Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Halloween

The members of Duck Dynasty decided to visit our classroom for Halloween! ;) Too cute!!!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Text Features

Fantastic Text Features...Thanks to Jordan over at "Life Is Better Messy Anyway".

My students are working hard preparing for the big WKCE test in November.  One big focus is nonfiction text.  I found this lesson extremely important in teaching the different features that can be found, and how the features can help you.  We discussed what a text feature is and then the students looked for them in magazines.  I allowed students to work alone or with a partner to create a Text Feature poster.  Check out the results:





















Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Author Visit


I have always dreamed of becoming an author... someday! So, when I heard Katie Mcky was coming to visit our school I was overjoyed.  If you have not heard of her, she is the wonderful author of the story Pumpkin Town... a story that I have read yearly, to my Kinders and Firsties. Katie Mcky didn't just spend a day with us, she has been spending the whole week.  On Monday we had an all school assembly (amazingly funny and engaging).  Then, the rest of the week has been spent on a one hour writing experience with her and each class individually.  I must say, my students were EXTREMELY engaged. I would highly recommend having her for a school visit, if possible.  She had everything from tents, spray bottles, dusters, and even LEAF BLOWERS.  I shouldn't say why and ruin the fun... 
If you are interested in her, check out her website Katiemcky.com    :)



Thursday, October 10, 2013

Onomatopoeia Oh My & What Does A Fox Say

Ok, anyone elses class OBSESSED with "What Does A Fox Say?"  Well... mine are.  And somehow it became popular right as we were learning about Onomatopoeia. Woohooo!! I LOVE when things fall into place with that.  After discussing what an onomatopoeia is, and doing some activities, we watched/listened to their "Favorite" song.  To make it purposeful, students recorded all of the sounds/onomatopoeia's from the song. I did stop it before the Guaridan Angel part though, as I didn't want to step on any "religious toes"...always cautious with that. 
ENJOY <3

Living a CoLoRfUl life

Life is what you make it, so why not have some fun?!  Just a few fall photos of what this teacher has been up to outside of the classroom...

We had an incredible time running/jogging/walking the Color Run.  After being on crutches at the beginning of the school year, and having to take a month off of my active lifestyle (due to a horrible sprain), I AM BACK!  Feels good to be "jogging" and playing volleyball again. I would recommend the Color Run to ANYONE.  I could have stayed for hours just jamming out to their music, throwing some color, and taking it all in! Simply AMAZING!


And, who doesn't LOVE fall.  Carving pumpkins, the smell of pumpkin seeds baking, a warm coffee in your hand, boots, scarves, .... I think I could keep going on.  
I decided to carve a picture of what I look like at the end of the day... haha, kidding!!  I am proud of this mouth, but need some work on the eyes... hmmm, time to think about next years pumpkin. ;)
Have a great fall!  ENJOY <3

Friday, October 4, 2013

New Beginning... A little behind...

As stated back in July, I was extremely lucky to be offered a wonderful position at a school right down the road from where I was.  As hard as it was to leave my adorable Kinders/Firsties behind, this school offers so much. Here are some before and after pics of my huge transition from K/1 to 5th a little behind on posting these).  It has been quite the learning experience... and although I am still figuring things out, I am having a blast doing it!

Before:



And After/Now...







Have a fantastic weekend! ENJOY :)

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Improper Fractions

I know, I know.... this goes against blogging rules (one post per day), but I COULDN'T WAIT to share this video too.  The students created either a song, poem, story, or rap about how to convert an improper fraction into a mixed number! They are all great... but, here is an example.... ENJOY :)

My new class.. and some music.

I have to say... I was SCARED for my first day in 5th Grade, especially after 6 years of K and 1st. But, these kiddos are AMAZING! They have a huge passion for learning and really look out for one another. 

The students were having a hard time remembering how to convert Mixed Numbers into improper fractions so I had them create songs... here are a few...ENJOY :)

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Changes Ahead!

Changes are coming!!  I have received a job offer I couldn't refuse... only "problem" is it's with 5th Grade.  Ok, that's not really a problem but, whew... what a jump.  I am beyond excited to step outside of my K-1 comfort zone and try something new.  I will continue to keep the website link the same for now. Best wishes on your preparation for the school year ahead!

Friday, June 7, 2013

Compound Words

Here is a fun, interactive SMARTBoard game I found for learning about Compound Words and Contractions. 

Compound Word Game

Monday, April 8, 2013

School Auction

One of our biggest fundraisers for the school year is our School Auction.  Each class is in charge of creating something that can be auctioned off during the evening. This year I stuck with the melted crayon theme again... but had my Kinders make it their own using their thumb prints to finish the picture.

I hope its new owner loves it as much as I do!!!  <3 Love Love Love IT!!!!


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Arctic Freeze

I have been so bad at updating this blog... I PROMISE I am working on it!!!  Since are temperatures are extremely cold, I felt this would be the appropriate time to upload all of the arctic projects we have been working on.  We just had our "Peeking Penguin Night", this was a night for prospective families to come and take a "peek" at our Kindergarten and Preschool classes.  So, my Kinders were hard at work decorating for penguin night.

We started our Arctic Unit by
discussing proper  "Winter Wear".
During this time many of the classic
 mitten stories were read. So of course
we needed to see if they are "Smitten for
a Mitten, or if they Love the Glove".  
Students created Polar Bear Paintings. 
OF COURSE we had to spend a
week learning about penguins.  


Igloos out of packing peanuts...
we all know how those can add up quickly.
This was great for fine motor. 
One of their favorite projects was creating a Walrus.
 I saw this idea online a while back .
ADORABLE!
They LOVED using a variety of materials:
plate, bowl, spoons, toothpicks  foam, etc. 

A sneak peak at our winter scene.
The large penguin is the actual size
of an Emperor. Students were able to go
and measure themselves against him.
There was also a Fairy Penguin
(the smallest) to the right.

And, one last peak at their wonderful art.  <3