Another move :))))

Well, I made it through my first year in my new school. Second grade was a blast!! However, I am very excited to share that I will be moving to Kindergarten next year. I will be in the same school just moving around the corner! Our campus received great news that we will be getting a total remodel. We are very excited about it, but it will push us down to the wire to get moved back in and get our rooms ready by the first day of school. So...that means I will be planning every last detail on paper to  make the transition a little smoother. I am going to try and blog more even though I am still just figuring it all out.

Here's a pic of my 2nd grade team. Glad I will just be around the corner from them!!

We know how to count quarters!!!

We improvised with a new song to learn quarters.  As I was working with my low group, I realized we needed something more to help us with our counting. I preceded to write on each student's hand as seen in the picture. We then sang the following song:

25, 50, 75, a dollar
25, 50, 75, a dollar
25, 50, 75, a dollar
We know how to count quarters!

We put our fingers in a fist and as we sing, we raise each finger with the amount we are counting on it.

I told my students that our hands are our math tools and from now on when they count quarters, they can use their imaginary cheat sheets! My other groups all learned the song and my students now count quarters like pros. Even without the writing on their fingers, they are still using this song as a tool. I hope this helps your students!! Please leave me a comment and let me know.

Lesson Planner ♥

I am so excited about my new lesson planner!! I had debated on an Erin Condren, but just couldn't justify the expense year after year. I also wanted something that fit ME. That's right!!! I want to be able to include my own typed lesson plans...that I don't have to write out!!! This planner will fit all my needs thanks to Tiffany over at www.thelearningeffect.com I highly suggest you check out her post.

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Winding it down...

Well, it all comes to an end tomorrow.  I will be sending my babies on to fourth grade. It is bittersweet....love that they have been so successful this year, but gonna miss them like crazy.  I found out a few weeks ago that my husband is being transferred with his job so we will be moving our family.  It has been a hard time....we have made so many wonderful friends here. It will be especially difficult to leave this class knowing I may not see some of them again. I know there will be lots of tears.  It was really sad as I put together their sacks today, but it gave me a moment to reflect on each individual student and how they blessed me this year. Here are some pics of their bags.

They created a Bio Poem art project the first week of school. I saved and attached it to their end of the year sack full of work from the school year.

Beating Test Prep Burnout

It is that time of year when the kids are shutting down.  They are tired of hearing the words STAAR test....and I'm tired of saying them! I am always looking for fun ways to get the students involved, but also prepare them for the test.  We have 10 days left until the BIG day and my students think it is summer already! I know, scary right?? Here is something that I do to try and mix things up. Instead of running 20 copies of skill and drill sheets I only run 5.  I cut them apart and paperclip each question together.  I put them in a basket that is ready to go at anytime. Sometimes I even use them when I have an extra five minutes.

My room is already divided into tables. So I can easily have a game with 5 teams.  My students love this.  Each team gets a white board and a marker....they can also write directly on the question. I pass out the same question face down to each table. When I say go, they turn the question over and one designated student reads the problem.  They then work as a team to try and be the first table to solve it correctly.  When they are finished, they shout "BUCKS" (our school mascot is the Buckaroos)!!! I walk around to each group to see who has solved it correctly. The team that is first gets a point for being first and then they all receive another point for getting it correct. We keep a tally on the board and the team with the most points at the end of game time gets a prize(sticker, eraser, pencil, etc).

This keeps my kids from test prep burnout and cuts down on the amount of paper I am using in my classroom.

Daily Lesson Plan Binders

I am one of those people who A. isn't very organized and B. would lose my head if it weren't attached. So I had to come up with a plan to organize my lessons and keep my papers together so I wouldn't lose them.  In the process, I went a little further so now I'm always ready for a sub. I created a daily lesson plan/sub binder. Here are the pics.

Monday Made It # 2 - Calendar

I am not very good at keeping up with parent contacts and meetings. Actually,  I stink at it! So, this year I decided to get a calendar/planner that allows me the space to do it. I found it at Wal-Mart for about $10. It has a full month view as well as daily views with enough space to jot down parent contacts and visits. It wasn't very pretty so I spiffed it right up!!!  Here's my finished product.