Back-to-School & Pub Run

I got 'em!

It's interesting to read blog posts and see when other teachers across the country #1) Get back into their classrooms to set-up and #2) Start a new school year.  Our old principal used to not let us work in our rooms until our report date :(  but our new principal lets us in as soon as she's back [close to a month prior to teachers] :)  So this Friday I'll drop my kiddos off at daycare and head into my room to start the FRENZY!  I LOVE to set up my room, and now after so many years I like my set-up and decorating, so it doesn't take as long....but it still takes a long time with all the little things.

And speaking of Back-to-School, last night I finished work on a new Back-to-School Literature Activities PACK that has lesson plans and activities to go along with 7 great picture books for the first week of school.

And finally, I live up in Anchorage, Alaska and one thing I love about it is the very active running community here!  Every Tuesday night (all year long, rain/snow or shine) the local running store hosts a 3-mile Pub Run.  It starts at Skinny Raven (the running store) and ends at an Irish pub....how cool!  They give away prizes, let you test out running shoes and lots of other neat things.  Families with kids are out running, people and their dogs are out running and hard core racers are out running.  As we took off last night I just had to laugh because all of us running around on the downtown city streets was kind of like the unleashing of salmon in the Kenai River!

Even though it's a "run", the assemblance of lots of runner and the familiar "On your marks, get set, GO!" just turns on the "race" switch in my brain and I can't help but take off like a bat out of a cave :)  Needless to say, miles 1 & 2 were great but then I ran into a big hill on mile 3 and slowed waaaaaaaay down.  But it was so fun!! 

I snap pictures of blooming flowers wherever I go!

This video is great, take a peek!

I'd love to know how many of you out there are proud, energetic teachers AND runners?

Saturday Apps #5

Apps make the world go round....well not quite, but they do make our mobile devices go.  I stumble upon apps, I find apps on Pinterest and Facebook and seek out FREE apps on AppsGoneFree. 

I will share an app or two with you and include pictures or even a video.  I would love it if you would either:  share an app with us  or try out the app I've recommended and let us know what you think.  

If you share, please tell us:

* the name

* the price

* what devices it works on (iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc.)

* how you use it

* why it's worth downloading

This week I'm sharing: Penultimate

I've only used this *free* app on my iPad because the screen is big enough to see and draw on.

This app lets you make and keep thematic notebooks.  For example, a few I have are: 5544 House Inspection, Trailside Triathlon, Literature Inspired Writing Activities and Picture Books to Read.  You can paste pictures onto the pages and draw/write on the pages.  The one thing you can't do (or I haven't figured out how to do) is TYPE.  

I've checked out some children's literature from our public library this summer and take pictures of the books that fit into one of my notebooks (Literature Inspired Writing Activities -or- Picture Books to Read). 

I'm starting to think about how I can have individual students or pairs use this app with math or reading...

Ants, HOT & Favorite Pins Friday

I think ants are cool little bugs.  Thankfully none have ever ruined a picnic for me.  And thankfully there are quite a few cute children's books where ants are the main characters.  I gathered up these books and turned them into a Readers' Theater MEGA pack.  Click on the ant to check it out :)

***

So I live in Anchorage, Alaska and our summers have sporadic sun...clouds usually rule.  But this summer's weather has been EPIC so far and I just need to get that off my chest.  You don't really wear shorts in the summer and it hits 70 or above maybe 3 times....but this was my thermometer yesterday:

Of course this was in the sun but who cares! Everyone is in shock that it's been so consistently sunny for so long.  There are no more kiddie pools left in the city so I had to order one from Amazon and it should be here on Saturday!

Wahoooooooooooo!

***

And now for something addictive....Pinterest and this Linky Party (which I hope is still happening)!

This concept is genius: Create a matching game for whatever you'd like.  Put half of the match on a white spoon and the other on a clear spoon!

I love this poster that shows what words and actions would be appropriate for students to use.  This goes along very well with a lesson from our RCCP curriculum.

Unfortunately I can't find the blog where it came from, I just have the picture from Pinterest :(

I was thinking of using this with my small guided reading groups, but the concept can be used with any subject.  The link takes you to a blog where the idea is for Literature Circles.

This is a whole writing pack from Andrea Knight but using toys to help teach writing concepts I think is genius!  This is on my TPT wish list :)

I love pinning and am as addicted as the next person, but I'm going to sit down some night in the near future and go through all my pins and plan them into

my year and print them off.  Of course I need to wait until the kids are in bed, my husband goes to bed and I have a beverage all to myself :)

What Would You Do With This?

Lowe's and Home Depot are the old standbys up here when you need something for your house.  But yesterday I decided to go to the nearby True Value instead, a store that I've never ventured into.  I ended up roaming around this fantastic little store for way too long...I did go in looking for a new patio set and found a great deal, but that has nothing to do with teaching.

This, however does

These are paint samples for a children's room and 

I took enough for a class set.

So

Student Name Graphs

"Your name is the most important word you will ever write."  I tell my students this a lot...especially when we're working on handwriting.

But there's no time more important than the first week of school to have fun with your new student's names as a way to help introduce everyone and start creating a close-knit community of learners. 

I'm linking up again to share some name graphs I like to do with my new kiddos.

 

My new school year starts in 1 month.....how about you?

OMG & Saturday Apps #4.5

I've been MIA for a week because OMG 

(Oh Mickey's Good!)

We took our 5-year-old on a Disney Cruise because she has been telling everyone she's going to Disney on her 5th birthday....so we had to figure out something!  We did a 3-night cruise and it was INCREDIBLE!  I could go on and on about all of the wonderful things we experienced but instead I will highly recommend you take your family :)

Now I'll get back to business, Saturday Apps!

Apps make the world go round....well not quite, but they do make our mobile devices go.  I stumble upon apps, I find apps on Pinterest and Facebook and seek out FREE apps on AppsGoneFree. 

I will share an app or two with you and include pictures or even a video.  I would love it if you would either:  share an app with us  or try out the app I've recommended and let us know what you think.  

If you share, please tell us:

* the name

* the price

* what devices it works on (iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc.)

* how you use it

* why it's worth downloading

This week I'm sharing:

Level It Books

Currently $2.99, regularly $4.99

The reason I most wanted this app was because I'm in the process of leveling my classroom library and was using a website on a student computer to find levels.  This app will make this so much quicker and easier!  I really like the "library" and "wishlist" features as well :)
So what teaching apps are making you happy right now?

My Classroom Organization

True, right?

Also true?  
I'm GUILTY and I've often been teased that I'm the most organized teacher in the world....but my husband actually tops me (he was a teacher, then a principal, now a director).  When I started my teaching career 15 years ago, I just innately knew that I had to have my "ducks in a row" all the time in order to do my job really well.  Over the past 15 years I've tried a lot of things in my classroom, in regards to organization, and most of them have worked.  But here are my Top 3 most important ways to rock classroom organization:
3)   The Home-School Binder   Since my classroom is an outer space theme, we call ours a ROCKET binder (Really Organized Children Keep Everything Together).  Inside are: a Ziploc pouch for money and notes, a folder with a label that says "Communication from School: EMPTY each night" and a homework folder that has a Ziploc pouch in it for take-home reading books.  Students also have a weekly behavior log that is tucked into the front inside pocket and is completed (by them) at the end of each day.

2)  The School Binder   I ask every student to bring a 1" white binder with front and back cover plastic pockets) to school.  Students also bring 3 folders (mandated by our district school supply list) that go into this binder.  I give students a 4th folder.  The folders get sticker labels for: Unfinished Work, Math, Writing and Science.  Any papers or resources for these subject areas are stored in the appropriate folders.  Each month students get a cover for their binder that they color and keep in the outside cover. This binder REALLY helps cure "junky desk" syndrome!

1)  A Multi-Drawered Cart   This gem sits next to my desk and helps keep me organized AND helps keep my students on track with their work.  

There is a drawer for each day of the week and I put all my lesson plans, resources, books, etc. in the drawers so I know what I'm teaching and when.  When I'm done with things, I usually put them in the very top drawer which is my "put this back in its original spot".  The original spot is usually a binder of some sort. There is also a drawer for "Next Week" lesson plans, etc. and a drawer for "Future Things".   *** On top of the cart is our Finished Work Chart and Finished Work Basket.  Students are in charge of their own work completion.  My rule is if you have any outstanding work on Friday, you must stay in at recess (which is before lunch) to complete it.  There is an "Extra" drawer if students are missing or are in need of a worksheet, etc.  I always make 2-3 more copies than necessary and stick them in this drawer.  Then there is the "Corrected Work Drawer" into which I put all work that is done and complete.  Every 2-3 weeks we pass back all those papers and kids take them home.
I hope you consider trying these ideas if you're not already doing so in your classroom!  I'd also love to know if you have any variations on these ideas or any other great organization ideas.
Vive l'organization!

2 Linky Parties for the Price of 1

It's our last full Monday of our annual summer vacation in Minnesota (home for me).  This week will be filled with a boat ride on Lake Superior with some beach hopping, fun in Minneapolis for two days (including a trip to Lakeshore Learning!!!) and a Disney Cruise in the Caribbean!  Then we fly back up to Alaska...

I love to stumble upon things...like good deals at outlet malls, a good magazine at the nail salon and linky parties!  I'm a regular over at

and am sharing a number writing class book that you can use to teach and encourage great handwriting of the numbers 0-9.  One of the things I love about the start of the school year is teaching handwriting.  I'm a stickler for neat handwriting and try my hardest to help kiddos learn, form and maintain good handwriting habits.

Click to grab this freebie!

and for the first time I'm going to link up to 

I love using picture book read-alouds to teach character education!  The concept of "seeing someone else's viewpoint" is a tough one for K-2 because kiddos are naturally very egocentric.  But these two books, which focus on ants, are great at helping students start to think and care about someone else's viewpoint.

     

I've also created a Readers' Theater play for each book and you can check out the scripts by clicking on the book covers.

Favorite Pins Friday

A day late and a dollar short...

It's Saturday and I just came across this new linky party and want to be a part of it too, even though I'm a day late :)  It's from Cara over at The First Grade Parade

Here are some pins I'm excited about for the upcoming school year:

IN GENERAL:

Class Mascot

READING:

Using tap lights for phoneme segmenting!

WRITING:

I really want my class to write and publish a book this upcoming year and open it up to individuals as well!

MATH:

Kids (especially boys) love LEGOs and I never thoughtof using them for math!

Come follow me on Pinterest!

Saturday Apps #4

Welcome to

   

Apps make the world go round....well not quite, but they do make our mobile devices go.  I stumble upon apps, I find apps on Pinterest and Facebook and seek out FREE apps on AppsGoneFree.  Some of these apps are so awesomely useful to me as a teacher that I wanted to start a weekly Linky Party to share the love and encourage others to do the same!

I will share an app or two with you and include pictures or even a video.  I would love it if you would either:  share an app with us (either by linking up -or- leaving a comment with info.) or try out the app I've recommended and let us know what you think.  Apps can be free or cost money.

If you link up, please tell us:

* the name

* the price

* what devices it works on (iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc.)

* how you use it

* why it's worth downloading

This week I'm sharing:

Space Twinkle

It's .99, works on all i devices and is SUPER relaxing!  You move your fingers around on the screen and your touch creates firework-like images and cool spa music.  This app is best on an iPad because of the large screen.  Here are some uses I can envision for it:

* Once your kiddos are off to a special (music, gym, etc.) or when they're at lunch, have a relaxing brain break at your desk!

* A reward for a behavior plan kiddo: once he/she earns so many stickers for his/her chart (or whatever you use), he/she gets to use the app with headphones in a private spot in the classroom for 1-2 minutes.

* Mirror your iPad with your SmartBoard and it can be your transition time signal.  Kids hear the music as they follow your directions on what to do next and then watch the display once they're ready.  You could even have a different student be in charge of it each time.

Click here for a review/further explanation of the app.

I can't repeat enough how relaxing this app is and the music reminds me of getting a massage at a spa!!