First Grade Friends and Fact Fuency

This week our quest continues to bond our first graders into a first grade family.  For as much as they chat, you would think it would be an easier task!  One of our activities this week is "I can be a friend!"

 I made one with areas of the school and one without!  You can click on the picture to download a copy! {or here}  (I love the Whimsy Kids clip art!)

I am also beginning our departmentalizing this week!  We start with thirty minute sessions so we have time to teach routines and to develop some classroom bonding!  I am starting this week with Amy Lemons's Unit:

We worked on the mathematician  craftivity last week and this week I am excited to start our Interactive Notebook with the tools vs. toys sort!

I am also starting my newest unit on Addition and Subtraction Fact Fluency! {1.OA.6}

I start with testing my students to find their level and then each student sets their own goals so that they become fluent in their addition and subtraction facts. 

(example of test)

I use observation instead of time keeping to determine if a child is truly fluent.

(this is the form I use to to record observations)

After I find the correct level for each student, I conference with each one to help them set their own goal.

(goal sheet)

Then each child works on activities based on their level. (also included)

(some examples of practice pages)

 Each level has a booklet, a sort, a set of flash cards, and another way to practice!  I store all the activities in an expandable file that I have for each level.

I also store the tests in a similar file.

It takes a little time to set up, but once it is ready to go, differentiating in your classroom is so easy!

Last year, I had 60 students all working on their correct level of fluency and getting targeted practice exactly at the level they need.  I also use the file folder labels as tub labels for other centers and games.

I will post more this week about the other games and activities I use to practice fluency!

Have a great Monday!

Getting back to it!

There are so many emotions that run through me in August.  There is a hint of sadness.  I love being able to spend my summers playing in the pool with my children, staying up late, playing games, visiting friends... The list goes on and on!  But there is a feeling of excitement!  We just finished buying all of the fun things on my children's supply list! (I realize I might be the only parent excited to do this!)  The closets have been cleaned, the cupboards reorganized, and the projects checked off one by one!  Now that my home is getting close to ready, I have a little time for a classroom project: File Cabinets!

My classroom is in a building built in the 1950's and some of my classroom furniture is probably original!  For the past ten years I have collected several mismatched filing cabinets.  This year, I finally had enough and decided that updating them a bit was my summer goal!

The hardest part? Emptying 8 file cabinet drawers!  Stuff was everywhere! #keepingitreal

Next, I took out the drawers and lined them up on a large tarp. Helpful hint: don't pick the hottest day of the summer! #lessonlearned. 

Notice the three colors of drawers!  I scrubbed them up a bit with some wipes!  65 years of dirt I am sure!  

I taped the handles and hardware.  It took a while, but I did not have the right tool (nor would I have a clue what tool to find) and I only had a day that would work before they closed the school for waxing.  I should have used painters tape, the masking tape baked its way into a very sticky mess!  #2ndlessonlearned. 

I sprayed the drawers a teal that matches my room.  The cabinets were sprayed black.

It took about 3 thin coats for each.  I used 4 cans of black, one of blue. It took a little over 1 can of black for each of the short and the rest for the tall cabinet.  

The painting itself was simple, the prep work took the longest!  Here is my finished product!

I have gotten tons of compliments!  I love how they look like one piece of furniture when you put them together!   

An Exciting Announcement!

Friends.

I have a very exciting announcement to make! 

I have decided to team up with some of my very best first grade buddies to write for a collaborative blog! 

That means ONE blog with TONS of great ideas from several super awesome First Grade teachers!

One thing I L-O-V-E about this blog, is you will know exactly what to expect each day of the week.  For every day, there is a blogging theme.  Check them out! 

I'm SO excited to get started on this new adventure, and am thrilled to invite you along for the ride. 

There are some fun things that will be happening for Back To School!
 #notready

July already?

I can't believe that July is almost over!  The backpacks have been bought, the school supply list has a huge dent, and we have been practicing our math, reading, and writing skills so the kids are ready for school in the fall.  This is my little cutie practicing her writing skills!  LOVE!

I printed my nametags for the upcoming year!  It is the only school related task I have done!  I printed enough for each child to have 2 plus a couple of blank extras.  I hate when they are all ratty and nasty on their tables!  I hope that  when I get my finished class list I will only have a couple of changes.  #thepriceofdoingthingsearly  I printed mine this year 8.5 X11 so I can use my home laminator.  It is so much thicker and durable!

 

I also wanted my alphabet and word wall pictures to match the ones on the Desk Help Name tags, so included those in the files as well. 

 The file has so many choices, all for less than you would pay for one pack in the teacher's store!  There are directions to run it on 11X17 or 8.5 X 11. It is also editable, so the names can be typed right on and an editable file to type word wall words or labels that match the word wall headers.   You can find them all in my TpT store!

I guess we are off to the pool again today! We are finally getting some warm weather!  #lovesummer

 

 

Hope you have a great week!

Lovin' Summer

I am beginning week 3 summer break and I am squeezing every drop of fun I can get into it!  I decided this year, instead of signing my kids up for a ton of activities, I would take the money that we would have spent and spend it as my own "Mommy camp!"  So a couple of days a week we go on little field trips in the morning.  Here are some pics from our latest adventure.  It is from a place called "Anderson Japanese Gardens."  It has walking paths, Koi ponds, and the most beautiful scenery!

I will tell you "Mommy Camp" is the best summer job ever!  

Today, my kids are spending a little time with cousins and grandparents, so I had a few hours to work on some fun school stuff.  I like to come up with a fun (cheap) way to recognize my students on their birthdays.  This year I found some packages of bubbles at the dollar store.  They come 3 in a pack, so I bought 9.  This gives me enough in case I get up to our 25 limit and a couple extras.  Here is the finished product

1919

19

All you have to do is print, cut, and attach it with a small piece of clear tape.  The whole process took about about 45 min. You can print them for free {here} or you can click on the picture.  

I hope you are having a fabulous summer!  

DIY wannabe

My husband and I love DIY.  Unfortunately beyond putting together furniture from IKEA and painting walls, our talent does not match our enthusiasm,  :(  But we are learning and this past weekend we built a sandbox! We got the whole family in on the action!  Thank goodness for the Home Depot man that helped me measure and cut the boards to form the almost perfect square. and to my husband who helped me drill and assemble.  One thing we learned is that we need to move it much farther from our house!  I have swept up so much sand!!!

 

 

I also painted a dresser quick before we started the sandbox for my daughter's bedroom!  I am working on transitioning her room from "toddler" to "preteen" .  Here is the finished project.

 

I hope that I can keep up this momentum this summer for getting things done! 

 

 

 

 

Great books for the last days of school

Looking for some great books to read for the end of the school year?  Here are some of my favorites!

 

 

Here are links to them all!