Thursday, December 1, 2011

NEED YOUR HELP!

Hi All,

The Kindergarten teacher and I are in charge of the schools Student Council this year since the previous leader found a job else where.  We usually hold a "Fun Day" the Friday after our Christmas Concert,  it usually lasts an hour.  In the past the typical All School Movie, All School Carnival, and All School Relay Races (team games) have been done... A LOT!  I like being different... so I was hoping to try and come up with something new, it just seems like the students on Student Council are stuck in the past and have a hard time coming up with something "outside of the box".  I want to show them that there are other options out there... so that is where you come in... Any ideas on an all school activity?  Please remember, we are in Wisconsin and it is starting to get cold about now... so it usually takes place in the Gym.

**I don't have a whole lot of followers yet... so if you could link this to your site so that others might click it and respond/help as well that would be AMAZING!!

  Thanks for your time, cant wait to hear all of your ideas.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Sunshine Award!

A HUGE Thank You to Tina  at Quench Your First and Barbara at GradeONEderful for giving me the Sunshine Award.  Here are the rules-



1. Thank the person(s) who gave this award and write a post about it.
2. Answer the following questions below.
3. And pass the award to 10~12 fabulous bloggers, link their blogs and let them know I awarded them.


  • Favorite Color?  GREEN
  • Favorite Animal?  Koalas, oh what I would give to hold one :)
  • Favorite Number? 33?  Not sure why.
  • Favorite Drink?  Water... but I have been known to have a glass of wine after a long day of teaching!
  • Facebook or Twitter?  Facebook
  • Your Passion? Teaching... and anything that involves sports.  Running, volleyball, rowing, etc.  the list goes on and on. 
  • Giving or Getting Presents?  I LOVE to shop for others... it's dangerous on my checking account.
  • Favorite day? Friday.I always tell me students that Friday is my favorite day because I get to see their smiling faces... but I also know I get to sleep in tomorrow.
  • Favorite flowers? Lilies


My SUNSHINE AWARDs go to:

1. Love, Laugh, and Learn  (She is a good friend of mine and has some AMAZING ideas!!  be sure to check her site out and follow her)

2. Mrs. Jumps Class
3. The First Grade Parade  I am sure all of you know of this blog... but I had to choose it as one to receive this award because this blog is the reason I created one in the first place :)
4. Spend A Day In Second grade 
5. Playing With Pixie Dust
6. Mrs. Tabb's First Grade Awesomeness
7. One Extra Degree
8. Crazy For First Grade
9.Castles and Crayons
10. I Love 2 Teach

Happy Blogging!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

50th Day Fun

Happy 50th Day!!  Well... actually ours was on Tuesday, I am just a little behind.  What did you do to celebrate the 50th Day?  We dressed up, hand jived, drank root beer floats, and hula hooped with the Kindergarten class.  There were also 50th Day classroom activities incorporated through our busy, busy day.

Turkey Tens!



As a counting by ten review... I made these feathers for the students.  They had to decorate them, put them in order, then create their own turkey.  ENJOY!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

National I Love To Write Day

Happy national I Love to Write Day! Did your school do anything special for this??  We gathered together as a school and read the story "Letters to God" (yes, we work at a Catholic school).  Then,  each child wrote their own letter to God.  These were sealed in their own envelopes and placed in the box shown in this picture.  This box will be in the front of our school for the rest of the school year, so students can write anytime they need/want to.  :)


**If you have never read this story, and either work at a Catholic school and/or you're Catholic and have children... I would recommend this book 100%.  It is so adorable :).  ENJOY

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Classroom Managment Tool


Are you sick and tired of students shouting out they are finished?  Or students who shout your name out instead of raising their hand?  I have used this tool for the last few years... and it really helps keep your sanity haha.  All you need for each student is one red cup and one green cup.  This can be found at the dollar tree.  When students come in all of their cups are green (good).  As the day goes on if they finish an activity or if the have a question/need help they turn their cup to red.  We discuss what activities they can do while they are waiting with their cups on red (something as simple as reading our of their book bin).  It is a great visual. 

We have even used them during tests.  As we go through the test once they finish the question they are on they flip it to red... then the next question after i read it once they finish they flip it to green etc. There are many possibilities.  It helps A TON!!!!  ENJOY!!!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Skype An Author


Want to do something new within the classroom??  We just had Barbara Techel, the author of Frankie The Walk and Roll Dog, come and visit our school.  It is an amazing true story of a dog who was told she would never walk again... but with hard work and the love of her owners she is now able to scoot around in a wheelchair. Barbara does not travel far, as it is hard for Frankie... but she DOES do Skype visits.  It is an inspirational story that I would recommend to all. Check her out at www.joyfulpaws.com. ENJOY!!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Spiders

To end our lessons on spiders we painted webs and spiders on pumpkins, then labeled them after they dried.  The students had a great time doing this, and it was a wonderful way to show off what they learned!  :) 

After we did all this we used my pumpkin to estimate, carve, and count seeds of course. A whole 917... wowie, good thing we grouped them in sets of ten!

Monday, October 17, 2011

MathCenter Linky Party

Head on over to Chalk Talk and check out the Math Workstation Linky Party, there are a lot of wonderful ideas to spice up your math centers!

My math center is a pumpkin themed pattern block center.  I start this lesson by reviewing a variety of shapes, and we discuss how to create shapes from other shapes. Using patter blocks I give students some time to build a variety of pumpkin faces using pattern blocks. Students choose their favorite face, then trace it on to the pumpkin.  The shapes can then be painted in.  In the end we graph together how many of each shape were used, then we discuss our results.   ENJOY :)




Friday, October 14, 2011

Autumn Poems

 In class we talked about a variety of leaves.  I had a parent helper trace and cut out the leaves.  The students colored them with fall colored oil pastels... then we had to try and blend the colors together.  We LOVE oil pastels.  After that we worked with our fifth grade buddies to create Autumn poems. ENJOY!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Even & Odd Street

 I saw this great idea on Pinterest, and with the help of our wonderful Kindergarten class we worked together to create our Even & Odd Street!  This was used as a Social Studies and Math lesson for First Grade.  **On Pinterest they were flat houses, but we wanted to add some dimension.

Math:  We worked with shapes on the first day of this lesson to build houses (Even houses have normal shapes, Odd houses look odd/crazy). Shapes was a great lesson for Kindergarten, while being a great review for First Grade.  To build the house we stuffed lunch bags then glued the shapes/materials on to it.  This gave it a great 3D look.  We gave each house an "address" either an odd or even number to match the type of house it was.

On the second day we grouped them into even and odd houses, then we placed the houses in order according to the number it was given. 

Social Studies: We have been talking about community within S.S.  We wrapped this around the idea of building a community, we talked about how each street has an even and an odd side, then we did some work with their own addresses. 

**I did see this referenced on theteacherwife.blogspot.com as well, she also found it on Pinterest.  She does have some blackline masters you can download for flat houses if you want.  We did not use them, because we wanted to houses to stick out when taped/glued to the street.

ENJOY!!!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Spy Theme

 My SPY/Detective Theme has been off to a great start so far.  I wanted to add some pictures of our classroom door, now that the students have finished it.  I sent home a note explaining how they are each on of my clues to a successful school year, and the upper portion of a question mark for them to decorate with clues of who they are.  Once they brought them back I hung them up and then we guessed who they belonged to.  Once we made the correct guess I added the bottom portion of the question mark (them with a mask on).

They LOVE looking at this. We also use it as an I SPY transition as we wait for students to line up. :)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Feeling slightly Guilty... just slightly...

Well I had a moment today that made me feel really loved.... and slightly guilty, and I just have to share it.  A student from last year went home a few days ago and asked her parents if she could have bangs... "because Miss Boucher does this year".  Awwww! Her parents said no... well, she took matter into her own hands and gave herself bangs! Ahhhhh hahaha. I apologized to her mom... but also told her that it is very flattering! Ha. It's nice to know she still looks up to me even though I am no longer her teacher!  Gosh, aren't kids the best <3  Good night all!!

OREO Fun!

Oh my word... if you have not heard about the Oreo Challenge, you NEED to check out this website:
OREO Challenge.  My students had a BLAST with this project, and there is so much that you can do with it. My students keep asking if they can do it again!  If you decide to have this challenge with your class, and you want to Skype about it let me know!  We love Skype in our classroom and we are always up for a Skype visit :) 

For our challenge I created a sheet (i will upload this in another post) to go with this... we estimated, graphed our results, tallied our results, and wrote a cute book (pictures coming later).

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Always Remember

<3 It's always hard to try and teach my students what happened on this very day 10 years ago. These students will never fully understand the emotion that was felt, and the way we came together as a country. They will never fully understand that this is the reason many of their fathers and mothers are currently overseas serving our country. It is our duty to help them understand, our duty to instill the American pride, and our duty to never forget! <3

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Money Posters

 I really need to start writing down where I get these great ideas so I can give the proper recognition when I do create these wonderful ideas.  I saw this on a blog a while ago and just decided to create my own.  They were bright beautiful money posters... but I changed them a little.  I made the name of the coin and the amount its worth on separate paper and laminated them on their own and added some Velcro... this way the posters can also be used as a quick interactive activity when needed.  I love how they help brighten up the room :)

Monday, September 5, 2011

My Room!


I feel a little bit behind with this post... but believe it or not we have only had two days of school, so I guess that's not to bad. **Wisconsin's law is you can't start school until September 1st** I thought I would upload a few pictures I have of my room, even though after looking at everyone elses pics I am a bit embarrassed haha.  You guys rock at decorating your room.  Hopefully some year I will have enough stuff to make mine as bright, colorful, and fun as yours! 

I can't take credit for my boggle board (seen below)... I have seen this on numerous blogs, so if yours was one of them... THANK YOU!!!  I love it, and can't wait to implement it within my Word Work time.

I went with a spy/detective theme... which is going well!  The only problem... you cant find ANYTHING to go with the theme haha.  I have had to make it all on my own, but at least I can keep it when I am finished.

I have more to post, I will upload them once I get a chance :)

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Tattle Box

Well... I had my Tattle Box for the last two years, and it had a lot of success!  I was so excited to spice it up this year and created a monster out of the box... and then I saw that Mariah at Giggles Galore had already posted a "Tattle Monster".  Although this was my own original idea, I still want to give her credit since she posted first.  So, be sure to check out her blog!!

This can easily be made out of a Kleenex box.  Just cover it in paper like a present and decorate :)  You could even have the students decorate it.  I always have a pencil and notepad ready for the students.  This is great because students are getting extra writing practice and leaving you with a little extra time... and some sanity haha.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Freebie Friday!!

I am sooo excited about Freebie Friday over at Blog Hoppin. Be sure to head on over there to check everything out... and upload something to share!

I have attached my Daily Journl Page that I use as a classroom management tool.  The students will put a happy, sad, or straight face on their own.  Typically if they give themselves a sad face I will ask them why, then write the reason so that parents know.  I have found students to be brutally honest in their journal... but then they will go home and say they "don't remember" what they did to earn the sad face, that's when the parents call.  So, just be sure to jot the reason down in their journal before they go home. 

After they fill in the faces we, as a class, write one thing we did today.  This is a great way to end the day with a little writing lesson. 

When students bring a journal back signed they then receive a sticker. 

Click here to get your copy of this management tool!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Teacher Talk Tuesday

It’s Teacher Talk Tuesday over at Blog Hoppin.  This is a day for us to offer advice to new teachers.  If you have some advice of your own… be sure to link up.

My advice:
1         ~If possible, talk to the previous teachers before the school year.  I usually have them come in and check out my seating chart/desk arrangement to ensure students are in a good spot.  There may be two students that just don’t get a long, or that talk to much, and this will help avoid that problem right from the start. 
              
          ~Communication is key!  In many cases… you can never communicate to much with parents.  Well, I’m sure you can… but they do love their updates.  This is why I keep a daily take home journal.  Students record one thing they did during the day, and parents sign it. Then, if they have any questions they can jot a note down in the journal, shoot an email, give me a call, or pop in the room.

     ~Don’t be afraid to ask for help!  In many cases parents would LOVE to come in to the classroom and help out.  If you have a big art project planned… ask one to help out.  If a struggling student needs an extra person to read to or to work on math with… ask one to help out.  If you have some odds and ends that you need done (coping, cutting, etc.)… ask one to help out.  I think you get the point! 

     ~Be sure to treat yourself.  You deserve to feel relaxed… so make sure you do!  A little glass of wine at night, your favorite shows, whatever you enjoy.  The students catch up pretty quickly to someone who is stressed and becoming angry.  It will make the year much less enjoyable.  You NEED to be able to have fun WITH the students.  This is especially true when winter becomes long, and spring drags on before summer. Those can be some of the toughest times to get through… but you have to do it with a smile on your face and excitement in your heart.

     ~Blog it out!  We are all here to help.  If there is something you can’t figure out what to do… or you need advice… that’s what Blogging is for!  We are all ears and ready to listen/support.

I hope this helps!  Have an amazing year!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Teachers Pay Teachers

I have just uploaded some materials to my TPT site.  You can find the "Classroom Password" and "5 Star Sentence" for free.  I have also uploaded a super cute "Detecting Sight Words" book. There is a title page, a page for each letter to write sight words on, and a page to write words from last year.  This is very useful as students can keep it in their desk and refer to it as they need. Go check it out!  ENJOY!**Once I figure out how to add a preview picture of it I will upload it, I am still new at some of this. But, you can find a preview on my TPT page for now!**  :)

Meet The Teacher Monday


Hello!  It is Meet The Teacher Monday over at Blog Hoppin stop by to meet some amazing teachers!


Tell us a little something about you...

My name is Cora, aka Miss Boucher, from First Grade Exploration.   
I am heading into my 5th year teaching!!  I spent my first two years teaching Kindergarten and will now be in my third year of First Grade.  I absolutely LOVE First Grade!!  The students are now use to the school setting, super cute, and love to laugh/learn.  Their eagerness is an inspiration to me each day. 

A little bit more about me... I am super close with my family, and I am a SPORTS FANATIC! I love watching  football, NASCAR, baseball, hockey, basketball... you name it! I can be found keeping busy playing volleyball, snowboarding, wakeboarding, running, rowing, etc. 

My inspiration?
My sister!!  She passed away from a year long battle of cancer while I was in 6th Grade, she was a freshman in High School, leaving me to be an only child. Through her battle she always smiled and tried to make everything positive, which is how I now live my life.  There is just no reason to get upset about the little things especially things you have no control over.  So, keep smiling and remember as bad as you might think you have it… there are probably many who would love to have your life.

What are you looking most forward to this school year?
This is my first year with a blog. How exciting!! It was my summer project, so I look forward to posting much more as the year goes on. I am also looking forward to a very different classroom atmosphere.  Last year I had 20 students… this year 8!  Yep… just 8 students, crazy I know!!  There are so many things I am looking forward to trying/testing out with them.  

What do you need to improve?
I need to work on finishing a task before starting a new one!  I will start a task then get another great idea and go start that task… etc.  It’s enough to make a person go crazy!! That’s the “busy body” in me… always trying to do more than one thing at a time.

What teaching supplies can you *not* live without?

I love my morning cappuccino… maybe too much.  I try to go without, as I know it is not the best for me, but man can I tell the difference when I don’t have it!

Sharpies- I LOVE to write in sharpies… not sure why, but they are great!

And… ANYTHING GREEN!  I LOVE GREEN!!!!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Favorite Field Trip- Linky Party

Kinders On The Block is having a linky party about favorite field trips, so check it out!!  I have been on many field trips in my short teaching career... and it is hard to choose a favorite.  This last year we went to a place called 1,000 Islands Environmental Center, and the students LOVED it.  They had the students take a trail into the woods and dig for bugs!!  I honestly think the students could have spent all day digging.  They were so excited when they would find one to put in their bug jar.  This is something many teachers could do around their own school if they have an appropriate area to do so. It was just so cute!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Compound Word Egg Hunt


This activity had the students engaged and having fun!! I wrote compound words on those cute little plastic Easter eggs, then broke all of the eggs apart.  While the students were in one of their Specials I went outside and scattered the egg pieces all over the playground.  They then had to try and create as many compound words as they could. 

Once the students created a word, they had me check it, had to write the word in chalk, then place that egg in the basket.  SO MUCH FUN!  Towards the end of the activity you could see them start to work together to create the remaining words.

*Buy the eggs after Easter!  Target had a bag of 48 of them on sale for about 35 cents.  Less than a penny a piece, AMAZING! Can't wait to buy more this next year!!  :)

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Classroom Password

I saw this cute idea on Pinterest and thought I would create my own for my classroom.  Each day the students will have a different classroom password, this will be one of their sight words of the week. Click here to get your copy.  Thinking I might change my theme to a Spy or Detective theme now.  How Fun!! ENJOY!!

Monday, August 8, 2011

3 Things- Linky Party



Simply Second Resources is having a 3 Things Linky Party!  Head on over there to share the 3 things that you hope to focus on this school year.

My Word Wall-  My word wall has been my main focus this summer.  I loved where I had it, the whole back wall, but the students couldn't reach it... so it wasn't as interactive and I would have liked it to be. I have now moved it... and all though it isn't as spread out as it use to be, I am excited that I will be able to encourage more engaging activities using it.

Reading-  I think this will always be one of my three things to work on.  Reading is always changing!  I have finished the Daily 5 early this summer... so I look forward to using it within my classroom. I will have a very small class... so I don't think the time slot that they allowed for will be necessary so I will have to see what I can come up with as far as a schedule.  I would also like to include more readers theaters, and fun creative things like that.

The last one... oh this is hard because I can't narrow it down to just 3... but I will say Technology-  I have come a LONG way last year with using technology... but have come up with so many more ideas I would like to try with the students. I am excited to get going :) If they turn out... I will be sure to post them for your enjoyment and use!


Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Dr. Seuss Bags!

Would you look at these amazingly CUTE bags!!  What a find!  I swear they were not at Target last time I was there, and... are you ready for this... $1 each! Yep, got them in the $1 section... so excited! Oh the things I can do with these.... :) 

Assessment Tool

I found this concept on the Howard-Suamico Website and adapted it to make it a bit more fun/kid friendly. This is a great assessment tool, as you can change each star to say the concept you just learned.  For example, if you just talked about adjectives then make one of the stars say "I used an adjective".  It shows the students exactly what they are going to be graded on. Click here to get a copy!  ENJOY!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Cheeseheads!!

This is for the Packer Fans that commented under my last post, and even those that didn't.

What is that cute little Packer fan doing??

Making a fold-able CHEESEHEAD!  Didn't they turn out SUPER cute :).  The students LOVED wearing these around school for the rest of the day!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Are You Ready For Some Football??

Football is back!  Are you as excited as I am?  I am a huge sports fanatic, especially football! So, I figured what better way to celebrate than to post a picture of my favorite player DD (Donald Driver, #80 of the Green Bay Packers) signing a book for my classroom! Ahhh, this picture makes me so happy. Even if you are not a Packer Fan... this man is a Gem.  He is so dedicated to his community!

We read his book in the beginning of the school year and then write letters to him.  The students LOVE this activity and become so engaged in it... even the Non-Packer Fans.  :)