Postives

This long week is almost over. I did have a few rough spots, but here are a few of the positives from the week!

Here are some things that I am loving right now:

-My class. I ADORE them! I know I've said it before, but love that I have 11 "loopers"!

-Daily 5: We have launched 4 our of 5 so far and they are doing SO well! What I love about it for the start of the year is that it has allowed me to individually teach the new grade ones how to do our AR comprehension tests AND I have been able to get some of my assessments done. So great!

-My Colleagues. Whether it is de-stressing after a long day or sharing a laugh at the cute things our kids say, it is so refreshing to work with AMAZING people!

-Art. That's a given. Nuf said!

-Cooler weather. PLEASE don't shoot me! I like that my kids aren't sweating like crazy and we don't have to have fans on in the classroom. I LIKE that I can wear clothes without trying to figure out if my straps are wide enough for dress code!

-School-Wide Devotions: Our school has started meeting every Thursday for devotions (which we normally do in our own rooms every morning). We gather in the Grade 7/8 room and sing 3 or 4 songs together. It's really nice to see the whole school body together every week! It's also very convenient for announcements and to award...

-THE SILVER SNEAKER! We have a new award for clean hallways. Our custodian and the Principal are working together to award the Silver Sneaker to the class that has had the neatest hallway for the week. Today is the first day...my kids wants it SO BAD! They are always reminding their classmates of where things need to be OR, even better, stopping to straighten someone else's belongings. Some of the other teacher think the size 17 shoe sprayed silver is ugly and would rather not have it in their class (which is more motivation for their students) but I like to WIN! Stayed tuned for results!

-Volunteers. We have had a number of steady, weekly volunteers sign up for this year. It's great to know when we can expect them! We also have a Co-op student from the high school (an alumni of our school). She is in our school EVERY MORNING until January! We have a schedule so she can help out in different classes. It's nice to have her come and in and help with assessments or read with my kids.

That's all for now. Today is Art day so I hope to post some pictures of our projects later this week.

I am linking up with Ms Kerri and her Krazy Kindergarteners to share some positivity. Maybe it will brighten your day!

See you soon!

Cooperative Musical Chairs

Well, today we had a great day. Besides our Fire Drill, it was a generally regular day of classes. We started Element number 2 of our Daily 5: Work on Writing. The highlight of the day was during math class. We have been talking about counting and strategies to know which group has more without counting (pairing things up like chairs and kids) Then we played a game of "Cooperative Musical Chairs". It's similar to regular musical chairs EXCEPT no one gets out. When the chairs start disappearing, students need to find a way to let everyone sit (sharing chairs or sitting on laps). It was a loud and excited game. The Resource Teacher came in during the chaos and laughed out loud! Here is a picture! It was a lot of fun! Near the end, things did get a little rough and we had a few sore knees. A few boys decided they needed to jump on top of the group, crowd surfing style, but no big deals and there was lots of laughter.

Talk to you soon!

First Week Done

Well, the first week has come and gone and I'm exhausted! We had a great week together. No major issues. Here are some of the things we accomplished: 

We practiced Calendar and Morning Meeting 

We managed to make it to 11 minutes of Read to Self! That's an eternity for 6 year olds!

We learned about choosing Good Fit books and got to take some from the library today.

We reviewed our numbers and went for a number hunt through magazines.

We sang lots of songs.

We reviewed A-K

We read lots of books and added 3 strategies to the CAFE board.

We learned why our parents chose our names and what they mean to us.

We created these adorable Torn Paper Name art. (As seen on Marvelous Multiagers from Fabulous Firsties)

I also LOVE Mrs Mabe's Teaching Promise:

 

 Well, I'm off to get some much needed rest. 

See You Soon!