Trip to the zoo

My mom has been asking me if I forgot my Blogger password b/c it's been so long since I blogged so... here we go. :)

My kids with nieces and nephew on a giant chair.

We took the wood walk from the gardens to the zoo. We also found a rattle snake... not cool. We survived though and made it to the zoo.I seem to be a snake magnet lately - corn snake while mowing lawn and cottonmouth while hiking with Ryanne. So, outdoors with me could be dangerous. Just sayin'.

We can't go to the zoo without a ride on the carousel. 

koala. I love the koala. I just want to cuddle it.

The little rock star feeding the goats.

This was the Little Rock Star's goat. He was sweet with her so all the other kids liked him more too. We had to get a picture of him.

We love the giraffes. It's always so cool when they are right there for the kids to pet.

Gorilla

Kangaroo... to the right of Collin.

Collin's favorite creature of the trip... he loved the reflection on its scales.

Ryanne's favorite animal.

The boys. :)

Brian P. Clearly

My sister introduced me to this author. You can see a list of his books on Amazon here. I'll focus on only one book but I think all of his books are probably amazing! :) I haven't read them all... only 2 of them but such a fun concept.

This is a very colorful book. The graphics are bright and fun to pull a student in and entertain them. Even the font is exciting. It begins by defining an adjective but then it goes on giving examples. It goes on with funny pictures and the text describes the pictures with lots of adjectives and rhyming words. Such a fun read and great way to show students what an adjective is.

I recommend these books and can think of so many uses for them. The author not only writes these for grammar but for math, science, and other language arts words like antonyms and such. Really cool. Below is a cute video some students created about the book. hehe! It's their own little adaptation.

I guess, overall, I'm saying I totally recommend these books. I think classrooms should use them, parents should get the ones needed, and home education families should have them. Luckily, our library has a lot of them and so does my sister so I have places to borrow it from. hehe! YAY!!! :)

Manic Monday: QR Codes in the Classroom!

I am working on my practicum. I am lucky enough to be in an awesome class of 2nd graders with an incredible teacher. I have been learning so much from her. I needed to create a lesson that includes the instruction, guided practice, and independent practice. It had to be on phonemic or phonetic awareness. My teacher said it should be a lesson that can be taught in the dark. So, I tried to think of a way I could teach an independent lesson that can be done in the dark. Then, it hit me. Audio! QR codes! So.... here is what resulted in it. :)

It uses the book Can I Keep Him? by Steven Kellogg. It also aligns with Common Core RF.2.3.A. There are two sets of task cards... one uses qr codes and a second set that doesn't. ;) They are the same questions though. If you want this freebie then click HERE to download it.


Also, May 6-7 is a SALE on TPT. 20% off everything in my store and many others if you use the Promo Code TPTXO. My store is here.

We are the shapeshifters!

Today (April 15th) I had the opportunity to complete my bulletin board assignment. So, I got to teach a mini lesson with the students and do an activity. I read The Greedy Triangle to them.

They were completely glued to the story. It was awesome. I guess that means my voices and expressions passed the second graders test. ;) Then, I gave them their instructions, showed them an example and we worked on our anchor chart.

The bottom one is the sample with the sample also written on an index card in the corner for my shape sample. I also asked them for words they thought they would need help spelling and wrote them on the top chart. :) The parallelogram stumped both the teacher and myself. LOL! We had to look that one up. I told them that was a very good word. ;) haha!

Here are some examples of what the students' did. There are two boys who have autism in this class as well. Both of theirs are pictured. I just loved the creativity. I know, you are thinking, "Why didn't I give them something to trace?" Well, I did this for a couple of reasons. I wanted them to know the shapes and to do them on their own. The other reason, and much more important reason, was that I wanted to students to be creative and make their own shapes. I wanted all the shapes to be different, just like they are. I wanted the shapes to show character. There were two girls who did pink stars. If they had things to trace then the stars would have looked exactly the same. However, they didn't have templates or anything to trace so they looked completely different and totally fabulous! I loved the way the students used their own imagination to create their shapes.

Here is how the whole thing looked. Two students were absent so theirs will be added later. ;)

I had so much fun!!!

By the way, I earned an A!!! :)

Wednesday Reads: How Do Apples Grow?

How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro


This is non-fiction and science-y. ;) We've been doing a unit on plants and while he was focusing on flowers -- the pistils and ovaries and reproduction of flowers, we decided to read this book. It starts with winter of an apple tree's life and goes through the process all the way until the next winter. It includes the bees, parts of a flower and everything. It's the perfect book for a plant lesson. I wouldn't recommend it for preschool but it is great for elementary school!

Learning Resources

There are two things I have recently learned about that I have incorporated at home but could easily be incorporated in a classroom as well. All students need brain breaks, right? Especially since so many students are only given one 15-20 minute recess each day. That's crazy!!! Most teachers do "Movement" in their class. It's an opportunity for students to get up and move. I recently learned about a website called Go Noodle! It's a fun opportunity for brain breaks. You can set it up for FREE!!! :) Just go to https://www.gonoodle.com/.
You set it up for your class and choose a class champ. The champ is sort of like a mascot. As the students complete different brain break activities, they get more points and the champ grows.

See, here is our champ. This is actually our second champ because we completed the first champ. The program is cool because all you do is click that big green "PLAY" button on the bottom. Then, it takes you to a screen where all the activities are. You can favorite the ones you really like. My kids favorite the ones they like, I don't. I can also decide if they choose something from the Energizing section or the Calming section. If they're falling asleep on me or just plain lethargic and bored then they choose a Energizing activity to wake them up. If they're too energetic or stressed from school then I put on the Calming section and let them choose one from there.

Here's a screen shot so you can see some of the options. There's dancing too, it somehow hasn't made it to our "favorites" section yet. And, yes, that's Frozen in the corner. ;) Some of these are olympic sports where Olympians actually exercise "with" the students. My kids think that's really cool. They have them stretch a bit and then they show them how to do their sport and then they do it. Collin really likes those. Ryanne prefers the dancing ones. Neither of them mind Frozen and the calming videos came in very handy when I had a very frustrated child on the verge of tears. YAY!!!





OKAY, now for the second resource I discovered.... Wonderopolis!! This is a fun site that has a bunch of things kids have wondered like... How long is the longest bridge? Why is the ocean salty? What do you mine in mincraft? Why do fireflies glow? Why does skin get wrinkled in water? and many, many others!

So, now you're probably asking what do I use these for? Well, writing prompts! :) We watch the video and then I ask the kids the question. They think about it for a moment and then write about it. Once they've written their thoughts, I show the answer with another video or reading the article.

Today's question was "How are gummy bears made?"
Then we watched this video:


Haribo gummy bears from kolbovskiy on Vimeo.

Afterwards I asked them the question and then they got to writing. Ryanne wrote that jellyfish are cooked with strawberries and then cut into bear shapes. She said she knew it was wrong but didn't know the right answer so she decided to get crazy. Collin wrote about making gelatin and putting it in bear molds. Then... we watched another video to answer the question...



Modernist Cuisine - Recipe - Olive Oil Gummy Worms from Modernist Cuisine on Vimeo.

The kids said this was the best writing prompt I've ever given them. They've already picked out the writing prompt for tomorrow.

I figured it out!!!!!

Yay!! Okay, I frequent Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) a lot!!! I print off FREE things from there all the time to use with my kids. However, sometimes the things I want or need are not free so I try to make my own by cutting out cards and drawing them or just making them somehow. I had no idea how to make them on the computer. I tried GIMP and other free things but just couldn't figure it out. Finally, I asked a teacher to has a TPT store and found out they create it in Power Point. Holy Cow!! This opened a whole new world for me. I have already made two products. I'm thinking I may open my own store on there and sell them if I keep this up. I may end up with enough products. LOL!

Here's what I made so far...

Affixes with Alexander Alligator. This one is matching with a worksheet which works well for K-3 and then an additional worksheet that works well for the 2-3 graders.

Caterpillar Contractions. This was the first one I made. It's just a matching game but it was fun and a good way to learn what I was doing. So fun making these!!! :)

Like I said, I may create a store. I think these are really fun and since I'll be making them for my kids, nieces, and nephews then I may as well try selling them too. YAY!!

Wednesday Reads: Bink & Gollie by Katie DiCamillo and Alison McGhee

• Age Range: 6 - 9 years
• Grade Level: 1 - 4
• Series: Bink and Gollie
• Paperback: 88 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; Reprint edition (April 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780763659547
• ISBN-13: 978-0763659547

This is about two friends who are a bit quirky and seem to be complete opposites yet they are always the most marvelous of companions. They get into fights, they go on adventures and they test their friendship. It's mixed with plenty of humor and fun to keep students engaged.

The young reader who read this book really enjoyed it. He opened it up just to see what it was about. Soon, he was enthralled in the story and thirty minutes later he was finished. He laughed at himself because he hadn't meant to even read it. He just wanted to flip through the pages. This is a really cute book. 

AR: grade level 2.5

Lexile: AD310L

This would be a great addition to any classroom. It's a fun read and something many of the students would enjoy and laugh about. It teaches important skills of friendship along with improving learning. There are a few words in it that are tricky and would be a wonderful opportunity for students' vocabulary to grow as they learn words like implore, compromise, outrageous, baffle, and several other larger words. The character Gollie likes to use larger words and quite often baffles Bink with her vernacular. A fun little book and great story for a classroom.

Wikki Stix

What in the world are Wikki Stix? Well, they are a very versatile educational tool. :) They are fun to play with too. Basically, it's yarn covered in wax. Super simple. I bed I could figure out how to make some. Until then, a pack of 43 is available on Amazon for $7.96 here.  They are also a great teaching tool. While they can be used for many things, I'm going to talk about what I use them for. :)

I have a kindergartner who is a very phonetic reader. If you're wondering what that means, what happens is that any time Ryanne reads she sounds out every single letter before saying the word. This happens even if she just said the word in the previous sentence. She doesn't recognize the word. Her Kindergarten teacher recommended I buy these to help her. So, I did.

I went through and I cut them into thirds. Now, as she reads a book I do a guided reading type of thing with her. She reads it but I have cards with her sight words and I give her 2-3 of those cards. Anytime she comes across one of those words she has to circle it with one of these. The great thing is that these stick to the paper but they're easy to remove as well. This is what her book looks like when she does it....

Isn't that so fun? We're hoping this will help her to recognize words instead of sounding out every single one. We'll see how it goes. :)

Wednesday Reads: Squish: Super Amoeba by Jennifer and Matt Holm

• Age Range: 8 - 12 years
• Grade Level: 3 - 7
• Series: Squish (Book 1)
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (May 10, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375843892
• ISBN-13: 978-0375843891

Author: Jennifer  and Matt Holm

This is a story about one celled organisms living their life. Elementary school is hard for everyone but especially if you're an amoeba named Squish who has bullies to deal with and Principal Planaria. Not to mention getting along with friends and a dad who secretly listens to heavy metal. Do you think Squish can save his friends and the world from the evils in the hallway or school? Read the book to find out. :)

I have, what we could call, a reluctant reader. This, however, was the first chapter book I got him to read. Granted, it's written as a comic book but I really didn't care as long as it got this young reader to read words. He loved this book. He even picked up the sequel the next time he was at the library.

AR: Grade level 2.2

Lexile: GN230L

This would be a fun book to have in the classroom, especially for science when covering one celled organisms. Unfortunately, most 2nd graders don't learn about one celled organisms for a while but it would be a great way to introduce them to the topic. It really is mostly just for fun.

RATING: **** Four Stars

Teacher Talks Tuesday: Rainbow Writing

So many boys in the classroom seem to struggle with writing. My son is also one of these boys. So, I figured I needed to do something about it. My son loves colors so I thought, "What if he writes each sentence in a different color?" So, I created Rainbow Writing. It's very simple. All he does is roll a die. Each number corresponds with a color and that is the color of the next sentence. My reluctant writer writes now. It's so nice. He doesn't use this method for final copies, only the "sloppy copy" or the rough draft. On the final one he still has to use a regular #2 pencil. However, at least the "sloppy copy" is a lot easier to work through.

You can get the PDF by clicking HERE.

Christmas in July 2013

Ryanne's phonics. She has 2 text books, activity book, assessment book, readers, 3 dry erase boards, 4 mini dry erase boards, site words cards, dry erase marker and eraser, magnetic letter tiles and 3 ring binder.

 All the school books have arrived!! Now to organize the school room and go school supply shopping after I inventory what we have left from this past year.

Ryanne's Language Arts!

Ryanne's science.... graduated cylinder, magnets, safety glasses, magnifying glass, thermometer, blow up globe, mirror, activity book, story books.

Ryanne's math

Collin's science.

Collin's language arts (includes literature, writing skills, vocabulary, spelling, and handwriting.

Collin's math.

Can you tell they color code the kids by grade? K is blue, 1st is green and 2nd is orange. Collin's is on the top shelf and Ryanne's on the bottom. YAY!!

State House Field Trip

So, my sister and I did a little switch-a-roo for this field trip. I have Collin and Ryanne but Collin is the only one in school. My sister has 5 kids and only the oldest two are in school. So, I left Ryanne at her house and Paul and I took her oldest two and Collin to the state house. The younger kids had a blast playing at my sister's house and the older 3 had fun on an educational day at the state house. :) I am so glad that Paul went with us b/c I HATE driving in the city. I find it very intimidating. So glad we live in a tiny city. ;)

This was my oldest niece's favorite monument. She had recently learned about the emancipation of African Americans  in her history class so she was going through the monument telling us what everything was. 

Some of the classmates gathered together for a pic. This wasn't all but the best group picture I had.

Collin is in the white and red shirt sitting behind the kid with his arms spread out wide. My nieces are  just a few steps below him on the right side.

The mosaic glass was amazing.

This is some of the architecture and colors of the main lobby. I thought it was really pretty.

The dome from the inside. This is actually a fake dome placed inside the real dome because the real dome isn't centered in this room.

During the civil war, the northerners started firing and  hit George Washington's monument. Then they realized who  it was and stopped because they actually like him. :)

The stars are where cannon balls hit the state house during the civil war. There are 6 total.

This is a wider shot of the African American monument.

Main lobby

Upstairs mosaic glass. They said this is priceless.