Count Down :(

I have a little over a week until I'm headed back to work.  I've had a total of 15 weekdays off this summer dispersed throughout. So it has seemed as if the summer just went and decided to fly on by!

I have a few little goodies to share with you today!! 

First, my fiction labels for my library baskets.  4 pages of various labels.  Some repeats for those big themes.

Fiction Labels

A newsletter to fill in....it is linked both as a pdf and an editable document in google docs.  The font I've been using is Pea Missy from Kevin and Amanda...it is free to download.

Weekly Newsletter (no edit)

Weekly Newsletter (edit)

Again both versions and I used Pea Missy.

Welcome Brochure

Welcome Brochure (edit)

I also have a new Beginning of the Year Info Sheet that is meant to be front to back.

Your Child: The Ins and Outs

Whew!

*New freebies below: nonfiction book labels, transportation sign, Who's out and Morning Message headings, Homework BINGO*

Today I went back to my classroom and attacked it!  I started in my library by setting up my new book bins and then organizing my fiction books.  Then I adhered my new nonfiction labels to the bins.  Much later after I left my kind friend Ivy and her son Julian filled my trunk with books that he has outgrown....I feel so blessed to have friends that are so giving <3

The picture is a bit blurry but here are the book bins (blue and green)!  Each child will have their own drawer to keep their reading journal, clipboard, whiteboard and whatever else they find necessary

Again its a little blurry, I just wasn't doing to well with the camera today :(  but I love the handle on the bins.  I am going to make circular name labels and hang them to the right side with ribbon.

Here is the fiction library.  I added pink bins to the red ones and really sifted through the baskets to make other themed baskets. The black bins are the leveled library.  I find it very helpful to divided nonfiction, fiction and leveled books into different colored baskets....clean up is so much easier at the beginning of the year!

The nonfiction library makes my heart happy!  At the beginning of last year I was disappointed with the number of NF books I owned, so I really worked on it this year and hit up Goodwill every month.

Here are my nonfiction labels for you!  Let me know if you would like me to add more:)

Again blurry, but you get the idea.

AND here are all the books Ivy and Julian donated!!  I don't know if you can tell but there are a TON!  Can't wait to get into my classroom again to organize them :)

Then I worked on all kinds of projects around the room...here they are!

 The hall was a bit dark so I couldn't get a clear picture but it says 'Welcome to 1st Grade.'

Here is my new transportation sign hanging near the door.

I hung up my frames a week or two ago but they already fell so I used  Kerri's Mighty Math Wall Cards from Teacher Bits and Bobs.  I printed two to a sheet so I could fit my area, laminated them then hot glued them to ribbon and then the ribbon to the wall.  I thought it would make a good daily job or a math center.

 Who's out board attached to our door.



And the morning message board.

Get yours here, Headings, along with circular labels for book bins or whatever you decide.

This area still needs A LOT of work!  This is my makeshift bulletin board since I only have one real one.  I'm finding it hard to get everything just right using magnets.  I'm thinking about deliniating areas with black paper..but we will see. 

So right now it holds:

-Classroom Jobs

-Owl Behavior Chart

-The Name Game

-The Math Name Game

-Wheel of Choice

-Homework Bingo

Students write their name in a square every time they turn in homework.  At the end of the week or month a square is selected.

Here is my new bucket filler display!  It's definitely worth half of my only bulletin board!

 I have two guided reading tables and both of them get my new crate seats! I need to lower the tables to accomodate. An aide runs a group in my room once a day and uses the table but then the students also use it while writing.

 This is my table.  See my guided reading shelf behind it with all the blue bins?  Oh and the pile of junk sitting on the table?

 This is my take home library.  Kids can take two home a night and when they are returned they get two more.

Ok that was enough for today!  I still have a to-do list though:(

Hope you enjoyed!

Fun with word work

In recent years the more and more I read the more I believe that word work, for the most part, needs to happen in the context of reading.  I truly believe that it fits into guided reading (in primary) perfectly.  So the word work piece in my 90 minute reading block consist of word wall, guess the covered work and minimal phonics.  I just don't believe that every kid is ready for the same phonic lesson at the same time...so I introduce but definitely don't go deep with the whole group.  Words Their Way is done in small groups as well working within their needs set. 

All that being said I broke the rules today and did word work centers for 60 whole minutes....woah, that feels good to get off my chest!  I pulled out some old games that I used to use for a bit of review.  The kids grouped themselves but it ended up being nice heterogeneous groups.  The games are really active and my kids were so pleased.

Here's a look at what they did:
1.  Jenga type game with directions written on each piece.  Chanting words from the word wall, reading words from the word wall, rhyming, creating words, moving to words (squatting, kicking, etc.) were just a few of the things they had to do.

2. Creating words with blends and vowel digraphs using egg cartons with ping pong balls in them.  Of the three balls, the first had various consonants, the middle had digraphs and the last had consonants and consonant blends.  The students used circle stickers to show their word in their notebooks.

3. Toss for r-blends had four containers with r-blends labeled on the outside.  The kids said a word using one of the r-blends then had to toss a bean bag into the corresponding container.  After they wrote the word.

4. The last game review diphthongs using water bottles with streamers stuff {jammed} inside.  Then I added laminated words that had various different diphthongs.  The students shook and jiggled the bottles to find words.  The students then wrote them down.

The kids really had a blast and it was a good chance for me to see how successful they had become.  Makes my heart feel a little better about sending them on :)


In other exciting news I had a brand new cart of books delivered in my room today!  Does it get any better than that?  It's like a teacher's lottery!!  The cart of books are to support our new adoption of the Common Core.  I will be sharing with the other first grade teachers...we are lucky ducks.  The cart and books are from Booksource.  They have book sets for each grade level that support the common core.

Common Core State Standards Grade One Extension

 

I am so pumped and as I am unpacking and labeling them my kids are pleading and are crazy to get their hands on them!  Here are two pictures I took at the end of today {please ignore my packing mess!}.  I still have some work on it tomorrow.

 

For this beautiful set I have made Common Core Book labels.  Build your own Common Core library based off the books you own! 

Common Core book set lables

 

 

 

Clothes pin goodness

Only a teacher knows how many uses clothes pins have, right?!  They are a cheap way to do A LOT of things.  Name tags, game pieces, center rotations, and much more.  I saw a teacher throughout my blogcoma that used clothes pins for their labels.  I WISH I could remember the blog but you know how it is, you just hop all around and never remember where you have been.  If this idea is yours please take credit, it's great one!

So I got started with my new clothes pin labels.  I redid my leveled library...check it out!  Here is your copy with Guided reading and DRA levels: Leveled Labels A-Z







We have officially begun our first round of inquiry circles and the kids are loving it!  I hope it goes as successfully as these past few days, only time will tell.  One area I needed to set up with them was the organization of materials and needs to complete their research.  I bought baskets from the Dollar Tree and put various books on their related topics, index cards, PostIts, and a folder for each child.  For the folders, I gave each child a file folder in which they glued on the cover.  The back cover is text codes they will use during their research.  Here are a couple photos to show you how we set it up.

 Inquiry Circle management pieces

Enjoy!