We Rocked the VOTE!

 

This week in first grade we have been talking about today's big election and I expressed to my students how important it is to go out and vote.  The electricity in the air today was magnificent -- they were all so excited!  It was the first thing they asked me about when they walked in the classroom:  "Do we get to vote now?"   We discussed that being able to vote is not something every person around the world has the right to do, but we here in America do and should exercise that right.  The girls in the class were all completely confused when I told them that women did not always have the right to vote and for some reason we had to fight and argue in order to receive that right.  So today each student in my classroom checked off the box for who they thought should be our President.  We took a look at PBSkids.org yesterday and read up on some facts about each candidate and today they made a choice.  Tomorrow we will see if their choice matched up to the rest of America's.

 

We also wrote today about what we would do if we were President.  Here is a sample:

 

 

Bits and Pieces...

I was up in my classroom on this rainy Sunday evening, attempting to make a dent in what I need to have prepared for the week when I remembered that I should post something new and exciting to our First Grade Fan Club blog.  Hmmmm....something exciting on a rainy day....what could it be? What could it be?  I looked around the room, congratulating myself for cleaning up the place on Friday before I left rather than leaving it for later....it looked as if homecoming and Halloween exploded in my room and there were bits and pieces of it everywhere.  Bits and pieces....I started looking around and thinking that there are several bits and pieces in the room that are exciting to me as the teacher.  I don't know if YOUR socks will be blown off, but mine were!   My students started writing focused pieces last week -- we went from writing two words about something to writing four sentences in a week!  I was proud of that!  We paired up our cat writing with a water color painting -- I love how we all painted the same thing, but each one looks so different from the next.  We also did a pumpkin writing.  I had students re-write and illustrate the writing.  We hung them on the wall and they are all proud.  I also noticed our Writing Pride wall is full -- each child is coming to me daily with something else they have written -- whether it be a little book about farm animals or all of our word wall words copied down -- they are excited to write, which gets me excited!  We also had an afternoon last week where the weather ruined our Science plans, so we had to come up with a Plan B.  My Plan B is always ART.  :) I can't help it.  We made some quick scarecrow paintings and again...they are all so creative.  I'm was also made very proud this past week with my students and how they conduct themselves during our (modified) Daily Five.  They are expected to work independently -- and that scared me to death at first.  But, I decided to just let them go and see how they would do with such a responsibility:  they did great!  My socks were blown clear across the room!  First grade is all about change and it all happens at a fast pace -- if you blink you might miss some of the most important bits and pieces!

I'm a Teacher!

The classroom is quiet.  The kids have gone home.  I'm sitting here eating my almonds and looking out over the room.  I love seeing the "aftermath" of a great day:  new writing hanging up on the Writing Pride wall, all GREEN cards looking at me from the behavior chart, things put back in the actual places they belong, and a nice stack of papers for me to check.  The room is now empty, but I can still hear the voices of little learners coming to me with their work held up in my face, asking me to look at what they accomplished.  I smile at the thought of my little mover & shaker sitting still for 24 minutes and busily completing his work.  I've never seen such a look of concentration on his face.  When he finished I praised him for such great work and asked him how he felt.  "I feel pretty good!" he replied.  I gush at the moment today when members of our classroom started to tell another student that they "believed he could do it" when the student was feeling he had enough work for the day.  I grin at the thought of my little girl who has such a hard time sharing offering her snack to a student who came without today.  Yes, she offered because she "hates those darn cheese things," but the fact is: she SHARED.  It's days like these when I look around the room after the kids have gone home, smile and I think, "Yup.  I'm a teacher."

Writing to Learn & Learning to Write!

We are learning so much already in First Grade, including how to write more!  After having several students copy exactly what I had on the board during writing time, it dawned on me that some of them don't realize that they can make up stories!  They can think of things that happened to them and write them down!  In a class where getting all 25 to pay attention to me at once can be difficult, hearing this golden nugget of information was captivating to them!  They were so excited to hear that all of the information they have in their minds could be put on paper and shared with others!  Today we talked about a way to get those ideas out on paper in a writing strategy called "Sketch-to-Write."  The idea is to make small sketches (beginning-middle-end) of their writing idea and then to write a sentence (or ten!) next to the sketch to explain what is going on.  For some students this idea was the next best thing since sliced bread....or has it always come sliced for them? 

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY...

I know, I know....it is NOT the picture of health, but it IS the picture of Teacher Survival 101.  There are times when I have to break the glass and reach for my tools to get me through the rough days....and when that happens I reach for chocolate and Coca-Cola or Coffee.  In fact, this morning I dreamed that I had a coffee maker right on my desk -- one of those fancy ones where you put the little cup of coffee grounds in and it instantly makes you a hot, delicious cup of joe.  I'm in need of one of those.  So, excuse me as I take a moment to inhale this chocolate and caffeine -- is it Friday?

Bubble Mania!!

 

Today in Science we discussed whether we could make square bubbles if we used square-shaped bubble makers.  The prediction was an overwhelming YES.  The verdict was an overwhelming NOPE!  :)  We had fun, learned how to work as teams, and enjoyed the challenge of making bubbles on a windy day!

Introducing Bloose the Moose!

Our second week of school is off to a quick start!  Monday we had a great day back and got lots of work accomplished.  Tuesday was a little challenging -- perhaps it's the sunshine outside our windows or that distant calling of "reeeeceessss! reeeeccceeesssss!"  I'm not sure, but our behavior today needed a little work!  Speaking of behavior....let me introduce you to Bloose the Moose!  Bloose is one of my best friends.  How does he work?  If students have a tattle (and we first discuss what a tattle is) they know to come and write in Bloose's notebook.  Bloose hears a lot of stories!  Some kids get pushed in line, some students feel they have been robbed of their rightful place in that same line, and some students think that others are being too loud in line!  Whatever the tattle is, Bloose gets to hear about it.  I read Bloose's notebook weekly and find out if there are any tattles that require more than Bloose can offer, but for the most part...they are just that: tattles.  So, let's hear it for Bloose the Moose!  Hip Hip Hooray!  Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!