teaching process skills with junk! and a freebie

for the past week and a half my kiddos have been playing with bowls of junk from the world of my closet! old hair bows, pieces of sponge, shells, pipe cleaner, snap cubes, clothespins, you know all the junk we collect though the years!

I have seriously had these ol’ bowls for the past 9 years-with the same stuff in them! {minus the gum cause it loses a little something after awhile}. Initially my teammie and I taught process skills to our 4th graders with this stuff. Later I used them for teaching about characteristics of matter to my 2nd graders.

Well, I broke them out again and we learned all about the process skills in science. I honestly forget I have them until they topple over on my head.

We’ve had a blast and it was all free! We will begin our first unit, my fav MATTER!, this week. My grade level decided we should teach the process skills prior to our first unit to get the kids in the right frame of mind. So, I took what we used with our 4th graders, edited it for wee ones, cutesyified it, and believe it or not-changed some of the skills because someone decided science has changed in the past decade!

 

for whatever reason, the wording on this thing was a beast! I had Mr. Lamb listening to me read sentences several times to help with sentence structure. See-real world applications! Here’s some of the unit in action plus there is a freebie at the end of the post!

some observation-students choose one item to observe and share about {communication}

here’s some classifying! Shoo!

And here’s the freebie! Classifying with shoes. It’s nothing new, but it is always a hit! click to download. I may add a little assessment later on, so I’ll let you know!

and in other news, if you’ve emailed me in the past, ol week or so, sorry I haven’t responded! about a month ago we decided to build a new home, put ours up for sale and stay at my mom’s empty house. Well, we moved out {somewhat} and are now at her house. It took maybe a day for Mr. Lamb to decide he missed living less than a minute from work and 10 minutes to get anywhere else! So it looks like we will be renovating and heading back home in a few months.

in the meantime, outside of the city limits we have some new neighbors! right in the backyard!

  

weed pie

just some giggles today really. Second graders are excellent sources of laughter.
Today was dirt day at school
we received a grant for planting veggies. We decided that each grade level will have their very own garden. Dressed down in our old duds, we headed out to a common area to begin the process. Our kiddos were in charge of painting soybean oil on the wooden raised beds {who knew this kept buggies out!} and laying landscape fabric. My teammie and I got to use the staple gun! That's the most workout my arms have had in a long while!

after this little bit of fun, we had our green thumbs on so we headed to our garden {our project last year} to pull weeds. It looked horrible! Our sunflowers are HUGE, but to the drooping point and we definitely need more mulch. But boy you tell a kid to pull weeds and they go to town! I supervised from the window.
After about 15 minutes of pulling, one little came up and said we needed to make some weed pie! Hey, whatever makes the day go by!

I'm thinking we need to plant those! Tomorrow I plan towhip up some kind of cutie carrot or broccoli {broccoli man is a clss favorite reading buddy} make some lil' garden cuties after reading my book from IKEA. It's called Heroes of the Vegetable Patch. I read it to my own last week and it's precious! I'll be sure to share!

The race begins...for fun fluency practice

I mentioned our poetry race last week and had a few requests to share more. Now that we are partially settled in our "tweener" home I have a little time!!
My teammie found the idea over the summer and we ran with it.
What I do: I hand out a typed up poem each Monday. I just visit giggle poetry or break open a Silverstein anthology and break a few copyright laws on the copier. So far we've used homework, oh homework by Bruce lansky and my fish can ride a bicycle by shel Silverstein. They loved them both!
What they do: After cutting out the poem and gluing it in (on the right side only of our notebook) I read it aloud and they follow. Then they read it a few times to themselves. The next day we read it to a partner two times. On Wednesday we go across the hall and read to a few peeps in a different class. On Thursday and Friday we read again to partners. Each time we read it aloud, the listener signs the back of the page. I informed them I am a verified handwriting expert and will know if they sign others' names. They'll try to get away with anything!
A few others things I may include are sending a copy home and having them read to staff members. I don't want to send the notebook because I'm anal about them falling apart in the slightest way.
Now the BIG deal is the trophy. This is comprised of a pack of four mini trophies from the dollar tree hot glued together. It's a big deal y'all! Each Monday morning I count the signatures. The kiddo with the most gets to keep the trophy on their desk for the whole week.
Here's a few pictures. I haven't made anything printable because I'm trying NOT to! The easier the better.
The return. Not only are the using expression like their amazing reader of a teacher, they are memorizing and wanting to copy owns in their writers journals! Who knew poetry and fluency was fun!
Happy reading! I promise to share some goodies soon. I am in the midst of teaching process skills prior to starting our matter unit and am loving what we are doing!

the chicken bones kid

I have found many odd things in desks in the past 9 years, but Monday was a first!

Math is scooting along swimmingly. I am in need of a set of “secret code cards” from our manipulative kit to demonstrate with. I go to an absent student's desk to grab their math bag. I find a napkin and ever so gingerly nip at it with my finger tips. and out falls…chicken bones…..

GAG! Gag!!

at this point I know I let out a slight scream as they fall into the floor. If one had touched me I would have died…literally. {think Rachel Zoe} Obviously this kind of interrupted the math lesson. But it had to be taken care of. A few kiddos came to my aid. None would touch them either though! We got the little broom and dust pan. I closed my eyes and held my breath while swatting it them. gag

I really for sorry for the kid when they return. Probably be called “the chicken Bones Kid”  for the rest of the year

and yes, I actually took a picture because I had to send it to Mr. Lamb. I refuse to eat anything off a bone. He mocks. I gag

in happier news I can’t wait to share about our new poetry notebooks. My friend Katie told me about a poetry race she found over the summer. I tweaked it so I wouldn’t have to do too much work and the kids are in love! And I’m in love with the expression and fluency!

I’m currently benchmarking all the kiddos on mClass, but here’s a picture only a teacher would understand. Sorting my kids into spelling groups while waiting in the drive thru line! multi-tasking at its best! Looks like 5 groups this year!

So, let’s hear about some odd things you’ve seen in kids’ desks!! I wish I had time to join in the great stuff over at Blog Hoppin’, but I just can’t get it together until at least September!

look what I made...and what I bought!

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' to share the goods I snagged during TpTs sale! I love a good sale and had stocked my wishlist with more than 50 items. But in the end, and after some real deep thinking, I ended up buying just these.

I am so excited to amp up my guided math this year. Last year I only did it on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I'll be going all week this year. I picked up all of Hope King's monthly math centers. I chose hers because I knew our curriculum was the same and I wouldn't have to pick and choose!

I also picked up Lesson Plan SOSs Reading Binder add on since I own the rest. I love the rockin' reader craftivity. We will be making those next week as we continue learning the expectations in our classroom for Daily 5.
Unfortunately, I did not know that Kristen {lady bug teacher files} had added genre labels. If you saw my room pictures from Monday, you saw my labels are old and falling off. I used Beth Newingham's labels from the beginnings of my library because they were cute, free, and extensive. But I have grown as a lover of cutieness, and I had to pick up Kristen's! I then saw that Christina Bainbridge created a read with someone pack and got it for 60 cents with my leftover TpT credits!

Now on to what I made. I haven't gotten to post on Tara's Made it Monday in a few weeks, but I had to share my teammate gifts. Last year I made Wooden letters for our doors. This year I obsessed with the burlap signs on etsy! I had to make them!
They were super easy, but messy. I used acrylic on one of them and I highly recommend shelling out for fabric paint because it just glides on the burlap. I had to tap, tap, and tap with acrylic and go over it again. I just folded the fabric over and freehand cut the shapes. Then I had a front and back. I painted them using ideas from etsy, put our names on them, then some ribbon! They are stuffed with grocery bags and glued all around the edges with hot glue. I then cut off the scraps around the edge.  I love them!!!

here's the original pin that inspired me

Source: rowdyinroom300.blogspot.com via Tricia on Pinterest

and here's where I got the lettering to look at. I have to look at someone's font or handwriting and copy it!

Source: google.com via Rachel on Pinterest

We started partner reading today. They are pretty natural at this! I was pleased!

and just for good humor...here's my own personal child's reading log he fills out...

little einsteins and a few more pictures

As always, Amy Lemons has come to save the day with her amazingly cute and creative ideas {and of course they meet my standards, too!} I am loving her Let’s Get Started Math pack! Monday we brainstormed what a mathematician is after taking our BOY benchmark test. That was fun…the chart not the test

My math man is a little “hitler-ish” but they didn’t notice!

I had to tell them all about my 5’ Einstein too! He stands in the corner of the room sporting a Do the Math badge I cut off a box of folders from walmart!

Here’s our little mathematicians craft from today. Some students had to guess at a lot of answers finish the benchmark test, so I did this with a few at a time. I warned them all on Day 1 we’d be doing lots of crafts! Their cutting skills do not disappoint!

here is a good range of creativity and neatness…don’t you love the rolled up paper mustache and beard??

I do have some snapshots of parts of the room I feel are ok to share. I’m still getting there.

Our Power Standards board from WBT. Every single person that comes in the room touches this paper! It’s fadeless paper. It’s awesome! On the back of this board is a whiteboard that serves as out word wall. The board flips over.
fadeless paper {AC Moore $9}
letters and paisley cut outs {CTP}

my minilesson shelf. Those are my normal read aloud books for minilessons in reading, math, science, ss, and writing. Also houses some task cards, vocab cards for the word wall to the left, and more junk.

same schedule clocks and clock numbers as last year, but made our thinking maps a little more fun. I hate if things are not straight, so I always tilt stuff. Learned that from my momma!

our scoreboard right underneath the clock. Happy sock monkey…

CAFÉ board to the right. I am still teetering on changing these to the owls to match my so-called theme. Not sure I can give up the Oz though!
Paper {fadeless Lime green from mardel}
boarders and paisleys {CTP dots on turquoise}
Oz CAFÉ free from my TpT store}
CAFÉ strategy cards {cannot remember what blog, but Gingersnaps has some great free ones I will end up with!}

my computer desk next to the “sound of the week” board. We start official WTW and phonics next week so pictures to come. Love the desktop? Snagged this idea from Reagan’s room pictures!
Desk {IKEA 20$ total}
Chair {IKEA 22$}
Birdy D5 posters on wall {First Grade Giggles and Grins}
Birds painting {free because I made it. Just took plywood off the back of a bookshelf, painted it, and cup scrapbook paper birdies. I used Elmer’s Spray Adhesive and it’s been prefect!}
trash can {free came with room}

here’s the fiction section of our library. I color code my baskets. Please ignore the pile of book on the bottom shelf. They are new books awaiting a basket. This is how I teach and review genres! I also had a few basket labels pop off today! boo!

Baskets {Sterilite from Target $3 each}
Books {too much to mention here. Mr. Lamb may read it}
hideous shade of pink on the walls {again, free}

here’s the fiction banner above this area of the library. We cannot cover any outlets, so the eye sore stays.

pennants {Target $5.99}
letters are from the poster board packs of sticky letters {{these are the neon ones} I did have to dab hot glue on the backs.
pennant border {CTP $4}

here’s the fiction chapter book section. They are green. Again you can see how my labels have popped off when we pulled the baskets…The two pink baskets are poetry books. One has compilations, the other are books written as poems. I cannot come up with labels for these other than “poetry”! You can also see my book hosptial, book shopping poster, and framed Harry potter quote. I have framed quotes all over. I find ones I like on etsy or other blogs, save them as picture files, and print to the size I need using Microsoft picture manager {which is probably on your PC standard}. I pin most of them here on my Word Up board.
small green baskets {sterilite from Target $3 each}
pink baskets $4 each {these are the “medium” size}
pink frame {BTS section of Target $5}

 

this is what will house my GR stuff. My group baskets on top hold their books past, current, and next. The middle are our data binder, but I will be using folder this year. On the bottom are my teacher manuals.
lamp {Target $20}
solar flower {Dollar Tree}
group baskets {DOllar spot about 3 years ago}
scorpion in the cage {$25 from Petco} =) he’s decorated with Martha Stewart flowers, too!

Reading ribbons board. It still says AR from last year, but it won’t for long. I told you I have a lot to do! I am using Hope’s Oh Snap reading incentives this year.
Ribbons {Hobby Lobby $4 each} Yep, there are sock monkeys up there!}

My standards board. I spent the most time thinking about this. Last year it had my favorite tree on it. I planned on using it for attendance and never did. But I love how it looked so it stayed all year! I needed to display my standards and couldn’t figure out how on my tree. But, then I remembered I had this old tree pocket chart. I never use it because the posters sag, but I stapled the heck out of it and now it’s perfect!
tree {Oriental Trading $10}
Owl {cricut from a friend!}
Standards cards {$6 from my TpT store-these are the half size kid-friendly version}
arthritis {free from cutting them out}

That’s all for now!

Back to School sale and week one

 

First up! Both my stores are on sale! 30% off at TN and 20% at TpT {plus am additional 10% off with the code BtS12}

 

{beautiful sign courtesy of Amy Lemons-go link up at Blog Hoppin’!}

AND

Well, one successful week down and my room still is complete. But 7 year olds sure do not notice! What they DO notice: I eat fudge Pop Tarts each morning, I set my drink down and lose it constantly, I have to “back up and reread” a lot {for real so it makes for perfect CAFÉ minilessons!}, I love crafts, and I love my pencil sharpeners.

Here are a few pictures from our first week. I never feel like I accomplish much, but it is all procedures. I really like my kiddos. They talk a a lot, but since we had a super short summer, we are still on summertime! Myself included!

Here’s our math manipulatives exploration time. I always have them take everything out, find an item, then return it to the bag to kind of inventory and refill lost items to bags from the previous year; but this year I used Amy’s tools vs. Toys minilessons! Great for this time! Here they have chosen 4 items and writing what they think they are used for.

Here’s a Read to Self practice session. Day one we got to 00:02:31. I am so pleased four out of five classes used at least some D5 last year! It makes this time so much better! fyi:00:08:53 on Friday!!

On day one we were introduced to the 5 classroom rules {from WBT}. I used the free ones from wbt and they fill out what the rule is, what it looks like, what it means I should do. It was our first cooperative activity {also from Amy} and went really well. Now I will hang my own versions up!

and here is an actual-real-life-picture of my classroom I snapped as I left Friday. I swear I will take more. You can see my favorite update in the back. I used those pennant banners from Target {they are in the party aisle} above each section of our library. The one you see says “fiction” and obviously the other to my right says “nonfiction”. I just used those neon letter stickies from the poster board aisles!

The desks are pulled apart so the floors might get swept before Monday. And my pretty Martha Stewart flowers have already been axed, but they are staying up until I am forced to remove them {and I mean using actual force because I love them!}