Executive Decisions & Blender BINGO Freebie

Just spent the whole morning watching the Presidential Inauguration! Yes, we had off today and I'm so glad we did because, I don't think I've ever been able to watch the entire inauguration. :) With that said, I'm making some executive decisions of my own this week. Instead of trying to squeeze another week of Treasures into a 4 day week (Treasures is a 5 day/weekly Language Arts program by Macmillan-McGraw Hill...), I'm canceling Treasures and initiating a review week.  Less is more, right??? 

I'm making the EXECUTIVE decision (word of the day, HA) to close the Treasures and use this as a review/MLK/inauguration celebration week! This will give me more time to delve deeper into the story of Rosa Parks & Ruby Bridges!!! We may even have time to watch the Ruby Bridges movie. SWEET!

When I was in school, review days were soooooo boring. I just remember packet after packet after worksheet after worksheet. So, in my class I try to make review days our best days. :) Here are some activities/games that I plan on playing this week to review blends, word families, and sight words.

• Around the World with Word Wall Words: Students sit on to top of their desks. I hold up a word wall word card, they have to read it correctly to stay in the game. Incorrect responses result in the student having to sit down in his/her chair. They LOVE sitting on the desks and this game takes very little prep time. You can do this with math facts, etc. Only negative, it really puts your shyer students on the spot. I try to give them nonverbal cues before their turn so they can prepare mentally, but this can be anxiety-provoking. 
• Word Wall Dice Roll: This one's a center, but good for word wall review. Students roll a dice and then have to find a word on the wall that has the same number of corresponding letters and write it down. So, if you roll a 2, you have to find and write a word with 2 letters. I LOVE that this game requires students to use and visit the word wall. As the year goes on, I require student to write a sentence using the word.
• Hunt the room! I have students hunt for items/objects with certain sounds. This is how I'll review some of the short vowel word families. They may have to find 2 objects in the -ake family, 3 in the -at, etc. I actually hunt around my room when I create this activity and I always require far less objects that there really are in the room. For example, for the -ack family students might find, write, and draw a picture of a tack (thumbtack). 
• BLENDER BINGO. This is a newbie! Inspired by this image from Pinterest below, I've created a Blender BINGO game/freebie for you! 

Serious Pinspiration here!

Click on the image for your freebie! Enjoy!

Oh P.S. As we play BINGO, I have students use BINGO chips, markers, or simple counters (snap cubes, pennies, etc.) to mark the blends that are called on their blenders. To win the game, a student has to cover all 6 of the blends on their blender and shout out "BLENDER BINGO!" I think I'll give tickets to the winners. In our classroom, students use earned tickets to purchase various items like lunch with teacher, sticker, classroom job, etc. 

Too close for comfort

Whew! Today, I have to tell you friends, was quite a day! Right after calendar this morning, I had just started my oral vocab lesson and read aloud when an eerie announcement hit the PA system: "Teachers: please check your email." Um, okay, normally we only get these when sayyyy a blizzard hits and we're dismissing early or something.is.seriously.wrong. You know, nearby housefires, etc.  The email is short, succinct, calm,  and collected but it says that a nearby adjoined elementary and middle school in our district have been locked down. Can't tell you how quickly I locked down my own room and returned to my read aloud. This was soooo me at 9:15am: "Back to the story! By the way, no bathroom, no nurse, we're in until I say we can go out. No exceptions, please.don't.ask." LARGE TOOTHY SMILE, because that's easier than saying "Everything's okay, but I wish I knew what was going on!"

The next hour was filled with the sound of my email blinging and cell phone ringing, thanks to our alert now system. I'm happy to report (although every major Philadelphia new channel has done this for me already now), that everyone is just fine. Turns out, there was a stabbing incident in one of our middle schools (2 students involved). The victim is okay and recovering in a local hospital. Both the middle and adjoining elementary schools locked down as a safety measure and dismissed early. I cannot commend my administration, colleagues, and local authorities enough for handling the situation with such a professional, calm, swift manner. It's definitely good to know that the people around me know what they're doing. :)

The scariest part of my day was the few moments of not knowing the reason for the lockdown. But, I was never really scared in the moment. I guess that whole act first, stew/think later describes me accurately today. I'm most proud that I was able to continue on in a normal manner and manage to stay away from the massive amount of hallway gossiping and literally whispering down the lane that typically would unnerve me. 

I seriously hope and pray that this is as close as I will ever get to any situation of this sort and I'm sure millions of other teachers feel the same way. I'm now going to one of my fav places BARNES & NOBLES (even though I'm a kindle user ha)! I've totally earned a new book after getting through today. 

Thanks for listening, or reading really!

Best Books for Boys

One of my favorite bloggers, Courtney over at Swimming Into Second, is hosting a fantastic linky party. To participate, grab the button below, link up, and share some of the best books for boys in your classroom. I gotta tell ya, Courtney's idea for this link party came from a conference presentation that covered differences between boys and girls when it comes to reading levels and reading interests.

Below are some nonfiction books that my 1st grade boys tend to enjoy the most!

I teach bears during November in my Animals Get Ready for Winter unit. I believe there are more of these VS. books out there. I think I'll use some of my Scholastic coupons to purchase a few more.

*There are a series I believe of these nonfiction Dinosaurs books that are pop-outs! My boys love all of the books in my dinosaurs nonfiction book box more than the fiction book box, but the pop-outs are the most popular of all. I'm fairly sure these books are as old as I am, they came with the classroom. But they're definitely worth getting your hands on!

Onto most-loved fiction books....

Another pop-out that a student donated to my library my first year of teaching! Can't say most of my firsties really "read" this one, but it's a good one for reading the pictures (daily 5 strategy).

Another fun series!

Out of all the fiction books boys love, I'd say anything to do with pirates tends to be more popular. This book in particular is one that my boys have used year after year after year for their first book talk-they get to dress-up as a character from the story- can't blame 'em for wanting to be a pirate for the day!

Overall, I'd say that when my firsty boys visit my library or the school library, they tend to go for non-fiction books. Something to keep in mind as you begin/continue to build your classroom library. :)

Enjoy the last few days of 2012!!!!

Snowflakes for Sandy Hook

Over the past couple of days, I've watched the rest of the world around me start to move on from the Sandy Hook tragedy with one thought on my mind: those students and that community will not be moving on as easily as we do. Instead of feeling merely blessed or thankful for all that my students and I share, I've felt some guilt. Guilt because well, I can't or couldn't find a way to make things better for these students, teachers, and community members.  Maybe I felt a bit helpless too...And then...I received an email from the mother of a former student of mine. I've copied it below. If you're like me and you want to do something, anything to support Sandy Hook Elementary and their local community in the smallest way you can KEEP READING & have fun making snowflakes!

Please note: The author of the following message happens to be friends with a teacher at the Middle School in Connecticut.

Please help the students of Sandy Hook have a winter wonderland at their new school! Our neighboring town of Monroe has generously donated a building that will be able to keep all our Sandy Hook students together. Crews are currently busy delivering equipment, desks, chairs, supplies; however, the halls are bare. We want to create a warm, happy and cheerful environment for the students as they enter the new building. Make and send snowflakes to:
Connecticut PTSA
60 Connolly Parkway 
Building 12 Suite 103
Hamden, CT 06514 

To reach anyone at Sandy Hook PTA, email at sandyhook@ctpta.org


C'mon bloggy friends, let's share a little love with those that need it the most right now.  WE have the opportunity to create a new, safe, warm, comfortable learning environment for boys and girls that deserve nothing but the the best. Carpe diem!

Silence for Sandy Hook

12 in 12

So 2012 is winding down, and I gotta say that for me, it's flown by! Can't say it was the best year, but I suppose it wasn't the worst.

12 favorite things! 

12. Favorite movie you watched:

Not a movie-watcher at all. In fact, I shouldn't say this in public but...I fell ASLEEP in Avengers 3D and during part of the new Batman movie. I did like the Batman movie (well the ending I was awake for). Note to Self: Going out to later movies on a Friday night during the school year isn't a good idea. I stayed awake during the new Madea movie. Guess I'll pick that one!

11. Favorite TV series:

Revenge! Love me some Emily Thorne!

10. Favorite restaurant:

Olive Garden? Can't beat their lunch specials that I got to enjoy oh so frequently during my first summer off since I was 15!

9. Favorite new thing you tried:

RUNNING! The Color Run in Philly was my first 5k and it was AH-MAZ-ING! 20,000 runners getting colored. Definitely doing it again. :)

8. Favorite gift you got:

Real Uggs for my birthday! I have chronic cold feet, so these things are like miracles to me. I could live in em, in fact I've fallen asleep in them before!

7. Favorite thing you pinned:

This pin, inspired my Halloween costume "Little Miss Wonderful". I learned how to make my own tutu using tulle, so now I'm a pro. AND, I used the same tutu when we dressed up as book characters a few weeks ago at school. My tutu was pink, I was Angelina Ballerina. :)

6. Favorite blog post:

I love my 100 year old, 100th day of school post. Everytime I see my kiddos and I decked out like elderly folks, I get hysterical. I was super impressed with their creativity, attention to detail, and ability to get into character. I'll be giving that same assignment again soon as they 100th day draws near. 

5. Best accomplishment:

Getting tenure and my ESL Specialist all in ONE summer. No more New Teacher Induction Meetings, no more observing others during my prep time, no more quarterly observations that include mounds of paperwork. This is the first school year I've ever taught, in which I am not formally being observed and it's a nice change. 

4. Favorite picture:

*End of the Color Run! I'm all the way on the left!

3. Favorite memory:

Me and my girls at Young Alumni Reunion. Hadn't been back to college since I'd left almost 5 years ago! It was nice to be back on campus in all the familiar places. We even visited our freshmen dorms, and I saw my old, tiny, most favorite room/place to live everrrr. 

2. Goal for 2013:

"Work hard, play harder!" I need a little more me time, more opportunities to do and see and feel the things I've always dreamed of outside the world of teaching. I made the mistake of giving nearly every ounce of my being to my students my first couple years. I'm building in time for working out and eating breakfast, even if that means I'm leaving school on time some days. What doesn't get done today, WILL and CAN get done to tomorrow.

1. One Little Word:

*Believe*

Believe in yourself, Believe in your students, Believe in endless possibilities!

Transition Champion!

Ever have trouble with transitions??? Sometimes, moving your kiddos from the carpet to their desks or in between centers, can take ages longer than you planned it to. Shoes come untied, detours to friends' desks are taken, and all kinds of other bizarre things seem to happen as students are traveling from one point in the room to the other. I always tell college student this: Transitions is truly where your management shows and your instructional impact is maximized. Our schedule in 1st grade is soooo tight in my district, I just can't afford to lose precious minutes to transitioning. So what do you do? Well, in the past I've played "beat the timer" and used song clips....But this year, YES this year (my FOURTH year of teaching), I've found a method that is super cheap and super effective.

I call it the TRANSITION CHAMPION! My super awesome, older brother Aaron (who just turned 30-Happy Birthday buddy!) is a Special Olympics athlete and the light of my life. He's won dozens upon dozens of medals, which he sometimes gives to me. I hang one of his medals on my whiteboard using a magnet man. Anyways...all I do is simply watch, pick the best transition-er, give them the medal to wear, and they are declared THE TRANSITION CHAMPION! Until the next transition anyways... 

Aaron winning Gold last Spring! You can thank his sister for his super-cool shades. :)

Sample Medals Galore!

Sometimes, I forget to pick a champion and my firsties are on my case: "Miss White! Who's the transition champion???" I gotta tell ya, moving centers during the Daily 5 and just moving throughout the room during transition times is THE best it's ever been. Not that it was bad before, but you can always stand to improve right???? I highly suggest you find a fake medal of some sort to use, maybe even a ribbon, and try TRANSITION CHAMPION in your classroom!