (Until next time!)

Jenn

Missing Teacher - Found!

2012-01-19T11:28:00.002-10:00

Aloha all, as it had been way too long since my last post.

There have been many changes since our last encounter and much needed time and space for personal, family and professional growth. My baby girl is no longer a baby as she has reached the fully active age of 15 months, and my other daughter has turned a beautiful 3 years old today. My son lost his fifth tooth yesterday. And now I'm fully aware of just how quickly time flies.

I've finally readjusted to my life, and as busy as I am with my kiddos and my life, I am so thrilled to be back in the world of Blogging. So keep an eye out as I'm beginning anew halfway through this school year. I'll be posting ideas, pictures, lessons, links, and all around great fun which I am so excited to share with all of YOU! My great teacher pals!

Thanks for sticking around, and keep me posted on what you're up to too!

Jenn

First Mess-up of the Year

2010-08-04T15:35:00.000-10:00

Might as well get it out of the way......

So in trying to streamline my luggage to and from school, I've decided that it'd be best to just bring the bare necessities to school today. Although my intention was, as it always is, to pack the night before, it just didn't happen. You teachers know how quickly we fall asleep after the first day of school!

So this morning as I'm amidst the hustle and bustle of balancing my demanding 18 month old, making breakfast for the two of us and my son (who decided to wake up early on his last day of summer vacation), cleaning up, and dressing, I hastily shoved my laptop and lesson plan binder into my bag. Quickly glancing over my resource books, I came to the conclusion that since I wouldn't look at them during the day anyway, I'd just leave them at home.

When I get to school, I open up my lesson plan binder with 15 minutes left until the bell rings. Lo and behold, the most vital piece of information for any teacher was no where to be found. I had left my lesson plans for this week AT HOME!!

Needless to say, I was a bit of a wreck this morning, as I'd have no prep periods until 11:10 (10:00 if I included recess). Don't know whether to blame it on the pregnancy, exhaustion after the first day, or just plain carelessness, but now that I survived the day, I can sit back and laugh. Yes, I managed to survive! =)

We continued Daily 5, and the 3rd way to read a book, by retelling Splat the Cat, a book we read yesterday. The students decorated their file jackets - which will be their "book boxes" for the year. Next week, I'll have a discussion for how to pick a Just Right Book, but for the rest of this week, I think I'll just fill their book boxes with books chosen for them.

Today I also launched our Investigations Unit 1. So the students explored some of the math manipulatives: pattern blocks, unifix cubes, and geoblocks. I wasn't quite sure what the difference was between geoblocks and power polygons, so I'll have to look more into that.

Lots of labeling, coloring, guided discovery with markers....

The students so far have told me that first grade is fun and that they like it..... Now if only I can get them to sit still on the carpet during lesson time...... Sigh. I always forget, these kids are just kindergartners. They need a couple more months. By then, I'll be on maternity leave! =)

We'll see how tomorrow goes. Hopefully this time, I remember my lesson plans. =) Thanks for listening, my faithful readers! Have a great day!

-jt-

First Day of School!

2010-08-03T16:09:00.000-10:00

The first day has come and gone. There were moments when it seemed like time stood still. There were moments when it seemed as if time were flying by. But all in all, I survived.

Responsive Classroom approach seemed to have gone well today. I am guilty of having a few more "You"s in my directions and corrections rather than "I"s. The morning meeting seemed to have run a bit long for the kids and they were quite antsy by the time we were finished. I, personally, felt a little bit disorganized with them. I will try to have a smoother approach tomorrow.

The students did some guided discovery of crayons and pencils (regular & colored) today. Tomorrow, they will do some guided discovery with pens (fat & skinny markers), and that should take care of our introduction to supplies.
It was a rainy day, so the students had limited play outside. But I needed them to be out there since I didn't feel like I could let them have free reign over the classroom during an "indoor recess" time. We just hadn't gone over how to take care of all of the materials (ie. computers, art center, loft, dress-up, etc) just yet.

We began launching Daily 5/CAFE, with our discussion of how to read a book. I read and discussed "Good Dog, Carl" to emphasize reading the pictures, and read "The Kissing Hand" to emphasize the words - and also to make a text-to-self connection for the first day of school.

The students also wrote the first part of "The First Days of School" class book. They will finish it tomorrow.

Well, the students are gone, I'm wiped out. It's time to head home to lovingly do my other job - being a mom! =) Have a great day!

-jt-

Will the planning pay off?

2010-08-02T21:10:00.000-10:00

Today was the last day of prep work before the kiddos arrive tomorrow. There are a few last minute things to take care of in the morning and with the help of my trusty assistant. I've decided not to let the empty bulletin boards bother me. It will be filled soon with the precious work of kindergartners-turned-first graders. I will also be adding to them as I introduce new items into our daily routine. As of right now, my Daily 5 board is empty. As I introduce each new piece, I will add it to my board and make it really meaningful for them.

On another note, I heard a really beautiful poem today, read by one of my colleagues at our faculty meeting:

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.

~Diane Loomans, from "If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again"

Just a little reminder of how the little things can make the biggest difference not only in a child's life, but in our own lives as well.

For my wonderful followers, I wish you all the best in your new school year. May you be blessed with laughter, tears, growth, and love. If there are moments when it seems that life has turned itself upside down, turn yourself upside down with it. Sometimes it's nice to view the world in a whole new way.

-jt-

Professional Reading List

2010-08-01T21:06:00.000-10:00

For those of you who are interested, I have compiled a list of books that I have read, am still reading, and would have liked to read this summer. Most of them have to do with literacy instruction and classroom management. For me, those are the two biggest areas of development for children at this age. Feel free to let me know how you liked these books, or if you have any others you'd like to suggest.

(In no particular order)

The Next Step in Guided Reading, Jan Richardson
Teaching Children to Care, Ruth Sidney Charney
The First Weeks of School, Paula Denton & Roxann Kriete
Growing Readers, Kathy Collins
Reading with Meaning, Debbie Miller
Making the Most of Small Groups, Debbie Diller
The Daily 5, Gail Boushey & Joan Moser
The Cafe Book, Gail Boushey & Joan Moser

If I had more time, I would have liked to have gotten a hold of Morning Meetings.

-jt-

So Much to Do, So Little Time

2010-08-01T11:53:00.000-10:00

Of course I'm talking about this last day of vacation, but I'm also talking about the school year.

Bulletin boards to prep, name cards to write, labels to print. Lots to prep, lesson plans to write. Like most teachers, I spent my summer looking up new ideas and tweaking my plans to fit the new set of incoming first graders. Thanks to the wonderfully populous World Wide Web, I've gotten so many new ideas. There have been no shortage of teachers willing to share their amazing creations both on PT and their own beautifully crafted websites. My brain and computer are filled to capacity.

So this year, I'll be implementing Daily 5 again, mixing it with a little Reader's and Writer's Workshop, adding a dash of Guided Math strategies, all the while holding down the fort under a Responsive Classroom approach. My reading list has been limited to the books I already had on hand, but have not quite solidified in my "signature" classroom. I'll list the ones I found most instrumental for my curriculum in my next post.

Before I buckle down and set my first few weeks of school, I'm going to take a little "me" time and go get my hair done. Haven't done it in ages.... I guess that's what happens when you have two little rugrats to chase! Wonderful hubby will be taking them to the park for some fun while I'm gone. =)

Then, it's back to work! Prepping lessons, prepping classroom, prepping lunches and bags for tomorrow. Summer's over. Time to play!

-jt-

Guilty as Charged!

2010-07-31T23:41:00.003-10:00

Okay, so I haven't blogged in just about a year. Seems that the school year took off on me and I spent the entire time chasing instead of observing and reflecting. New year, new start. Perhaps this year it'll be different....

Well, I can honestly say that this year will definitely be different! The biggest happening of all is that I will be on maternity leave in October and hope (do I really?) to return when school resumes in January. My husband, son, daughter and I are eager anticipating the arrival of girl #2 in mid-October.

As I enter this last trimester during what could very well be the hottest months of the year, I have the added bonuses of planning a new school year, watching my son blossom into a kindergartner, and guide my very head-strong daughter through the beginning stages of the terrible twos - although she won't be officially two until January!

Life has thrown me a curve ball. Let's just see if I can anticipate it's movements and knock this one out of the park!

School starts in 2 more days. Let's hope I'm ready by then. =)

-jt-

D 5 in ACTION!!

2009-08-18T09:06:00.002-10:00

Sorry I've been away, and there's so much to share! I've got more to post at the end of the day, but right now my kids are doing it! I introduced word work today so now they are more excited and not as tempted to talk to each other while reading. I have a few taht are talking quietly during their word work which shouldn't be happening, but I think as long as the Read to Self-ers are reading independently it should be all right. Yes? I wish I brought my camera today. Will post pics tomorrow!

Oh! Photobooth!

Big Day Tomorrow!

2009-08-03T21:23:00.003-10:00

So tomorrow is the big day. I've prepared. I've studied. I've worked.

I'm not quite finished as I will make my final push tomorrow morning before the kids enter the door. Library organization will have to be done in increments and I'm okay with my library being in somewhat disarray. As long as books are in a basket and put in some sort of general order: Picture books by author's last name, non-fiction by topic, readers in various baskets, collections (ie Berenstain Bears, Clifford, etc.) together. It'll be fine.... I just remembered I never opened my 12 boxes of crayons to put in the desk group baskets. Yet another thing to be added to the morning chore list.

Daily 5 will be put on hold for a day or two as we have to get prepared for it: decorating book bags, putting books in their bags, prepping the assessment sheets, etc. I will be starting the Daily 3/4 in math at that time as well.

In news a little closer to home, my daughter also started her first day at the sitter today. She had a great day. A little crying, but a lot of playing. Mommy was nervous for her, but knew she was in good hands, so she could focus a little more on her work today meeting new parents and staying awake during staff meetings.

Tomorrow, this mother of two will gain 24 new kids (thankfully out of diapers!) and is excited to guide them along the path of learning. Yes, I will be thinking about whether or not the food I packed for my daughter will be enough, or if my husband and son are enjoying his second to the last day of summer vacation looking at a giant bug exhibit. But meeting my new kids, learning from them, hanging with my colleagues and having "adult" conversations again, is exciting and well worth the summer wait.

Wish me luck as I get my lunch packed, my clothes pressed and an early rest!

Sneak Peek

2009-08-02T22:54:00.003-10:00

I've got one more day of prep left before the troops arrive on Tuesday. I've added some pictures of what the room looks like now. Keep in mind I've got about 4-5 hours or so of work to put in, so bulletin boards and library should look better afterward. I have yet to put up my CAFE board, but I'm playing around with the idea of changing it to FACE instead. I love the idea of a CAFE and the word itself sounds more beautiful, but I like that FACE is a word that the kids will have an easier time with since it "follows the rules". I'd put it up on the board as "The FACE of a Reader".

Do you think I should go with CAFE or FACE?

I'll let you know my decision tomorrow!

From the front looking back.

Read aloud, sharing area.

Games on shelf, looking toward the front of the room.

Science/ Discovery Area. Student portfolios housed below.

Crunching out the Curriculum

2009-07-27T21:55:00.002-10:00

I was once one of those teacher who thought that after the first couple of years, the rest of my career would be smooth sailing. Sure, go through the lessons a couple of times and I should be able to use the same plans.

That was me. But after these first couple of years, I realized I have so much more to learn; so much more to try; so much more to do! Teaching is one of those jobs that never let you sleep. Yes, it's summer vacation, but how many of you out there can't help but dream of what you're going to do for the next school year? The real question is how many of you think of the next year while you're still wrapping up the school year?

All in all, I've spent much of my six months of maternity leave and summer vacation mulling over this upcoming school year. I've bookmarked nearly 100 websites, visited numerous websites, spending hours upon hours getting inspired. I've planned out my long range plans, committed to implementing Daily 5 and CAFE in my language program. I've reorganized my math layout, and have just begun weeding through my enormous library.

Despite all this planning, however, I don't feel quite prepared. There is still so much more to do. I think once I have that chance to get into my room in a couple days, I'll feel much better. My wonderful husband has been gracious enough to keep the kids busy while I work this week. Now that it's crunch time, I'm starting to feel the pressure of being prepared, having my lessons ready, getting all the prep done, and be welcoming and ready on that first day of school when 24 kids come bounding in my classroom door.

Let's begin...... Day 1, 8:00.....

Excitement is Building

2009-07-22T13:30:00.005-10:00

So I've been working on my room a little bit here and there and I thought I'd post some pictures up on how it's coming along. Ideally I'd like to have my Promethean Board moved before school starts, but we're not sure if that's going to happen. I also have lots of clutter to clear through. Things will be much better when summer school is over and I can move some things around and really spread myself out. I'm lucky that the teacher who works in my classroom during the summer is one of my good friends so I've been in and out.

Although I've moved some things around already, these are my "before" pics:

The back corner... my "teacher" area. To the right is the math area. That door in the corner is our bathroom (basically one toilet).

This is the other back corner. The red bulletin is on our back door. This also shows our Tree House in the back corner. I usually keep all the art supplies under the counter. We have a double sink. Between the sink and the bathroom is one of my closets.

Our math area along the side wall. To the left is my teacher corner. To the right is our computer table and library.

Here is our library in the front corner. It's under construction. You can also see my whiteboard and the whiteboard sticking out from the wall is my promethean board.

This is the other side of the room. You can see the Promethean board in the front of the room. There are two closets to the right of that. Our doors are on the sides of the windows. We have cubbies below the windows. The kids hang their back packs outside on hooks.

I'd like to post some "after" pics or "in the process" pics soon. Only a week and a half left! Wish me luck!

Wrapping Up My Life as a Stay at Home Mom

2009-07-18T21:02:00.004-10:00

It's hard not to count the days down til school starts....especially since I've been away for so long. My last teaching day was in the middle of last December. Since then, I have been lucky enough to spend the days with my new daughter for her first six months of life.

The first few weeks blurred into gray matter as sleep, changing, rocking, carrying all melded into each other. An added challenge was to make sure our first child was well cared for as well. Our son was a champ welcoming our new bundle of joy. Thankfully as she turned the corner into her third month, she found her thumb and since then (knock on wood), she's been content through the night. Daddy and I are still adjusting our late night life to accommodate her early to bed-early to rise schedule.

Somehow the last 4 months flew past me with barely an acknowledging whisper. I look at my calendar and I can't believe I've only got two weeks left to finalize my school plan, set my room, prepare EVERYTHING for my first few weeks of class, and get my personal schedule in order.

As I start this new week, I'm going to start planning everything out, write my To Do list and fill up my calendar, and waking up early. Well, more than just "waking up" rather, I'd like to be completely alert and ready to start my day when my daughter wakes me up before 6!

I'm one of those people who needs a clean slate to feel accomplished. I am sooooo looking forward to getting all my preparations done so I can be roaring and ready to go on August 3rd!

T Minus 2 weeks

2009-07-17T11:56:00.002-10:00

Welcome to my first teacher blog! I'd love to hear your comments and insights as I embark on my third year as a first grade teacher. This January, my family has been blessed with the arrival of my baby girl. Our little family is now complete with daughter, son and dog. As I adjust to my new life with two kids (6 months and 4 years), I'm seriously taking a look at my professional life and am eagerly trying to find that balance between school and home. in other words, I don't want to be spending my hours after school at school.

I will also be implementing some new ideas in my classroom this year. I am excited to redo my literacy block after reading The Daily Five and The CAFE Book over the summer. I will also be trying out the Daily Five strategies in my math curriculum as well.

I enjoy the company and hope you enjoy the ride along with me as I test out these waters and sail away into another wonderful school year!