Organization is Key

I don't have desks in my classrom (well I have 2 students that have their own desk, but that's another story). When I got rid of my desks and went to tables I quickly found that to have some place for them to store their pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, markers, and anything else they might need. I found these neat little shower caddies at Wal-Mart when they have all their back to school items out (can you tell there's not a whole lot of places to shop at in my little town???) These caddies are the perfect size and have the perfect amount of compartments that are also the perfect size. Now just keeping them organized and the trash out of them is an ongoing thing, but without them our classroom would be a total mess (not saying that at times it isn't but these sure have helped).






These are just two of the colors that I have. I also have green, purple, and yellow (though I don't have enough tables to use this on this year). They are wonderful for identifing table colors.

Where are the Markers

In my classroom we use dry erase markers on a daily basis, several times throughout the day. For 3 years we would always not have enough markers because they were constantly being lost. At a training on summer a teacher shared a fabulous idea to keep up with these markers. They make an ice tray that is designed to make ice cubes that are long and slinder to fit in water bottles. Well these trays are perfect for storing dry erase markers and can be bought at Wal-Mart.



No, I'm not missing 6. I just don't need them, so I don't put them out or they really would me lost.



Here is a side view. Last year I had some dry erase markers that were fatter at the bottom and wouldn't fit in the slots. I was a little frustrated and kept them in a bucket next to the tray. That was until a student of mine was putting them away one day and just turned those markers upside down. Go figure, I had never thought of that.

Publishing Party

For writing we have units of study. We learn all different types of writing styles. Part of the process is publishing our work. We wanted to show all the hard work off to our friends, so we had a "Publishing Party". Now when I first said party the students asked if we were having cake, ice cream, and pop. I said it wouldn't be that elaborate. Though we didn't have all the treats we brought all the fun. Here are some pictures from that party. One of the expectations that students were required to do was to comment, using sticky notes, on at least 3 friends writing (they had to pick 2 of the opposite gender because we all know that at this age they the other gender still has cooties :))

We had so much fun sharing our writing and then posting it on the wall to be read at different times throughout the coming weeks. And we learned that Publishing Parties do not need to be elaborate, they can be as simple as pie.

Changing Focus

I've decided to change the focus of my blog slightly. I have decided that instead of just telling stories, I will share what we do (like the different activities, organizational strategies, etc.) I will still update with the finny, cute, interesting, etc. stories, but I want to share more of what I do in the classroom. I have been taking tons of pictures, so I will post pictures.

(I'm thinking if I "write" it I will be abpt to do it. We'll see...)

Being Sick and Being a Teacher

These 2 things do NOT go togther. I have been out for two days now and feel horrible, both from being sick and worrying about what's going on at school. I'm not exactly sure if I will be at school tomorrow either. Being sick adds so much more to what I have to do. Getting sub plans together is the most tedious of things. Everything that I would normally do and comes naturally to me, I have to write out in very detailed plans, so that a sub could follow these plans. Well yesterday my sub went over things that had nothing to do with what we are even learning, so it makes me wonder why even go through the trouble. Then I worry about the students behavior, are they doing what they are supposed to, acting right, and everything else that comes to mind. I hate being sick, so I'm hoping it goes away really fast and I can get back to school, if for nothing else but for my students to have a more normal school day.

What a Week

Last week was Fall Break and what a wonderful break I had. We are now back in school getting back into the swing of things. AND it's Red Ribbon Week! We had Super Hero day on Monday. Several of my students dressed up like super heros to fight off drugs. Today was P.J. day! Let me tell you everybody word P.J.'s, including the teacher :). It was so nice to be able to relax and enjoy a relaxing day with the students. Tomorrow is crazy sock day, I'm looking forward to it. I'll update to let you know how it was.

But I will tell you anything out of the ordinary, makes the students a little CRAZY!!!

What A Week It's Been

This was a very hectic and trying week. I won't go into details, because many are confidential, but let's just say I'm glad the week is over.

I brought home lots of papers to grade this weekend, mainly because I had no time in school to grade them. I was dwindling my pile and came to the homework I hadn't graded this week. One on homework assignment the question was "Jeffrey has 50 baseball cards. Damon has 20 more cards than Jeffrey. How can you find how many baseball cards Jeffrey and Damon have together?". Well one of my students had the perfect answer. "do the math facts & do it right!" So when you want to find the answer to a math problem, just follow this sage advise.

Gotta love 3rd graders and their truthfulness!

I Never Knew It Meant So Much

One of the incentives for my students doing homework is to play Homeworkopoly. One of the prizes they can earn is "lunch with the teacher." One of my students won that prize last week and we had our lunch together on Wednesday. That evening I was talking to her mother about what a wonderful student her daughter is and how much fun I had while we had lunch together. Her mother said, "She was so excited to eat lunch with you. She took forever to pick out her outfit to wear that day because she wanted to look nice." I was so touched for this student to want to spend time with me, and go the extra mile to look nice. It made my day to hear her mom talk about it and say that her daughter looks up to me so much. I will keep the "lunch with teacher" prize and add more in!

Weather

You can always tell when the weather is changing by watching kids. Yesterday my students were very mellow and relaxed in the morning and talkative in the afternoon. Today it began raining and they were wound up. I am very worn out. All the students want to do is get outside, talk, run and play. All I wanted to do was go home, take a nap and read a good book. Hopefully tomorrow the students will be back to normal and we can go back to a normal routine. That is if it stops raining...

Testing, Testing Testing

This week is all about testing. We had district testing yesterday and today. We give the students as much time as they need to complete their tests. After 2 hours for Math and 2.5 hours for Reading, I have 4 students that will be completing their tests tomorrow. It was a very long 4.5 hours, but the students were very well behaved, made good choices, and from what I can tell tried their best on their tests! We have a day with no testing and then more testing on Thursday and 2 computer tests on Friday. Needless to say I cannot wait for this week to be over, and next week to begin. Beginning next week we will be in a routine that is very close to what we will be doing everyday.

This is Why I Became a Teacher

We just finished our first full week of school yesterday. What an exciting week we had. I wanted to share the reason I decided to be a teacher.

I have a student that is new to the district and seems very insecure with himself. All week I kept reassuring him that he could do his work and that he was smart, but his comments were always something like "I can't", "I'm not smart enough", "I never will be able to do it." On Wednesday, after 3 days for these comments, I decided to start him on a sticker chart. If he could make it through a lesson/activity without using a negative comment he would earn a sticker. I explained this to him and all day Wednesday he really struggled using only positive comments. I was very lenient, reminding him and even gave him a couple of stickers when he probably shouldn't have earned them. Well, his first day he wasn't able to earn a prize, which I felt horrible about. He did however earn a prize on Thursday, but that was through shear determination on my part. On Friday we began a game called "Homeworkopoly." Check it out here. I told them that morning that if they turned in their homework they would get to play. This little boy immediately went to his mailbox to make sure he had turned in his homework, which he had. He got his homework out and was looking it over, even though he had graded it. The only thing I had done was add a star for completion. He came over to me and asked "Why did I get a star? I missed 2 and I shouldn't have gotten a star." I told him that he did a good job on the ones he had gotten right and made a great effort on the ones he missed. He said ok and walked away. I could see he was thinking about I said, but left him alone and we began our day. About an hour later he came up to me and said, and get your tissue ready because it might just bring tears to your eyes, "You were right, Miss Tinsley! I can do it! I just have to think positive and do the right thing." We had a good day after that and he was able to earn another prize. While I know there are bound to be hard days ahead, I also know that for this little guy, if I keep working with him and making him see that he can do it, I will have made a difference. That is why I became a teacher, to make a difference in the lives of all my students.

Let's hope that we have many many more days of positive thoughts and great successes, because I am ready for them all. I just hope that all my students know what they got themselves into for signing up for my class for a 3rd year. It's going to be a wonderful year!

School Has Started

Wow! Time has gotten away from me. I meant to post on the first day of school, but I got so busy and just now had time to sit down and post something. We just finished our 4th day and let me tell you, it has been a great start so far. I have a wonderful class that is quickly getting used to the routines of the class. I also have a great group of very supportive parents. Now, I know there are/will be a few times where things won't go so well, but for now everything is going GREAT!

We are currently testing for our support grouping. My students don't have homework tonight, but I do- grading those tests. I have 3 that are calling my name, but I don't mind. We have done losts of testing and writing to see exactly where everyone is at, and I am pleased with everyone putting forth their best efforts. That's what I'm going to be pushing this year because of the dreaded tests.

Well that's about it for now, I've got my homework to do!

Setting Up The Room

Well, I'm going in next Wednesday to begin setting up the classroom. We are able to get into the building beginning Monday, but I'm watching my nieces on Monday and Tuesday (much better, I think, than setting up my classroom). I will be there bright and early, mainly because I have a meeting, but after the meeting I am going to get busy because I will only have 4 days until students and parents come for "Open House". Be looking for pictures, they will be posted soon.

School is Coming!

In a month students will be returning to the classroom. I am excited, but not ready for summer to end yet. As I think of all the pre-school planning that still needs to be done I get a little less overwhelmed, well sometimes. I have been busy working on newsletters to keep parents up to date, getting materials for folders, notebooks, decor, etc. To think that in less than a month I will return to set it all up and pull it all together is indescribable. But I did make a promise to the summer school students that all of our things would be in our new classroom ready to go on the first day of school. So I'm going to make the best of the rest of my summer.

Summer is Here!

Today was the last day of summer school. Now I have until August 20th to get ready for next year. I am going to take some much needed time to relax and not think about school. I am happy school is done for the year, but I am also looking forward to next year. Everything is in boxes and some of the students were a little concerned that all of our stuff would not be there when we started. I assured them that all would be ready. I will be up there in early August working in my classroom, but for right now I plan on enjoying the summer. Have a wonderful summer, see you in August!

Summer School

We are half way through summer school. I have 6 of my students, students that will be in my third grade class next year. Summer school is going great, but I'm not going to lie, I'm ready for it to be done. I cannot wait for summer vacation to really start.

The first day of summer school was exciting because we walked into our new classroom and the students were surprised to see some of our stuff over here. They then asked me if this was my new classroom. After I said yes they had a confused look on their faces until someone asked if I was going to be a 3rd grade teacher (we are in pods so each pod is a grade level). When I said yes they asked if I was going to be their teacher. Of course I told them and they seemed to be thrilled!

Now I have a few things to pack in the old room and put the things we used this summer away. Then we will be set to completely move into our new room. I'm excited. I am also finding lots of new and inventive ideas for next year. Even with all the National Board things I am doing next year, I am sure it will be MUCH better than last year.

Bittersweet

I went to school yesterday and began moving some of my things to my new room. It was a bittersweet moment. I have been in my room for 3 years. I have learned so much in that room, and moving my things out was a little difficult. But I am ready for the exciting changes that are coming. I went to a training yesterday afternoon and realized that I am going to be working with a wonderful team.

Now I am headed back to school this morning to continue moving my classroom library for summer school. I hadn't realized how large it had gotten, and it keeps growing all the time.

Moving

Well, the current school year hasn't even ended yet, but I am currently packing up my classroom getting ready to move to a new room. I am excited for the change. It sure does make me clean out everything. I forgot I had some things, and other things that I do not want anymore have gone in the trash or to a new forever home. I talked to the teacher whose room I'm taking next year. She is leaving me all kinds of great tools to use in third grade. It is going to be a very exciting move. I'm just hoping I can get it all done before summer school begins on June 1st.