Naughty List

I guess I should really be on Santa's famous Naughty List considering my lack of postings. I don't know if Santa can really blame a girl that was just trying to keep her head above water though to finish out probably one of the hardest quarters ever! I am happy to report though that I survived and so did my GPA.

I've been enjoying the break and finding lots of projects for me to start over the break, including my TPA (aka teacher performance assessment) for student teaching in the spring. But mostly I've been shopping, baking, and merry making with the best of them.

Other non-teaching thoughts floating through my head....

My menu for the week slightly changed after a house full of teenage boys yesterday. Man they can eat!


Anticipating the parade of boys likely to be spending the next few days after wrestling practice (oh yes, the high school doesn't know it's a break) shooting each other literally and virtually at my house, I needed to make something that was hearty but wouldn't break the budget.....resulting in Barley Beef Stew and Cheddar Garlic Biscuits tonight. I haven't made this in a while and I was super pleased when the tweener, who only likes sweets said, "Wow Mom this is really good!"


Now, I'm in the mood to make some Lucky Pennies...the best bite sized ginger snap cookie ever! These are an all time favorite in our household and I can't believe it's already December 19th and we haven't made them yet.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wishing all my friends, family, and students a wonderful Thanksgiving day!

I hope you all enjoy the food and fun.
Remember, I am thankful to have each one of you in my life!


Happy Turkey Eating,

Mrs. Headland

Veterans Day Project

How timely was this idea from one of our first grade teammates!!!

Our kiddos will be donating their Halloween candy to the troops in Afghanistan. Plus sending them some very special THANK YOU letters for all they do to keep us safe.

I am pretty excited that even my boys are going to do it too!


How do you honor our troops past and present in your classroom?

Hopefully I'll have some inspirational writing to share tomorrow!

Happy Teaching,
Mrs. Headland

Long awaited pictures...

We taught the kids the poem/song "Make New Friends" for their poetry binder. Then they choose to illustrate a Gold=old friend and a Silver=new friend.

 Don't you just love the eyes and clothing!

 We have a crayon theme and read the Crayon Box That Talked. Normally we would take the students pictures and place them by their crayons but we decided that it would be a great intro for our self portraits (below) if the kids made their own head shots. They turned out great!!

 For the self portraits, kids picked a career and tools they would use and illustrated it. Then we took them to the Idea Lab for the first time and they water-colored. On the back side, students wrote about the career and three things that they need to be able to do for it. Some of these are hilarious!! Just saying if you want to be a Super Model you must look great in a dress and be really nice to people. Or if you're a Vet you need to be able to give shots that don't hurt:)
 

 

We've also been reading Frog and Toad books. The kids love these and it's a super treat if they get to old the plush ones during the read-a-loud. After the story The Missing Button, we used this writing prompt. There were some pretty creative responses. The best part to the kiddos was gluing the real buttons on.

 

Aren't these cute apples?! This is a present for the parents on curriculum night. The kiddos wrote letters thanking their parents for something they have taught them and attached it to the back. We told the kids parents love their art and writing the best and I have to agree. I love getting those things from my boys!!!

Using Treasures we've made a class book almost everyday with our writing prompts. The kids are loving to read these in the shared space before school.

 

We've had a very busy couple weeks. There are so many more things that I could share but no time or room on my SD card...Yikes. Thank goodness our new camera is coming this week. Hopefully my pictures will improve from the crummy phone ones:)

Happy Teaching! 

Whirlwind Weeks

I can't believe it's already September 19th. It means that I'm starting my last Fall Quarter tonight (silently cheering and doing the happy dance). Now it's time for me to put away my personal reading and get back to hitting the text books that are oh so fabulous! But I'll be a better teacher for reading them. Right? I'll be counting the days till I can get back to my wish list:)

 I have to say the first week and a half went incredibly well. The kiddos are sooo cute and my host teacher is amazing! I'm sure that with our tag teaming we can give all 27 kiddos what they need. Just as long as we maneuver the room. Yes, a little tweaking is in order.

I'll take some photos tomorrow of some of the activities we've done so far to help the kids transition back into school. In regard to academics, we've been reviewing with Start Smart in literacy and exploring all the cool manipulatives we have for math workshop. Other than that we've had tons of management teaching, which I'm so thankful for because the rest of the year will be much smoother because of it. Let me tell you, managing a line of 27 bodies can be challenging it stretches on forever!

Now, I must go read some syllabi!! I know you are jealous.


Happy teaching,
Mrs. Headland

PS. Here's a hint at one of the activities we did. Do you remember the song Make New Friends...

Treasures OH MY...

My big idea today was make "I Have Who Has" cards for the first unit of Treasure vocabulary words. I'm all excited until I realize that they are oral vocabulary words. Now, I'm not so sure if my firsties will be up to the game with such "big" words (yes there's more than three letters).

It's back to the drawing board. Right now I'm thinking pictorial definitions somehow. If anyone else out there has experience using Treasures or just an idea in general it would be much appreciated:)

Happy Teaching,
Paula

First Day in the Classroom

Yesterday was my first time in the classroom since my interview and wow I was impressed. The school was leveled and rebuilt this last year and it is GORGEOUS!! I had a tour of the building and was blown away. Let's just say I feel like I'm teaching at the Ritz. When we went to the teacher's lounge there was high cafe tables, leather couches, and even an outdoor sun patio.


Three priorities today: arrange new furniture in pod, pick rugs for pod, and familiarize myself with the curriculum (plus a few odds and ins)!


Here's some picks of the how the pods looks now.

We have two small group tables, a new reading couch and cubes to the left. I can't remember what the writing tablets are called but the kids work is displayed on the big screen.

The right side has a metal cabinet for magnet letter activities, student computers and that big rolling storage cart for science kits. We'll have to figure out a better spot for that and how to cutesy it up.

These are the carpets for the pod and hall. I love the kids around the world!!!

OMG isn't the Boom Chicka Boom Island cute...this is one of the spots kids can sit to read during the Daily 5. That's storage, part of the classroom library and the energy drink of champions in the back:)

Sorry bad picture but this is the group meeting area and technology spot. Plus, you can see another comfy bench for reading under the windows.

Here's the word wall, some of the kiddos personal library tubs, and the math manipulatives on the right side. We are going to try and find a new spot for the spelling unit boxes on the top shelf.

This is the small group area. From here you can see the whole classroom and to the right the windows look into pod. In the back is the other 1st grade classroom. We have a folding wall between the rooms but it is open most of the time I guess. That will be a new one for me.

Windows looking into pod and the writing/word work supply center

 I think you can see how much natural light there is...love it! We still have to add the crayon theme items and create a self portrait project to hang on the cabinet doors.


Now, I'm pouring through Treasure's trying to get a lay of the land. I've never taught reading using an anthology and combining it with the Daily 5 should be an interesting challenge. Hopefully I'm up for it:)

Paula

Waking Up

It is so odd to sleep in a new place then hear different noises in the morning. Overall night one was a success, the boys played the Wii and watched a movie thanks to their dad being on top of setting that up. Cookie was great, you would of thought she was at doggie Disney World the way she was running around. We will have to watch that she doesn't get her head stuck in the banister. She tried to push through it when I walked to her. It was pretty funny. Thank goodness she has a big head for a chihuahua!
Ok, now on to teaching...does anyone have some stellar advice on supervising the paraeducators in your classroom? I'm really wondering how much of a "boss" role you really take on to make sure they are on the same page and you feel confident in delegating more than clerical tasks.
Now on to find towels and some coffee,
Paula

posted from Bloggeroid

Moving!!!

I'm taking a quick break from packing. It's incredible how much junk; I mean treasured items you can collect. I don't have time now for a major purge but I do believe one is in order while unpacking. I think I'm going to become good friends with the local Good Will and my shredder is definitely going to get a major workout.

This move has illustrated one thing though...my obsession with books! My poor husband's aching back and the thing is I've passed it on to my boys. The majority of our boxes are filled with books of every kind. I've told him for years I need a personal library. Wish me luck finding a spot for the collection with no built in book cases in our new house.

Happy blogging,


A slightly stressed and tired- Paula

Nervous Newbie

This is my first real blog...I mean one that I wasn't required to do in a class.

I have enjoyed reading so many fabulous teaching blogs and the little voice in the back of my head finally prevailed in getting me to jump on the band wagon. I'm hoping to share with you my experiences this year completing my teacher certification and student teaching, a little about life with three crazy boys(that are not so little), one wonderfully supportive man, and a spoiled rotten chihuahua.

A little about myself, I've taught Pre-K for 7 years and this year I'm taking a leave to be in 1st grade full time. I'm excited, nervous, and chomping at the bit for the school year to start! That is after I make it through a very looonnnggg summer quarter. Thank goodness for understanding family.