Teaching with Intention Book Study: Chapter 2

I am  linking up again to discuss and reflect on Chapter 2 of Teaching with Intention in our book study put together by Greg, from Kindergarten Smorgasbord! This week is hosted by The Primary Gal, Mrs. Dailey's Classroom and Flying into First.

This chapter is all about your visions and beliefs as a teacher and making sure you practice what you preach! I'm going into my fourth year teaching and I still feel like I am finding and redefining my beliefs as a teacher and this chapter really made me think!

Debbie Miller talks about an amazing classroom she visited in Chapter 1- one where the children are buzzing around the room fully engaged in conversations and making connections to the books they are reading and the work they are doing while the teacher is conferring with students individually and in small groups and really listening and taking note of what the students are discussing. She then goes on to say in Chapter 2 that odds are, this is not what the classroom looked like in the beginning of the year and that ever decision and plan has been deliberate in order to get her students to where they were during the visit. I know that in August when we go back to school, it is a learning process and we are all working towards getting to know one another and what works for the new group of students. Establishing clear expectations and procedures in the beginning of the year will set the tone for what the end of the year will look like. In order to get my students to where I want them to be in May, I have to carefully lay the groundwork for them in August!

As I was reading this chapter, I felt like Debbie Miller was really speaking to me and what I want to see in my ideal classroom. The quote that really stood out to me was "Real life isn't scripted. Neither is real teaching." I once was a long term substitute at a school that had a yearly goal that they continued to learn about and work on for the year. While I was there, the goal was to create an authentic learning environment and experience for your students. I really learned a lot from that experience and it made me really think about my lessons and activities in a whole new way. What is the purpose? How can the kids really take ownership over this?  I feel like kids really remember the authentic experiences the most. My belief for my classroom is to create a safe, loving environment where kids have ownership in their work and learn to work together and take responsibility in their own learning. One way that I love to do this is through arts integration. Some of the most memorable moments my students have said were their favorites was when we created writing or did a math activity and we created art to go along with it. My beliefs are still evolving each year as I teach but I hope that I've created this kind of environment so far in my classroom.

Tell all Tuesday

I'm linking up with My Day in K and Teach, Talk, Inspire today in their weekly summer linky party called "Tell all Tuesday" in order to get to know some other bloggers since I'm so new in this blogging world! What a great idea to get to know and connect with fellow teachers and bloggers! 

The first topic in this weekly linky party is two truths and a lie! Guess and see which fact about me is a lie and I'll come back in 3 days and tell you which one it was!

Two Truths and a Lie: All About Me

  
I landed my first teaching job fresh out of college and was hired on the spot to teach first grade. I've only taught first grade in my career and really love this grade/age level of kids. I absolutely love teaching kids how to read and seeing that little light bulb click when they go from reading basic sight words to chapter books is the most rewarding feeling! I'm definitely open to teaching other grades, but for now, first grade is where my heart is!

  
I'm a born and raised Lowcountry girl! I love everything about living in South Carolina- from the beaches, cobblestone streets of downtown, the sweet tea, and that Southern charm. I've never lived outside of the SC Lowcountry area and I couldn't think of a better place to live and raise my family!

I'm deathly afraid of bees, wasps, and all other flying and stinging creatures. I'm not really sure where it all started but for as long as I can remember I can't stand anything that flies, buzzes, and stings and have actually injured myself more than a sting would by trying to run away, haha!!  

Now it is your turn to try to guess my Two Truths and a Lie.  Write your thoughts in the comment section and I will share the answer in three days.

Teaching with Intention Book Study: Chapter 1

As a teacher, it's always important to reflect on your methods and practices and to be a life long learner. This summer I'm participating in a book study put together by Greg from The Kindergarten Smorgasboard. Chapter 1 is hosted by Primary Possibilities, Mrs. Plemon's Kindergarten, and Enchanted Kinder Garden. We are reading the book Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller. I'll be posting my thoughts and responses to the reflection questions on Wednesdays!

 

This chapter was all about how your ideal classroom should look, sound, and feel. It was an easy read and really inspired me to think about how my classroom set up will be in the fall. I'm moving to a brand new school and I'm already thinking of ways I can make this new classroom my own.

 

At the end of the school year, I often find myself reflecting on how well my classroom set up worked this year and what aspects I will want to change for the next year. I want my classroom to be a warm and inviting place filled with calming colors and super organized. In her book, Debbie talks about how kids are gathered around tables, desks, and rugs on the floor working independently, with partners and in small groups. I arrange my students in small groups around tables. I feel like this is a great way to allow for collaboration to happen so students can truly learn to work as a team. I also love for students to be able to move freely and have space to work while they are engaged in centers around my room. My biggest project this year was my classroom library and it was definitely one of the favorite places to be in my classroom this year. 

So many great things happen when students work together and have a chance to communicate with one another. This year, our school used Daily 5 in our literacy block and it lends itself nicely to collaboration amongst students. In the time we had allowed, I was able to pull 3 reading groups a day during Daily 5 and the rest of the students were engaged in the 5 stations of Read to Self, Read to Someone, Work on Writing, Listen to Read, and Word Work.  My students' favorites were the Word Work, Read to Someone, and Listen to Read stations. Daily 5 takes a long time to set up and put in place but once the students know what to do and what is expected of them, they can really take charge and run it like a well oiled machine! It's wonderful because it allows me to work with children in small groups and one on one to really make sure all of my students are truly understanding the concepts being taught.

This year I really tried to make sure my classroom set up was organized and that everything had a place when the first day of school rolled around. It was by no means perfect, but my piles of papers were kept to a minimum on most days and my desk was cleared off a lot more often this year than in any other year of my teaching career so far! My work at the beginning of the year in setting up really paid off. 

I also think that my Daily 5 worked better this year also. I purposefully selected activities and had determined where I wanted my students to be in the room working and made sure that they knew the routine well. It allowed for more authentic learning and the students really had ownership on their activities for the day.

I'm constantly reflecting on what I can do to make my class better for the next year and how I want to improve my teaching. I really loved the part in this chapter where Debbie Miller talked about conferring journals. While my students were in the Read to Self station of Daily 5, I would love to make conferring journals for my students to write down the title of the book they read and any reflections they might have after reading it. It would really help me get to know my students even better as readers and really make sure they are 1. being held accountable for their reading and 2. choosing a variety of books and seeing what really interests themselves as readers.

Five for Friday

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching in her weekly Five for Friday post to share what's been going on in my week!! 

  

 

 

We are in the final countdown for the end of the school year!! Only 4.5 days left (not that I'm counting or anything!) and boy can we all feel it! My class is high energy with the ABC countdown winding down to a close! Monday is letter W day and we are doing to decorate white t-shirts with an iron-on patch and everyone is going to sign them for a little first grade keepsake. They are also going to enjoy some delicious watermelon. Nothing says summer like a big slice of watermelon! 

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We had field day on Wednesday this week! The kids had an absolute blast. Our PE teachers really know how to put on an excellent field day. We played a bunch of relay races, water games, and tug of war. It's so fun to be able to kick back and really just play and enjoy the students. I even got in on the tug of war action when we did kids vs. adults and man those kids are strong! They had me on the ground in about two minutes, haha!! Field day is always so exhausting, but it's one of my favorite days of the year.

With summer right around the corner, I always worry about my students losing a lot of what we worked so hard for during those summer months away from school. I like to send home packets of quick daily activities over break to help them keep that knowledge and prepare for the next grade. I made a packet for the kids this year and included a few games this time as well. Hopefully this will prevent a big summer slide as the move into 2nd grade! This pack is on sale 20% off for the next 24 hours so make sure to snatch it up!

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I got a new fitbit and I'm really loving this little gadget! I love the accountability and it's so motivating to see the amount of steps I can accomplish in a day. Today I mowed the grass (for the second time in my life, what!) so that definitely helped me go over my steps for the day. I think this little visual will help me stay on track towards my fitness goals!

 

This little guy had his kindergarten graduation today! I can't believe my little baby is now going to be a first grader! I shed tears and laughed at stories his teacher told of their year during the ceremony. It was so sweet! I'm so proud of him and can't wait to see where his future takes him.

Liebster Award!

I am happy to announce that I have been nominated for a Liebster Award by Jackie  at Neat Sweet & Hard to Beat! Thank you so much for your nomination! I really appreciate it!! <3

If you haven't heard about the Liebster Award, it is awarded to blogs with growing audiences. It is also to acknowledge up and coming blogs and share them with the rest of our blogging community! 

So what exactly is a Liebster? Liebster is a German word and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, pleasant, valued, and endearing. I am so honored to receive this award in the beginning stages of my blog!

To accept this award I need to answer 11 questions. So it's Q&A TIME! 

1.  Why and how long ago did you start blogging?
I started my blog a little over two weeks ago! I started to connect with other teachers and hopefully share and gain new ideas to keep my classroom experiences fresh and engaging :)

2.  What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why?
Authentic. I want my blog to evolve into a place where I share my real life experiences and struggles in the classroom as I grow as a teacher. Just like the activities I try to plan for my kiddos, I want my blog to be real and meaningful and for others to be able to relate to it.

3.  Is there something you learned late in your blogging journey you wished you knew before?
I feel like I'm so new to the blogging world that I am still soaking up every bit of knowledge that I can!

4.  What is your favorite pastime other than blogging?
I love spending time with family and friends, running, and finding new projects to try out on pinterest.

5.  How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog/TPT?
I feel like it is definitely not enough! My goal as the school year is winding to a close is to really amp up my blog time and creating more activities to post in my TPT store. Once the kiddos go to bed I'm at the computer creating away. I'm hoping to establish a routine that will help me balance it all a little easier :) Any tips are appreciated!!

6.  What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most?
I love all teaching related blog posts but I really enjoy posts when they reveal a little of the blogger's time outside of the classroom. I love being able to relate to other bloggers through their experiences.

7.  Where does your blog inspiration come from?
My inspiration comes my own classroom and the activities we do. I also have to give a special shout out to some wonderful coworkers of mine. They have been so supportive of me beginning this journey and have just inspired me to push on and see where this road takes me!

8.  Which post that you've written are you most proud of?
I think I'm most proud of my very first post after we finished Spring Break. I very much enjoyed creating our parts of a plant model using the techniques of Eric Carle and the kids just had an absolute blast. Seeing the look on their faces when we first started creating the painted papers to use for our plant just reminded me about the special magic in a child's eyes. Also, I love the little meme I posted in the beginning. Every time I see that picture I have about 5 or 6 kids that immediately pop into my head and it makes me giggle!! :)

9.  Is there any post you have been planning to do, but have been postponing it for a while now?
I have been anxiously awaiting the start of our ABC countdown to the last 26 days of school (starting Wednesday, I can't believe it, woop woop!!!). I'm so excited to see what the kids think about the activities we have planned for them and hope to end their year in first grade on a great note!

10.  What is your favorite aspect of blogging?

My favorite aspect of blogging is learning from others!! I feel like our most valuable resource is each other and the ideas we all bring to the table. I love reading new blog posts from some of my favorite bloggers and taking things back to use in my own classroom.

11.  Which idea from a blog would you like to try yourself?
We are reviewing a unit on double digit addition with regrouping and subtracting tens and I am definitely going to print out this I have Who Has game from Katie King at Queen of the First Grade Jungle for my students to use while I pull small groups! I'm also interested in reading the book Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites over the summer. I love fun and engaging lessons and definitely want to read about some new ideas to take with me into next school year!

Now it's time to get to know some more bloggers!

I now nominate these fantastic teachers for the Liebster Award:

1. Mindy at Mrs. Thomas' Teachable Moments
2. Sandra at Mrs. Naufal's Nook
3. The Whimsical teacher
4. Amy  at  Blossoms of Blue, Life in Grade 2
5. Lindsey at Teacher+Mother+Wife= Life


The rules for receiving this award are to:

1. Link back to the blog that nominated you.
2. Answer the 11 questions posted by the nominator. 
3. Nominated 5-11 people (blogs with less that 200 followers) and link them in your post.
4. Contact the nominees and let them know that they have been nominated on your blog.

Five for Friday

Today I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share what's been going on with our week! 

 

We sent home the ABC Countdown letters this week to prepare for our activities in the last few weeks of school! I've already received so many letters back and I can't wait to start and see how much the kids enjoy each of our activities! It's definitely going to be a blast!  

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The kids finally completed all of our plant artwork and writing pieces! Here's one example of how they turned out! I can't wait to hang them in the hallway. The kids had so much fun creating art in the style of Eric Carle and this will definitely be an activity I keep for the future. 

Our school had Career day on Wednesday and let me tell you our guidance counselors really put together a great event! All different businesses within our community parked along the field and talked to the students about their jobs and why they are important in the community. My kids loved climbing inside the tractors, police cars, and looking closely at the firetrucks and asking all kinds of questions! 

 

We are headed to the annual Strawberry festival this weekend! Charleston always has something fun and exciting going on during the weekend and we love going to the different festivals throughout the year. One of my favorite things to do in the Spring with my kids is going strawberry picking. The boys try to see who can find the biggest berries and we always come home with a giant bucket full of sweet strawberries!

image from Time Saving Tools

 

This little guy started soccer this week and he is absolutely having a blast. For the past 2 years he has played t-ball but wanted to mix it up this year and play soccer. I think he's found a passion because I've never seen him more excited about going to practice! He's had 2 games so far and he's getting better every time. Next year, little brother can get in on the action too. Man will we be busy with 2 kids in sports after school! 

That's what's been going on in my life this week! What have you been up to?

Surviving until Summer

Hey everyone!! I'm joining the linky party hosted by Queen of the First Grade Jungle and Fabulous in First and sharing a post about how I am surviving until summer! 

I don't know about you, but I think our class is feeling the itch for summer! I love my kids, but when April and May roll around classroom management is about as easy as herding a bunch of cats! It doesn't help that here in Charleston it's been in the 80s and sunny the past week. I think more than a few of us would love to be at the beach or by the pool! 

I love going to the beach in the summer. It's one of my happy places and I could relax on the sand all day! I'm so lucky to live only 30 minutes away from one of the most beautiful beaches! I plan on getting my daily dose of sunshine by taking walks with my boys and visiting the beach every spare second I get!

I'm also revving up my workout routine to try to maintain some energy for these last few weeks of school. I hate to admit it, but when I started teaching again last year, my running routine went down hill! I need to get back into the swing of things so I've been hitting the pavement and running away the stress of the day. I just love to run, blast some music into my headphones and completely zone out! 

To help regain some control of my class, I brainstormed with some of my colleagues to get some ideas. One gave me an awesome idea of using starbursts as an incentive for those students who are making great choices. I took that idea and ran with it! I made some super star behavior cards and attached a starburst to each one. Whenever I see someone showing me super star behavior, they get a card. After they get 10 cards they can pick a reward from my catalog of rewards that go along with my regular behavior plan. I don't usually have candy in my class so I think it's been an extra special incentive for my students. So far, I think it's working out pretty well! You can grab the super star cards in my tpt store here.

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We still have lots of work left to do before first grade is over, but I plan to make our activities hands on and full of fun so my sweet kids can stay focused while still learning!  Brain breaks will be super important to get those wiggles out and I plan to have GoNoodle open on my desktop so I can click on a quick clip to get our bodies moving and focused again.

Lastly, my grade level survives the last few weeks of school by having an ABCs of first grade "countdown" until summer! We know everyone is itching to have a little more fun at the end of the day, so we have a short alphabet themed activity and it gives the kids something fun to look forward to (and earn!). We start with the letter A and have a fun activity and/or snack each day that matches each letter. For letter A, it's all about animals. The kids will be bringing their favorite stuffed animal and having animal crackers, B is a about bubbles and bubble gum. We'll have a bubble blowing contest to see who can blow the biggest bubble with bubblegum and with regular bubbles outside! We continue on with each letter of the alphabet until we get to Z which is the last day of school. We did this last year and it was so much fun, the kids really had a blast! Grab it from my store while it's on sale!

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We have 38 days left to go, how are you surviving the last few weeks of school?