Think Outside the Box Thursday

Howdy!

Thanks for stopping by!  One of my favorite Morning Warm Up activities is my "Think Outside the Box Thursday!" activity.  I developed this unit to help my kiddos stretch the creative side of their brains. The goal is for them to make the shape into something no one else will think of.  This week's shape brought out some fabulous ideas!  Way to go kids!

 for this printable, click here :)

for your own copy of my 39 page Think Outside the Box Thursday pack, click here


Stay tuned for another peek into the creative minds of first graders!!
Joyfully!
Nancy

My Promise to My Students

Howdy!
Tomorrow evening we are going to be busy talking with all of our first grade parents about our year at our "Curriculum Night."  Not only do parents want to hear about what their children will be learning, but I think they also want to be sure that their children are happy, safe, and valued. I want them to be assured that I will treat these kids as if they were my own. I have two wonderful sons who have grown up to be confident, loving, hard working young men. Sometimes it was very hard work!  I will work hard to help my students become confident, loving, and hard working as well. I have this little reminder hanging in my room as an inspiration as I strive to be the best I can be for these little sweeties.
If you are a parent reading this, thank you so much for entrusting your child to me!

 

For a free printable of this promise click here :)

 

(available in color and black and white

if color ink is in short supply)

 

I am looking forward to a year of fulfilled promises!

Joyfully!

Nancy

New Year, New Room, New Team etc...

Hello Everyone!
Phew! Friday night, 10:00 P.M. I think I am finally ready for my new firsties. I had better be! They are coming on Monday!! 
 I was thrilled to meet them all last night at our "Meet the Teacher Night." I am so excited to work with them!  I took a few pics of our new space to share with you. I hope the kids will love it and feel comfortable! We've got a ton of learning to do and many hours to spend together, so it better be a space we all love.
My classroom has a western vibe as you can see, but our hallway is all bubblegum.  Enjoy!

Come On In, Y'all!

 

Books are stored in boxes with mini chalkboard labels

 

Our Math Thinking Tools

Use real clocks to show schedule. No batteries required!

 

Writing and Reading!

 

Birthday Boot! Will write kids' names on each month.

Kid sized Overall Valance.:) One of my favorite parts of the room.

 

Rub a dub dub...read a book in the tub!

 

Cowpoke CAFE - Menu Ingredients

Cowpoke CAFE Menu

 

Bubblegum Fun in the hall!

 

Kid's work will go on the gumballs!

Kids pics will go on the door! Yes, We stuck play balls on the door to look like gumballs!

 

A sweet treat for the kiddos at "Meet the Teacher Night!"

 

Stop by again for another peek into the wonder-filled world of First Grade!

 

We are ready to saddle up and go for a ride!!

 

Joyfully!

Nancy

 

 

Star Polisher

Hello Everyone!
One of my favorite motivating poems for me as a teacher is the lovely poem by Leah Becks called "Star Polisher."  I have posted about this before, but I needed the thoughts from this poem to come back to the forefront of my own thoughts.  I have been soooo busy getting my new classroom ready and getting things ready to go for my new team, that sometimes I lose focus.  My focus should be on the kids!!  Yes, I like a cute classroom because I spend a lot of time in it, and I want the kids to know that I love them so much that I want to give them a learning environment that they can be excited about. But the reality is, a classroom is the kids!! They are what give a room life and passion.  I'm sharing a printable of this sweet poem for you to post and be reminded of our job as teachers- star polishers!

To choose your free Star Polisher printable (6 different designs), click here

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek!

Let's get polishing!!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

I Can Shine If...

Hello Everyone!
So, bringing in groceries this morning, I caught my flip flop on the little step up from the garage, and fell hitting my head on the workbench! As I slowly got up, blood from a 2 inch gash above my eye was gushing everywhere! UGH! I am so clumsy!  Not sure if I need stitches yet, but I'm keeping an "eye" on it!!  (sorry-no pics!)
Are you wondering why I shared all that? Well, I'm taking it as God's little nudge telling me that I don't need to go up to school today.  I need to take a day and just sit on my couch!! :)  It gave me time to just enjoy some quiet time.  You know I'll be back up there tomorrow!!  I want to be totally organized and ready!!
During my quiet time, I redid my little classroom expectation sheet for both parents and the room.  Setting classroom expectations can be as simple or complicated as you want.  Mine is quite simple and self explanatory. Here's how I work it in my room for those of you who have asked!
My kids each have a little library pocket taped inside their cubby- very discreet. In the pocket, they have three reminder sticks, green yellow, and red. (You can pick up these colored sticks at WalMart. ) After introducing all of our expectations, kids will know that (after verbal warning), if poor choices continue, I will ask for the green reminder stick. If behaviors continue, the yellow and then the red. You can see on the chart the consequences.  Kids always have the opportunity to earn their reminder sticks back!  I don't sign folders until the end of the day.  We all make mistakes and should have the the chance to learn and grow and improve. Everyone gets all their sticks back to start a new day!

Click here for a free printable if you would like

Numbering the pockets and sticks with student numbers helps with organization (and knowing who's stick you have at the end of the day)

Mini poster to hang

Parent note

Hope this helps!

Now I think I'll head to the doctor!

No more flip flops for me!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Math S.O.L.V.E. tubs

Hello Everyone!
You probably can tell by the majority of my posts and units that I am definitely more passionate about Language Arts.  Math has, for some reason, never been something that I wanted to spend much time researching, fine tuning. I just did what ever came next. That is until I picked up John Van de Walle's book, Teaching Student Centered Mathematics.  This book along with Debbie Diller's books has gotten me excited about letting my kids learn through more number sense and problem solving. Kids learn so much from each other and we need to give them the opportunity and confidence to express their thinking in many different ways. We can tell so much about their development and progress from how they go about solving problems.
I am so happy that my school district is supporting the increase in time spent on number sense, stretching math thinking and less time on rote memorization. 
For the past couple of years we have gotten into implementing "math tubs" but I wanted to give them a little more meat and make sure the kids had ample time to work together, talk, explore ideas, and express in many ways.  Van de Walle encourages teachers to let kids take the lead through problem solving, so I've decided to call my tubs "S.O.L.V.E." After math minilessons, kids will explore more thoroughly some of the different things we are working on using our S.O.L.V.E Tubs.  They will choose which strand they want to work on and working with other kids gain a deeper understanding of mathematical thinking. 
S- Strategy thinking
O- Organize and Think about Data
L- Logic Thinking
V- Visual Thinking
E- Extend and Explore Thinking

I've got my tubs set for the first (or probably second) week of school.

Stay tuned for a post on what I put in them for our first go! 

For your copy of SOLVE description, tub tags and student documentation chart, click here

19 pages

I made some jungle themed tub tags as well.  They are included in the unit! :)

I'm really excited about implementing my new tubs and discovering how far kids will take this new opportunity!

I'll let you know how it goes.  If you have any suggestions or comments, let me know!!  I'm catching that math bug!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Daily 5 and CAFE Jungle Style

Hello Everyone!
Just a very very quick post today!  My sweet new teammate is working on a jungle themed classroom.  It is going to be soooo cute.  I told her I would make some Daily 5 and CAFE charts for her.  I didn't "monkey around," and got them done just now!!  I hope she is reading this and can download them okay!! You can too, if by chance you need some jungle themed charts!! :)  Here's a peek at what they look like.

Love Scrappin' Doodles Clip Art!! :)

For your printable CAFE menu with strategy cards click here

For your printable pack of Daily 5 Independence Charts click here

Hope you like these, H!  And I hope others can use these!  Who knows, maybe I'll do a jungle theme next year! :)

Have a good one!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Buckaroo Buckets

Hello Everyone!
Have I told you how much I love getting my classroom ready for each school year?  I have loved redoing my new space with some of my old "stuff" but I also am having fun making a few new things.  Today I made our "Buckaroo Buckets" for small group work.  I have loved seeing so many ideas for the little crate seats.  I was all set to make those and even had the plywood in hand, when I spied the blue Lowe's buckets!  They were only $2.69 each! And they were blue!!  I talked the guy at Lowe's into throwing in some tops that would fit, and then found some cheap little cushions (the kind they use for bar stools), and some cute ribbon, and voila!  Our cute, comfy, new, and don't forget cheap  "Buckaroo Buckets!  They have room for storage, and they have a handle for easy moving!  I think I love them!! I can't wait for some guided reading time with my new firsties!!!

Give it a try! So quick, so easy, so cheap, so cute!!

Have fun!!!
Joyfully!
Nancy