Primary Teachers are Quirky!

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Primary Teachers are QUIRKY!

HUH???

Quirky is defined as…

” something that is strange/not normal but cool. Unconventional, surprising, odd.”

You mean ME? I am… ODD?

YES! YOU!

Here are the top 5 reasons PRIMARY Teachers are QUIRKY!

Number one reason Primary teachers are Quirky

We like to “DRESS UP”!

Now in most professions, there is a RULE of PROFESSIONAL ATTIRE.

Teacher's dress codes differ from grade to grade and school to school.

Profession attire for QUIRKY teachers?

In Teaching…we are a little “QUIRKY”!

Elementary teachers dress up to enhance student engagement.

Elementary teachers dress up in tutus. QUIRKY?

Minions teacher costumes. Thank You https://teachinginroom6.com

Yo Gabba Gabba! Thank You https://teachinginroom6.com

Elementary teachers dress up for Halloween to enhance student engagement.

Character costumes…QUIRKY? Thank You https://teachinginroom6.com

We tend to “go the extra mile!”

And it’s a GOOD thing!

( May have to add that to THING 1 & THING 2).

You get MY drift!

How many TEACHER Tshirts do YOU own?

Do YOU wear SCHOOL shirts on FRIDAY?

Do YOU OWN a Dr. Suess HAT?

Do you DESIRE a pair of shoes or socks that look like a PENCIL?

See? Just a LITTLE QUIRKY!

AND …HEELS???

Who can chase little ones

or grab the glue bottle

before it puddles

on the floor..

in heels?

You see…QUIRKY!

NUmber two things that teachers do that are QUIRKY!

SMELLS..

Who doesn’t LOVE to walk into a room smelling of…

LAVENDER

COFFEE

FLOWERS

COOKIE DOUGH

etc., etc.

We all DO!

And so we PACK IN THE SMELLY STUFF!

Strategies for making the classroom SMELL sweeter.

Sweet smelling sprays

Air fresheners are NOT QUIRKY!

Quirky teachers make the classroom smell sweeter.

And then …24 LITTLE ONES go outside for RECESS.

AND they come back in…

YUCK! Wet puppy smells need strategies for making the classroom SMELL sweeter.

UGH! Quirky teachers DON”T like the smell of WET PUPPIES!

SMELLING LIKE WET PUPPIES!

UGH!

And SOME of those 6-year-old WET PUPPIES…

NEED DEODORANT!

And so…we retreat to our OLD FRIEND…

Yeah CLOROX!

* in MY district you NOW must obtain a 1 hr. PD and get a “CERTIFICATE” to use CLOROX wipes in the classroom.

A Little QUIRKY!

But…we do what we need to do to survive!

Myself…I prefer cookie dough candles…

JUST ME.

DON’T LIGHT THEM…

JUST SMELL THEM!

Number three for Quirky teachers

Lunch.

A Primary teacher’s lunch is a LITTLE QUIRKY!

First, it has to have pieces that can be held in

ONE HAND!

The Quirky teacher can do more in one lunch period, than most people do ALL DAY!

I always laugh when someone says,

” You HAVE 40 minutes for LUNCH?”

Yeah…after I get 25 kids to the cafeteria.

AND…one doesn’t forget their lunch and we have to walk back & do it AGAIN!

AND…if I don’t have to call a parent.

AND..if I don’t need to run off papers.

AND..if I don’t need to correct spelling tests, prepare the SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS, write a note,

AND…HEAVEN FORBID…

GO TO THE BATHROOM!

( Don’t forget to EAT…it will be ANOTHER 4 hours until you are FREE!)

So…bring a lunch that can be eaten in ONE HAND!

The other hand MAY BE BUSY!

A LITTLE QUIRKY!

Number four for Quirky teachers

DIY? Quirky?

Those DREADED WORDS!

Do It YOURSELF…NEVER! NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!

I don’t think I have EVER started a DIY where I didn’t involve someone else!

Thank YOU to my WONDERFUL HUBBY…

He puts up with my QUIRKINESS!

Spray PAINT!

Quirky teachers LOVE NEON SPRAY PAINT! Raise your colored finger!

Did YOU feel your hands get clammy?

How your heart rate INCREASED?

Do you have a smile on YOUR FACE?

NEON SPRAY PAINT!

Do YOU feel the “NEED”…to spray

SOMETHING?

I know..it’s OK…

I think some people are “wired” with it.

The NEED to PAINT!

And we do…

Reading center storage drawers for guided reading centers.

Sterlite drawers

Tool Kits for BRAG TAG drawers

Teacher storage areas for centers, materials, and guided reading books.

Ahhh..organized storage for ALL. Quirky or NOT!

We will SPRAY EVERYTHING!

And…it’s OK!

( I’m sure SOMEWHERE…there is a 12 step program for this!)

QUIRKY?

YEAH!

Number five for the quirky teacher

Are you QUIRKY about BAGS?

No.Not grocery bags.

I mean BIG, LONG HANDLED, BRIGHTLY COLORED, (maybe) on wheels,

BAGS!

“I Like BIG bags & I cannot lie…”

(I think it’s a SONG)

Me dancing…

Lesson plans, lunch, grading papers...bags for teachers

Quirky teachers LOVE big bags…and I cannot lie!

Colorful Big Bags!

Bags that have files for grading papers, lesson plans, balanced literacy materials.

Organized BIG Bags…be still my heart!

Bags on WHEELS! OH YEAH!

But…

LOOK AT THE BRIGHT COLORS!

We will carry 50-80 POUNDS of STUFF in ONE BAG…

GOTTA keep MY hands FREE!

And not think twice about it.

I AM NOT walking BACK to MY classroom AGAIN!

Yes…I can carry it ALL in one trip!

(Why do my shoulders & my back hurt so much?!)

But LOOK at the BRIGHT COLORS! So cute!

No…I will NOT buy 24 folders at TARGET for 17 cents each!

I just bought the CUTEST “31” BAG.. 🙂

A LITTLE QUIRKY!

And so…

Some of us were meant to be PRIMARY TEACHERS.

AND some are NOT!

To those who are…

HOLD YOUR SPRAYPAINTED FINGER UP HIGH…

WEAR YOUR T-SHIRTS PROUDLY…

AND SMELL the QUIRKINESS in YOUR WORLD!

WELCOME to the CLUB!

If you have HUNG in here for this LONG POST…

Keep GIGGLING…

Here is a FREEBIE for YOU!

Back to School Vocabulary Banner from 1stgradefireworks

Check out OTHER fun things from 1stgradefireworks!

Pin IT! 🙂

What does READ AT HOME really look like?

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I am a BLOG STALKER!

I admit it.

I am ALWAYS trying to find the BEST, FASTEST, & EASIEST ways

to make my classroom run smoother & more effective while being

academically successful.

I want my students to continue to practice their reading & writing skills and strategies

AT HOME!

BUT..What does Read at HOME really look like?

Aren’t we ALL?

So each year I try to “change” a few things for the better.

NO THROWING THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATHWATER!

( For YOU youngin’s… Don’t get rid of the good stuff while trying NEW stuff! )

So here is something “NEW” ( or New to ME ) that I am doing this year!

I am NOT ( Ugh…),

NOT

choosing the Student’s TAKE HOME BOOKS each week.

( Let it go! Let it go!)

I LET THEM!

The power is in the CHOICE.

I thought if I chose reading books that were ON their reading level

THEY would MAGICALLY fall in LOVE with READING!

NOT!

I have RAH ( Read AT Home ) envelopes…

Purchased at REALLY GREAT STUFF

BUT ANY envelope will do!

Each WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY they bring their RAH folder back.

I have them choose 2 books…YES…2 books to put in their folder.

( I place a pile 20 or so, of books at each level …

*disclaimer…right now I have 5 Guided Reading groups..I group their

PILES of books by the Guided Reading group level…

So they really are taking home books at THEIR reading level.

Just a little teacher “nudge” in the right direction!

They choose two books, put them in their envelopes, and put them in their cubbies.

They keep them for 2 nights..hence bringing them back WED. & FRI.

We change them for two NEW books … and here we go again!

Some nights I add a READING RESPONSE page to their homework.

USE ONE OF YOUR RAH BOOKS!

( Your choice!)

You can get my READING RESPONSE Packet HERE

Some nights I have them do a page or two from my

BOOK CLUBS

Book Reports.

Accountability?

I do have a paper…lined…for parents to sign each night.

DO ALL OF THEM SIGN IT?

NO!

If YOU take a horse to water…Can you FORCE it to drink it?

NO!

Let it go! Let it go!

So then what?

If you have a parent who won’t support reading at home…

READ, READ, READ at school.

YOU may be the ONLY adult who reads with “THAT CHILD”..

We ALL have “that child”.

Don’t fight it!

Don’t PUNISH the child.

IF he/she could read it BY THEMSELVES…..THEY WOULD!

They can’t.

Let it go! Let it go!

BUT…

I do REWARD those who make the continued effort to read at home

EVERY NIGHT!

When they bring their envelopes back, I check the paper.

IF the parent HAS NOT SIGNED…I highlight in RED that date.

At the end of the MONTH,

I give a reward (and a SPECIAL BRAG TAG ) to those who have read

EVERY NIGHT!

I know…NOT fair for “that child”

Fair is NOT Always EQUAL!

I want my kiddos who

DO THE WORK

to know…

I NOTICE!

And so my friends…

I keep stalking.

LOTS of great ideas out there in

BLOGGY LAND.

And PINTEREST LAND.

AND INSTAGRAM LAND.

If you need some ideas..

Check out MY PINTEREST BOARDS.

Happy Reading my Friends!

I Needed a KICK IN THE PANTS!

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I can tell it’s SPRING…

I’m getting

LAZY!

But I have FINALLY, updated one of my MOST Valued PRODUCTS!

BOOK CLUBS!

HURRAY!

Now…I work 3 jobs…

I get up at 5:00 AM and go to bed at 9:00 PM.

I think I deserve some DOWN time!

BUT…

Then…I..get…really….complacent…

procrastinate…LAZY!

So every once in a while,

I need someone to give me a little

PUSH SHOVE

KICK IN THE PANTS!

Time to git ‘er DONE!

This has been one of those weeks!

So…

I have a packet I made that I use in my classroom

A LOT!

If any of you already have this…

DO NOT FEAR!

Help is on its way!

Now,

MY KIDS LOVE THIS!

The packet is full of independent activities, comprehension questions, word work, etc

ALL related to the BOOK OF THEIR CHOICE!

I can use it with ANY book.

My independent readers can read a book

and as a GROUP

( can we say COLLABORATE )

they can DISCUSS & complete the pack TOGETHER!

Now I don’t use it daily…maybe once every two weeks or so.

It takes them awhile &

I really want them to “get into it”.

Lots of rewards, positive notes, specials when completed.

It’s a GOOD THING!

BUT…

It’s OLD. Really OLD.

It was in need of “A LIFT” ( in all the right places ).

Sounds like me! 🙂

I DID IT!

I GOT ‘ER DONE!

And here she is.

ALL gussied up and purdy!

She has grown from 14 pages to 44!

She is ALL GROWED UP NOW!

I added a booklet style because

PAPER & INK ARE AT A PREMIUM!

So now…less paper… less ink… more productive teacher & students!

My Little LOVE…

Book Club

is available

at my TPT store

1stgradefireworks

You will LOVE this!

I need to apologize to my grandma & my MOM!

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I am such a SLACKER!

I think I have it all together..

I DO NOT! HOW? HOw to do it?

My Grandmother & MY MOM

raised a family, worked at home & outside the home,

and we always had stuff when we wanted it.

AND I NEVER ASKED HOW?

My Grandma & Grampa

This is my GMA & GPA…

I miss them both.

They lived on a dairy.

My GPA taught me about cows, HARD work, & what “silage” tasted like! ICK!

My Gma always wore a dress & heels. She was a petite little thing.

She wore toilet paper around her hair at night, so she would look “good” in the morning.

My Gpa didn’t give us candy.

When we left his house, he would give us a teaspoonful of brown sugar

, from the jar in Gma’s kitchen.

Nothing fancy..but it meant EVERYTHING to us!

They owned a peach orchard.

40 acres of peaches.

I never really thought about it when I was little.

It was just a “lot of trees”. HOW to keep it all together?

Mom & Dad’s ENGAGEMENT photo

This is my MOM & Dad ( I just found this engagement pic.) HAHA

59 years together!

They worked hard.

My dad went to work every day.

Dressed in his suit & white shirt

( that my mom ironed..I know ..with an iron & ironing board! )

And my mom worked a self-owned business,

was ALWAYS there when we got home form school,

and helped us with EVERYTHING we ever did ( sports, clubs, school, etc).

And I never asked HOW?

How do you do it ALL?

And now this….

Both my GMA & My MOM canned fruits, made pickles, and baked goodies!

Now I don’t bake ( leave that gene to my sister, Susie).

I have NEVER made pickles..& probably won’t..BUT

I CAN FRUIT!

I CAN FRUIT, A LOT!

I remember walking into GMA’s garage & seeing shelves FULL of canned goods.

I grabbed bottles of canned fuits from my mom’s shelves in our garage.

Peaches, pears, cherries, etc, etc, etc,, whenever we wanted!

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

It didn’t matter…it was always there.

HOW????

I never asked.

So now..I apologize to GMA & MOM.

I should have asked to help you peel, or slice, or wash, or……..or….or……

But, I cannot take it back.

SO?

I will follow in your steps.

I will teach MY DAUGHTER to can!

And my granddaughters!

I will continue the family tradition.

Only…we will use the recipe on my laptop.

( I know GMA & MOM didn’t do that!)

So here was my day TODAY ( from start to finish ).

Canning Peaches – jars

canning peaches

Wash the jars ( hot water & heated dry) in dishwasher.

fresh peaches

washing peaches

blanched peaches

Wash..rinse…BLANCH ( Boil whole peaches, then put in pan of ICE WATER!)

Their peels just slide right off!

Slice, Slice, slice!

Hubbies canning station

Too hot to cook inside!

Set up our campstove OUTSIDE!

Pan on the left is a sugar/water mixture.

Cook the peaches in for a short time, then pour into jars!

Hubby is sooooo good at this!

Peaches in jars

Sliced peaches in jars

peaches in jars

Then…

Boil in a water bath ( 25 minutes ) to seal.

seal the cans

and…

VOILA!

Canned peaches

canned peaches

There we go!

11 quarts of fresh canned peaches!

They will be sooo good this winter!

(Daddy gave us more peaches

…so I am thinking peach cobbler for dinner!)

or maybe…..

I SHOULD MAKE JAM!

Gma made jam……so did MOM….WOW!

This is HOW!

I should THANK them. 🙂

Here are some more posts to help me “get it all together!”

Planting Seeds

What is TRUE Teacher Appreciation? It might SURPRISE You!

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What is TRUE Teacher Appreciation?

I am a VETERAN teacher.

NO.

I have NOT fought in a WAR.

I have taught in GRADE 1

( exclusively )

for over 30 years!

WOW!

( Never “graduated” to second grade..as my students tell me!) 🙂

But…

I have changed my “VIEW” on teacher appreciation.

We ALL want to be appreciated.

We want to be recognized for

SOMETHING “GOOD”

we have done!

But..

things can get a little …

OUT OF HAND!

I believe..

YES…

I believe there are

those who

are APPRECIATED

and those who

WISH THEY WERE!

What is TRUE Teacher Appreciation?

I will say this ONE TIME…

IT IS NOT ABOUT TEST SCORES!

The teachers with the SUPER highest test scores

are NOT, always,

the teachers who are

APPRECIATED the MOST!

Now…disclaimer…teachers work WAY TOO hard!

I got that!

Some are SOOOOOO focused on the “data”…

they forget, or can’t “document” the traits of the child the “data” came from!

Nowhere is there a box to check that says:

___ Didn’t have breakfast ( or dinner the night before ).

___ Couldn’t sleep because my parents were arguing LOUDLY!

___ No one would help with homework/reading ( for the past two weeks!)

___ not in a good “mindset” today.

BUT…

these are kids!

This is life!

To attach a “number” to a student,

based on “today’s testing module”

is NOT what teaching is all about!

( Ok sorry…OFF my soapbox!)

So,

What is TRUE Teacher Appreciation?

Where? How? When?

Admins…

Please… I don’t need a new pen with my school name on it.

What is TRUE Teacher Appreciation?

If YOU really want to show me your appreciation…

HAVE MY BACK during an IEP

when ‘the team” says

I NEED TO DO MORE!

By the time I have gotten to his stage…

I HAVE DONE ALL I CAN DO!

Take the stand that I AM DONE!

SEND ME SOME HELP!

Now I have great admin’s…

I know they have my back!

THAT’s APPRECIATION!

If you want to “give” me something…

…TAKE MY RECESS DUTY!

…Take my class for an hour at the end of the day, if MY child is home sick!

… Come in and do reading groups once in a while

( an extra adult doing centers is ALWAYS appreciated).

You see…it’s NOT about the “things”

it’s about WHAT you DO!

What is TRUE Teacher Appreciation?

How do you know if your “team” appreciates YOU?

Do you “share”?

Do you “follow through?”

Do you “care” about each other?

My “teaching partner”…

( I said “partner” one time..it took on a WHOLE DIFFERENT meaning!)

and I have taught next to each other

( rooms 3 & 4)

for 24 years!

We are going to retire together

the same year…in 3 years.

( We “pinky sweared”…

..as long as nothing catastrophic happens before then).

Her mom works in her room.

I call her MOM!

Our students think we are

SISTERS!

See the family “resemblance”?

In my heart…

SOUL SISTERS!

We run homework for each other.

We share our students.

We laugh, we cry, we CARE about each other!

We are NOT the ONLY grade 1 teachers.

We have 1-2 others who teach with us.

( Depending on the year and student numbers).

We ALWAYS include them!

This is NOT a

CLOSE YOUR DOOR & DO YOUR THING!

NOPE!

WE DO!

Together.

Feel appreciated? YEP! Daily.

( I could have transferred to another school in MY district..many times!)

NOT LEAVING!

LOVE MY CRAZY TITLE 1 school!

and then…

Your students…

What is TRUE Teacher Appreciation?

When do they make YOU feel appreciated?

Is it when you are passing out report cards?

Is it when they forgot their homework?

Is it when they have interrupted you for the 1000th time that day?

Probably NOT!

It’s when that SAME little girl walks in EVERY morning

and says…

“Can I have a HUG?”

When the little boy who STUTTERS ( severely )…

asks if he can READ his newest story

TO THE CLASS!

( And EVERYONE cheers for him!)

The “behavior problem” child

who knows ( his MAMA tells him a lot )

that he is a PROBLEM…

and he hands me a heart he made with a picture of me & him!

( Melts my heart..right before he hits another student!)

and last…

the “older students” who come back…

just to say HI!

or…

“I got my driver’s license & I promise to be safe..just like you said!”

“I got a full-ride scholarship…to HARVARD!”..yes it did happen!

“I want to be back in first grade so I can PAINT!”

“Thank you , Mrs. McCarty, for listening to me!”

Giggles, Grins, Hugs, & High Fives to

ALL of YOU!

YOU make a difference!

The END Of the School Year is NEAR!

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The End of the school year is coming up fast!

May 1 begins the RUSH to the Finish Line! As of May 1, we have 23 school days left!

After the calendar changes, I start getting ready for Summer vacation.

Spring Fever is kicking in.

I daydream of the beach, family barbeques, gardening… Ahhh…

I am thinking BEACH! Spring FEVER is here!

But WAIT! I am NOT ready for the end of the year.

I have things to do!

STRESS is kicking in! So what? What do I need to do?

End of the Year Report Cards.

All end of the year paperwork for my students needs to be completed. We have to sign off on cum files. Put papers in files. Purge student portfolios so the second-grade teachers only get current information.

PURGE those files!

OPEN HOUSE

Our Open House for parents is in May. The end of the year is a good time for them to visit our classroom, see their child’s projects, and let their child “teach” them. I step back and become the “visitor”. The kids run the show. I teach them how to properly introduce their parent to me. “Mrs. McCarty, I would like to introduce you to my mother, Maria ” and we shake hands. ( Practicing good manners ALL the time!) The kids are the “guides” and they WALK THE ROOM (start at the door & show them ALL the things we do and then to their clean desk ( cleaned that day). EVERYTHING ON their desk goes HOME with them. MAKE SURE NOT TO PUT ANYTHING ON THEIR DESK THAT YOU WANT TO STAY. We have ALL of our end of the year projects completed and ready to go.

Clean classroom desks for OPEN HOUSE

ASSEMBLIES

Our End of the Year assemblies are WONDERFUL! Our school talent show, sing-alongs, class sharing, etc. happen this month.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

At the end of the year, we celebrate our families. We have a LUNCH on the LAWN for our families. They can bring a lunch (McDonald’s is ALWAYS a favorite), a picnic blanket, and have lunch with their child. They can bring Grandparents, siblings, cousins, whomever. It’s at their regular lunch time, just a fun time for all. ANY student whose parent cannot come, ( like ME..I was always working..dad went) they get to sit on MY picnic blanket and have lunch with ME!

Picnic lunch with families. Photo thank you to http://allaboutgracie.blogspot.com/2011/06/school-picnic-lunch-with-gracie.html

We also have our end of the year BOOK FAIR! Families are encouraged to purchase books for their child to read over the summer. We usually have a good turn out. If you have NOT had a Book Fair at your school, try it!

Scholastic Book Fair

CLASSROOM

We are winding down with our books and curriculum. Workbooks are almost empty, journals are full, and the crayons and markers have had it! The end of the year has taken its TOLL on student materials! 🙂 But, I have to get ready for NEXT YEAR!

The books need to be sorted before the end of the year.

Before the end of the year…START NOW!

Have students sort through classroom library books. THEY CAN SORT! Add labels to any books not labeled and have your books ready for next year.
Sort writing center materials ( papers, markers, etc) and make sure everything is in working order. Have your students check markers. Any that don’t work..TOSS!
PURGE your FILES! ( Yes…I said IT!) If you haven’t used it, seen it, or are not even sure where it came from…RECYCLE IT!
OPEN YOUR CUPBOARDS! If you have NOT opened the cupboard this year…YOU DON’T NEED ANYTHING IN IT! Don’t store stuff because you MIGHT need it. If you aren’t using it… BYE BYE!
Take out EVERYTHING from drawers and closets. DON’T PUT IT BACK, if you haven’t used it! ( I found 10 computer cables for the technology we don’t even have anymore!)
Have students CLEAN! I give them a paper towel and SANITIZER! Wipe everything you can touch! NO PAPER OR BOOKS! Chairs, stools, door, tables, desks, TOPS & BOTTOMS! CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!
Think about YOUR bulletin boards for the beginning of the year. Put ALL of the things you will need in one box. Don’t forget a stapler, tape, etc. MARK IT for TEACHER IMPORTANT! Keep it with YOU.
Don’t take home a ton of stuff over the summer. I allow myself ONE box. THAT’S IT! You are NOT going to do a lot of school work over the summer. Don’t FAKE IT!
I begin to pack at the end of the year, as soon as OPEN HOUSE is over. A little EVERY day. My goal is to fill one garbage can a day for the rest of the year. Purge a little every day. You have digital files…use them!
Runoff your first-week materials. Have them in a box ready to go! I am working on my lesson plan frames for next year. I do mine on the computer. Wouldn’t it be nice to open the lesson plan binder and already have the first week DONE??!!! I already have my year-long plans for ELA and MATH. My BFF teaching partner has done that.

SEND HOME STUDENT MATERIALS

I send ALL workbooks ( with pages we didn’t get to), BRAG TAG necklaces, student-made books, etc. on the last week. If I change the routines, I must deal with behavior problems. AND WE DON’T WANT THAT! We have a game day the last day. They can play our rainy-day classroom games. Then we write a letter to the kindergartners telling them about First Grade.

The end of the year is a fun time, a stressful time, and a time to organize for next year. Don’t “over-do” it. Remember…it’s YOUR vacation TOO!

When you are getting ready for Back To School… check out these HELPFUL resources:

Check out this great BLOG POST from LAURA at www.thecoreinspiration.com on setting UP your classroom library.

How to Set Up Your Classroom Library http://www.thecoreinspiration.com

My friend, CHRISTINA DECARBO will help YOU get organized for the END of the YEAR!

https://www.missdecarbo.com

end of the year organization tips & tricks

End of the Year Organization https://www.missdecarbo.com/

Balanced Literacy

BALANCED LITERACY

Be A Reader Blending Lines for FLuency

BE A READER… BLENDING LINES FOR FLUENCY

Write On Journal Pages

WRITE ON

Back to School Word Work BACK TO SCHOOL WORD WORK

CA JOURNEYS MEGA BUNDLE…

CAN WORK WITH ANY CURRICULUM

YOUR WHOLE YEAR… DONE!

JOIN THE BOOK CLUB

These posts will help ease your stress:

How to Prepare for a Successful Reading Workshop in First Grade

How to do GUIDED READING in 20 minutes or less..(FREEBIE TOO!)

How Do you Fit It ALL in? Balanced Literacy.

HUG your kiddos. BREATHE. Think ahead. Enjoy your SUMMER VACATION!

Wendy 1stgradefireworks

Get YOUR Hands DIRTY in the GARDEN!

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GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY IN THE GARDEN!

The SUN is SHINING!

The birds are “chirping”.

My chickens are laying EGGS!

It’s almost SPRINGTIME folks!

It’s time to plant the garden!

We gotta get ready!

So …how?

What do I do first? Then? Next?

( Sound familiar? )

We in NORCAL are ready to…

GET OUR HANDS DIRTY!

We have 3 raised gardens…

The garden behind the white fence.

And an extra large garden.

The windmill in our garden.

Yes…We have our own windmill.

( NO..it does NOT pump water…BUT IT LOOKS SO COOL!)

A twelve-foot sunflower grew in our garden.

Our twelve-foot sunflower in the garden!

Last year… 12 ft. tall SUNFLOWERS!

Our garden has tomatoes, onions, corn, and peppers.

Corn, tomatoes, garlic, onions, tomatillos, cilantro, peppers,

green beans, squash, pumpkins, grapes

Our garden has sunflowers beginning to grow.

The sunflowers are beginning to grow in the garden.

In the beginning…(sunflowers)

Our granddaughters found worms in the garden.

And our helpers…

Our granddaughters & grandson LOVE DIRT!

Best friends with WORMS!

(Put your coffee grounds into your garden…worms LOVE THEM!)

The black chicken is in the coop.

The white chicken likes to eat the vegetables from the garden.

We also have 2 chickens…

Snow white (Black..I know…SNOW WHITE has BLACK HAIR)

and Rapunzel ( She used to have yellow feathers..)

Granddaughters named them…

Thank You, Disney!

We also live in the suburbs…NO FARM!

We just grow what we use & use what we grow!

So Valentine’s DAY is usually the “day”.

START YOUR SEEDS!

Plant your garden!

HUH?

How? Where?

HUH?

We use seed starter kits.

( Lowes, Home Depot, etc)

Seed starters help us get the plants for the garden.

We start the seeds for the garden in small starter kits.

We put one seed in each “pot”, water daily,

and keep in the sun…

INDOORS!

(Usually on MY kitchen table for a while). 🙁

As the seeds sprout…we move them into a small greenhouse outside for acclimation.

The greenhouse helps get out garden plants started.

A small hothouse helps the small plants grow.

As the seeds gain height and leaves…

We plant them in the gardens.

We try to plant/ sprout / acclimate/ plant in the gardens

at different times.

That way we always have produce ripening.

I also have herbs:

cilantro, parsley, basil, rosemary, chives, mint

growing year round.

This year we are trying something new.

( In addition to what we already have..)

We can plant our vegetables in the straw bales.

Straw bales for the new garden.

Straw Bale Gardening!

Researching it now.

Looks promising!

(I think I may propose this one at school too).

Great for growing plants in a small space!

A NEW garden!

OK..then what?

We have ALL of this summer produce!

What do we do with it?

(You can only eat so much…so fast!)

Well…

Hubby cans!

(Yes…HE CANS!)

* This year SANTA brought him a new pressure canner!

Happy hubby…Happy wife! 🙂

After we harvest, we can to preserve our produce.

Peaches…yummy!

We made sauce from the garden tomatoes.

Salsa, spaghetti sauce, tomatoes.

ALL kept in storage for WINTER!

And me?

I dehydrate…I dehydrate WELL!

We dehydrate the garden vegetables.

Preserving fruits and vegetables.

I Love my dehydrator!

My new LOVE is

PERSIMMONS!

Persimmons can be preserved.

I can’t wait to dehydrate them this fall.

Persimmons to snack on…ALL YEAR LONG!

YUMMY!

And ALL from the gardens!

According to 2018

Farmer’s Almanac

The 2018 US Farmer’s Almanac

IT’S TIME TO PLANT!

According to FARMER folklore,

The farmer’s timetable for planting is:

“When you can put your bare behind on the soil

& it is WARM…

time to plant!”

I haven’t actually tried that…

I think I will wait for a little more SUN and make a good GUESS!

It’s almost time!

Get your gardens ready..it’s time to

GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY! 🙂

The farmer and his wife.

If you are looking for a fun gardening unit for your CLASSROOM…

*click on the FREE PREVIEW..:)

Robby Rabbit’s Garden

Click HERE to see the new packet.

Check out some more GARDEN fun from 1stgradefireworks:

Spring is in the Air!

To see the SUNFLOWER UNIT

click HERE

Teach your students about seeds with SUNFLOWER SEEDS A Plant Unit

Sunflower Seeds plant unit

APRIL 25 is WORLD Penguin DAY!

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How can it be WORLD PENGUIN DAY?

via GIPHY

I don’t make these up… 🙂

To celebrate

WORLD Penguin Day (APRIL 25)

some bloggy friends and I have “LINKED” up to

give YOU some FUN and exciting ways to celebrate with your

students and your families!

Here are just a few penguin resources to get you started!

Thank You PINTEREST!

PENGUIN PALS

What do Penguins do in the Winter? DANCE!

Winter Vocabulary Banners BUNDLED

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Earth Day & A FREEBIE!

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Earth Day is EVERY DAY!

New packet to help our kiddos understand that

Earth DAY is NOT a holiday!

It is a “lifestyle”.

We take care of “MOTHER EARTH” and

she will take care of US!

This packet helps young kids understand the “value”

…in coins… of RECYCLING!

They read story problems and count coins! ( 2 FUN things !)

EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY

Here’s your FREEBIE!

EARTH DAY IS EVERY DAY…Math Story Problems

How to Survive the 4th Quarter DASH!

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AKA… What to use to keep some working, while reteaching to others! 🙂

SPRING BREAK is Finally HERE!

Assessments, report cards, cleaning, paperwork,etc…

Third quarter done! YIPPEE!!

Though I really DO love this time of the year.

Kiddos are making TREMENDOUS progress!

Sniff…sniff…PROUD TEACHER!

So NOW we WORK!

When we go back we have the

4th Quarter DASH!

Catch everyone up to grade level standards

before they go to second grade!

And to HELP…I need it!

Some of my kiddos will work on YOU QUACK ME UP!

While I am WORKING with small groups, reteaching concepts they DIDN’T quite get.

DATA tells me that.

Right?

Say this with a SMILE..

“YOU QUACK ME UP!”

to be taken to my TPT store!

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade table of contents

ELA: rhymes, Read the Room, Sight Word Games,Grammar

MATH: 3 digit addition, Place Value, Guess My Number

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade rhyme game

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade Grammar

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade word work

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade story vocabulary

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade prefixes

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade task cards

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade Sight Word Game

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade 3 digit addition

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade Place Value

You Quack Me Up ELA & Math for First grade number game

My kiddos LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

So much fun going on in Room 3!

And NOW for the FREEBIE!

Click HERE

This GMA wants some

GIGGLE TIME!

And so…

HERE WE GO! 🙂

Check out my TPT Store for MORE goodies!

Primary Teachers are QUIRKY!

Here are the top 5 reasons PRIMARY Teachers are QUIRKY!

You see…QUIRKY!

A Primary teacher’s lunch is a LITTLE QUIRKY!

DIY? Quirky?

Are you QUIRKY about BAGS?

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BUT..What does Read at HOME really look like?

I thought if I chose reading books that were ON their reading level

THEY would MAGICALLY fall in LOVE with READING!

So they really are taking home books at THEIR reading level.

Just a little teacher “nudge” in the right direction!

Some nights I add a READING RESPONSE page to their homework.

USE ONE OF YOUR RAH BOOKS!

( Your choice!)

If you have a parent who won’t support reading at home…

READ, READ, READ at school.

Let it go! Let it go!

I want my kiddos who

DO THE WORK

to know…

I NOTICE!

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I can tell it’s SPRING…

But I have FINALLY, updated one of my MOST Valued PRODUCTS!

BOOK CLUBS!

HURRAY!

PUSH SHOVE

KICK IN THE PANTS!

This has been one of those weeks!

So…

I have a packet I made that I use in my classroom

A LOT!

If any of you already have this…

DO NOT FEAR!

Help is on its way!

Now,

MY KIDS LOVE THIS!

ALL related to the BOOK OF THEIR CHOICE!

I can use it with ANY book.

My independent readers can read a book

and as a GROUP

( can we say COLLABORATE )

they can DISCUSS & complete the pack TOGETHER!

Now I don’t use it daily…maybe once every two weeks or so.

It takes them awhile &

I really want them to “get into it”.

Lots of rewards, positive notes, specials when completed.

It’s a GOOD THING!

BUT…

It’s OLD. Really OLD.

It was in need of “A LIFT” ( in all the right places ).

Sounds like me! 🙂

I DID IT!

I GOT ‘ER DONE!

And here she is.

ALL gussied up and purdy!

She has grown from 14 pages to 44!

She is ALL GROWED UP NOW!

I added a booklet style because

PAPER & INK ARE AT A PREMIUM!

So now…less paper… less ink… more productive teacher & students!

My Little LOVE…

Book Club

is available

at my TPT store

You will LOVE this!

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I DO NOT! HOW? HOw to do it?

AND I NEVER ASKED HOW?

It was just a “lot of trees”. HOW to keep it all together?

And I never asked HOW?

HOW????

This is HOW!

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What is TRUE Teacher Appreciation?