We're Going on a Treasure Hunt (At Target)

We’re going on a treasure hunt

We’re going on a treasure hunt 

Going to get some fancy ones

We’re not scared!

Uh oh! a cave 

a sparkly shiny treasure cave

We can’t go over it we can’t go under it

Oh no we have to go through it

tip toe tip toe tip toe

I was singing that song in Target today.  I walked into the store, and the dollar bins starting yelling at me.  They were begging for me to dig through them.  "Toilet paper, toilet paper, toilet paper," I said to myself repeatedly.  I mean that's the real reason I stopped into the store. I just needed toilet paper and maybe a new eyeshadow.  I quickly tried to walk past them.  I stared straight ahead and booked it. But really, what's the harm in just looking through the bins?  I don't have to buy anything.  Isn't that funny?  We are teachers, and we can't pass up a dollar deal.

This is my parents storage room in their house.  This is four years worth of third grade classroom stuff. The bins are stacked as high as my hips. Do you think I need more dollar bin stuff?

I'm glad I stopped at the dollar bins, because I found some treasures. The first are these amazing word strips which are dry erase.  My dry erase boards are pretty large and can sometimes be awkward to get out.  I love them and use them all the time, but if we are practicing writing sentences, we don't need an entire board.  These word strips will be just perfect!  They are 4 for a $1.00.

The second gem I found were these sticky notes.  I bought two packs.  I wanted to buy more but after digging and basically emptying the bin, I found out there weren't any more. Imagine everything you could use them for.  Ask the students to write a thought about characters, setting, plot, and theme.  Have them write their opinion about a topic in Science or Social Studies.  They can wear their thought on their shirt and others can respond.  You can make a "parking lot" and have the students park their thoughts there.  There are so many options!  

I am extremely proud of myself because that's all I bought today!  Just these little treasures...............whoops, I knew it.....I forgot the toilet paper. The dollar bins have won again!

Moon Phases That You Can Eat!

The Internet is a great resource for teachers.  I often find myself amazed by the creative ideas I find.  What did teachers do before the Internet?  Between Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Blogs, we are in a great world to collaborate.

Here is a Science idea that Mrs. E and I found a few years ago.  In third grade, we are required to teach the Phases of the Moon.  After spending a week teaching all of the content, I enriched the lesson with a hands-on activity.  Students used Oreo Cookies to create the phases.  The original idea and directions can be found HERE. The picture below shows one of the my students work.

You never know how an activity is going to go until you try it out with students.  Here are some tips:

• Remind your students the cookies are not for eating yet, BEFORE you hand the cookies out.
• If you are only teaching 4 phases, you will need 2 cookies per student.
• Have extras on hand, because some of the cookies will break when students twist to separate.
• When complete, wrap students projects in plastic wrap or a large ziploc baggie to take home.
• A popsicle stick works well for scraping and moving the cream inside the cookie.
• If you have students who are diabetic, there are sugar free chocolate cream cookies available at most grocery stores.
• You will have at least one student who can't help himself and have to lick the crumbs of their fingers.  Keep hand sanitizer near by.

Back to School.....It's a Balancing Act

Take a good look at the picture below.  Have you ever felt like this was your life?  You wonder how you're going to balance on the two chairs without falling, how long you will have to balance for, and when you're going to step on stable ground again.

The Great Balancing Act

We don't always feel like this.  While there are days, weeks, or even months that your swaying back and forth trying to stay up, there are also many other times that your two feet are standing on stable ground.  Hopefully you spend most of your time firmly on the ground rather than balancing on the two chairs.

During the last week of August, I will be the man in the picture completing the great balancing act!  During this one week, I will be moving to a new school building, starting a new teaching position, moving to a new home, and starting additional graduate classes for my Principal Certification.  However crazy it may get during that week, I know that I will appreciate my life even more when I'm standing straight and tall without wobbling!

Knowing that my life will be a little hectic come the last week in August, I am trying to do everything I can to prepare for back to school NOW!  But, there is a problem!  I'm starting a new position come fall.  I will be moving from a classroom teaching position to an ESL position.  After seven years in the classroom, I have back to school figured out.  I prepare my homework folders, organize my classroom library, make name tags for the desks, create locker signs, set up the birthday chart, and prepare my first week of homework.  But, that all ends!  I don't need any of that for ESL!

So now I sit here and I start to get that panic feeling.  The month of August will be here in two days, and I do not know what to prepare.  So I ask myself, "What is similar between a third grade classroom and an ESL classroom?"

Answer?  Parent communication.

So that's what I have been working on.  Last week, I prepared my Parent Communication Binder.

Inside of my Parent Communication Binder, there is:

1. Class Roster I use pencil to write student names so I can easily add or subtract names as students move in and out of my classroom.
2. Information Sheet for each student that every parent fills out.  It includes contact and emergency contact information. In addition, I ask each parent questions that allow me to know more about their child and their expectations of the school year. 
3. Communication Log for each student. This is where I record conversations between myself and the guardians of the student. It also allows you to easily track which conversations expressed a positive and which expressed a concern.  (Thank you to Meghan B. for suggesting this!)
4. Divider Tabs which allow me to easily flip to the students records that I need. You can find these at Wal-Mart for about $0.88.  

The best thing about this binder is that it keeps all important information about students in one place.  No more searching here and there for student/parent/guardian contact information. 

Where you keep your binder is up to you.  However, I like to keep mine near the classroom door.  During a fire drill, I grab it and take it with me.  When we go on a field trip, this binder goes with me.  If I have to make a phone call at home after school hours, the binder comes home with me.  

You can find all of the resources listed above including the cover page, binder label, and direction page HERE at my TPT store!  

So tell me.  What do you do to increase parent communication throughout the year?

I Received the Liebster Award!

What an honor to have received the Liebster Award from Mrs. Hodge and Her Kindergarten Kids. Thank you so much for recognizing and enjoying my blog!

What is the Liebster Award you may ask?  The award is named for the German word "Liebster," which translates to "beloved" or "favorite".  It is given to a new, up and coming blogger!  How exciting!  

Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.
2. Post the award to your blog.
3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.
4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

In just the few short weeks that I have been blogging, I have linked up with some of the best educators around the country.  Blogging brings collaboration with your peers to a whole new level!

Here are five up and coming blogs that I think you will enjoy!  Happy reading!

1. I Love My Classroom by: Emily
2. Always a Lesson by: Gretchen
3. Teach It Today
4. Pencils, Books, and Dirty Looks by: Aimee
5. Learning is a Journey by: Bethany

You need to visit these blogs for great ideas and inspiration!

Magical Musical Chairs with Books!

First, let me start by saying I take no credit for this idea.  I came across it one night while pinning! Here is the link to the website where I found this brilliant idea.

My students are engaged in independent reading when they first walk into the classroom and again during the day for another 20 minutes. Because of this, my students are expected to either have a book already prepared for the day or choose one from my large classroom library.

This past year, my students were readers.  They loved to read.  I thank their parents and former teachers for instilling a love of reading into them. But (isn't there always a but), no matter how much my students loved reading, there comes a time when they were stuck.  You know what I mean.  They come in, unpack their belongings, go back to the library to choose a book, and 15 minutes later they are still standing there!  The conversation goes something like this:

T: "Britney, you're still standing back at the library?  Choose a book quickly and walk back to your seat."
S: "Ok, Miss Ely."
T: "Britney, it's been another five minutes.  Choose a book and get started."
S: "Ok, Miss Ely."
T: "Britney, choose a book, or I will choose one for you."
S: "But, Miss Ely, I can't find anything to read."

This is the point where I continue the conversation in my head, but I don't say anything.  The voice in my head is saying, "You can't find a book?  There are tons of books to choose from!  You just went to the school library yesterday.  You read those books already?  I have more books stashed away for when the class gets tired of these book.  I need to switch the books already?"

T: "Britney, what I hear you saying is that you are having trouble finding something to read that you are interested in."
S: "Yeah.  I don't like any of these books."
T: "Have you tried reading this one about the magical beast that saves the princess? Many students love this book."
S: "I don't like reading about magic."
T: "Why don't you read the first chapter and if you don't like it, you can abandon the book."
S" "Nah."

Can you guess what my response is?

T: "Britney, give it a try now."

Britney goes back to her seat to read the first chapter.  Later during independent reading, I notice she is still reading the book.

T: "Britney, I see you're still reading the book from this morning."
S: "Yeah, it's actually pretty good."
T: "Told you."

This is where I smile.  

This was a reoccurring problem in my classroom.  It wasn't that my students didn't love reading.  They just didn't know what they liked to read. I even had students reading the same book over and over again.  I mean, how many times can someone read The Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Entertaining book?  Sure.  Better literature out there? YES!

Luckily, pinterest saved me once again.

I call it Magical Musical Chairs with Books.  Add the word magic to anything and you have the attention of a third grader (which is kind of ironic since Britney didn't like to read about it).  You play just like musical chairs.  Make a circle of chairs.  On each chair, place a different book. Include chapter books, picture books, and books from different genres. Play the music.  When the music stops, students find a chair.  When they sit, put on a timer for 4 minutes.  During those four minutes they read the book.  Repeat.  There are no winners or losers.  The goal is to expose students to as many different types of books as possible.  They won't know what they are interested in reading until they try different books.

Makes me think of my college days.  I was not a reader. Sophomore year, my assignment in my Children's Lit class was to read a children's novel and create an interactive presentation.  I was that person that rolled my eyes at adults who read Harry Potter. What adult would read a book about some kid with magical powers?  Sounded ridiculous to me.  However, being that I was studying to be a teacher, I thought I better read the first book since it was so popular with children.  Well, I became a Harry Potter fanatic.  That book and that assignment changed my reading life.  I was hooked.  I even stood outside of Barnes and Nobles at midnight with my best friend and her nephew at the age of 23 to buy the next Harry Potter book. It's true.  I admit it.  And sorry if I ever rolled my eyes at you if you read the series.

Magical Musical Chairs with Books!

Best of all.....Magical Musical Chairs with Books is fun.  It's a game!  Now don't get me wrong.  This did not solve the problem of students saying "I can't find anything to read."  However, it became a standard in my class that you must read the first two chapters of a book.  If you don't like it after the first two chapters, then you can abandon it and try a new one.

Try it with your students.  You won't be sorry you did.

How Do You Connect With Children?

Dr. Steve Perry is my hero.  He is an educational leader, a principal.  Yes, an educator is my hero.  I have many heros including certain baseball players. And Marilyn Monroe.  Dr. Perry wrote a book called Push Has Come to Shove, Getting Our Kids the Education They Deserve. I read it in a day, and may read it again tomorrow.  In his book, Dr. Perry writes about what makes a good teacher.  Plain and simple, good teachers must love children. They must be able to connect to children.

This had me thinking about my favorite teacher.  We all have one.  We can all think of that one teacher that made us feel loved and cared for.  I have been very lucky. I have had some great teachers in my life who have made me feel like I was on top of the world.  Mrs. Miller, my first grade teacher, came to my home to deliver Get Well cards the students had made me when I missed a lot of school due to pneumonia. Mrs. Cseazer, my high school word processing teacher, believed that I had what it took as an FBLA member to attend a state competition. Mrs. Skutches, my middle school PE teacher, believed I should have been a J Crew model.

However, there was one teacher who made a huge impact and difference in my life. My favorite teacher was Mr. Evans.  He was an incredible third grade teacher. I can remember a lot from his class.  He had a big, old, yellow piano.  I sing the National Anthem at every baseball game I attend because of him. He had a large rocket ship made from felt that reached from the floor to the ceiling.  Reading in the rocket was a privilege we had to earn.  I learned that 6 x 5 is 30 because he quizzed me every week and was sure I was going to learn them.  My clearest memory, however, was when I missed a week of school for vacation. When I returned, Mr. Evans allowed me to show a video of my vacation. I vacationed in North Carolina and was going to teach my classmates about the Wright Brothers because I had been there. I was so excited to show off what my vacation was like while the rest of my classmates sat in school.  It was exciting as an 8 year-old child. Yes, he connected with children.

Mr. Evans never stopped influencing my life. When I was in college, I was given an assignment. The assignment was to write your "favorite"teacher a letter explaining how they had impacted your life.  So I wrote to him all about how he was great and fantastic. I told him how I couldn't wait to get into the classroom to be like him. I told him about how I remembered all of those specific things.  I ended the letter by asking him if he still had that old Tweety Bird Poster.  It was a cut out of Tweety Bird and on it, he had written "Tweet Others the Way You Want to Be Tweeted".  I do not know how I remember this.  I can't remember what I did after dinner last night, but I can remember faces and specific memories from long ago.  Our last assignment of the class was to send the letter to that teacher.  So I did.

Cut to my third year of teaching. I was just finishing up the year in first grade. I was getting prepared to leave a school I loved to move back to my hometown. I didn't know if I would get a job or where I would be living. My youngest nephew, Nathan, had Mr. Evans as a teacher that year.  Mr. Evans was finishing up his long career as a teacher and retiring. Nathan came home from school one afternoon and handed me a large brown envelope.  I opened it up and inside was Tweety Bird.  The original one that had been hanging in my third grade classroom 16 years prior.  Inside he wrote a note encouraging me to become the best teacher I could be. Even as he was walking out the door, Mr. Evans continued to make connections with former students.

It hangs in my classroom today.  It's old.  Very old.  Older than me. Whoever says you shouldn't invest in laminating is wrong!  It's the reason Tweety is still here today.

I tell my story on the very first day of school every year. I show off Tweety and display him in a place where I am reminded that true teachers connect to children.  I am not sure that my third grade students understand the deeper meaning of that story, but I get joy from telling it.

In thirty years, I picture myself packing up my classroom for one last time. I am older and wiser. The years of teaching show in the wrinkles on my face. However, I'm still smiling!  I walk to the office one last time to gather my mail. I scan through the items and stop when I see a familiar name written in the return address. I open the letter from one of my former students asking me if I still have Tweety hanging in my classroom.

I often find myself wondering which one of my former students will be able give Tweety a new home when the time comes.  So as you read this, ask yourselves....How do you connect with children?

What Did I Get Myself Into?

Do you ever find yourself asking this question after you volunteer to do something?  I do. A lot.  Let me explain.

This was my school building three years ago just before the first day of school.  It was closed the previous year for renovations. All students and staff were placed in a temporary building for that year.  This would be the first year back in the newly renovated and beautiful building. It was also the 95th Anniversary of the school.

F.A. March Elementary School

I am the teacher who has her entire room set up and ready to go for the first day of school the very first day we are allowed back into our classrooms.  I'll be the first one there and the last one to leave just to get it ready in that one day.  If your patient, you will spread out the work over the week.  Not me. I'm not patient.  I then spend the rest of the week getting ready for Open House and the first month of school.  Nope, I'm not super teacher.  I'm just ridiculous.

Since I was already finished setting up my room and just putting the finishing touches on it, when my principal asked for a volunteer to help her prepare some special things for the first day of school, I eagerly jumped at the chance.  I mean, it was only my second year in the building and I was trying to make a good impression. But, who am I kidding?  I would have volunteered even if my room was filled with boxes and looked like it was not even close to being ready for the students in a week.

Challenge #1: My principal never specified what she needed done.....just that it was something special.  This was the first clue I should have asked more questions before signing up.

After I signed up, I was then told my volunteer assignment.  It was to create a banner to hang outside of the school on the first day of school that said March School Extreme Renovations. Ever see the show Extreme Home Renovations?  It was playing off of that show.  All the students would pull up in their buses and see this banner.  The principal would cut the banner, and we would all file into our new home for the next 180 days.

Challenge #2: The banner was to be the entire length of the school.  Do you see how long our school is?  It's an entire neighborhood block!  Here is where I ask myself the question.  What did I get myself into?

So, she hands me the paint and brushes, leads me to the paper, and tells me good luck.

Challenge #3: No way am I ever going to find a space large enough to lay out this banner and paint on it.  It's also a BRAND NEW building.  I will not be the first person to get paint on the floor.  Leave that to the students.

Outside I go with my large roll of paper (its heavy), paintbrushes, and paint.

Challenge #4: It's August.  I'm in Easton, PA.  If you know anything about Pennsylvania summers....it's hot and humid!  I'm on the blacktop in the beating sun.  It's the only place large enough to stretch out the roll of paper.  I'm sweating.  A lot.

I again, ask myself the question.  What did I get myself into?  I decide to separate the banner into three different sections.  One section will say March School.  The second banner will say Extreme.  The third will say Renovation.

Challenge #5: It's breezy. Now while this might be a good thing since I'm in the beating sun, it's not so great when I am trying to lay out huge lengths of banner paper.  Yup, you guessed it.  It starts to blow around.  But of course, not before I start painting.  I paint the "M" in March and the entire thing blows around and there is gravel stuck in the paint on my "M".  Maybe nobody will notice.

Then it happens.  I am about to ask myself that question again, when Mrs. M comes to save me!  She helps me hold the banner down while I paint.  I don't know that I ever formally thanked Mrs. M.  But I should.  The banner could have been an entire mess of paint mixed with chunks of gravel.  You know those projects that first graders do for symmetry where they paint one side of a paper, fold it in half and magically their design is on the other side.  That would have been my banner but with the wonderful texture of gravel.  Maybe I would say that I was trying to take a multi-sensory approach.

The end result? (I had to piece together three pictures for you to get the idea.)

Not my best work, but I have to say it all started with a pretty good idea.  Hanging the banners?  Well that's a whole other blog entry.

The students were extremely excited as our principal cut through the banner and they were able to enter.  It made a statement!  I would suggest that this could be done at your school.  You don't need a new building or a 95th anniversary to make students excited about entering through the doors on the first day of school.

What did I learn through this experience?  I have never regretted volunteering for something that puts a smile on the faces of students even if I find myself asking, "What did I get myself into?"