Sunday, September 21, 2014

Centers Catch Up - Caution - Photo Dump!

We've been hard at work the last few weeks.  We're finally in a good routine and have great success at centers!  I've taken lots of pictures but haven't had time to post about it.  So here goes -

Mr. Wiggles - Making Patterns:

 Read and Write the Room:

 Apple Addition:

 Rainbow Words - practicing Spelling words:

 Writing Center - Who?  Did What?  Where?
(This came from the amazing Reagan Tunstall and I am LOVING it!)


 Roll It!  Read It! - Fluency Practice:

 Discovery Center - Exploring the 5 senses:
(Anchor chart idea from Cara Carroll)

Saxon Math Wrap Ups:

 Number Sense - Make a Tower to match the number:
(idea from Susan of Thank God It's First Grade)

Pocket Chart Center - short a Word Work
(cards from Doodle Bugs)

Number Sense - Counting Beads:
(idea from Reagan Tunstall)

Reading Center - Reading to a Buddy:
I LOVE how "into" their books they are!

I am so proud of my firsties.  They have truly been working hard!  We learned about apples last week and I've turned it into a discovery center for this week.  I hope to post pics and activities from it soon!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Monday, September 15, 2014

Donors Choose Project - There's an APP for That!

DonorsChoose.org

I have created a project for my students this year.  It is titled:


About my project:

"Bring in the reinforcements!" Teachers will take all the help they can get to reinforce skills being taught in the classroom everyday and to make learning fun and meaningful! I've got a long way to go in one year to teach my students how to read. I need all the help I can get!
I teach 25 amazing first graders in a public school in Oklahoma. I teach at a Title 1 school where we have low socioeconomic students. They are very eager to learn and jump at the opportunity to use technology in the classroom. My students use hands-on activities and tools any chance they can get. They learn so much better with something in their hands. It makes their learning meaningful and long-lasting!
There are so many amazing apps out there for the ipad. Many teachers themselves have created games and activities that are fun and interactive for students. Putting an iPad in a child's hands gives them an excitement for learning. The students don't even realize their learning. All they know is that they are playing this really cool game that is super fun! Not only can the student use the iPad as a tool for learning, I can also use it for formal and informal ongoing assessments throughout the year. Our state reading assessment can be given using a touch screen and can even give me activities and ideas of things to do with each student to help increase their reading levels and even chart their growth. It also gives me an opportunity to use it not only for small group instruction but individual instruction for struggling students. There are new apps available everyday that can be used to make learning fun and interactive while reinforcing the skills being taught on a daily basis.
Funding this project would give children something that they use for the rest of their lives - knowledge! Giving children a strong grasp of reading skills at a young age gives them a solid foundation for the rest of their educational career. The hope is that with this solid foundation a child will continue to grow and succeed even into college and career endeavors.


If you know someone else that might be interested in helping out please give them this site address or send me their information.  

Anyone who donates from now until September 19 can use the promo code INSPIRE and their donation will be doubled (up to $100)!  That pretty amazing!

(click below to see my project)


Thank you so much for your consideration!

Monday, September 8, 2014

Oh My Word - Have You Heard of the Trashy Crafter Yet?!?!?

Have you heard of the "Trashy Crafter" yet?  I won one of her bracelets in a giveaway.  Here is her story:


Here's a few examples of her work:

Berenstain Bears:

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie bracelet:

Little Red Riding Hood Earrings:

Here is what I received in the mail.  She even used a map to wrap it in.  Isn't that adorable?

 This is what my bracelet was wrapped around.  Another recycled item!

I chose the "Oh the Thinks You Can Think" bracelet.  I love Dr. Seuss.



I ABSOLUTELY LOVE my bracelet.  I can even tell it's from Dr. Seuss' book by looking closely at the beads.  Very cool!  I would LOVE for you to check her out.  Here's her information.  She also is giving a 15% discount if you order from her Etsy shop.  Just enter the code tc2014!  

Go ahead - what are you waiting for?  Take a look at her amazing jewelry!

They would make amazing teacher gifts!

Click on a link below:





Monday, September 1, 2014

Professional Development - Science in the Classroom

We were out of school last Friday.  The students had a 4 day weekend.  The teachers had a professional development day put on by our district.  We had a key-note speaker, 4 break-out sessions, vendor tables to visit and awesome door prize giveaways.  Our district really out-did themselves.  We really had an amazing day!  I took some pics of some of the experiments we did in our "Elementary Science" session.

Milk, food coloring and drops of dawn liquid soap:

Sharpie markers on a piece of white t-shirt with alcohol dropped in the middle: 

gobstoppers sitting in water:

We took different water-based markers and drew a line on pieces of coffee filters.  We let them soak in a cup of water and watched the different colors fade out:


This one is blurry but she had taken pop rocks and put them into soda bottles.  The gases were filling up the balloons attached to the top:


The cool thing about all these little experiments was that they could be done in any age classroom.  She had done all of these with her high school students as well.

We had a GREAT day of learning!

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