Back to School....Back to School!

So I have to go back to school on Monday (that's only 5 DAYS away!!).  I have been trying to think of all the fun things we do on the first 2 days (1/2 days actually).  It's been so long I am having a hard time to remember them all.

Don't worry I did remember one great activity!  Each year during the first 2 days we make a coloring book!  I have the kids use their black marker to draw a picture on a plain piece of typing paper.  The only rule is that they can't color it in.  They love this because A) they get to use markers B) they get to draw ANYTHING they want!  I do show them some samples, I normally make a page or two for the book.

When they finish I make a cute little cover, send it to central copy and have them make and bind a copy for each kid. 

We used ours all year last year.  They kept it in their desk and pulled it out during fun time or inside recess, and when we had a bit of extra time during the year. 

Little Organizing Idea!

So at our school we have quite a few subscriptions for the kids, and they all have passwords.  Of course every subscription has a different format for the user name and password.  That's too much for a first grader to remember...it's too much for me to remember.

So last year I made this little organizer

A closer look

It was pretty simple to make.
To make the poster:
1. I took some fun library pockets (that I got at Dollar Tree) and but the bottoms off to the size I wanted them. 
2. Then I used tape or rubber cement to place them on construction paper (purple because everything should be purple!).
3. Next I laminated it like any good teacher, and used a razor blade to cut the slit at the top so you could still put stuff in it. 
4. Last I wrote every kids name on a pocket. (I used a dry erase marker so I could change names easily)

Then for inside the pockets:
1. I found these little cards in my room
2. I put the name of the site or subscription on the back (like AR or iXL).  I have all my sites saved on the computer but you could also put a URL if you needed on the front.   
3. On the front I put the user name at the top and their password at the bottom, at first I put UN and PW so they would know which was which but then the kids typed in the UN and PW, so I took that off and they just new the first line went in the first box and second line in the second box.

I also found that when we started AR testing some kids needed help with their testing so they would put a star stick in it that says test so when I had time I could help them take a test.  I also have some that say HELP! and they put those in when they have trouble with a program and I can work with them one on one with that problem as well.

By the end of the year they could work on any one of our subscriptions independently!!

First Days of School

So I'm getting some things ready for the first days of school. I am going to switch things up a bit this year and get some technology integration going right out of the gate this year.

Our first project of the year is going to be an "all about me" video. It is just like the book I have used in the past (you could make it into a book when you get done with the video too). I made the pages from my book a full sheet of paper with a title, a place for a picture and little sentence for them to fill in. I will have the kids work on a page at a time through out the first day or two at school.

Here is the video I put together tonight (not an artist).

Click here to get the pages I used!

Here is a little info about making paper slides!
I have the kids work in groups of 3. Each group has a paper slider (person who pulls the papers when they are done talking about the page), narrator (the person who talks about the page), and videographer (the person who holds the camera). In this video the narrator is the person who the video is about.

They practice a few times during small group. Then we film them. I only let them film once, no start overs!! I use my flip camera in class to film with, as well as my document camera. You could also use an iPad, iPod touch, or regular camera with a video function on it.

The first time we did this last year it took a little bit of time for them to be comfortable, however by the end of the year my kids could make a film video on their own.   We have used them for vocabulary practice, retelling, cause can effect, and math problem descriptions, the possibilities are ENDLESS!!

Peanut Butter and Jelly

This year I am going to try out The Daily 5 in my classroom....or something very similar to the daily 5! I am the most anxious about read to someone. I don't know how my first graders are going to pick a good partner. So I decided to give them a little "help"!

I am planning to split my class into two groups. Then they only have half of the kids to choose from (even less when you take out the kids that I will be working with at my reading table).

Then I wanted to find a way split the class in half and make it something fun for the kids. So I came up with .... Peanut Butter and Jelly partners! I will put their name on a tag that has peanut butter or jelly on it. They will magnet to either the white board or the heating unit in my room. That way I will be able to see who they pick and we can put them up at the end of the day, or leave them so I can see that they pick a different partner the next day!

Aren't they soooo cute!?!?

{Click here to get the name tags and poster}

Linky Party Day 2!!

The Clutter-Free Classroom is having an awesome linky party ...a new party every day! LOVE IT!! So today is based on the illustrations along my favorite picture book it...

I have so many favorites it is hard to pick just one!

I LOVE Mo Willems books. His pictures are just so stinkin cute. Love them all!

 

Who doesn't love an elephant and a piggie?!?

 

and of course the pigeon!!

I also love the Harold and the Purple Crayon.  I just love the way he adds things and then interacts with them!

Check out Clutter Free Classroom and join in the fun!!

What have I been up to this summer?

There is a whole lotta linky party going on over at Clutter-Free Classroom! I am going to try and do a few before I leave town this week (I'm going on a sidewalk sale marathon trip with my best friend!).

So the first day is what you have been up to this summer. And I have to say the summer has gone by so fast (only 1 month until school starts!)

I have been working on homework nonstop, I am taking 9 hours this summer towards my masters...WHAT was I thinking!?!

Other than that my son and I have been going to gymnastics class for mom and tots with a friend from school, playing at the sprinkler park a lot, visiting the zoo, and just having fun!

My family has only been home one weekend this summer! AHHH that's a lot of travel in one summer. We have been to the lake many many times, been to my parents farm to help harvest and many other fun little weekend trips!

So what is everyone up to this summer?!?!

Out of the mouths of babes

Mrs. Dillard is having a linky party all about the funny things kids say. She has some REALLY funny stuff on her blog!

I am so glad she is having this party, my favorite story is about a letter I got from one of my kids and I just pulled it out of a tub when I was looking for sticker two days ago!

At the end of my second year I got engaged, it just so happened that we were working on writing letters to their new teachers, and reviewing the lessons we had on letter writing during the year. So I had a bunch of kids write me letter to tell me how happy they were for me.

This is one of the letters I got:

May 14, 2008
Dear Miss M--,
Its so great that your getting marryed. But your last name when your marryed its kind of strange. so I want to tell you something congraulations.
Your Studnet
O

So I asked him why my name would be strange when I get married. He told me that it was because my name would be a color (Gray), and that he didn't know anyone who had a color for a name.

I just LOVE the stories teachers have.  Kids are so pure and funny!