Thankful Turkeys

Take a look at our November door theme!  This is a fun little turkey activity that doesn't require a lot of prep (except getting some paper pre-cut) and is a really cute hand and footprint activity.  

They partner up with a friend and trace both of their feet and their hands.  Then you put it all together to make this cute little turkey.  It is a great partner activity because they have to be slow and careful while they trace their partners hand.  They really do a nice job!

The only thing I have to get copied ahead of time are the feet on yellow construction paper and I attached a copy of that if you want to run it off.  

Also, for the mouth and gobble I pre-cut little yellow squares for them to fold a 3-D mouth and for them to draw and cut out their own gobble.

(click on the picture to get a copy)

Writing Notebooks

I have a little teacher-hack for you . . . 

My kids love to write in their notebooks but often don't use the entire piece of paper and then it gets wasted.  This is especially true with young kiddos who are only writing a few sentences.  

The solution . . .

I have done this in the past but I used regular notebooks and they were a pain to cut.  You had to use your paper cutter and then use wire cutters to get through the wire ring on the side.  

This is SO much easier.  

My co-worker figured out that by using composition notebooks you can take them to Office Max (or your local office supply store) and they will cut them in half for you in no time.  The best part is that it only cost less than $4.00!  Also, if you plan ahead you can buy these notebooks in the summer when their 50 cents each, and since each kiddo only gets half you only need half as many as you have students in your class.  

I have used them as reading response notebooks or you can use them for free writing or Work on Writing time in Daily 5.  The possibilities are endless!! 

Snazzy Snacks!

Last week we finally did our first round of Snazzy Snacks!  This is something that I have done for the past couple of years and the kids love it!  I first heard about it from Mrs. Bainbridge.  At Open House Night I have parents sign-up to bring in ingredients for our snacks throughout the year.  About a week or so ahead of time I send home a shopping list of ingredients with the parent(s) who signed up.

 

The first step in Snazzy Snacks is writing down the recipe.  I make a set of classroom cookbooks that the students write each recipe in.  Then at the end of the year they will get to take it home and can make any of our yummy snacks again at home.  I print the covers on colored cardstock and usually also laminate them for durability.

After everyone has written the recipe (a great handwriting exercise) we all get to make the recipe.

*Click on the image to get a free copy.

Calendar Math

This year I started incorporating a more involved calendar math time.  We always discussed our calendar math but now I have the students write about it as well.  Last February I attended a seminar given by guided math guru Dr. Nicki Newton and she said that it was critical to have this be a part of every student's day.  

After using it for about a week or so they have picked up the routines and get started as soon as they hit the carpet.  It is a great way to reinforce written skills as they practice writing the days of the week and the month and but it also increases their math awareness and ability to manipulate numbers in a variety of ways.  

This is the sheet I use, click on it to get a free copy!

Apple Week

The end of September brings Johnny Appleseed's birthday (September 26th) and with that comes apple week!  We had so much fun with all of our different apple activities.  We have apple math centers (courtesy of Sarah Kirby) that the kids are really enjoying!  They love working with their friends on these fun games and activities!

We also had an apple tasting day and even made crock pot applesauce.  The kids told me that I was a fabulous cook :-)

 

We are also still in the process of working on our apple science books from Regan Tunstall. These suckers take awhile but are worth it at the end because we are learning so many different things about apples.  I can't wait to start the pumpkin version!

First Weeks of School

We have been so busy, as I know everyone is during their first week of school.  We are finally settling into somewhat of a routine and I am so proud of how fast they have caught on!  

We are making great progress with implementing Daily 5 - so far we are chugging right along with Read to Self and I just introduced Read to Someone on Wednesday.  The kids are loving it and they are doing a great job at building their stamina!!

I know that I introduce my Dailies in a different order from the book but I find that with my little first graders it's easier to keep them in reading-mode for a while before moving on to the writing parts of Daily 5.  I will go on to Word Work next because I think it's also one of the easier things for them to understand and practice.  

Last week we also did a No, David project that I borrowed from Fall Into First.  It was a great way to discuss the rules of our class and the kids LOVE No, David!  After we read the story and brainstormed classroom rules they each picked out a rule that they thought it would be important to teach David.

    

*side note-this was a fairly difficult and time consuming project to do with first graders right away. BUT it can be done.  Just remember that they are not the first graders you just sent off to second grade, patience and extra time is key :-)

Open House

We had our Open House night on Tuesday and it was so much fun!  I love getting to see all of the new faces that will make up my first grade group this year.  Of course I meant to take pictures of my room BEFORE they came in, but as I got busy setting I forgot.  I did take some after photos though so you could see the scavenger-hunt like set up I used. 

I was using Meet the Teacher Night signs from Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits and they are great.  I used them for the first time last year and they worked so well.  It gives the families a purpose and a plan to follow while they are in my room and I am trying to get around to meet with everyone.

This is what they saw when they walked in the room . . .

  

Here are some sorted school supplies . . . 

This is how I had parents tell me how their child was getting home from school (the little cards have the students name and a blank bus number for them to fill in).

The first day of school is coming up on Tuesday and I am so excited to get things started again!!