Well, about a week and a half before teachers report for the new year! I got to meet with my sweet team this past week, and I just know it's going to be a good year!!! It makes a huge difference when the people you work with are not just your co-workers, they are some of your best friends! I love that we can trust each other for support and encouragement. We trust that each will do the right thing for kids. We celebrate life events and hold each other up when it gets tough. I feel so blessed to have all of them in my life!! Thank you, girls, for being so awesome!!!
I also feel blessed to be able to share so much with you all via this little blog. I get so many e-mails from teachers from all over the world with thoughts about all that I share. I truly feel as though this blog is a bit like the food blogs where cooks, bakers, and chefs share their favorite recipes with anyone who wants to try them. They share recipes that have been successful for them. I share ideas that have worked for me in my classroom. I love hearing that they have worked for you and your students as well! Thank for letting me know!
As I gear up, I always like to clean up some of my printables. I did redo my lesson plan template because we have a bit of a different schedule for this coming year.
Here's a pic of what it looks like now. It is completely editable. I copy and punch holes so that the two pages can lay open and side by side in a binder. Some people like to type in plans, but I just handwrite on this template.
Another thing I worked a little on were my beginning of the year quick forms. I like to have out a couple of notes and questionnaires at meet the teacher night for parents to fill out. these are handy ways to get to know your kids and their families and have info at your fingertips.
Here are a couple of pics from the mini pack.
The pack also includes a schedule, a wish list, and a couple of other things.
If you are interested:
The next thing I want to share is a little packet of fun for the kids to work on a bit at a time during the first week of school.
The first couple of days are filled with calming fears, gathering information, sorting supplies, talking to hovering parents, and so many teacher attention grabbing issues, sometimes you just need something for the kids to work on independently. The only supplies the kids need for this packet are crayons and pencils! You will learn a ton about your new kids as they make their way through! Win Win!!
Here are a few pics.
You will just pick out the pages you want, copy and staple in a packet form, and have them ready!!
The last thing I'm sharing today is a math notebook unit. This unit is almost 80 pages of printables for you to pick and choose from to put together an interactive math experience for your kids. We have our kids work in their math notebooks every day. The notebook includes calendar pages, progressive number of the day pages, day tracking pages, weather, math talk, problem solving, vocabulary, and manipulatives. We guide our kids through the pages at first, but after a few weeks, they are able to do it all on their own. It takes about 15 minutes. This process has proven to be something that has helped kids gain confidence and comfort in discovering the beauty in math!
Here are a few pics!
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| 17 different progressive number of the day pages from which to choose. This one is for the beginning of the year. The next one is for the end of the year! |
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| There is another page with the rest of the 180 on it. |
We print off all the pages we need to start the year, and put them in a 3 ring binder. We add a new number of the day page every day. The different sections of the notebook are separated with paper dividers. Sometimes the binder gets so full, I have to take out some of the number of the day pages, but in general they stay in there so kids can refer back to see patterns.
If you think you might want to try this
IF YOU HAVE USED THIS MATH NOTEBOOK BEFORE, GO AHEAD AND DOWNLOAD AGAIN AS I HAVE ADDED SOME NEW STUFF!
WOW!!! This turned out to be a long post!! Thanks for hanging with me! I hope you gained some things you might want to try! By posting all of this, I am getting excited to put it all into play! Bring on the new firsties!!!
I do have a few more things to re-organize and clean up, so I'll be back soon to show you! If you have any questions about anything, please don't hesitate to holler at me! Have a great last few days of your Summerbration!! I know I will!!
Thanks for stopping by!
Joyfully!
Nancy
firstgradewow@gmail.com
