Disaster Areas, all about books, moments to remember, and a freebie!

Yep! Lots to talk about today! See, my computer went NUTS over the weekend.  We have something called "Z Scaler" on the computers school gave us for protections and I have never had a problem with using it at home [and my personal computer died].  Of course, this weekend I went to look up some things to help me plan blog stalk, and it refused to let me get on the internet! Rawr! To make a long story short, it's working now and now it's time to catch up! :)

If you haven't already check out the Clutter Free Classroom challenge this year, Check it out by clicking on the picture below!  As a first year teacher, this is going to be perfect for me to get things all ready and organized for next year!  

I posted my not so bad pictures last week.. you can check them out {here}

Here are my more embarrassing, I'm in need of some organization pictures...

                                                

Well, there are my embarrassing pictures.  Hopefully by the end of the year, we will be able to see a transformation   Join the challenge too!

Getting tired? Hang in there, it'll be worth it... I hope!

All About Books

Last week, we started working on writing All About Books!  The kids are l.o.v.i.n.g it! So am I!  I especially love to see the ones who think out of the box and think of things that you wouldn't expect.  Or even to hear how much they know about something that you didn't even know they enjoyed!

These we're our lessons for the beginning of this unit (This one includes LOTS of planning!!)

Lesson 1: Writer's can think about something they know all about.  We brainstormed the things that we know a whole lot about.  Things that we could really talk about in a book.  We also talked about really making sure it's something you know all about and like!  For example: I really love giraffes, but I don't know a lot about them so I couldn't tell that much about them, but I do know a lot about my dog Kole, playing field hockey, and Teaching! so I could definitely write an All About book about any of those.

Lesson 2: Writer's plan their All About book by planning their chapters and thinking, "Do I know enough about this topic?"

For this lesson, we talked about what the main ideas that we wanted to include in our book were.  We decided as a class to write All About HES, our school!  We are going to make lots of copies to hand to all the families who will be going on Kindergarten tours! So we decided that we needed to include chapters about: Finding HES, School Mascot, Who can go to HES, Who are the principal and vice principal, The School Song, Why you should come to HES.  We knew lots more!! But decided that these were the most important things.  I think I'm actually missing one chapter too.  Then they went off on their own to see if they knew enough about the topic they chose.

Lesson 3: Writer's plan their chapters to think about what they need to include in each chapter.

For this lesson, we took of our chapters, "Finding HES" and thought about what we would need to include in the chapter. We decided we would want to make sure we included: our city & state, the street that it is on, and that there is a school over on the next block so to be careful.  We also decided it would be a good idea to tell them about our Red, Blue, and White sign out front, and the banners on the building to help them know when they are in the right spot.

Lesson 4: Writer's use their plans to write their chapters.

Here's where we get into the fun!  We talked about how great writer's always have their plan next to them when they are writing so they can be sure they don't forget anything.  This was our lesson today. We planned another chapter first, "Our Mascot." Then we used our plan to get writing!  We talked about how now, our information is going to be organized and in complete detailed sentences.  Lots of modeling helps, of course! :)  Then, we talked about what we've noticed when we are reading non fiction.  It looks a lot different than fiction with diagrams, labels, photos, etc.  I told them that if they had an idea for a way they wanted a page to look that they could draw it out for me, and I could print a page like that.  You could just have them cut/paste paper in there to make it a little easier.  I'm just nuts.  Next year, I'll probably have them do the cut & paste thing.

I am SO happy with the way these books are coming out.  I think this is probably the best writing we've done so far this year! We've had a few bumps and tiny bruises with a few students, but for the most part, their writing it turning out really well!

Moments to Remember

It's only Tuesday and already two things have happened this week that have just put the biggest most ginormous smile on my face.

1- I have a few students who I was really debating getting those "Classic Starter Books" for.  You know, the ones like Heidi, and Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, etc etc.  I finally decided to buy just 2 of them, to see if they'd be interested.  Well, I gave one of my little boys "Pinocchio" and one of my girls, "The Adventures of Dr. Dolittle."  I noticed that my little boy had already read 50 pages in it today.  I asked him if he was enjoying it and with a big smile on his face he said, "Yeah! I was telling mom that I really don't like the books we have in the library, I really like the books you read and I wanted more books like that.  I like this book a lot!  I want more like this!" Oh.My.Gosh. I just love him!  He's the one who has reread EVERY book we've read aloud because he loves them so much!  I can't wait to get more of these books for him.  If anybody has any suggestions for books for him or my other ones, please send them my way!

2- When we were planning our "School Mascot" section in our All About book today we were talking about how dolphins describe us and what we can say that are the same about dolphins in the sea, and dolphins at HES.  One of my little darlings said, "Well... A momma dolphin always takes care of her baby dolphin, just like you take care of us!" Talk about {Melt.My.Heart}!!

And now, for the best part of all.. A Freebie!  If you've stuck with me this long, you definitely deserve it :).  Hope you got some ideas from it too!  Here are the organizers we used to plan our All About Book!  Just click on one of the pictures.  They'll take you to my TPT to download because my google drive is being slow!  Hope you enjoy it :)

Tell me Something Good!

Did anybody else start singing when they saw this linky party? "Something tells me I'm into something gooood!"  Hope I didn't break your windows.  My little sis is the singer in the family, not me! 

Anyway.. My computer went berserk at the end of the week and kept me from using the internet.  Today when I turned it on - Ta da! It worked.  Yay!  (It's still acting a little crazy- but I think we'll make it through the day!) HOWEVER, this is kinda bad because instead of planning for the week, I've been blog stalking.  Oh well!  I'm pretty sad I missed out on the "Magical Swap" Linky party so I'm going to link up with Jennifer over at Rowdy in First Grade for her "Tell me Something Good" party.  All you need to do is tell something good at school and at home.  Go ahead, what are you waiting for? Link up!

At School: I was out on Thursday for a workshop.  I made this whole smart board file for my sub to follow and had everything nicely put on my kidney table, sticky noted, and ready to go.  First thing in her notes said "Best organized classroom ever!"

At Home: We are starting to look for our very own house!  *Fingers Crossed* that everything works out!  We've found some that we are really in love with, so hoping that things go as smoothly as possible.

Hope y'all have a great week! :)

Smile Moments

When do you and your little kiddos ever get a chance to just relax for 5 minutes without worrying about what standard the activity aligns with, if it's going to be on the test, or about it wasting time?  I'm sure there's a good number of teachers in 1 of 3 categories.

*Never

*Do brain breaks/recess count?

*Everyday!

Well today, I'm going to introduce you to a new type of fun that you can have in your classroom.  A way to get kids laughing and just having a good time without worrying about the assignment that have to complete.  It's ok to have a little down time every once in a while!  I got this idea from another teacher I work with and if we ever go a week without this, my loves ask and ask and ask.  This fun is called: Smile moments! :D

So what is a smile moment?  Once a week, I choose a funny picture, video, joke, or anything else I can find that will give the class a good laugh.  During morning meeting, usually on Thursdays or Fridays, we have anywhere from 1-5 minutes to just relax and have our "Smile Moment"  The kiddos LOVE this day.  It's the second favorite, behind their share day of course!  Here are some of their favorite videos:

This is by far their absolute favorite.  They are often asking me if we can just watching this AGAIN for our smile moment.  Then they have it stuck in their head the entire day!  It's catchy, I don't blame them! :)

I just love love love this little one. Oh.My.Gosh adorable!  

They LOVED this especially towards the beginning of the year when this song was first huge!

The baby that freaks at the sound of mom blowing her nose just cracks me up!

I wasn't sure how they'd take this one.  But then I remembered they are 7.  Even if they didn't really "get" it per-say, they still thought it was pretty hilarious.

There's a TON more out there.  Sometimes I even throw in a funny video of my dog.  Like when he thought he could swim in the snow.  Or when he was scared of the scare crow hanging in my hallway for Halloween.  Sometimes the kids just want to tell a joke.  I'm pretty much open to anything appropriate!

How do you incorporate relaxing fun into your classroom?

Oh and before I go, here's a video for you!

You tell 'em Girlfrand!

A room full of clutter... PART 1

Are you ready for this? Can you handle it? Clutter-Free Classroom Challenge: Week 1- Pictures!

3...

2...

1... 

Here we go!

Here's my library- it looks pretty good, but if you get a little closer, you'd see that my Non-fiction section needs a SERIOUS makeover!

Oh look, organization!  Math/Word Work is all stored here. I'm pretty proud of this, but it could always use improvement.

I have so many bins that I'm not using right now!  I really should just purge them.  They were sitting on top of the kids lockers but they kept annoying me because it just looked so cluttered, so I put them in my little microwave cart.  The crate on top is a bunch of books that need to get brought to the book store.. I just haven't had the chance to get there so it is CLUTTERING my room! uggghhh

OK, so this isn't so bad.  But look in the corner there.  Yep, the bottom left, see under the sink?  This is where the clutter monster hides all of his things!

Oh yea, and this is on the inside of that cabinet in the picture above. Terrible!

Ahh! Books that need to get put into my library.  No time! :( They get thrown here.  Ugh, it makes me sad just looking at this.  All those poor books not getting read by those eager kids.  TRAGEDY! Oh and that crate looks pretty organized...right?  Everything I need to file in their folders is in front- disorganized.  I'm good at hiding clutter sometimes!!

 I need a better way to organize our Science experiment materials.  Oh and that's our friend, Zippy over there.  He could use a new spot too!

Oh Lawd.  This is the indoor recess & math materials cabinet.  It WAS all organized.  The recess equipment I blame the kids on (bad I know).  Math? Noone to blame there but me.. I'm usually SO good at keeping things organized!

Pathetic. This is where our construction paper is that the kids can use. I have my own stash in my cabinet that is untouchable by kids.  OK- I blame this one on them too {Shame Shame Shame on me}

I tried to organize!  Our  Brain Busters/Task Cards.  They were hung beautifully on the cabinet.  Each ring of task cards had their own little hook.  But they all fell off because my room is super duper hot, then super freezing.  But mostly, it's just super hot. So this is what happened to them. Crammed into a little bin.

And this is only part of it.. I dropped my phone at this point & then my camera decided to be a boob.  Hoping tomorrow I'll be able to take the rest.  There is one area I'm super proud of!  Oh and another that I'm even a bit embarrassed to show.  But I will!  For the sake of the Clutter-Free Classroom project!

Now let's get to de-cluttering!

Oh BTW, have you thought about joining this project?? Check out Clutter-Free Classroom!

See my other disaster pictures {here}!!

Phew I made it!

Yay! Made it through the first day back!  The first day back is always usually the easiest.  Kiddos are well rested, ready to get back to learning, and on their best behavior.  Well, {most} of them are!  Ah yes, I did have 2 little ones who pushed my buttons a bit today.  They just can't sit still or stop talking!  Bless their hearts, they are just so full of energy & always want to share, share, share.  As crazy as they drive me sometimes, no matter how much I want to rip out my hair, I wouldn't want my room any other way.  We never have a dull day and I usually have a good story to tell!

My laugh today... When we sat on the carpet this morning I noticed that the carpet was like super close to my chair.  I felt like the kiddos were right on top of me.  So I just happened to be like "Whoa, y'all are REALLY close you're kind of in my bubble a little bit" to which one of my little lovelies replied, "We're like your little minions!" MINIONS? You are 7 how do you even know what that word means!  I couldn't help but give a little chuckle.  Later- my fiancee politely reminded me that minions are the little guys in Despicable Me. Duh!

Onward...Monday's are super long days for us.  No break from 7:35-12:20 Yuck!  So today we did lots of reviewing rules, routines, & expectations; reading our favorite books, writing about our holiday and vacation, and practicing keeping our room clean (I hate, hate, hate when it gets messy- which may surprise you when you see my "Clutter-Free Classroom Week 1 challenge pictures).  One thing that we did today in Math was start our graphing unit.  I'm like 2 weeks behind 2 of the other teachers and about 2 days ahead of the other, so I'm squeezing this unit into 1 week.  The kiddos basically get it already so no need to spend too much time.  So this is how we started our unit.  I SO wish I took pictures during this because it was just great, but totally forgot to whip out my camera.  Sorry guys :(

I posed them this question: 

This weekend, I went to the store and bought a fun size pack of M&Ms.  Now I want to compare the colors in one pack to see how many there are of each.  How can I figure out which color has the most and which has the least?  

Then, I gave them each a fun size pack of M&Ms and asked them to solve it.  Of course about 3/4 of them put them into piles but the other 1/4 put them into rows.  Then comes my coaching, "Oh WOW, Marissa is putting them into rows.  I can see without even counting that in her pack there were 2 more reds than greens.  Joshua put his into piles. I can still figure out that his pack had 1 less brown than yellow, but it took me a little longer because I had to count." BAM- everyone starts putting their M&Ms in rows.  I LOVE to pose these problems to them because they start to question their thinking and try to understand others *Common Core Math Practices!*  Last, we transferred our info to a graph with a title & labels.  And don't forget to eat the M&M's.  They had a blast! Of course I was "the best" because I brought them candy for math. WINNING! Tomorrow we will practice the language of comparison & solving word problems using graphs.

While we're on the topic of math, here are some Common Core Math Practice Task Cards.  {This Set} is for K-3.  Use these task cards to help your kids use the 8 mathematical practices to solve their math problems.  Great to use for math journals & quick assessments!  {This Set} is for Grades 3-8.  It comes with task cards to use for each practice before the students solve the problem & after.

Hope you had a great first day back if you started back today, and if you were unfortunate enough to go back last week, hope you had a great first Monday back!  Check back soon for my collection of  my crazy Clutter-Free Full room!

Don't miss these awesome giveaways!

Quick blog post today to let you know of a few major awesome giveaways going on.  Seriously, don't miss them!!

First- Sugar & Spice is celebrating her 1 year blogging anniversary!  She is giving away her ENTIRE store.  Yes you read that right. her whole TPT store!  You don't want to miss out on this one, she's got a ton of great stuff!

Next- Renee over at Fantastic First Grade Froggies is hosting a "Thank You" giveaway.  She's got 5 different prize packs full of great stuff!  My Common Core Math practice task cards are in one of them!

And while you're at it, don't miss out on Sam's 200 follower giveaway over at Mrs. Kelly's Klass.  She's got 3 different prize packs great for primary grades including my "Word a Day- Incorporating Vocabulary Building into Everyday Plans"

I'm sure there are a ton of other giveaways going on right now, but these are the ones I've found.  Don't miss out!  

Also... If you're looking for a way to get more organized this year, think about joining The Clutter Free Classroom Project 2013! Focusing on just 1 task a week is an easy and doable way to get your classroom more organized and make your life less stressful!

I am off to get myself ready to head back to school tomorrow for 10 crazy weeks after 3 totally relaxing ones.  I could use a little extra time, I'm just enjoying it too much!  Oh well- Happy Sunday!

Free-Write-Fridays

Let me tell you a little bit about my class.. and I stress a little!  My little ones are bringing me quite the adventure this year.  Quirky, challenging, pushing the envelope (In good ways & bad), and of course don't forget just plain ole fun.  So here's that little bit... They stink are not the best at working together.

7 &  8 year olds

Can't work together

Would woulda thunk it?

Usually their collaborative projects involve arguments, "I don't want to work with her/him"s, He/She isn't do their part, he/she is goofing around, "But I don't WANT to do that one, I want to do this one!"  "MS G!!!" 

 My OH My, the lovely world of second grade.  It has been a real struggle helping them become fabulous collaborators.  Recently during one of our Writer's Workshops, a few of my kiddos came up to me.  They had already finished the piece we were working on and I don't make them start a new piece with the same guidelines.  If they finish, and I have approved, they are given the choice to write either another piece that goes along with our objective or anything else (Usually they finish with a day or 2 left before we're moving on anyway...)

So onward with my story- a few of my lovelies came up to me and asked if they could write a story together.. REALLY! 

My little non collaborators...

asked me...

 if they could work in a group.

DUH!!  How could I turn up a chance to see them collaborating?  And they did Ah-mazing.  The next day when some of my other little friends finished, they too asked if they could work with someone else to write a story.  WHAT? Why yes, you may!  *As my insides are jumping for joy, I remain cool, calm, and collected* The next day, as I looked around the room, I had a few kiddos with me, another couple working quietly at their desks, and the last bunch of them working in small groups, working together to write a story.  We talk SO much about adding details and writing so your reader can really picture what you are talking about that I even saw one group acting out their story!  Just so they wouldn't miss any details!  Serious awesomeness, no joke.  

Well, I just loved to see this wonderful collaborative team work and we just didn't have enough time at the end of each unit..  Plus, a few groups are working on some chapter books that they are SUPER excited about that I decided to implement... {drum roll please} 

Free Write Fridays!  

The rules are simple: 

• You must be writing.  

• If you choose to work in a group you must work together and solve problems in a mature second grade manner.  Make smart choices!

• Free Write Friday is a privilege, I expect to see what you worked on after every Free Write Friday and if I feel you have misused your time I have the authority to take away this privilege from you.  

• Have fun!

Free Write Fridays have been a GIGUNDO (Urban dictionary- it's there!) hit with my second graders.  It's so nice to see them working together and really enjoying it.  Plus, it's a great time for me to coach them on their social behaviors.. "Wow, you guys are having a difficult problem and don't agree about the name of your book, but I can see you are really working to compromise and are coming up with a plan to make everyone happy"- Compromise- see how I snuck that little word in there?  Vocabulary building too? Whaaat? Dang I'm killing like 10 birds with 1 stone (Ok, I wouldn't do that, but the idiom fits)  Free write Fridays have turned out to be such a wonderful addition to our room!

Moral of my story: If something is working, run with it.  Even if it's not what you planned, it could turn out to the best thing you did all year!  

How do you promote collaboration in your room?