I read a post by another teacher recently about how she didn't like the other teachers she worked with at all. After I read that I felt so sad for her and anyone in that situation. You don't have to be friends with everyone you work with but you can always find something positive in them.

There will naturally be some teachers you connect with more than others and that is okay. I began thinking about my relationship with my community. I think our school has a special charm. Everyone is wonderful and supportive. It is truly like a family. And there are always family members you get along with better than others.

Here is my question to you………Do you have colleagues you also call friend? Do you have someone in your school you can geek out with? Someone you feel comfortable saying "that lesson was a flop" or "hey, I think the homework you are sending is a bit too hard" or "....too easy?" I have been fortunate to have 4 of these people in my career. Each one different but each one a colleague and a friend.

Colleague friend #1: This person was the teacher I first began teaching with. She had been there 7 years and I remember thinking "Wow! What will it be like when I have taught 7 years?" Well, 7 years came and went and we are still together. Together as friends and together again as colleagues for almost 20 years! We knew we were destined when for one another when we each spilled iced tea on ourselves at our first lunch together. I taught 2 of her three children in Kindergarten and first grade. We constantly geeked out about research and how we were going to implement it in our rooms. LOVE HER FOREVER and have dinner scheduled with her next week. We will "beat some dead horses" as we like to say and bounce ideas off each other.

Colleague friend #2: This gal was my two girls's Kindergarten teacher. Super smart and super fun. She's been in my life for 10 years and I love her more each day. She still teaches Kindergarten and we try to attend conferences together when possible. Next summer we hope to make it to the I Teach K/1st conference in Las Vegas. When we share our thoughts about teaching it isn't unheard of for one of us to disagree or play devil's advocate with the other.

Colleague friend #3: She taught both my girls in fourth grade. I also taught with her in fourth grade. We can vent to each other and what is said between our four walls or over a Martini stays there. She loves her students and wants what is best for them. She is also great at helping them "grow up" in fourth grade while always keeping in mind that they are still 9 years old. We are lucky in our family because she will be moving to fifth grade next year and my youngest will have her for social studies which is her passion!

Colleague friend #4: We taught first grade together for 2 years but have know each other for about 7 years. My youngest had her as her first grade teacher and as her Girl Scout leader. I taught her youngest last year. Like the 3 ladies above, she is super smart and fantastic at her craft. (See how I surround myself with super smarties!) We both share a passion for researching best practices and working to implement these practices in our classroom. We aren't fans of field trips (is anyone really a fan of field trips? If you are more power to you!) and we love to geek out together especially about reading and writing! I am sad because she has moved to teach in an independent school in Fort Worth and let me tell you that school is L-U-C-K-Y! Although I won't see her everyday, we will definitely keep in touch and I'll get to see her when I go see my fam in Cowtown!

I hope you have at least one special person at work that that you can geek out with, vent to, bounce ideas off, and most importantly laugh that big make-your-belly-hurt laugh with at least 3 times a week!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

It is the beginning of June and that means joining up with Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for her monthly Currently.

She is also collecting donations for the Wimberley Animal Adoption and Rescue. I'm sure you have heard about the devastation caused by crazy flooding in Texas. Being a Texan myself (living in New Mexico), I was very tuned into the storms COVERING THE ENTIRE STATE for days. These storms caused incredible floods in many areas.

Wimberley is about the size of the town I grew up in South Texas so my heart strings were pulled when I saw Farley's donation call.

Now on to the Currently:

Listening: My hubby is at work. My two girls are in their rooms doing their thing. 

The oldest (15) is finishing a tie-dyed shirt she been working on this week. It is precious. 

My youngest (10.....finally in her words) is cleaning her room and listening to Kidz Bop on Pandora. She's been cleaning all week and that's okay because it's summer!

Loving: My friend (and former colleague....she is moving to Fort Worth to teach 1st grade....Her new school is so lucky to have her, they have noooo idea!!) came over for lunch and to visit about just about everything. We talked about school stuff, teaching, kids, and life. So much fun. 

Thinking: We are headed to Texas in about 2 weeks and I can't wait to see everyone. We get to see both sides when we're there. Laughing, reminiscing, loving, and correcting the stories my brother has embellished over the years! 

Wanting: Our 1st grade team met right after school was out to work on our long range plan document. I have made the changes to the plan and am wanting to begin planning for my year. A little each day will keep my sane when the new year begins. 

Needing: My girls and I need to do a little shopping for the trip. Ready for some additional summer garb and beach attire. 

Summer Lovin: Happy about the slower pace of each day. Happy about being able to relax. Happy about heading to the beach later this month! 

Hope you have a fantastic June and fantastic summer!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

Writing a haiku was my first grade class' final poem during the month of April.

I was very excited and a bit nervous at the same time. A haiku has a every specific syllable pattern. The first line is 5 syllables, the second line is 7 syllables, and the last line is 5 syllables. 

I had been thinking about the best way to teach and support my class as they wrote their own haiku. I contemplated modifying the poem so that instead of counting syllables the kiddos counted words. I decided to use have the kiddos count words if they were having problems with the syllables. 

At this time in the year, my kiddos have worked with syllables in reading and spelling. They have clapped, tapped, pinched, hopped, and stomped syllables all year long. 

To begin the lesson, we discussed what a haiku poem was and looked at several examples. 

Next, we quickly reviewed syllables and counted syllables in several words. 

After the quick review, we counted the syllables in the lines of several examples.

Then, I showed the class the organizer I had made. Each line had the correct syllables. I thought this would help them organize their writing.

We then wrote a haiku together. The children were amazing! They counted the syllables perfectly. When we had a line that didn't fit, they shared thoughts of words that would work and make sense.

I then, before sending them off in pairs to write, changed the organizer to the one below. The kiddos were able to write their poem and count the syllables without the original organizer. You may get a copy of this very simple organizer by clicking here.

Here are some of the poems they wrote.

After they wrote their poems, we used the app Book Creator to create a class book of our haikus. 

If you haven't used this app yet you must run and try it out as soon as possible!  Our 21st Century Learning Coordinator introduced me to it. This app allows for a simple creation of an ebook on an iPad and incorporates the features of the camera, touch screen, and microphone of the iPad to create dynamic and multimedia documents. 

After each pair completed the final draft of their poem, they added illustrations. They came to me and took pictures of their finished copies, added a title, and recorded themselves reading the poems. 

I uploaded the book as a movie and was able to share with parents. Below is the finished book!  

Needless to say, I was very proud of them and they were very proud of themselves!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

Sundays can be wonderful or they can be stressful. I try to make them as relaxing and stress free as I possibly can make them. 

Today ends my Spring Break, and I am suffering from either a cold or allergies.

It is not good ending a vacation not feeling 100%. 

I am lining up with Teaching Trio for The Sunday Scoop. 

3 Things I HAVE to do:

Plan:  I love this part of my Sunday. We have Science Fair for the lower school this week. My class and I will be finishing up our volcano project on Tuesday. We have learned a ton about volcanoes and want to know if they effect the rivers and stream as the base when they erupt. You can find us in the sandbox on Tuesday morning working to answer our question.

Write a simple proposal: I've decided to offer a First Grade Jumpstart Week next fall. Any first grader, current or new, would be able to come to my classroom from 9-12 the week before school starts next year. It would give them the opportunity to see their new surroundings, meet new friends, check out all the first grade classrooms, and practice some basic skills before the work of school begins. (There, my proposal is done! Ha!). My head of school has given me permission but I told him I would write up an official proposal. 

Finish laundry: I have one more load of towels left and I'm done. Everything else is put away! Hooray!

I start my new cycle tomorrow. A load a day keeps the chaos away!

2 Things I HOPE to do:

Math Posters: I have been working all year on a math vocabulary poster set for my classroom. I have just a couple more to add and then it is complete. I hope to have them in my TPT store soon. 

Early bedtime: I did take a nap (3 hours!!!!!) after I took some Benadryl. BUT, my mom was visiting during Spring Break and we stayed up too late each night visiting. Time to get some good old fashion sleep. 

1 Thing I'm HAPPY to do:

Buddy: My friend texted over the weekend and I haven't been able to get back to her. After this I am giving her a call to visit. I just love our talks!

Here's to a fabulous week for you!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

This has been such a big hit in my classroom!

My own children created these in first grade, and I have kept them all these years!

What are number scrolls?
A number scroll is a wonderful way for children to practice writing their numbers, place value, and recognizing patterns. They also practice saying the number names aloud without "and" in the middle of the larger numbers.

Everyone starts with a blank hundreds chart and begins in the upper-left square with 1. They continue to fill across the row filling in one number per square to 10.

They'll continue filling until they get to 100. Then it is on to the next sheet to fill in to 200.

As the children are filling in the blank hundreds chart, they are taking notice of patterns in numbers and how certain places repeat.

You can see from this sweetheart that he knows the ones place repeats all the way down in each column. He did notice he made a mistake early on and is now working to correct it.
Can you see the mistake?

This firstie sees the hundreds place repeating and has continued this pattern with each column. She has also filled in the multiples of tens in the last column. Notice the erased numbers in the last column. She knows it goes to another number but is waiting to fill it in last!

This last picture shows another firstie filling in each column separately. As she fills in each number, she counts to herself….604, 614, 624….very quietly.

This sweetie is showing off his scroll because he is getting ready to start the 1,600s. The firstie with the longest number scroll is on her 2,700s! 

How are they put together?
You will need a paper towel tube, tape, and the scroll sheets. The first sheet is taped to the paper towel tube. Each subsequent page is taped below the other. On the example above, the page at the top is the first sheet and the page closest to us is the latest sheet he completed.

We'll keep working on these for the next couple of weeks and then they will get to take them home.

I created a freebie for you to download if you would like to give number scrolls a try in your classroom.

Just click the picture below!

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

I am linking up with Farley again at Oh Boy Fourth Grade for her monthly Currently. 

Listening: My youngest is in the middle of her T.V. time right now, and she is watching a show on Disney. I think it is Liv and Maddie. 

Loving: I am on Spring Break right now. My mom came to visit and left this morning....sniff, sniff, sniff....We had a great time shopping, chatting, and laughing. My sweet daddy missed her terribly so we had to send her back. 

Thinking: Isn't there always laundry to wash, fold, and put away. There is in my house!

Wanting: We have 7 weeks and 2 days left of school and it is going to fly by when I return next week! Once summer rolls around we head to Texas and spend much needed time at the beach! 

Needing: I LOVE MY RHOOMBA! It is a life saver between vacuums. I've named her Mable. She is running right now in the living room. 

EGGS-plain your name: I named my blog Lunch Snacks and Recess because that seems to be the subjects my girls would always tell me about when I asked about school. I started beginning my school day questions with "EXCEPT for lunch, snack, and recess, what was your favorite part of your day?" It was the first thing that popped in my head when I was thinking of a name for my blog.

Hope you have a fantastic April and "see" you in the blogging world. 

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

We just finished our graphing unit. The children were loving the activities we did throughout the unit but were dying…..I mean dying…..to make their own graphs. That is how My Own Book of Graphs was born. 

At the end of math on a Friday, I asked them to think about a question they would like to ask 8 friends in a survey. Immediately, they began turning to one another and sharing their thoughts. In knew they were going to love this project.

Before they walked out the door, I told them what we would be doing on Monday. My heart was singing when several said they couldn't wait for Monday! 

I decided we would publish the project as a book. Each kiddo picked his or her favorite color of construction paper then colored and glued the cover on the front. This little sweetie is very, very careful and didn't quite finish coloring. 

Page 1: Tally Chart - The kiddos wrote the definition of a tally chart in their own words and then wrote their survey question. 

The survey question for my friend here was What is your favorite flower? 

I asked them to come up with 3 choices. The choices for this question were tiger lily, rose, or sunflower. 

After everyone was ready, they surveyed 8 friends in the class. Loved watching them buzz around the room. 

Page 2 and 3: Picture Graph and Bar Graph - Each kiddo used the data they gathered during their survey and created a picture graph and bar graph with a title for each. 

Page 4: Line Graph Data Recording Sheet - We also learned about line graphs and how they show changes over time. I used jumping jacks to help the kiddos collect data for their line graph. 

Page 5: Line Graph- We used the data to create our line graph. Before labeling our Y-axis, we looked at our data  and decided what we would use for our scale. This kiddo knew his highest recording was 16 and that he could count by 2s for his scale. This line graph doesn't go with data above!

Page 7: Writing - The last page incorporated writing about their process. I gave them a First, Next, Then, Last frame. 

Before writing, the kiddos verbally helped me with the process. Next, they turned to a neighbor and shared what they would write. Then, they were off to write. I feel it is very important for them to communicate the process in order to solidify the concepts in their mind. 

I love what this little sweetie wrote….."I wrote, and wrote, and wrote eight sentences…"..They are so honest!

I am so proud of their work, and they loved having choice in their survey question. 

Check it out in my TPT store! 

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess

My plan (key word plan) was to post pictures of my classroom in August like everyone else BUT things didn't go as plan. 

School started and......just like that ......I'm posting in January. 

I went in today to get a jump on my week. We have an in-service on Monday but not much time to work in our rooms. I ran, cheering with fists pumping in the air left the day of winter break without much attention to organization or anything else. When I entered, it wasn't as bad as I thought. There were dishes I left behind (yes, they were clean...I didn't have an extra hand to hold them when I left) that I had completely forgotten about and the "I'll get to that during winter break" pile next to my desk was patiently waiting for me. 

Here are some pics of my room:

My school is built around a historic residence. With the exception of some of the kindergarten classroom and all of the fifth grade, all the classrooms open straight to the outside. It is so nice during the fall and spring to prop your door open and let in the fresh air. 

So this is what the room looks like when you enter and you start scanning to your right. 

  

You can see I have NO labels on my book bins and they are a mess! 

        

Still.....more book bins with no labels....what kind of teacher does that!!

I love my Pinterest inspired tree. There are two in the room. My original idea was to have the tree change with the seasons, but I like the fullness of the green and decided to keep the canopy. 

(Really....the truth?!  I ran out of time..!)

Tree #2 shading my work display area! I think he is ready to shade some Snowmen at Night writing when we return. 

Now you've gone full circle and are back where we began. I love the birthday board that I created. 

Here is a closer (blurry) view.  So sorry....Just used my phone for these.

Look at how many September birthdays I had! Wow!

Welcome to my desk area. Neat day and covered tomorrow!

The black table cloth under the desk is covering tissue boxes. I have the boxes stuffed every where. 

I love my Sterilite boxes next to my desk. Originally, I labeled according to our rotation. We do an A-F rotation instead of Monday - Friday. That didn't work at all.  So I changed them to subject area. Much better for my way of organizing! During spring break/summer/or when I have NOTHING ELSE to do, I'll spiff up the labels. 

As a class, we agreed upon these responsibilities for our morning routine. We practiced the first step quite a bit at the beginning of the year. It is important to me that they make eye contact when saying hello to everyone in the room.

This is how my kiddos take care of attendance. It is a mimio file on a desk top near the door. They move their name to their choice like I did and attendance and lunch are complete in one step!

On the Morning Checklist above, the kiddos have to tell me where they are going after school.  Below is where they place their close pin to show me where they are headed. 

First grade is the independent zone! At the beginning of the year, I had a handful of parent do this for their kiddo. They looked at me immediately and said.....Ooops, that's not my job! 

This is the sink/storage area. Directly to the left is the main entry door and directly to the right is what I call the back door. We did the self-portraits at the beginning of the year. So stinkin' cute! 

More self portraits!

AND....My self-portrait I did with the kiddos! Oh, my you say!!  You can compare it to the hysterical picture of me as a "lady" for our Scholastic Book Fair. The book fair theme this year was Sir Readalot's Castle. Our fabulous librarian made these for us to show our book picks during the book fair. 

My curtains are Pinterest inspired as well. Love them. They add just the right amount of color!

This is one of the first anchor charts I make with the class at the beginning of the year. It helps to remind them of the 4 important parts of a complete sentence. 

Calendar area! 

 Hope you enjoyed the inside peek at my classroom. 

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Lunch, Snacks, and Recess