My Summer Vacation

 So The Clutter Free Classroom is having a Linky Party and today is all about our summer vacations!  As a teacher I have to say that as sad as it is to see my little ones go in June, I LOVE summer as a way to rejuvenate and prepare for the coming year.  For me this has been one of the most low-key summers in a long time.  Here are a few things I have been up to!

• I am a nanny for a family of three.  I have watched their kids for five summers!  
• I tutor two children once a week.  I really enjoy working with these kiddos!
• Anyone who knows me that on my days off or any moments I have free I am at the POOL.  This has been a really hot summer and I can say that I have spent many hours laying poolside with a book in my hand.  I absolutely love reading and over the five weeks I have been out of school, I have probably read 10 books.  Me, the pool, and a good book! That's all I really need!
• I have been to the National White Water Center a lot.  This place has tons of hiking trails that I like to hike and run on.  They have rafting, kayaking, mountain biking and more.  I really enjoy spending time there!
• Most of all I love to travel.  This summer I haven't really taken any trips, but I hope to make it to the beach before summer ends.  With the beach only 3 hours away I know I will make it there even for just one day! 
• I am a fan of the Cincinnati Reds, but down here in NC we don't have any major league baseball teams.  We do however, have the Charlotte Knights and we like to go to a lot of their games.  They are fun, maybe not as good as the majors but still a good time. 

Charlotte Knights Stadium on July 4th!  

• Last summer my boyfriend and I started canning our own foods.  This year we have already canned salsa, bread and butter pickles, frozen peaches and blueberries and I am sure there will be more to come!

• I have also done a ton of blog-stalking!  As a fairly new blogger I am in love with the blogs out there that have so much to share and I hope to someday work up to them!

I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer!  I can't believe that I only have four weeks more of vacation.  The time is going by so fast.  Hopefully the next few weeks will involve a trip to the beach, more time at the White Water Center, and a little more time at the pool!

Enjoy!

Dr. Seuss Totes Are Back at TARGET!!

So...After reading Gulp over at The Inspired Apple I was overwhelmed that Target and other stores have School Supplies already!  At the same time I was slightly tempted to go take a peek! :)  When I got to Target I decided to only let myself go to the dollar bins and I was SO glad I did!  For the past two years I have bought similar Dr. Seuss totes in the dollar bins and I love them!  Two years ago I used them to send take home packets that included a matching Dr. Seuss book and stuffed animal (from Kohl's) and a reading response page for the students to respond about the book they read.  Last year I used them as a classroom incentive.  Each month my table groups earn bees by working as a team and making good choices.  At the end of the month, we count the bees and the table with the most bees wins a prize.  Last year the Dr. Seuss totes were the March prize and they were a hit! 
    

I LOVE TARGET $1.00 bins! 

Also, they have the three part bins that I use to hold supplies that we share and extra supplies.  These are $2.50 but WAY cheaper than the education stores and catalogues.
Have fun shopping!

I Scream…You Scream…We ALL 


Scream for…

Problem Solving!

       Every single day each of us encounters problems.  No, they

may not be math problems, but we encounter problems that need solving.  Somewhere along the line someone taught us how to approach problems. Thus said, problem solving is not only a life skill but one necessary for academic success and this year our school's goal taught problem solving strategies and procedures to our students, beginning in Kindergarten.  Our school's goal was  for each student in our school to understand four basic problem solving steps so that even when presented with an unfamiliar problem, the students  would know where to begin and how to approach solving the problem.  

    

The four basic steps that were taught were:

1.  Understand the Problem!  To do this the students read, re-read, underline the question, and then circle important information in the problem.  

2.  Plan How to Solve the Problem!  Next the students decide exactly how they want to go about solving the problem.  

3.  Carry Out Your Plan!  Third, the students carry out their plan.  This is the actual solving of the problem. 

4.  Check Your Work!  This was the one of the MOST stressed steps.  SO often students rush on to the next problem and never bother to check their own work.  (I was TERRIBLE at doing this! When I was done, I was done!)  However, we know as teachers that no one is perfect.  Sometimes I have to re-read a question to truly know what it is asking.  Therefore, here is where the students go back and re-read the question to make sure their answer matches what the question is looking for.  

     Throughout the year our first graders got really good at remembering to carry out each step.  However, at our Common Core Math Training a few weeks ago, another teacher shared a suggestion for how they remind students of the steps to problem solving by making an ice cream cone as you go!  If you click on the ice cream scoop above, you can download directions and scoops that I am going to put on each student's desk this year as a reminder! I love this creative way for students to remember how to problem solve!

Can You Dance?

Well I wouldn't be the first one out on the dance floor, but I can handle the Phonics Dance!  If you have never heard of the Phonics Dance, you should check it out.  Created by Ginny Dowd, the Phonics Dance is a developmentally appropriate method to teaching young children exactly how our crazy language works!  Taught as "Hunk and Chunks" in the Phonics Dance, these diagraphs, blends, dipthongs, and modified vowels are typically taught in early elementary curriculum, but are students really remembering them?
    The Phonics Dance is more of a chant than a real song or dance.  It has motions that correlate with a chant.  I teach it slightly differently than the original program, because I align it with our reading series and the way that the sounds are taught in Scott Foresman's Reading Street.  The students do the Phonics Dance each day at school and probably at home, in the car, and in their sleep.  We begin with the alphabet, while doing our Kindergarten review at the beginning of the year, and then move on to cover over 25 sounds by the end of the year!
   Practicing these daily allows the students to remember and apply the sounds in both reading and writing.  I first learned about the Phonics Dance while student teaching in Ohio and I have used it in my own classroom for 6 years.  I attribute a great deal of student success to the use of the Phonics Dance!
   When I first came to my school 4 years ago, I was one of two crazy teachers at my school using this to reinforce phonics. We both were huge advocates of this program.  Now it has spread like a wild fire!  If you go down the Kindergarten, First Grade hall or by some 2nd grade classrooms, you will hear the loud, energetic chants.  The kids love it!  What better way to teach phonics (and get the wiggles out) than through the Phonics Dance!  Take a look.  

The Phonics Dance

Camp Learn-A-Lot 2011

     So today we finished our 3rd day of camping.  I have to say that this year was just as fun as last, but a little more relaxing.  Last year I was SO stressed and worried to fit everything in.  This year, I just let it go and realized that what we had time for, was great.  (The kids don't know what they didn't do and it can always be saved for next year!!!)  

Most of all I learned a few things: 

1.        Campers work hard while camping and while cleaning up!! This year my campers helped take down the tent, clean up our fire, and they even rolled their sleeping bags up with very minimal help.  Normally, I wait until they have left and clean everything up on my own.  This made the clean-up process MUCH faster!

2.    Kickball is a wonderful camp game when you don't have specials.  

3.    Some of the students who have a difficult time on the "regular" days, turn out to be some of your best campers!  

4.  Merit badges (aka stickers) really influence student work.  

5.  First graders LOVE bugs that you can stick on your fingers!

6.      Relax and have fun.  So often I especially, stress and forget that camping is about relaxing, enjoying what is around you and having fun.  This camping trip, I remembered those few things and life was much more fun!  

Camp Learn-A-Lot

Our class picture, outside Camp Learn-A-Lot!
 

     This year will be the third annual Camp-Learn-A-Lot.  The first year it was held for only one day and then grew to three the following year.  Like a "wildfire" the camping theme is spreading!  The first year I went camping in with my students, only two of the 8 first grade classrooms camped.  Last year there were four or five of us.  This year we only have 6 teachers and I think 5 of the 6 are all pumped up to go "camping"!Setting up the classroom is a TON of work and that is why we changed it from one day to three.  Three days gives us enough time to get a lot of fun learning in.  With so many schools determining the amount of time to do parites and special events at the end of the year, this works perfectly, becuase each activity is academically based.  We read in tents with flashlights, use adjective riddles to discover which creepy crawlers we are searching for, fish for math facts, go mountain climbing on the smartbaord for math facts, write in our camp journals, write about making smores, compare living and non-living things, and much, much more. I am going to upload my files that I have used in the past.  Some I have created and others are from other sources that should be marked on the acutal sheet.  If you aren't sure how something is used...just ask! Go camping and have some fun!!

Eating lunch outside! 

Happy Camper!

I bring in a tent that would sleep 5-7 adults.  I typically can fit 6 children with sleeping bags in the tent for reading time.

A river and lake to go fishing in!  The students have to 

cross the river to get across the room. 

 At the top of the river it has little stepping stones!

Reading with flashlights.

Nature Hike- The students went on a nature hike.
 They looked for one thing outside that was living and one non-living thing.
Then the students compared and contrasted these two items with a Venn Diagram.

     I absolutely LOVE going camping.  There is something to be said for being out in the wilderness, not showering, getting dirty, going fishing, cooking over a hot fire, and best of all...SMORES!   Unfortunately, so many young children, especially now with video games and computers, just don't get enough time outdoors, let alone go camping with their families.  A few years ago my best friend and fellow teacher called with such excitement.  She wanted to tell me her fabulous idea! While looking online she found that other teachers had done this same thing. What if we brought tents into our classrooms and went camping?!  Well...we did!  What fun we have had.

Giving

This year our first grader's decided to do something that seems very simple to adults, but to a 6 year old, can be very difficult.  This past winter, we challenged our first grade students to give up their ice cream and donate their $0.75 each Friday to help bring fresh water to an Island in Ethiopia.  Our classroom is blessed to have two students who were adopted from Ethiopia last summer and now live in our school district.  Learning about the island on which they were born, was eye opening to our students, families, and staff.  We decided that this would be a great way for our students to learn the true meaning of giving.

I am so excited to say that our little bit, contributed to a great cause.  They are currently drilling on the island and starting to build wells that can bring fresh water to the people of the island.
Check out this website: www.garrettsheart.webs.com.  It is never to late to donate and help out this cause!