Fun and Fearless in First

Colleen Sunday, December 21, 2014 No Comments

It's officially Christmas break - wahoo! I finally feel like I can breathe and reflect on the whirlwind that December has been! Here are a few of my favorite Christmas activities from this month...

{Spoiler Alert - if there are any current first grade parents from my class reading this blog post STOP RIGHT NOW! There are pics of your Christmas present from your first grader in here!}

Again this year I wrapped up all the read aloud books for December. It just adds something a little magical to start our day. (Clearly my tree needs some sprucing up next year - it's rather sparse, yikes!)

We made handprint calendars for our parent gifts. Mel D created this AHH-mazing resource and we will be able to use for years to come.

These take a long time to complete, but they are SO WORTH IT!

{Handprint Calendar Gift}

We made gingerbread houses to finish off our gingerbread day. I could NOT do this without help from parents! My room was a flurry of sugar and excitement. I had so many volunteers this year, all I had to do was enjoy the afternoon and take pictures. Thank goodness for parent helpers!!!

The last day before vacation is always Polar Express pajama day.

I just love seeing what PJ's the kids wear to school!

This year I gave my students the book Snowmen at Christmas. (Thank you Scholastic book orders for such a great price!) My kiddos were super excited about their present. After we opened the presents we read the story together.

And how precious are these elf pajamas?!!

What's Christmas time without some holiday movie favorites?! These were lifesavers when trying to finish up holiday crafts and other projects before closing out this year.

How adorable is this candy sled that I got from a family?! So creative and thoughtful. I just love the cards my students make for me and how excited they get to give me something at Christmas. They truly are the sweetest.

Merry Christmas!!!

Colleen

Colleen Sunday, November 16, 2014 No Comments

We've just finished up our Families Unit in social studies this week. I put this unit together last year because I needed more resources to teach the social studies standards relating to families. This year I was able to fully implement each piece in my Families Unit.

I really enjoy this unit in social studies because it allows me to get to know my students and their families better. My kids love it because... well, who doesn't like to share about themselves?!

Here we are working on our final project - our timelines. My class had so much fun with this project this year! They loved sharing their timelines and the important events in their lives.

If you are interested in adding more resources to your families unit, check out my pack below!

Families - A Social Studies Unit

I made a few updates to this unit this weekend. If you own it (and you very well might because this is one of my best sellers!), be sure to re-download it.

Included in this unit...

Book Suggestions

Can / Have / Are Chart

Standards Posters for your Focus Wall

Family Portrait Page

My Family is Special - Writing Activity

Family Tree Project including Graphic Organizer and Parent Letter

My Family Tradition - Writing Activity

My Family Vacation - Writing Activity

Family Rules Page (with and without lines)

My Family Responsibility - Writing Activity

My Family Helps - Writing Activity

Timeline Project including Parent Letter

Happy Sunday!

Colleen

Colleen Tuesday, September 02, 2014 4 comments

The first day of school is tomorrow!!!

I can't wait to meet my new class!

I THINK I'm ready. So ready, in fact, I am now getting nervous about the fact that I am NOT nervous. #teacherproblems

So without further ado, check out this year's classroom...

(clearly I have a problem with taking far too many pictures)

View from the front door...

Small group meeting area...

Still happy with my computers up high with file cabinet storage underneath. One computer is hooked up to my Smart board and the other is for teacher use. The iPad tower sits in the middle. LOVE my iPads!!!

My easel came from a Donors Choose project from last year...

This counter holds my Writing Workshop materials...

Color Words Poster Set {FREEBIE}

I just love this easy birthday board!

Happy Birthday Bunting {FREEBIE}

My classroom job chart...

Rockin' Responsibilities Job Chart

I'm trying out book bins this year instead of book pouches. Hopefully this will keep my books in better condition! (I number a lot of items in my classroom and 4th Grade Frolics has a great free set of numbers that I use!)

Classroom Numbers {FREEBIE}

My desk area...

A neat and tidy desk is a beautiful thing!

Love my storage bins for my daily materials!

Lakeshore Learning Storage Bins

Chevron Binder Covers and Spines

Check out that brand spankin' new carpet! All of K-2 found these waiting in our classrooms this year. So cool. My "First Day Feelings" graph is ready to go tomorrow!

First Days in First Grade

Front board with scheduling information, compliments, and calendar...

Daily Schedule Cards

Space Saver Calendar Pocket Chart {Really Good Stuff}

A few daily management materials...

Class Privilege {Reward} Coupons

My lunch choice chart - the kids simply put their magnet on their choice for the day!

Secret Star display from Cupcake for the Teacher - so excited to try this out this year!

Secret Star {FREEBIE}

I like to have my Word Work area set up and ready at the beginning of the year.

Can't wait to begin Daily 5 instruction!

Word Work Activities

My (empty-for-now) Focus Wall...

Still have my ribbon word wall hanging...

Rock Star Word Wall

Can't forget my class rules...

Class Rules {FREEBIE}

Phew! I'm exhausted just looking at it all again! Time to turn in and start dreaming about the perfect first day of school, haha!

Colleen

Colleen Saturday, August 23, 2014 1 comment

If your Writing Workshop is anything like mine, your little ones need a LOT of assistance in becoming independent writers. And let's face it, as teachers, we'll take as much help as we can to get them to the land of independence!

At the beginning of the school year, I send home this form for parents to fill out. It asks for information that I might not yet know about my firsties. Once returned, it helps them to spell names in their writing and gives them a few ideas of things they've done with their families to help them get started.

Once my families returned the form (and ALL of my families returned them - wahoo!) I put them in page protectors and then into their writing folders. My kids can refer this helper all year long! When they get stuck in writing, I can guide them to this page and we can talk about what they might choose to write about.

As a bonus, reading these helps me to get to know my kiddos. Win-win!

If you would like to try using this with your students, just click on the links below for your freebies!

Writing - Help from Home {FREEBIE}

Writing - Help from Home Explanation Letter {FREEBIE}

Happy Writing!

Colleen

Colleen Tuesday, August 19, 2014 No Comments

Back to School is closing in on me. Must. Get. Ready.

I have been hammering away at my to-do list and I'm actually seeing some progress (wahoo!).

But before I share what I've been up to, you need to know that TPT is having ANOTHER back to school sale! Can you believe it?! This is perfect timing for teachers like me who are going back right after Labor Day and are really getting things ready right now. Even though I scored big during this month's earlier sale, my wish list has magically grown again, haha!! Be sure to check out my TPT Store for any items you may need to kick off the new year. And of course, use the promo code BOOST during check out! This sale is only one day - so don't miss it!!!

One of my summer prep projects that I've marked off my to-do list is making my Birthday Bags for the year. I've seen a lot of other teachers make these and they are such a great idea! I mean, what first grader wouldn't want a lil bag-o-fun from their teacher on their birthday?!

The best part is that they don't cost a lot of money (phew), they are easy to assemble (put mine together during an episode of Big Brother), and they are ready to go for the WHOLE YEAR! So when one of my little darlings has a birthday, I just pull out a bag and a crown and we're ready to celebrate!