Happy Labor Day!

Well, we're one week down!  I'm always so thankful for a long weekend right after school starts.  Every year I forget how exhausting it is to get back in the routine!

The kiddos are pretty pumped about the first grade Daily 5, and look at our shelf of pretty book boxes!  I love how excited they were to fill them with lots of great books!

We introduced close reading and started discussing how to talk about books.  This was a lot of fun to do with Lily's Purple Plastic Purse!  

And next week week we will start our math Daily 3.  I plan on putting a sample of each days worksheets/game materials in those little pockets so students see what we're working on.  I'll use the math writing as our whole group warm up, and then let the students complete the other two centers while I work with a small group.

And now, off  to catch up on some much needed sleep!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Tomorrow!

TOMORROW!!!  The first day with students!!  I feel like my 'to do' list is just as long as it was two weeks ago...eeeek!  I spent most of yesterday cutting out math flash cards with my new paper cutter...woo woo!  Only a teacher would be this excited about having a paper cutter at home! =)

Our new principal isn't a big fan of spelling tests (and let's face it, who is?), so our team is switching up the way we do our spelling homework this year.  Each student will have an individualized list, and each night they will choose an activity from our spelling menu to practice their words.  We will assess informally for mastery of words before adding new ones to the list.
 

Click above to nab your free copy!

Last year I fell in love with the Daily 5, and I'm looking forward to getting it up and running again.  This year, I'm also going to give the math Daily 3 a try (math writing, math by myself, math with a friend).  It's not drastically different from the way my math block was set up last year, but I like the idea of incorporating all three things each day.  I think it makes for an easier routine for the kids (and for myself!)

Now onto the next projects...

Loving this idea from Inspired by Kindergarten and can't wait to make it!  Unfortunately, when we went to Target yesterday, it was pouring down rain...So no black poster board for me, I decided to wait until it wouldn't get drenched the minute we got out of the store!

Also itching to create a classroom writing menu, like this one from The Clutter Free Classroom!  I've seen several cute ones on Pinterest and I've been wanting to put one together for MONTHS...just a matter of time and priority!  I'm hoping my intern or some parent volunteers can help me hammer this out.  It's such a nice visual for the kids.

Alright, off to go finish these math flash cards!!  Good luck on your first day everyone!! =)

New Year, New Goal!

 I fully admit that I have been downright TERRIBLE at updating this blog on a regular basis.  So it's one of my goals this school year, and I am going to make sure I get better at posting!  This year is going to be really amazing!  I get my first intern, I have an awesome new neighbor, I decided on getting a class pet this year, and I just got a brand new Promethean Board!  I have 26 wonderful firsties in my class, and can't wait to get started.  Here's a little peek into my room!

View from the door...

 

And what I'm most excited about in my classroom...my Promethean Board! =)

My cozy reading corner and class library...

Where I'll have my guided reading groups and word wall...

Another little reading space, complete with aquarium!  I still have to get some fish, it's on my short list!  I found the chairs for six bucks each at Wal-Mart this summer!

And yet another cozy little reading nook...got the rug from an awesome and generous K teacher!

And finally, my soon-to-be Wall of Fame!  Bought these at Micheal's last year.  I spend too much money at that store!

Can't wait for the room to be filled with kiddos soon!  Two days until open house! =)

Happy 100th Day!

Guess what day Friday was?!?

The 100th day is always one of my favorites and I plan lots of fun activities for my students.  It's a great way to celebrate how far we've come!  First, we brainstormed 100 reasons why we love our school!  Each student received a handful of hearts, and I asked them to write a few words on each one about what makes our school special.  When we put them together, we had 100 hearts and 100 reasons why we love our school!

I kinda took over the hallway with the rest of our activities! =)

All day I threw out cool little factoids about the number 100, and then we completed an activity to go along with them.

Our football discussion got a bit heated! Some of my firsties are hardcore fans!! =)

 This last activity was one of my faves.  During the discussion of sounds that we can make, one student raised his hand and quite seriously responded, "fart".  No giggle, no smile, just an honest, straightforward response!  We discussed it and decided not to put it on the chart, but it definitely made us giggle a bit!

And of course, we made our 100 day crowns to wear all day.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic! =(

The past few weeks we've been working on addition and subtraction fluency within 20.  I found winter foam stickers in Target's clearance section...SCORE!  So I gave each student a collection of stickers, two shapes for each child.  They had to sort, peel and stick, and then write an equation to match.  They had a lot of fun with it!

Then I told my students I was going to give them a bit of a challenge.  I put three numbers on my easel, and asked them to write as many true addition equations as they could containing those numbers.  Some of them really rose to the occasion.  The responses were awesome!

This is definitely an exercise that we will continue to do!  Maybe subtraction next time!