2 Week Panic, Numbers, and Kitchen Counters

2 Week Panic

I just realized yesterday that I only have 2 more weeks of summer vacation.  Where did the time go?  I still have a lot left to do.  I moved classrooms during the summer and still haven't figured out bulletin boards.  It's one of those things I'm not good at and it's making me a little crazy.  I still need to finish the massive vocabulary word wall files I've been working on since May.  Oh, and have I mentioned lately that I'm about to get my kitchen remodeled?  (Yeah, I'm just a bit excited about that.  Can't wait for it to be done.)

Numbers

My first graders have always  had a tough time reading number words.  So last year as part of my calendar math I added number words.  We sang a song for each number 1-10.  Every one of them could read and spell the number words at the end of the year.  Since my makeshift idea worked, I decided to do a prettier version for my calendar math wall this year.  

I'm using cut off bottoms of sheet protectors to hold the papers.  We'll see if they hold up well since I've never tried using them this way before.  In the past, I had them on rings and hung them from thumb tacks.  Here's a picture of the stuff I've made.

I should have changed the numbers like a real display for the pictures.  Pretend it's the 125th day of school.  the top would say 100+20+5=, under that it would read: one hundred twenty five, and of course the hundreds/tens/ones would say 125.  The seasons off to the side stay up all year and I use a clothes pin that says "the season now is" to clip onto the current season.

Kitchen Counters

Besides running over to the school to laminate the above stuff and copy some other stuff, I went clear across town to the place that sells granite slabs.  I picked out some that I might decide from.  This is very preliminary though, I'm not even completely sure about using granite.  Here are the ones I brought selections home for.

It's hard to really decide much yet since I haven't selected wood for the cabinets yet either.  

That's it for today!  Thanks for stopping by.

Joell

Another Award!

Hi all,

My non-school, non-internet life is interfering with my blogging time!  This is going to be a short one.  I want to thank Christine from Tales From Room 17 for giving me the Versatile Blogger Award!  Isn't it pretty?

The rules of the award are:

1.  Thank the blogger who gave you the award (thanks again, Christine!)

2.  Include a link to their site.  (see above)

3.  Include the award image in your post (see above again)

4.  Give 7 random facts about yourself (see below)

5.  Nominate 5-10 other bloggers, include their link, and let them know.  (this one will happen later when I have enough time to figure out which bloggers out there don't already have this award.)

7 Random Facts:

1.  My name rhymes with "oh well" or "noel"

2.  I was bucked off a horse and broke one of my vertebrae when I was in my 20s.

3.  I love tech gadgets and have to fight the compulsion to keep buying more of them.

4.  My car is a very sensible Toyota, Camry.

5.  One of my goals in life is to visit all 50 states.  I'm a little over half way.

6.  Ever since my master's degree, I don't like to read anything other than a simple novel.

7.  I used to be fluent in American Sign Language and work as an interpreter for the School for the Deaf.

I'll get you a list of the 5-10 awardees soon.

Joell

A New Look!

A special thank you to Leelou blogs for my new look.  This is a free template from them.  Since I'm on a tight budget with my upcoming kitchen remodel, I can't afford to have someone design me something cute.  Once I do have the money, I will definitely be seeing them for a custom design.

I have contractors meeting with me the next 2 days, so I might be scarce in the blogosphere.  

Joell

My First Blog Award

Hi all,

I got my first blog award.  Here it is:

Special thanks to Adventures in Mrs. Martin's Room for giving me this award.  She has a nice site, I especially like her back to school tortoise post, so go check it out.

So the rules for this award are:

This award highlights blogs that have under 200 followers.Here are the rules:1. Copy and paste this award on your blog.2. Thank the giver and link back to them.3. Reveal 5 other bloggers and let them know by commenting on their blog.


Here are the 5 I'm awarding this award to:
Angie at The First Grade Scoop
Jenny at Owl Things First
Tammy at Mrs. Flickinger's Butterfly Oasis
Jenna at Miss Fuerst's Reading Adventures
Kristin at Teaching in a Nutshell

Congratulations you 5!

Now, I have to figure out how to add the award to the side of my blog.  :)

Joell

Another Freebie and another link up.

Hi all,

I had a bad case of the lazies today.  So instead of cleaning like crazy in preparation for contractors to come and bid on my kitchen remodel, I sat and worked on the computer.

I'm doing an "I'm finished" binder this year, and one of the pages I'm going to put in there is a number of the day.  So, rather than using any of the wonderful ones already out there, I developed my very own.  It's in my tpt store for free right here.  If you download this, please take the time to leave a comment and rate it.

I'm also joining the newbie blogger blog hop.  Thanks to Janis at gr3istheplace4me for setting this one up.  See below for the rules.

1.  What state you are in.

2. Your current teaching position.

3. Your teaching experience.

4. When you started blogging.

5. Share a blogging tip/resource.

1.  I'm in Utah.

2.  I teach 1st grade.

3.  I've taught 1st grade for 18 years.

4.  I started blogging in March

5.  I'm going to self-promote a bit here and say I'm building a pinterest board fonts, clip art, and blog tips.  You can find it here.

Finally, I've been given my first blog award!  I will be posting about it as soon as I can find the time to follow the directions.

Joell

The First Day of School

The above graphic is copyrightdjinkers.com

Hello,

The first day of school is approaching faster than I'd like this year.  This is always a very stressful day for teachers, students and parents alike.  This year will be different for me, because we're meeting the parents and teachers before school starts, so I'm hoping I can lay down some ground rules for the first day of school including the parents saying goodbye outside.  I don't have any idea if it will work, or if the kids and parents will even show up for these before-school conferences.

In past years, the beginning of the first day has been chaotic.  Here's the procedures that I've used the last few years.

• Students enter the room (with or without parents).  They choose their name tag which is placed on a table inside the door.  They're directed to hang up their back packs and put their lunches away.  Then to find a desk with crayons on it.  I hand them a hidden object picture and send them to their desks.
• We used to have parent-teacher conferences the 2nd or 3rd week of September, so I'd hand parents a clip board with a schedule on it so they can sign up for a time.
• I have a clip board with student names and check in information.  This includes what kind of lunch the kid is having, and how the student is to get home.
• In the craziness, I always fear I'll forget to tell a parent something important--like where to pick up their child, or what time school gets out, etc.  So I always prepare a short note with information about the end of the first day, and what to do at the beginning of the next day.
• Once I get the parents out the door, I call the students over to the floor and we talk about first day feelings.  I usually read a book, either First day Jitters, or Morris Goes to School.
• After that, there's the usual stuff:  tours, getting to know you stuff, setting up rules/expectations, and yes, I do some informal assessments (Write all the letters you know.  If you have time and know some words, write those too>)  
• One other favorite activity is reading The Kissing Hand.  Afterward, I have the students trace their own hands, cut out their hand print, and then I give them a heart sticker to put on it.  This is a really interesting pre-assessment, too.  

Do you have special activities you do the first day of school?  How do you deal with the beginning of the day chaos?  Teach123 is having a linky party, so please link up and share your thoughts.

click here to link up

Joell

Spreadsheets are done & student welcome

Spreadsheets on Teacherspayteachers!

I finally finished the 1st grade common core spreadsheets!   Now, I know some teachers might be afraid of spreadsheets, but these are very simple to use.

Here's a video I made to help you out if you need it.



You can find both the math and language arts versions in my tpt store.

I would suggest using my spreadsheet with some of the great assessment packs already out there on teacherspayteachers.  Here are a few on my wishlist:

The Lesson Plan Diva's math assessments
The Lesson Plan Diva's Language Arts Assessments

Jodi Southard's Math and Language Arts packets.

Back to School

I've also been working on bulletin board ideas for welcoming the students at the beginning of the year.  I got these really cute frames and got them all ready in powerpoint.  I'll be meeting with parents and students the week before school, so I'm hoping to take pictures and then put them up on the board.  Here's my template.

Aren't they cute?  

Well, that's it for today.  I hope you're enjoying your summer.

Joell