Elf Fun!!

We had a special delivery at the beginning of December from the North Pole!  Our principal and assistant principal did an awesome job of playing along and brought the package to the classroom.  The box was ice cold (since it was directly from the North Pole).  The kids were all so excited to feel it.  We opened it up and read the story right away.  It was nice to be reminded of their innocent excitement.

Of course our first job was to give him a name.  We brain stormed a list of all the names that the children thought of, then voted the list down a couple of times.  We were left with these names...

and ended up with Spider Man...really?!?  Anyway, I call him Spidey.

Spidey has had quite a bit of fun in our classroom the last couple of weeks.  Here are some pictures of his adventures.

Just hanging around, learning some letters.  Later that day he managed to wiggle out of his little hat and fall down.  Yikes!

 

Playing with some math manipulatives.

Looks like somebody got caught in the cookie jar!

Spidey can definitely spot naughty and nice behavior from up here.

Thanksgiving Flashback

 

 

I didn't get a Thanksgiving post up like I had planned, but I still wanted to share these super cute turkeys that we made.  I started with this adorable turkey pattern from Teachers Pay Teachers, then changed the wings by using handprints instead.  They turned out so cute that I even had a dad ask for the pattern when he came to pick up his son so that he could make one with his little girl.

 

Here is the link to the original turkey pattern.  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Free-Goofy-Turkey-Pattern-165974

Gobble Gobble!!

Okay, okay...I've been MIA for quite a bit and while I could tell you how crazy life has been, I will spare you the lame excuses because that what they are - excuses.

First, I have an amazing class of 24 kindergarten darlin's.  Yes 24.  It sometimes seems like a lot, but some of my friends have closer to 30 in their kindergarten classrooms so I have decided NOT to complain. 

I wanted to share a really awesome activity that we did a few weeks ago.  One song that my team mate and I chose to use as an end of day song is Will.i.am singing "What I Am".  I've posted it below (in case you haven't seen the cute video), but it is really inspiring song about all the wonderful things that kids can be.

Even more perfect, we had just learned the sight words 'I' and 'am'.  So we watched the video a couple of times and brainstormed a list of character traits that we could attribute to ourselves.  Then I gave them a page with the words 'I am ______________", with I and am dotted out for the children to trace.  They did an awesome job and the pages looked so cute on the bulletin board. 

They wrote such wonderful sentences as "I am beautiful.", "I am respectful.", "I am happy.", "I am nice.", "I am strong."

I made a cover and then made it into a class book. 

 

I love having the kids make class books.  Its an excellent opportunity for the children to be successful with their writing and to publish their work. 

Let the games begin!

It's almost here!!!!  Our school officially started Thursday, that's when 1st through 5th graders came back to school.  Our district uses those first 2 days of school to meet one on one with kindergarten students and their parents.  I really like having that opportunity to meet with my new darlin's and their parents, answer their questions, and hopefully alleviate some of the anxiety.  Kindergarteners begin Monday...TOMORROW!!!

I put the finishing touches on my room this weekend and finalized some details on my lesson plans this evening.  I can still think of dozens of things I coulda, woulda, shoulda...but all in all I think I'm in a good place.  Here are some pictures of my room before the kiddos come.

This is the view when you come into my classroom.

 

Here is my calendar board / math focus wall.

I opted to forego a traditional teacher desk this year.  This is my small group table and teacher corner.

 

This is looking towards my class library and Reading Street focus board.

 

This is a view of my word wall, birthday poster, job chart, and writing table.  I want to put a skirt around the bottom of the table.  The one I had on last year didn't stay on very good.  Does anyone have a good suggestion??

 

I am so excited to get all my kiddos tomorrow.  I hope that they are excited too.  It should be so much fun!  I don't want to give away all my exciting plans, but I will post tomorrow how everything went...if I'm not too exhausted.  Now if only I can get to sleep tonight!

 

 

 

This teacher suffers from summer slide too.

Ok...I have been a teacher for over 13 years and although I like the teacher's schedule of having summers 'off' (which is a topic all of it's own), I have discovered that I am a much better person once school starts.  Don't get me wrong, I love the freedom to go camping in the middle of the week or to run errands on a Tuesday afternoon, or to stay up late watching movies...or celebrating a friends wedding :-), but I think I like myself better--and I think my family likes me better-- when I have a schedule and a more defined purpose. 

 

My grandma used to tell me a little rhyme about a girl who had a curl right in the middle of her forehead.  When she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad she was horrid. 
During the school year I somehow manage to get myself and 3 school aged children feed, dressed, and to school on time...I teach...plan with teammates...tutor...participate in leadership teams...help my children with homework...cook dinner...clean the house...etc. etc. etc.  Yet, in the summer all of our routines go out the window.  It is not uncommon to find the children in pajamas at 2:00 in the afternoon...to dine on oatmeal for dinner or potato chips for lunch...or to find a stack of mail that I haven't been motivated to open yet.  I would feel better if I had at least caught up on some reading or cleaning or even a craft project.  But that doesn't seem to be the case.  I just to a little bit of everything, but not enough of anything. 

 

Never fear dear family.  School starts next week and you will get me back 100%!

I can't believe teachers get the summer's off!

Me either ...and probably because in reality - we don't!  At least not the 2+ months of no work sense that some people think.  I was talking with my principal and some other friends the other night about getting ready to come back to school and start the new school year.  I had said (tongue in cheek) that I think I had been at school probably at least once each week during the summer break.  The problem was, after thinking about it - I think it might be true! 

Our district has 10 weeks of summer break.  I don't know where Phineas and Ferb go that they get 104 days of summer vacation!!  That's 3 and a half months, but I digress. 

 

Week one:  Alignment committee work
Week two:  Summer training.  Our district calls it SPA (summer professional academy).  Very misleading.
Week three:  Out of town training, summer school meeting, and getting my classroom ready for summer school.
Weeks four and five:  Summer School
Week six:  Summer School closed for Independence day.  I DID NOT GO IN TO SCHOOL AT ALL THIS ENTIRE WEEK!!!   Whoo Hoo
Week seven and eight:  Summer School
Week nine:  Okay, it my defense, I wasn't going to go in at all this week, but I went in to meet with a new teammate on Friday and ended up working the entire day in my classroom.
Week ten:  Another SPA opportunity and I have to finish my room.  Once we officially start back, there won't be much time - if any, to work in my room, so I need to get it done.

Also, I didn't even include the reading, printing, cutting, creating, planning, etc. that seemed to take up more time than it should have.

Now, before anyone gets their feathers ruffled...yes those were all my choices, and I feel very fortunate that our district pays us for our SPA classes.  I also love the break that we do get in the summer and I am not AT ALL complaining about my job!  Its more of a recognition of my inability to maintain a good balance between home and work.


All that being said.  I love love love my job and I wouldn't trade it for a 9-5 job in a million years!  And I know I'm not the only one :-)

Don't Miss These Freebies!!

I want to share this Fourth of July opportunity with you...and I hope that you see it in time to participate.  Dozens of Facebook pages have come together to offer some great freebies (I think that there are 42 of them).  All of these Facebook pages are devoted to primary education and the freebies that they are offering are really cute.  I just finished going through the 'hop' and I was able to download dozens of fun games, activities and worksheets that I can't wait to print! 

It is set up really easy to do...but block out a little time, I think it took be almost an hour to go through all of them (definitely worth the time, though).  First you will need to 'Like' the Facebook page, then click on the link "Freebies on the Fourth".  After you have looked at and downloaded the freebie, you can click on the link "Click here to 'hop' to your next freebie!" and it will take you right to the next page and you just repeat the process. 

Here is a link to get you started.  Happy hopping.
Kinder-Craze Facebook page

How Do You Manage a 'Flippen Classroom'?

Ok...perhaps that was a bad play on words.  A 'Flippen Classroom' refers to Flip Flippen, a renowned speaker and psychotherapist who created a program called Capturing Kids' Hearts. 

According to Flip, "If you have a child's heart, you have his heart."  I was fortunate enough to go to the 3-day Capturing Kids' Hearts training last summer and it is such a wonderful way to approach classroom management.  It's foundationally about creating and nurturing relationships.  In our school we use the techniques not only with our students, but with each other as a staff as well. 

It would be impossible to explain the program in a blog post, but some of the things that we do include...

• Greetings - I greet my students with a handshake each morning.  It teaches students how properly greet another and it gives me a quick picture of how someone is doing before they even walk in the door.  If a student is having a bad morning, it gives me a chance to help them 'reboot' before a bad morning turns into a bad day.  My administrator also comes through each classroom each day and shakes the teacher's hand and tells them 'good morning'.  What a great model for the students!!
• Good Things - I start each day by giving students a chance to share something good that has happened or that they are looking forward to.  First they get to share with a neighbor, then I usually call 5 or 6 students (using sticks with names on them) to share with the whole class.  We clap or cheer for each student that shares ...and as part of our classroom community, 'when one of us claps, we all clap'.  At my school we also start each staff meeting with 'Good Things'.  It really is just a great way to start a day...or a meeting.
• Social Contract - At the beginning of each school year, the students I and work together to decide how we should treat each other.  Everybody gets a say and all the ideas are written on a big sheet of chart paper.  After it's finalized, everyone signs their name -including the teacher.  For beginning of the year kindergarteners, who haven't quite learned to write their names, I've used thumbprints.  I also create a social contract for each separate group that I have, like literacy groups.  We also do this as a staff at the beginning of each school year as well.
• Affirmations - Some teachers are AWESOME at doing this!  Affirmations are short notes that you give to someone to tell them something nice that you have noticed about them or to give them a compliment.  Students give affirmations to each other and our staff is really great about giving affirmations as well!  It really has given my day a lift when I walk into my classroom and one or my sweet colleagues (or one of my administrators) has left me a note telling me that I'm doing a great job.  One of my goals this year is to be more intentional about using affirmations.
• Four Questions for Misbehavior - Simply put, instead of 'nailing' a student for misbehavior, your are giving them a chance to change their behavior (which is what we really want anyway, right?) and retain their dignity.  1st - "What are you doing?" 2nd - "What are you supposed to be doing?" 3rd - "Are you doing it?"  4th - What are you going to do about it?"
• Launch - The launch is a way to send students out on a positive note.  It can be a song, a quote, a cheer, a saying...really whatever works for you and that you and your students can stick with.  It's a way to provide some closure and to send kiddos out the door with a smile.

I know that I'm forgetting a ton of things that are part of the program, but I will say that it is life changing.  It definitely changed how I interact, not only with my students, but with my colleagues and my own family as well.

Our school also uses Keystone, which is a character education program that is offered through the Flippen Group.  We use it school wide which is nice because everyone is learning about the same character quality at the same time and we can use common language with the students.

If you are interested in Capturing Kids' Hearts or Keystone, you can find more information at their website.  http://flippengroup.com/education/index.html 

Right now I'm reading a book called, What Great Teachers Do Differently: 17 Things That Matter Most, by Todd Whitaker. 

I had seen a link for it somewhere, but I was sold on reading it after watching a video of Todd Whitaker on YouTube.

If you have read this book or have used any of the 'Flippen Techniques' (sorry, I couldn't resist), I would love to hear what you think. 

Good News and Bad News

The good news is that I have started summer school this week (can I get a whoo whoo?).  Okay, maybe it doesn't stir quite that much excitement, but it is going well so far.  The classes are nice and small and the atmosphere is more laid back.  I'm teaching literacy to kiddos who are between kindergarten and first grade.  My first 2 hour block has 9 darlin's and the second 2 hour block only has 8 darlin's. - Funny side note...I was working with a couple of students in a small group today and called one of them Darlin' and he says, "You keep calling me Darlin, that's not my name.".  Too funny!  Apparently, not a nick name that he is accustomed to.

The other bit of good news is that I get to teach both of my classes in the room that I will be using in the fall.  I've already put a little over 10 hours or so unpacking boxes and making it look a little friendlier, but I have the opportunity to work a little bit at a time after summer school while I'm already there.  The poor teacher next to me will be new at our school in the fall, but for summer school they gave her two different rooms (for her two different classes) and neither of them is the room that she will be using in the fall. 

 

Here is what my room looks like now.  There is still a lot of work to be done (*see the adorable bulletin boards - not!), but it's so much better than it was.

The bad news is that our beautiful state of Colorado is still on fire.  Last count there were 6 (I think) currently burning.  The good news is that the Black Forest fire is 100% contained, but only after destroying 509 homes and over 14,000 acres.  The new fires are also being increased by the wind, which is blowing a lot of smoke into my town.  It is so smoky that you cannot even see the mountains. 

Here is a picture of what the sun looked like through the smoke last night. This picture was taken by James Soltwedel - nice job.

Please Pray for Our City

The Black Forest fire is burning about 16 miles from my home in Colorado Springs, CO.  It has been burning since Tuesday and so far 360 homes have been destroyed and 2 people have lost their lives.  It is heart breaking to know that so many are evacuated from their homes and then to see houses burning on the news.  I personally know of at least one friend who has been evacuated and 2 who are on pre-evacuation.  Please pray for a quick end to this disaster. 

This is a little too familiar for us in the Colorado Springs area.  It has been almost a year since the Waldo Canyon fire that destroyed 346 homes. 

I have my work cut out for me!

Our school is going to be experiencing a lot of changes this coming school year.  We said good-bye to 11 staff members (which was horrible) and there will be 6 new teachers (that I can think of) starting in August.  We are also shifting some grade level locations which means that not only do I need to change classrooms, but all the kindergarten 'treasures' have been relocated to my new room.

This is my old room that I herby bequeath to Ms. V. (one of the new 1st grade teachers).  I hope you love it as much as I did.  There aren't many things as sad as a classroom that you have completely emptied.

...except maybe this!  I'm going to have to make sense of this before summer school starts on the 17th.  Yikes!!!  I just realized that I only have 11 days.

On a positive note, I got to meet my new teammate, Christine!  She is so nice and seems really excited to join our crazy team :-).

SPA Day

 

No, I didn't get to go to the spa today :-(.

In our school district, SPA stand for Summer Professional Academy.  We are really privileged that not only does our district offer trainings over the summer - some really great trainings - but they also pay us to attend these trainings!!  Today I attended Interdisciplinary Literacy for the Common Core.  I'll begin by saying that it was AWESOME.  I have taken several classes on literacy and Common Core, so I was prepared to hear a lot of repeated information.  Not so!  The presenter was Lin Kuzmich and she is AMAZING!  Also, I will add (with affection) that it was like listening to my Auntie from Buffalo all day :-).  I learned so many things that I could start using tomorrow...okay, in August.  The best part (for me, anyway) was that she was so intentional to point out how to use strategies and techniques in kindergarten.  I cannot tell you how many conferences and trainings that I have attended that didn't apply to kindergarten - at all.  I would definitely recommend anything from Lin - and our school has already booked her to come back in January. 

Here is her web site: www.KuzmichConsulting.com.

Welcome To My Blog

I am moving back to kindergarten after teaching first grade for the last two years.  I am sad to be leaving a team that I love - not 'loved' because you can't get rid of me that easy!  I am exhausted from packing up my entire room - again. But mostly I am so excited to be back in kindergarten.  Though I'm sure a lot of things will come flooding back to me, there are going to be lots of changes.  I will need to learn Common Core for kindergarten, I will need to adjust to a new reading curriculum, and I will get to use a new writing resource.  Best of all, I will get to work with a brand new team.  I'm sure that this year will be filled with possibilities and adventure.  I can't wait!!