Power of Positivity

One thing that really pushed me to starting my own blog was the amazing teachers that have inspired me as a teacher so in order to get to know them better I am linking up with a variety of ladies who I have followed for a long time!   This one comes from Gina at Miss Peluso's Kindergarten!  Now that it is 2015 we are focusing on positivity!

 I have only been teaching for 2 years and this is my 3rd year so I am still, sadly, using my kids as guinea pigs and doing a bit of trial and error.  As a veteran teacher once told me....kids need novelty....so I am sure behavior systems are always changing.  Here is my reasoning.....I felt that it was a crutch.  Instead of using logical consequences and our virtues (we spend sooo much time learning/practicing) I found it was just move your clip, clip up, clip down etc.  We have been without it for one week and I am already feeling more free and reflective about how I handle behavior.

 My husband and I are coming up on our 5 year anniversary and were high school sweethearts and it is nice to know you can just laugh and have fun.

 I am a very organized and plan-a-head type of teacher.  So most lessons are well thought out and copies made well before time.  However, each year I get better and better about simply letting things go and being more flexible.  We were working on odd/even numbers and the lesson seemed a bit dry (we use Saxon Math).  There was a one-liner about how the last digit, either even or odd, will determine whether the entire number is even or odd.  So an idea came to me mid-sentence.  I gave each student an index card and told them to write a seven digit number.  Then one at a time they came up, I read the number (they loved that part), and they sorted them on even or odd.  It was great!

 Last week our topic was Shadows and we worked on Main Idea/Details.  We read this great book and predicted the title.  To go along with the set up of the book, I had each kid bring in one item that fit inside a brown lunch sack.  We used an old time overhead projector and the students guessed what their friends had brought.  They were IN LOVE with this!  It was actually amazing how quickly they guessed the items.  Here are some pictures from that lesson.

     

We also used this great organizer from Sarah at Sarah's First Grade Snippets. Click either picture to take you there to snag this freebie!  We use it all the time!

                              

  

 To reward whole class accomplishments and behavior we use a class marble jar.  Whenever they do what is expected they receive marbles - - 2, 5, or even 20 for sub days!  Well this was the second time they filled it and the first time they really wanted an electronic day but I made them wait for it.  Well here it is they finally got their special day.  It was really fun and for only 30 minutes the kids were satisfied.  And now all the marbles go back and we start over again.

And this didn't make the list because it would have been Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and the weekend but who couldn't be positive with this beauty running around.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

GoNoodle Sanity Saver Linky

If you teach primary and haven't heard of GoNoodle you are seriously missing out!  I have done technology enhanced brain breaks from day 1 but usually just cute videos I found online and downloaded for the kids.  With GoNoodle it is so much easier and there is an endless supply of videos that have a wide array of uses from calming to getting those wiggles out!  There is also a class mascot that is "leveled up" after every ten minutes of play.  The loudest cheers come from my room when the kids have reached another ten and they see our little creature change!

Favorite GoNoodle Brain Break: "Freeze It" is a favorite of mine that has a variety of categories both educational and just for fun!  The educational categories even let you choose a grade level to meet the needs of the kids.  This is a fun one with emotions - - - I definitely wanted this one to set for just a bit longer :)

Happy Place: I am such a Type A personality that I can hardly just sit there and do nothing...to most people this is called relaxing, but for me, this is hard to do.  Truthfully, I need to do more of it and not always feel the need to be doing something productive.

Guilty Pleasure: It has been almost a year since I went low carb and although it is still hard to this day my one pleasure is COFFEE!  I don't really eat anything sweet so I can really get my fix with a nutty cup o' joe...sugar free of course.  I am very particular - half decaff and half regular with 5 creams and 5 splenda or if I am feeling an iced coffee it has to be sugar free vanilla with 5 creams and 5 splenda on the side.  I do not let them put the sweetener in so that I can taste it beforehand and make sure they didn't accidentally use the sugary vanilla  - - - it happens!

Keep Calm And: PRETEND IT'S ON THE LESSON PLAN!  Either I had a rough week or my blonde roots were showing -- sorry if you're a natural blonde -- but Friday this week I actually did the complete wrong reading lesson that was scheduled for next Friday....of course once we were 10 minutes in we just went with it.  Then during Math, one of my kids raises her hand and asks, "When are we going to take the spelling test?!"  FACE PALM - yep completely forgot.  No didn't forget to do it....never put it in the lesson plans ugh!!  Oh and there is more.....I am catching up on some lessons for next week with 5 minutes until my kids come back from library and I overhear the teacher across the hall telling her kids to not take their report cards out of the envelopes until they get home.  FACE PALM - yep completely forgot.  Now this one I did have the cards just never got them into the envelopes, so I frantically stuffed 19 report card envelopes and made 19 copies of our spelling test.  The kids didn't notice a thing!

Thanks to Elizabeth at Kickin It in Kindergarten for hosting this fun linky!  If you are interested in linking up please visit her blog!!!

My Classroom

A teacher's classroom can tell a lot about her personality so I thought this would be a great subject as one of my first posts.  My overall goal is for my students to be as independent as possible and be able to transition throughout our day as seamless as possible.

What do you do with all those sweet notes your kiddos give to you?!  I have had this board since I have started teaching and it is right above my computer, in the front of the room.... so I see it ALL DAY LONG :)

This is the front of the room where we spend a lot of time!  I use my Lucky Duck can to choose kids at random during lessons, partnering, and taking turns.  My fast finishers have been a life saver this year.  I taught K for my first two years so I am hoping to use an adaptation of them when/if I go back some year.  They are magnetic so I can switch them out depending on the kids, the time, or just what I feel.....AH the power of choice! Just as any other primary classroom - - we label everything!  If it is in my room it probably has a label on it!  My storage stool was probably the best $75 I have ever spent! It doubles to get my littles reaching the top of the board and is amazing storage for board games, math resources, and whisper phones.

We use our class coupons as rewards for a variety of things but the kids L.O.V.E. them!!  We have lots of free and non-food choices!

I have always loved the idea of not having a teacher desk and finally got rid of mine after a conversation last year when I taught Kindergarten.  Me: "If you choose Teacher's Desk, then you may sit at my desk all day." Student: "Where is your desk?!" Nuff said!  It was just taking up room and was a crutch for clutter so I got canned!  Now all I have is my little nook and our small group table that frames "MY SPACE"!  The source of all my sanity is my weekly lessons filing system where I have one drawer for each day of the week and an extra space that really gets used for guided reading materials.  I try to keep everything I need for guided reading so all my students have to bring is their desk folder and we save yet another valuable second.  My crown is probably my "signature" item....it was selected as my desk swap item at our work holiday party.  When I wear the crown no one can talk to me...simple as that...and it works!  Oh how can I forget the ra-raca (done in my best Kindergarten voice)!  We use that to transition through our daily five rotations.  I also like to keep band-aids and lotion in an accessible place for the kids so they can get to it without help.

This is most well known as our Work on Writing area but doubles where we keep our sight word photo frame, our community markers, crayons, pencils, and our word wall.  The most used resource here has got to be the dictionaries and word resources.....I send kids here everyday to search for spellings of words!

If someone asked what I was most proud of in my classroom arrangement; my library would be it.  I spent countless hours this summer labeling every single one of MY books (and yes I own every single one of those 400+ books).  Each bin is also labeling with the same label which has made keeping it organized a breeze this year!  I also have a beautiful bookshelf I got from a retiring book distributor that I place seasonal books and ones that don't really "fit" anywhere but I can't bring myself to get rid of.  

Ok if someone asked me what I was most proud of in my classroom arrangement; I would DEMAND to pick two areas.  HEHE!  This is best known as our Work on Words shelf which has sooooo many resources for a variety types of word work!  This is a hot commodity and I limit it to 6 kids, depending on class size.

Of course a place that hopefully doesn't get used often but is a necessary beast...the Quiet Corner.  We spend A TON of time going over virtues and building our classroom community all through out the year.  Each month we have a virtue we study and try to relate to our daily experiences.  This year I place two seats here....and no not because I want to place two kids in time out but as an option if they need to settle a disagreement.

Well that is the rundown and if you stuck around this long I have a freebie for you!  Just like every where else in the world, we have been spending a lot of time indoors during our school day so I wanted a fun way to embrace the winter and still learn.  I saw this original idea on pinterest and whipped it up real quick! It is editable so you can change the facts if you need to.

Click one of these images to download.......

Sweet Sounds Giveaway

Launch of my blog and participating in a giveaway all in the same week!  WOW, I feel like a "real" blogger! I am so happy to help a blogger I have been following and learning a lot from; Kelly over at Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten.  The rafflecopter giveaway will launch tomorrow morning so be ready to enter to win one of 7 prize packs; a total value of over $600!!

Go check out my L Blends Super Pack that I donated to the giveaway at my teachers pay teachers store!