Sticky notes and Pet Pests

Oh Friday, how I love thee!  Friday means...Five for Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching.

You know when you stop at the grocery store after school and have to drag yourself there because you are SOOOOO tired but you are absolutely out of something you need? 

Yea. WELL.....I threw  the grocery bag on the counter when I got home and ran out to an appointment only to discover this when I got home.

This picture just about sums up the week. Bentley, our beagle decided he NEEDED the bread so he jumped up on the counter, threw the grocery bag on the floor and helped himself.

It's important to note here that Bentley didn't just eat the bread.  He ate a bite out of every piece in the loaf. I mean....REALLY?!! 

But...good news....he didn't eat the cabbage.

Yea. My thoughts exactly.

Apparently though, not everyone feels disdain for their pet. This kiddo is psyched to celebrate that her fish is one month old.

Given what we all know about the life expectancy of goldfish, I guess this is reason to celebrate.







We have been working on story retell this week.

We have really been focusing on the setting of stories as part of the retell process.

We LOVE Brainpop Jr!  We watched a video about setting,

and we learned that setting of a story does not just describe where the story took place, but also- when it took place.

We enjoyed using sticky notes to identify the setting in a story from our book box.



We also reviewed doubles facts this week as strategy for solving addition problems.

How has your week been? Link up with Doodle Bugs and let us know how your week was!



Conquer the Chaos of Dismissal

Dismissal.  Just the word makes me cringe.  It is always the most one of the most chaotic parts of the day.

After much reflecting on how to make the end of the day go smoother I now have an action plan in place that has been working well in my classroom.

Having a visual as a reminder of expectations has helped students remember the process for packing up and preparing for dismissal. I project this on the SMARTboard just before we begin packing up and leave it up the whole time. I do see many students look up and use it as a reference.

This is available for FREE in my store. Grab it here.

Students store all their mail of notices and work they have completed during the day in baskets that are located in their cubbies. This helps keep things organized.

I call students one at a time to get their mail out of their cubbies.  They place it into their student binders that look like this:

The folders are labeled by subject.  There is also a folder labeled "notices." With this organizational system in place, parents can clearly see what is homework and notices are not crumpled up and scrunched up at the bottom of the backpack. Not like THAT ever happens.

Do you have a dismissal plan that works out well in your classroom? I love hearing from you!

Number lines and Dieting

It's "Fri-yay" so let's reflect on the week with Doodle Bugs Teaching's Five for Friday. 

After watching a Brainpop Jr. video on Christopher Columbus we loved making the three ships:  The Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.  They look adorable on display in the hallway with our informative writing about this explorer.



We learned about how to use a number line to add and subtract.

I introduced the VIP desk this week!  This was an old school desk that used to be mine as a little girl. I refurbished it with some spray paint and by decoupaging scrapbook paper onto the top and the students are in LOVE!

This was a fun writing prompt:  Should kids have chores at home? I love this kiddo's thoughts.  Why don't my own kids see it this way?

I started a diet this week.  I'm either going to be broke or skinny.  Maybe both.  The program is called Ideal Protein and basically I can't eat anything. No fruits. No carbs. No sugars. No bread.

I. think. I. may. be. dying.

I get to eat like an astronaut and eat 2 pouches a day.  Did you know that eggs can fit into a pouch?   Yea....

So anyway...I get 2 of their meals and a whole bunch of veggies  and one meal of my choice of 8 oz of protein (egg, chicken, fish, meat, etc) and 2 cups of vegetables.

My friend lost 50 pounds in 5 months. I met another woman who lost 110 pounds on the program but here's the best part.....

No exercise. Yup. That my friends....is the reason I joined.  I am consuming too few calories to exercise and though I want to rip someone's face off, I don't have to exercise which to me- is just as painful as ripping someone's fast off.

I'm learning to cook now too. I made this delicousness in the crockpot. It was great to come home to homemade chicken noodle soup on a cold and rainy Friday evening when I'm exhausted and starving to death.

How was your week? 

Pinterest Picks for October

Did you know we are halfway through the first trimester?  For some of you, you may even be more than halfway through.  So as we prepare for the chilly months ahead (I live in Massachusetts), I've found some great ideas from Pinterest to get us through the month.  Many thanks to Lisa from Pawsitively Teaching and Marissa from Inspired Owl's Corner for hosting another month of Pinterest Pick 3.

click on the picture to go to the original pin

Since I live in New England where leaves change color in the fall, my students are always very interested to learn how that happens.  This is a great science experiment with very few materials needed.

click on the image to go to the original pin

 

Is this not just darling?  Since we are also leaning about mapping this month, this is perfect!

 

 

 

 

click on the image to go to the original pin.

 



I found this on Pinterest last night and I love it!  What a great idea, even for reluctant writers.

You can follow me on Pinterest. Just click on the image below.

An InLinkz Link-up