Back to School Tip!

Hello, lovelies!

I am linking up with Hanging Around in Primary and Pop Into Primary for their Back to School Tips linky! (Apparently all I do right now are linkys... HA!) They are working to build the little fish/big fish community, so definitely go check them out and see what's up! #littlefishteacherblogger

My B2S tip is be very very VERY flexible! There is so much that happens in the first few days/weeks of school that I find it best to just go with the flow. There will be testing, there will be new students, there will be assemblies, there will be generalized chaos... and on and on. If you don't want to go B-A-N-A-N-A-S then you gotta take and deep breath and let it goooo, let it goooo... (This is why I shouldn't blog super late)

Of course, still have things planned, and even have things over planned, but understand that these kiddos are just coming off of summer break. I teach first, and lemme tell ya, they are TIRED. They get cranky and hungry and just plain tuckered out. So if we don't get to every little thing in the first few days it just has to be okay.

Remembering that flexibility it the key to your sanity during back to school time will help to calm your frazzled nerves, and help to bring some peace to your room. Your kiddos are looking to you and are feeding off of your energy, the more easily you can roll with the punches the more fun everyone will have.

One quick example- last year, on the second day of school, I got my times all kinds of mixed up and was reading the clock wrong. I thought it was already 11 and time for lunch, but it was most definitely only 10. I brought my kids into the cafeteria where our fab lunch ladies just looked at me like I was NUTS. I quickly realized my mistake, and our lead lunch lady jumped in and had the kiddos all practice putting in their lunch numbers a few times! Day. Saved. We then went back to class and read a story and did some Go Noodle until it was actually lunch time! I was definitely more careful after that, but everyone was able to keep on going because I was able to keep on going! #mistakeshappen  #shakeitoff

Hope you enjoyed my tip, and go link up!

Fun Friday Linky

Today is the last day of the Freebielicious linky party, and it is all about FUN FRIDAY!

Now, I do actual Fun Friday in my classroom because firsties need to play, but I also do other things that are a lot of fun!

We do a TON of Go Noodle because it's the best thing ever! I feel like most people have heard of it by now, but if not, go check it out. It's a website with tons and tons of videos to get your kids up and moving, and you get to choose a Champ and watch it grow after every 10 videos!

I also use their Airtime and Airtime Space videos after lunch so that we can work on some deep breathing to calm down before learning more.

This year we are also starting Zoo Phonics which looks like it's going to make teaching phonics WAY more exciting! Kindergarten started using it last year, and then they ordered it for first grade to also use this year. I will have to post more about it later as I get into teaching it.

I also do a lot of art projects! Sometimes they're really complex, but other times it's basically just coloring and cutting and gluing. We are lucky to still have specials, but we only have music, PE, computers, and library, so I make sure that every Friday we do a special art project. :)

Every year we make these bodies. I trace the kids on butcher paper, and they cut themselves out, and then they color their packet of organs, and cut and glue those on to their bodies! SO. FUN. I got this from student teaching, so I only have paper masters.

This year we did these from Giraffes Can't Dance. I don't remember who originally did these, but I saw it on Pinterest and pinned it and did it!

We also make these snowflakes. It's just coffee filters colored with markers, and then they cut them into snowflakes, and you spray them with water to make the colors run. They're so pretty!

Thanks for reading about my Fun Fridays!

Throwback Thursday #TBT

Hey, y'all!

Sometimes I say "y'all" because I spent the first 8 years of my life in Dallas, TX. Gotta keep in touch with my southern roots!

Today's linky with Freebielicious is Throwback Thursday!

Now, I was checking out some of the other blogger's links and a lot of people had put up old blog posts. I got pretty worried since you can clearly see that this is only my 4th post EVER. But I kept clicking and saw that some other bloggers had just written back about things that had done during the school year. Well, I can do that! So, here is my very favorite art project that I have ever done!

I live in Arizona, and we have a very unique environment down in the southern part of the state. It's all full of prickly things and things that bite and sting. Our most famous Sonoran Desert plant has got to be the saguaro (suh-war-oh) cactus. My first grade team does a huge desert unit in the spring, and we go to the Desert Museum, and I thought it would be SO MUCH FUN to make mini models of saguaros! Out of paper mache. Yup, the messy, gooey, flour/water/newspaper stuff. So, we did!

First, we covered toilet paper rolls with paper mache. I made my husband help me save all the rolls for, like, 4 months. I made little newspaper rolls for the arms and taped them on with masking tape, and then showed the kiddos how to layer on the gooey paper mache. I did have to go back and fix most of them, but some students did an amazing job! Paper mache is hard for firsties, y'all!

After it was all dry we went back and painted our cacti green and painted the dirt brown.

The we added details such as the pleats in the cacti and the cactus flowers on the top. They could also add details to their dirt such as other animals or water.

Then, because I'm a little cray-cray, we made desert animals out of clay, waited for the clay to dry, and then painted our desert animals. I meant to buy Crayola Model Art Magic, but accidentally bought Crayola regular-old-clay, soooo most of the animals broke apart and I hot glued them all back together/on to the plates.

The animal that they made was the same as the animal that they researched. Each kiddo picked an animal, and then they were put into groups based on that animal, and then we researched and wrote reports!

Part of the research was done on our first grade field trip to the Desert Museum where they got to see their animal FOR REAL. They then had to read the signs about their animal and record the info. (In reality each group had a parent volunteer to help with the reading/recording.)

In theory the animals were supposed to be painted realistically, but I kept having kiddos absent, so their animal kept sitting there being all sad and unpainted. By the end it was like, "Just paint it please, and no I don't care what color you use!"

Hope you enjoyed my throwback!

Wonderful Idea Wed.- Voice Recording during reading!

Hello, lovelies! Today's linky from Freebielicious is Wonderful Idea Wednesday!

My wonderful idea is something that one of my teammates started doing two years ago, and got the rest of us to do last year. I am not sure if it was all her idea, or if she saw it somewhere else, but I want to share because I will most certainly be using it again! (P.S. I am part of the 1st grade team)

Are you ready?

Use voice recorders for students to record themselves reading! Then, have them play it back to themselves to listen for fluency! Also, you can then listen back as well (preferably with the student, but you can do it whenever too) so you can hear if they are fluent yet or not!

I had students read a "Just Right" book at least 3 times (OUT LOUD), and when they are fluent they get their recorder and read their book into it. Then, they have to listen back to hear if they really are fluent or if they need more practice. I also had them check in with me, and I would listen to part of the recording to check for fluency as well.

They LOVE recording. They LOVE listening. They are really practicing reading books on their level, and they are working towards a goal! Folks, it was a great year during my small group reading block!

We were very lucky ducks and our principal bought us all recorders. I had enough that only a few students had to double. I get that we all spend wayyyy too much money, but do a donor's choose. Or just get a couple and make them share, or maybe have a chat with your principal about how beneficial it would be and see if maybe there is some wiggle room in the budget...

But, seriously, it was so fantastic to have them so motivated to improve their fluency. We just used very simple recorders like these:

I think that this year I am going to have students share their recording with another student as well, and that other student will have some kind of scoring system to rate how fluent their buddy is. That way we are all working to help one another become more fluent, and it takes a little pressure off of me to check in with everyone all the time.

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday Tell-All!

Well... Maybe not ALL...

It's time for the second day of the Freebielicious linky party!

So, here are some things about me:

1. I teach 1st grade at an AMAZING school. My school family is so supportive and so committed to always striving to learn and grow and be the best teachers they can.

2. This is only my 4th year teaching #babyteacher meaning that I love to frequently remind all the veteran teachers of my youth. They love that.

3. In college I firmly believed that I ONLY wanted to teach upper elementary. When I got my student teaching placement, which was for 1st grade, my professors laughed. Out loud. In my face. Turns out I love, love, love first grade!

4. My student teaching placement was overseas in Heidelberg, Germany on Patrick Henry Army Base. The base is now closed, but it was the best 4 months spent teaching and traveling!

Trying on clogs on a trip to Amsterdam! I am wearing the pink scarf.

5. I am married to my high school sweetheart. Our 2nd anniversary is coming up at the end of July.

6. My husband and I have an adorable pit/lab mix named Ellie. She is a medium sized dog, but weighs 62 pounds because of all her muscles. She just turned a year in May and is now learning how to be naughty. I have quite a few pictures of her on my Instagram (jolly_rogers3) and Facebook, but none really on my computer. She's super duper cute, though!

7. I am terrified of heights. As in, I almost blacked out when I stepped out on to the Sky Deck of the Sears Tower. Never repeating THAT experience!

8. I-I-I I work out! I am officially addicted to Pure Barre. BEST. WORKOUT. EVER. I am over halfway to my 100th class and cannot wait to put my name on the barre!

9. I have a serious sweet tooth. Chocolate, candy, cupcakes, pie, whatever I can get my hands on that's sugary...

10. Dinosaurs are my favorite animal. My classroom is dinosaur themed. Do you know how hard it is to find dinosaur classroom decor!? So I also use lots of fun neon colors.

That's it! Link up and share about you!

Must Have Monday Linky

Hello, there!

My name is Allison, I teach first grade, and I am brand-spankin' new to the blogging world. I saw on Instagram that Freebielicious was hosting a whole week of linkys, and it seemed like the PERFECT way to get started! Monday, (because it's still Monday for me for another 3 minutes), is "Must Have Monday."

One of my "must-haves" is Avery shipping labels. I get them in larger and smaller sizes and use them to label all kinds of things all year long. I actually started doing this because of my mentor teacher during student teaching. She used them all the time and it was just genius! Sometimes I print them all cute, and other times I just write on them,

Another "must-have" are flair pens! I love me some beautifully colored pens! I use these for grading, for editing student writing, and for keeping myself organized in my Erin Condren planner. I buy the mega pack so that I can have ALL the colors!

My last "must-have" are these dry erase sleeves! My very first year teaching I found a ton in the Target Dollar Spot and bought a class set, and then have never seen them again. Fortunately, I have the best principal ever and she bought all of us class sets complete with markers and erasers! I use them literally ALL THE TIME. Love, love, love these!

Those are my top 3 "must-haves" and I will be linking up again for Tuesday's post!