Toby Keith and watercolors..Hmmmm

Red Solo Cups…
Oh, How I LOVE my RED SOLO CUPS!

Um…I’m talking about in my classroom LADIES & GENTS!

What DID YOU THINK…Hmmmm??? 🙂

My kiddos had a problem with markers.

No lids, mixing up colors, etc…

I needed a 12 step intervention.

QUICK!

Enter…RED SOLO CUPS!

( I hear the Toby Keith song in my head!)

What does that have to do with Markers?

Toby Keith and his Red Solo Cup…what does that have to do with Markers?

But… I need those Cups!

Here is our before… in a tub .
ALL mixed up. YUCK!

Enter my HERO!

RED SOLO CUP!
RED SOLO CUP!

My firsties have become OCD about it!

ALL lids on! check

Colors separated! check

Markers standing tall! check

( RED SOLO CUP! RED SOLO CUP!

…sorry song stuck in my head!)

Anyways….here’s to firstie organization! 🙂

Thought I’d add some FIRSTIE LOVE TOO…

We never paint!

Well, we haven’t until now.

So here is our gift to you!

EYE CANDY FOR GRADE 1 TEACHERS!

(Doesn’t take much to make us happy!)

Enjoy!

How Calendar Time Starts MY Day!

My favorite CALENDAR,,,Krista @ Creative Clips Paper

Calendar Time. I’m NOT sure WHO needs it more..

ME? or my students?

Coffee?

Restroom Time?

RECESS????

NO!

CALENDAR TIME!

I Love Calendar Time.

I Love reading through the MONTH.

What’s happening THIS week

Next Week.

All month!

It keeps my “getting older” brain…

FOCUSED!

It helps my kiddos stay on top of events for this week and this month.

This week we are discussing:

CALENDAR TIME

and

MORNING MEETINGS!

classroom calendar — My classroom calendar wall

My calendar is next to my focus board.

This is where we begin our morning meeting.

After vocabulary discussions, calendar,

days of the week ,months of the year, HFW cards..

I get to do a READ ALOUD!

Working on reading strategies!

All of this in about 15-20 minutes!

Whew!

Classroom calendar — first grade calendar…How to start the day!

My calendar is in PLACE VALUE numbers!

I got it HERE.

I also have MELONHEADZ Holiday cards.

LOVE THEM TOO!

I try to “release” the CALENDAR instruction to my students as the year progresses.

By the end of the yer, THEY lead the calendar time.

But , I still get to do the READ ALOUD!

I LOVE IT!

Just a quick shout out to

Krista@Creative Clips Papers Collection

Creative Clips Paper Products

teacher paper calendar

This is MY Calendar!

I use it every DAY!

My Preps, meetings, Notes, appointments, etc.

AND I GET TO USE MY FLAIR PENS! 🙂

One PAD lasts 2 years!

I LOVE MINE!

I do MATH Calendar after lunch.

Math wall, focus wall, math calendar wall

We go back to number of days in school, place value, etc.

This begins my REVIEW of math concepts BEFORE we begin anything new!

We count to 120 by 5’s & 10’s ..2’s to 50 at the end of the year.

This is my FAVORITE!

monkey math, first grade math

It ALL begins with Calendar TIME.

Check it out on PINTEREST and TPT!

5.5 days left…but who’s counting?

I admit it.

I AM TIRED!

I am counting the days until vacation.

I am counting the days until I don’t have to leave the house by 7:15 AM.

I am counting the days…until I can have coffee at 8:00AM.

Ah…I Am READY!

BUT…

My teacher BRAIN won’t

STOP!

I want to start getting ready for

NEXT YEAR!!!

I know…relax, breathe…ENJOY YOUR SUMMER!

I can’t STOP! I want to plan!

We are getting a new reading program next year.

CA JOURNEYS here we come!

And so…I have begun. counting.

I have begun to plan.

MY day, my month, my year!

I am starting my new projects today!

Here’s a PREVIEW!

Focus Wall Printables

SPELLING for the YEAR!!!!

The BEST PART???

These Packets can be used with ANY program!

( Just because it follows CA Journeys…doesn’t mean it will ONLY work with

that program!)

Here is the FREE Focus Wall Headers… 🙂

How about

DAILY PROOFREADING PRACTICE??

More on the WAY!

Keep checking back!

I’m counting on it!

All available HERE.

Now…Where is my beach chair? 🙂

Time to relax! 🙂

5.5 days to go… 🙂

Partner Reading. The How & The WHEN.

I LOVE to watch kids read!

Their faces “light up” when they “GET IT!”

They giggle at illustrations.

They laugh OUT LOUD,

when things are FUNNY!

They squint with their eyebrows touching when they can’t figure something out.

It’s MAGIC!

And then..we ask them to

SHARE!

Share the excitement of reading with ANOTHER!

ANOTHER?

It’s like I have asked them to “give a kidney!”

They don’t want to share.

NO! NO! Don’t make me give away my LOVE of reading!

STOP!

I didn’t ask you to give it away…just spread the LOVE!

And so..we share.

We PARTNER read!

We share a lot..and we share WELL!

I LOVE Daily 5

( no affiliation or permission from 2sisters…just LOVE their stuff!)

I am sooooo excited!

Today I took the legs OFF of one of my tables!

I have NEVER done ANYTHING like this BEFORE!

SO FUN!

My kiddos LOVE it!

I told them it was a “WORK PLACE” and only students who are

“WORKING” can be there!

IT WORKED!

They worked, and worked, and worked!

Here they are:

Later in the day…there were 10 students on ipads with headphones

ALL engaged!

HAPPY TEACHER!

Now BACK to Partners..

We use chairs facing each other.

We use chairs NEXT to each other.

We sit on the floor and read.

And we lay down and read.

And HOW do I choose PARTNERS?

3 ways:

Sticks,

My choice,

Their choice.

I use popsicle sticks with their names on it,

if they are rereading text we have read together.

That way, the partners reading level is NOT an issue.

Just a reread.

I choose the PARTNERS if the story is a “LEVELED” read.

That way I can be assured both partners

have the necessary skills to comprehend the text.

And…they choose!

We do MUST DO’s and MAY DO’s

for guided reading.

My class has a list of centers they MUST DO

before they MAY DO their choices.

Usually the “paper” center is a PARTNER CENTER.

They can choose a partner who can “help” them.

Or they can choose to “work by themselves”.

Last, It’s their CHOICE.

They look for the PARTNER symbol on the MUST DO board.

I like the discussions and the community that comes from a busy classroom.

They learn from me and from each other.

I am looking into more alternative seatings for groups in my classroom.

So more partners can work together.

How do YOU group students for working in YOUR classroom?

It’s Time to Get Ready for…The END OF THE YEAR!

A FREEBIE to Help you get PACKING! 🙂

What are YOU Packing?

WHAT ARE YOU

PACKING IN BOXES

FOR THE END

OF THE SCHOOL YEAR??

Here is my list:

It’s ALL about ME!

What will I need the first week?

My TE’s…Sticky notes inside to remind my “aging” brain…what I INTEND to do!

What MATERIALS will I need to accomplish this?

USE THOSE STICKY NOTES INSIDE YOUR TE!

You will NOT remember months from now… what you are thinking about TODAY!

Use the next few weeks to make your NOTES!

Before the end of the year, get ready for the BEGINNING of the Year!

Don’t forget…hide a few

water bottles, mints, chocolate, and Tylenol

for the first week back…FOR YOU!

Never know how that FIRST WEEK will go!

BE Prepared!

Student materials ( packets, papers, journals, etc ).

RUN THEM NOW!

( Nothing feels better than pulling out MUCH NEEDED

things…ALREADY DONE!)

Whew! SO glad I prepped these BEFORE school was out!!

I ran off ALL papers I would need for the first two weeks, before the end of the year.

Beginning of the year..all prepped!

Get some puzzles, games, blocks, etc. out.

THEY WILL NOT BE INDEPENDENT!

Have a few things ready so they can have “down time”…

while YOU are doing ONE-TO-ONE assessing!

You know you will HAVE TO…prepare for IT!

Last….MANY BOXES for centers, games, things you need to go through

LATER!

I know you NEED these..

BUT

You will “SURVIVE” looking at them LATER!

NO STRESS!

( YEAH, right!)

Prepare today…

after a RELAXING Summer…

the thought of coming back

and redoing everything in a day or two is

EXCRUTIATING!

Breathe…relax…make your lists…stick to them…and PREP AWAY!

The payoff is HUGE!

Now…where did I pack that STAPLER?

Here are some HELPERS to get your year started!

EVERYTHING?

Time to PURGE!

I think I need a LOT MORE BOXES!

Hi HO..HI HO…It’s off to pack I go!

Here is a little FREEBIE to help you get ready!

Back to School FREEBIE!Word Work Preview.

DO you Garden? A little or a LOT?

3 Replies

What does YOUR garden look like?

Do YOU garden?

My hubby is a gardener.

I mean HE LOVES TO GARDEN!

We have raised garden beds.

A few of them.

And we have PRODUCE!

One week’s harvest!

Check out these posts for more about MY

FARMER – Without – A- Farm!

Get Your Hands Dirty!

Secret of Life

Meet the “Little Ones”

I need to APOLOGIZE…

Me? Not “love” to garden.

I “like” to garden.

I love to HARVEST.

I love to eat.

I don’t like to WEED.

I don’t like to sweat.

Fingers dirty? It’s OK.

As long as I can WASH THEM…SOON!

Love my new GLOVES!

So we plan our garden.

We grow seeds on our kitchen table.

We start them indoors,

so we can move them

OUTDOORS!

He reads OLD FARMERS ALMANAC.

As a teacher,

I want MY students

to learn to grow their own food.

I want my students to LOVE to garden!
We planted a GARDEN!

We will plant tomatoes, pumpkins, Swiss chard,

& lettuce in our raised garden.

The garden flowers will go on either side of the planter.

Now to help you in the classroom…

Sunflower Seeds

Robby Rabbit’s Garden

Check out my

Learn All about Plants

Pinterest Board.

1stgradefireworks Robby Rabbit's Garden Orange

Robby Rabbit’s Garden. Complete CCSS Grade One unit for Reading, Writing, and Math.More Fun ideas for

Planting and Learning About a Garden.

How do YOU garden?

A Little Teacher Appreciation…We LOVE YOU!

I am a VETERAN teacher.

NO.

I have NOT fought in a WAR.

I have taught in GRADE 1

( exclusively )

for over 27 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!

I will say this ONE TIME..

IT IS NOT ABOUT TEST SCORES!

The teacher’s 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!

No where is there a box to check that says:

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

___ Couldn’t sleep because parents were arguing LOUDLY!

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

or

___ not in a good “mind set” 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 ,

Teacher Appreciation.

Where? How? When?

Admin’s…

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

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!

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 21 years!

We are going to retire together

the same year…in 5 years.

( We “pinky sweared”…

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

Her mom works in her room.

I call her MOM!

Our student’s 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 transfered to another school in MY district..many times!)

NOT LEAVING!

LOVE MY

CRAZY TITLE 1 school!

and then..

Your students..

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 interuupted 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?”

or

When the little boy who STUTTERS ( severely )…

asks if he can READ his newest story

TO THE CLASS!

( And EVERYONE cheers for him!)

or

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!

So here is to YOU , my teacher friends!

YOU ARE APPRECIATED! By ALL of US!

Wendy 1stgradefireworks

DJ Inkers Knows Teacher Appreciation!

It’s a DJ INKERS Teacher Appreciation SALE!

WOWZA!

DJ Inkers LOVES teachers!

The DJ INKERS Teacher Appreciation Sale is from MAY 2-8.

EVERY SMILE IS ON SALE!

DJ INKERS is giving away a $25 GIftcard to ONE LUCKY WINNER!

Also…

1stgradefireworks is giving ONE LUCKY WINNER

Robby Rabbit’s Garden AND What is a Balanced Literacy Classroom .

Over $20 in FREE PRODUCTS!

Just because

WE APPRECIATE YOU!

Enter the Rafflecopter HERE!

Robby Rabbit’s Garden https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Robby-Rabbits-GardenGrade-1-Unit-of-StudyCCSS-included-1169757

What is a Balanced Literacy Classroom?https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-is-a-BALANCED-LITERACY-classroom-1776415

Enter before May 8, 2019.

Good LUCK!

Wendy 1stgradefireworks

Helping my EL’s with Writing.

My kiddos come with a SMALL amount of ENGLISH print.

MOST..not all..but MOST have enough English to communicate

everyday NEEDS to me.

BATHROOM, Recess, and When is LUNCH?

How to help EL’s write, when you don’t speak the same language?

We are OK.

BUT…

English PRINT?

WOWZA! Another WORLD!

FIRST…

We begin…BEGIN…with Phonemic Awareness.

Sounds…

ORAL…

NO PRINT!

Letter Sounds, Vocabulary Words, Rhymes, Alliterations,,

SOUNDS

and LOTS OF THEM!

Next…

We ADD

PHONICS!

A symbol (letter/word) to the sounds.

Alphabet, HFW, Word Families, emergent readers, etc.

For those who make READING a priority…

they excell!

For those who don’t have a LOT of support at home..

It can take LONGER…

But..

THEN…

We WRITE!

We write well and we write A LOT!

Lists, poems, booklets, stories, and they LOVE IT!

The problem occurs when they don’t have an ENGLISH word to attach to the “word” in their head!

Vocabulary MUST be a HUGE part of the daily writing minilessons.

And RESOURCES!

We use Step Up to Writing…

Writing Stoplight

and

I “supplement”…Ummm

SUPPLANT

with

LUCY CAULKINS!

YESSSS!!!

http://www.heinemann.com/products/E07729.aspx

Click HERE to see it…

FINALLY..

We use my

WRITE ON!

papers because they have

VOCABULARY

built in!

Write ON! Writing and Vocabulary to help EL’s with Writing.

Write ON!

Write ON

Write ON

Write ON

Available HERE…

My kids are doing GREAT!

(Most could only write their names at first!)

Daily PROGRESS! 🙂

First Grade Student Writing

First Grade Student Writing

First Grade Student Writing

And so..

we

PRACTICE, we TALK, WE SING,
WE CHANT,
AND ..we
WRITE ON!

And HERE is a FREEBIE to Help you on your way!

Check My Writing. Post Writing Checklist.

Who wants to WIN a $150 TPT GIFT CARD? ME! ME! ME!

* EASTER GIVEAWAY *

To help with the purchasing of Easter resources for your classroom, a team of amazing teachers and I have grouped together to gift ONE awesome, lucky teacher with a TPT gift card!

The giveaway Starts: Friday 19th April 2019 12 am and
Ends: Saturday 27th April 2019 12 am

One lucky winner will receive:
Prizes: 1 x $150 TPT Gift card

EASTER GIVEAWAY!

Here is the RAFFLECOPTER:

ENTER HERE.

I hope YOU win!

Share with your friends!

I want one of MY followers to WIN! 🙂 🙂 🙂

You can enter on my INSTAGRAM PAGE also!

The more you ENTER the better your ODDS!

Happy EASTER!

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