Sunday, February 22, 2015

Peek at my Week- Presidents, Coins, and Table Olympics!

Hi friends!  It's Sunday which means lesson plans.  I actually finished mine last Thursday somehow (amazing!) so I'm linking up with Deedee from Mrs. Will's Kindergarten for a Peek at my Week.
 We are still in President mode for this coming week, which worked out quite nicely since we are also learning all about coins!  My kiddos are getting to know George Washington and Abraham Lincoln quite well and will learn about Thomas Jefferson this week.  They have really been enjoying collecting facts and looking at pictures of all the old men.  And they love hearing about how many of them only went to school for 1 year, if any! They think it's hilarious!

*Cue Olympic theme song*
It's time for the 2nd annual Table Olympics!!!  I CANNOT wait!  Here are 2 pics from last year:

 I started this event last year when the actual Olympics were on and decided to bring it back this year because not only is it really really really fun doing all sorts of silly little challenges with their table mates, but it also gives students great practice with team building AND with the concept of losing.  Yes, that's right my friends, not everyone is a winner in my room.  I think it's an important lesson for them to learn and it's a safe place for it to happen.  More on this to come!

AND finally here are the plans:




 Well there we go!  A very full week,so here's to hoping 7 aren't absent like they were on Friday...  Happy Teaching!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Peek at my Week- Presidents

This week will be a short one thanks to Presidents Day and a snow day today!  I'm linking up with Deedee from Mrs. Will's Kindergarten for a peek at my week!
This week is full of presidents and coins!  And while it puts a crunch on the week, I am so happy that we had a snow day finally!  Not only does it mean that we didn't have school but it also means that we actually got a good amount of snow!  I love snow!  and so does my dog :-D 

Here are the plans:



 Hope you have a smooth week.  Happy Teaching!

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Peek at my Week- 100th Day, Valentines, Conferences

It's gonna be a loooooooooooooong week my friends!  So I'm linking up with Deedee from Mrs. Will's Kindergarten to share all about it!
 100th Day! 100th Day!  I'm so excited for the 100th Day!!  Wednesday is the day!  It also happens to be a 1/2 day because of conferences (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday), so we will be doing 100th Day Stations all day! I'll do a post later in the week to share all about it!

Conferences.... Oh, conferences...  I had 9 parents NOT show up to conferences in the fall. NINE!  Needless to say I was NOT happy.  In fact, I don't think I have never been that mad at school before.  The thing is, I let the parents choose their day and time.  All I do is make final adjustments based on everyone's requests and send home the note saying what time.  So, this time I have bombarded parents with reminders!  2 went home last week and another one will go home on Tuesday with a special note attached (in a bright color) telling parents to call or email right away if they need to reschedule.  I'd rather annoy them than go through that stress again!

Valentines!  Yay!  We don't do a super lot for Valentines.  Take the time to decorate bags and exchange cards, but no big party.

Something new: has anyone ever used this Fountas and Pinnell Phonics system??
We were trained in it at the beginning of the year and we were all so excited about it.  It's a great resource with great lessons!  I have been using it loosely- looking at the general idea for each month but doing my own activities.  We are going to try to use it during the month of February.  And I mean USE it.  Basically as a scripted lesson at the beginning of the day.  The goal being getting used to using their language because it is so great!  So you will see a little Phonics note during calendar time on my plans and that is what that is about.  I'll update you all as I use it more.

Here are the plans: 





 Hope your week isn't going to be as crazy as mine!  Happy Teaching!

Friday, February 6, 2015

Five for Friday- Feb 6

Happy Friday friends!  I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share my Five for Friday!

 This week we started working on counting by 10s and 5s.  They have been rocking out with the 10s and having a little trouble with the 5s, but they will get there.  One activity we did was put the tens number cards in order and then fill in the numbers on a 100s chart:

 We also played with 1s, 10s, 100s game- students roll a dice (that has 1, 3, 5, and 10 written on it), take that many popsicle sticks, and say how many total.  The first to 100 (we played to 50 this week) wins!  They also have to trade in 10 single sticks for bundles when they get to that point.  It was great! They did so well.


 The kids started writing their own All About books this week.  I was pretty nervous about this because we have had our struggles with independent writing work this year... BUT we took it slow and I modeled each step and they did sooooo good today!!  I was so proud of them!  
 All About Butterflies- "Butterflies can fly"

All About Love- "Love is when you love somebody."  How cute is that!?
 Totally not school, BUT you have to make this red cabbage! Its SOOOOO good.  My brother in law made it at Xmas and I made it for the Superbowl and it is just amazing!  Sweet and sour and awesomely delicious!  (just don't spill it- that's a bad stain waiting to happen)  You can find the recipe HERE.


Lastly, I just love my dog Allie!  We moved across the river into Virginia and now instead of walking on the mall with her I walk along the Potomac which is lovely!  We are also 3 blocks from a small dog park, which is awesome! Here are some shots from this week:



 Hope you had a good week and the weekend is relaxing!  We have the 100th Day, Valentines, AND conferences coming up next week! YIKES! So I need to rest up for all that.  Jump back over to Doodle Bugs Teaching for more Five for Friday fun! Happy weekend!

Monday, February 2, 2015

Peek at My Week- 1/2 way done!

We are 1/2 way done with the year!! YAY!!!  Quarter 3 starts this week and I am so ready!  To celebrate (or because I always do...) I'm linking up with Deedee from Mrs. Will's Kindergarten for a Peek at my Week!
 This week is just as busy as last week! It never stops!  BUT we have started using Class Dojo- AMAZING!  The kids seem to be responding to it, which is helping me get through everything during the day without pulling my hair out.  I'm just hoping this continues until Spring Break... or at least the end of February.  I have some pretty good prize boxes set up: 10-19 points- sticker.  20-39 point- pencil or eraser or plastic dino or plastic pony.  40 and up- WOH! This basket has it all- coloring books, cards, legos, markers, etc!  (thank you Target dollar spot!)  The kids are so excited to win something from this box.

Here are the plans:





Hope you all have a good week!  Can you believe that the Seahawks decided to pass with 1 yard to go and LOST THE GAME!!! UGH!!!  Happy Teaching!