Fabulous First Day!

Let me start by saying, this was one of my greatest first days ever.  It reminded me why I went into teaching.

The kids were so eager and cheerful.  I think it's because they all got such a good night's sleep.  Most of them came in all ready, in their nice new school clothes and clean, never before worn shoes. All except my new most favorite student, Number Nine.  Number Nine clearly knows the rules of buttering up a teacher.  She came in completely zombified! I am going to give her A's now, no matter what.

Here were some of the fun things we did today:

- A student scavenger hunt (I can find someone who... sheet posted awhile back)
- We practiced lining up and quieting up with my quiet signal
- We went over the rules
- We started "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" which is our first read aloud
- Drew self portraits
- Did our first math lesson. I love lesson 1.1.1 :)
- A tour of the school
- We read "First Day Jitters"
- We went on a pretend Zombie Hunt (to the Song, Going on a Bear Hunt)
- We began our stamina building with the Daily 5
- I taught them the card game, Bullshit
- They learned the clean up routine
- I did a spelling assessment

And then, we packed up and went home! After the kiddos left, my teaching buddies and I changed into our sexy duds and hit happy hour! We had several drinks, and now I am just ready to fall into bed. God, I love the first day of school!

Here we are, celebrating a successful first day with champagne! 

Open House Success

Yawn! I am barely awake enough to type (I already corrected five typos just getting this far.)  Despite my exhaustion, I just had to share about my Open House.  17 of my 20 families showed up.  They were fantastic.

I will be stalking the three no-shows this weekend though, starting with a drive-by of their home, and then plan an unplanned run-in with them somewhere around their neighborhood.  It may seem creepy, but it's my best strategy for winning the positive praise from my parents.  Having a casual conversation outside of school is the most important thing I can do for myself before school begins. I can get some dirt and/or information on them, share a little about myself that I want/need them to know, and then find out some ways to butter them up about their little rodent. This gets me a lot further than simply doing newsletters and parent conferences!

As for my 17 families who made the Open House, they loved their goody bags.  Lots of laughs and thank yous from the parents! I have finished my back-scratch notes.  They are stamped and addressed and will be in the mail tomorrow.  I am happy to say I think this will be a great year! One of the parents owns this amazing vintage shop in town that I love, and another owns a bakery.  I feel like my birthday is going to be extra good this year!

Now, totally off topic, I was shown this today and was relating.

I typically drink a beer or two a day.  Usually when I get home from work. There are those days when chocolate and/or Advil simply won't do the job.  I met 17 little charmers today.  I may switch to vodka.

The Kids are Coming! The Kids are Coming!

Tomorrow is my open house! I have my goodie bags ready, my parent letter is ready, my protocols and procedures are prepared.  I have my lesson plans on my desk ready for Monday morning!  It's almost 10 pm.  I finished a little while ago, and am finally ready after weeks of working!

I have already showed a few of the great parts of the classroom, but I will give you a tour of some of the other spaces.

The classroom library.  I got the fuzzy green rug to go with the zombie theme!

Encouragement Board

This is my "Encouragement Board." When a child does poorly on an assignment, I will put it up on this board. The other students, parent volunteers, principal and anyone who comes in will see that that child needs encouragement.  Hopefully after only one time on the Encouragement Board, the students will get all of the positive encouragement they need to do their best next time.  

Class Rules

This is the AR Bulletin Board.  

The kids will move their star shaped Post-Its up the graph throughout the year.  

I LOVE the picture of the zombie reading a book backwards.  My kids have a goal of 50 points for the year, but anyone who gets 100 points is honored at the end of the year assembly and gets to have a special party with the principal.

Guided reading table and table groups.

I accented my room with red, as the tubs were left over from my Team Edward theme last year.  I asked my principal if she would order me lime green chairs to match my theme, but she said no.  

Well, I am getting into bed soon.  My honey hasn't seen me in nearly two weeks.  Tonight isn't a night for quality time together though. I have a sleep mask and am ambien calling my name.  My alarm is set for 4:45, so I can get ready for tomorrow! 

(Oh, and I yelled "bullshit" twice during our In-Service today! I win!)

Professional Development, My Ass

So today was my first In-Service Day.  It was the typical.  We met in the auditorium.  Everyone found their clique (OMG, am I in Junior High?) and sat down.

The specialists (art, music, PE, library) all sat together in their telling outfits.  How many scarves does one person need to wear in August?  Our art and music teachers wear more funky hand-made jewelry and vintage apparel than I knew existed.  Between the two of them, it's like someone raided Annie Hall's closet.  Of course, it makes sense that the PE teacher wears short shorts and a sports bra.  I mean, she is running around all day teaching soccer, or hula-hooping or whatever.   Anyway, the specialists all banded together in the front row looking their parts.

Next, sat the veteran teachers.  They don't put up with any bullshit.  They are the first to raise a hand (or not) and question what the principal is saying.  You can tell who they are by the pastel plaid capri pants.  They also are the most likely to be wearing jean jumpers and Birkenstocks.  But, they have my respect. Thirty years of wiping noses and parent conferences would probably have me looking sort of frumpy too.  (The best is when it starts to get chilly and out come the sweaters appliquéd with apples, school houses or butterflies.)

In the smattering of rows in the middle of the auditorium sat the newer teachers, with the newest (or brand new) sitting in the aisles.  They clearly are the most eager and happy to be there. Most have notebooks and pens.  They take notes. They leaf through their Teacher Handbooks.   They look happy, or mostly happy (with some anxiety about classroom set up or difficult students on the roster.)  I was told as a new teacher not to speak up too much when attending In-Service that first week.  I think they must have been told the same thing.

If you're wondering about me, I sit somewhere in the middle too.  I have my girls, and we usually sit together, comparing summer tans (which I don't have) and drinking our special coffees while the lectures and meetings occur.

I am not a frumpy teacher.  As my profile says, I consider myself a bit of a fashionista.  Here I am just this morning, right before school started.  My honey takes my picture every year before I enter the building for my first official day.  I add it to my scrapbook for the school year!

Today was almost unbearable.  I would relay the gist of the meetings, but I honestly can't remember what they were. Tomorrow, I have a plan.  Someone passed this on to me, and I am so excited to share it with my readers.  It's a game called "Bullshit," which you play during a boring In-Service.  I for sure, will move my ass to the back of the auditorium tomorrow, so I can play this game without the scrutiny of any busy-body colleagues.  I'd love others to play too, and share your results!

"Teacher! He called me 'Stupid!'"

When I hear this kind of thing from one of my students I want to say, "Well, Number 6, you kind of are stupid!"  Of course, I don't say that... I just think it. Let's face it. Most kids are pretty stupid. Especially second graders.  I mean, they know hardly anything! Some of my students count on their fingers, they spell things wrong, they write b's instead of d's... I could go on and on.

So, my job as a teacher is to make them just a little less dumb than they were when they arrived.   One of the ways I like to do this is through games.  Kids love games.  If they are playing games, half the time they don't even realize that they're learning.  I try to incorporate game play into literacy and math daily.  It promotes cooperative learning, it's fun, and the kids build great skills.

I have been really focused on my zombie theme, and of course, the kids get excited when we play games that go along with our theme!

One of the ways I can ensure that my students aren't so stupid is by helping them learn their addition facts so that they can do them quickly and efficiently. This helps as we move into two and three digit addition.  I try to make sure at a minimum they are quickly able to solve the combinations of ten, doubles, and 10 + any single digit number.  We go over this the first couple of weeks of school, and then move into harder stuff.

I created this game, which I am so glad to show you.  It's available for download, if you'd like it for your students.  If you do print it out, copy the cards twice, so there at least two of each card.  If you are going to have more than 2 players, make sure to make more copies.

Here is the cover page, which can be glued to a file folder for a file folder game, or if you like, simply put the whole thing in a large zip-lock bag.  It makes it easy to find each game if you place the cover sheet in so it shows and then the game pieces behind it.  It's also easy to clean up!

I hope you and your students enjoy this game! Maybe in a month or so you won't be dealing with such stupid people, either!

I've Got Your Number

I thought I would share one of the best and easiest systems I implement all year.  I number my students.   I use this number for everything- lining up, collecting school work, signing their papers, calling on them in class.

I don't do it alphabetically like many other teachers, because if kids leave or enter the class throughout the year the system gets out of order.  Instead, I make the number system a game.  I let the kids draw a magnet from a bag on the first day of school.  Each magnet is numbered. These later go on my magnet behavior chart.  If another child enters the class later in the year, they simply take the next number in line.  If someone leaves, we let the last child take that number if they want.

Here's the best part about this system. I never have to learn anyone's name! I have this issue with children's names.  First off, most years I end up with two or three kids with the same name. I think there might be two Hannah's, an Anna and a Joanna on my list this year. WTF? How am I supposed to know who is who?  Also, a lot of kids look the same.  Two little blond boys with glasses will have me mixed up all year.  Even if their names are completely different, like Stevie and Max, or something, the mere fact that they even look similar is a big pain.  The worst is when I have two kids whose names start with the same letter AND they look the same.  Now that boys have longer hair, it's even worse because I can't even tell the boys from the girls.

So, I don't ever really need to know what their names are.  If I want someone to answer a question, I just call out "Number 8, can you tell me what you'd do if you were facing a zombie attack and only had access to a baseball bat, a kitchen knife and a boomerang?" I usually have 20-22 students. That's a lot of kids... this system alleviates the challenge of learning 20 different names, and the children they belong to! It also makes labeling charts, making bulletin boards and choosing groups so simple. For example, my small instructional groups are created in sequential order, so the groups are kids 1-4, 5-8 and so forth. It makes it so easy to do guided reading! Below is a picture of my welcome board, which is the large bulletin board outside my classroom.  I didn't even need my class list to finish it!

I highly suggest this system.  I guarantee your parents and children will love it! There is nothing like the sense of relief the parents get knowing you really know their child's number, and the sense of confidence the children get from being identified by their number (especially the kid who gets #1!)

The Frenzy

It's always a mad, mad rush these weeks before school starts. I haven't had a moment to rest.  In fact, last night I slept in my classroom, much to the chagrin of my special someone.

I have been so, so busy.  My room is really coming along, and I am super happy with the way the zombie theme is looking.

I thought I would share a couple of things I plan on doing on the first day of school.  The first is a get to know you activity, and the second is another management tool!

1) The kids will each get this sheet of paper and will walk around the room, trying to find one student who fits into each category.  The great thing about this activity is that they get to know one another's names as they walk around the room.  Afterwards, we all share, and the kids not only get to share something about themselves, but discover the other children they have something in common with! Download the activity here!

2) The next thing we will do is write down the "Give Me Five" rules on this cute zombie worksheet.

Give Me Five is my signal for getting the children's attention.   It is:

Eyes looking

Ears listening

Mouth quiet

Hands free

Body Still

On the worksheet, the kids will list what they are supposed to do during Give Me Five.  This is a new idea I had, after years of doing Give Me Five! And I love the cute little zombie! 

Oh, I am soooooooooo excited for my little ones to come! I can hardly believe I less than 2 weeks to go! I am in quite the frenzy!

Off to the Right Start!

A lot of teachers worry about parents. What if they don't like me? What if they complain? What if the parents don't trust me... on and on.  Parents can make you or break you!  A bad reputation amongst the parents can ruin a good teacher's career- especially if your school takes parent requests for classes, which mine does.

Having the parents on your side, and making sure they truly understand what's happening in your class is incredibly important. The last thing you want is the kids going home and saying this or that happened, and the parents getting concerned and going to the principal.

A few people have asked me how it is I can break the mold of the traditional teacher with my creative and inspiring ideas without getting in "trouble."

Well, I'll tell you my secret.

It all comes down to this simple saying:  You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

Like all great teachers, I begin the year with positive communications.  In my last post, I wrote about the magic goodies I will give to the kids for the night before school.  I do something similar for the parents.

At our open house I do all of the regular things.  I give out a letter to the parents, which highlights the rules and policies of our classroom, share a little about myself and my teaching philosophy.  It's what happens AFTER the open house that makes you or breaks you.

Immediately afterwards, I sit down and handwrite a note to each family.  I use their first names and try to include something I enjoyed or learned about them.  A lot of teachers try to keep it formal with the parents, referring to them as Mr. and Mrs. and using a formal name for themselves. However, with parents, I want them to know me, like me and feel like a friend.  So being on a first name basis is important.  Then, here's the best part.  I include a little gift.  Like almost all teachers, I receive a lot of gift cards during the year.  I save them up, and then give one to each parent in their little note.  This communicates to them: I value you.  You are important to me.  I better be just as important to you!

I try to find a way to meaningfully incorporate the gift card into the note.

I just use a simple notecard.  I got these in the dollar section of Michael's.  I stock up on them whenever I go to Michael's, as I send parents little handwritten notes throughout the year.

This is the typical note that I send after the open house.  A couple of points to note; which will hopefully help you as you write your parent notes:

1- Compliment the child.  Even if the child is a nose-picking, shit-head who breaks crayons at the open house, find some way to tell the parents how much you like their kid.

2- Mention their line of work, especially if it has any usefulness to you.  For example, parents who are fitness trainers can come help with our health unit- or better yet, offer me free sessions! I just need to amp up the hints as the year goes on. They will figure it out.  Good lines of business to have extra strong connections in: lawyers, bookstore owners, bail bonds, police officers, dentists, politicians and jewelers.

3- Sneak in a good reason why you're giving them a gift card.  Make them feel appreciated.

I promise you that this strategy works!  I have parents begging to have their child in my class. Not only that, but they definitely reciprocate my appreciations of them, back to me.

Remember the simple saying:  You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. 

First Day Jitters!

School starts on August 22, so I am quickly getting everything ready.  I am dying to get to work in my classroom, but can't go in for another week.  I'm so excited I've been pulling these crazy all-nighters making all my crafty classroom stuff! I can't sleep anyway, so I figure I might as well be productive!

On the Friday before school starts we have an open house and I can't wait to meet all my little second graders!  I know a lot of them will be nervous about the first day of school, so I prepared a little treat for them to take home from the open house to ease their jitters before Monday morning. (So many people have been asking for downloads, that I am including a copy of my Back to School Magic sheet for download.)

I'm giving them each a copy of this poem, along with the magic goody bag.  Knowing their teacher cares, will likely help them feel much better about school the next day!  And, below is a picture of the little goody bag I made for each child.

Oooh, I can't wait for school to start.  I'm running to the pharmacy to refill my Ambien right now!