First Day=Pau

For those of you not familiar with Hawaiian lingo, "pau" is pidgin for "done."  I think it is a fun word.

Anyway...

Success!  

Magic Playdoh- CHECK

Pete the Cat- CHECK

Values and Rules- CHECK

procedures, procedures, PROcedures- CHECK

Let. me. tell. you.   The "Pete the Cat" idea was my favorite today.  The kids loved having the opportunity to get their hands on scissors, glue, and coloring tools.  I have some artists in my class this year!  First, I read them the story, Pete the Cat Rocking in my School Shoes.  It is a predictable tale  about Pete doing things at school in his cool new shoes.  The kids loved interacting with the story and by the end they were singing the chorus with me.  Next, we worked on a craft that I used thanks to A Day in First Grade.  While they worked, I put on some music that is on the Pete the Cat Activity Page.  Highly recommend it!  The kids wanted to listen to these songs over and over again.  When students glued the parts together one said, "Pete came to life!"  So cute.  The last step was writing a sentence on the board titled "Pete the Cat".  It said "I'm ______ in my school shoes." and had them fill in the blank with something they did today on their first day of school.  I will definitely be doing this activity again next year!

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to using the friend survey also courtesy of A Day in First Grade.  It will be the first lesson of the Daily 5 as well.  Get 'em started early!

Although it's always sad to see summer pass by, I'm happy to be back at school.  Here's to a good year!

(made these rainbow cupcakes for my team for the first day)

First Day Jitters

Tomorrow is the first day of school and I couldn't be more excited!  I feel more prepared than ever and looking forward to meeting my new group.  Plus, I get to see my old students and catch up with them on how their summer was.

For now... Meet- Minnie.  She is the newest member of our class.  I think class pets are so fun.  One of our student jobs is pet/plant caretaker.  I hope the kids love her as much as I do.  I know, I know:  "just a fish..." but pets are family.  So this one better not die!

I'm trying a few other new things this year.  I found this great lesson idea from  A Cupcake for the Teacher:  Magic Playdoh.   I've already made the playdoh and couldn't believe how EASY it was!  The idea behind magic playdoh is you put food coloring in the center and let the kids think it's just a white ball of playdoh.  Little do they know that when they start playing with it (while it's still inside the bag at first because of the dye), it changes color!  This is super cute and a fun idea.  I can't wait to see the looks on their faces :)  I got this idea from Teri, but she did not create this poem- like me, she borrowed from a teacher, who also borrowed.  I love this community of sharing!

The big poster is for the whole group setting.  It will be displayed on the SMART Board at the front of the class and we will read the poem together.  They will have the smaller labels on their ziploc baggies.  

The ingredients are as follows (one batch makes 8 decent balls of playdoh):

2 cups flour

1/2 cup salt

4tsp cream of tartar

2 cups water

2tbsp vegetable oil

food coloring

*Steps*

1.  Mix all the ingredients EXCEPT the food coloring together in a pot on the stove over medium heat.

2.  Stir continuously until playdoh becomes a ball and you can't stir anymore.

3.  Set it aside on a plate to cool.

4.  Form balls of playdoh and poke a hole at the top.  Add 3-4 drops of food coloring in the center.  GENTLY seal the hole so there is no sign of food coloring.

 Put all the balls in individual ziploc bags for the students and Voila!  Mission accomplished.

As for First Day Jitters... if you're a teacher and haven't read it yet, it is a must.  I am reading it on the first day of school as a fun ice breaker.  I'll also be reading the new Pete the Cat book I bought over the summer and doing a craft activity.  The second day of school I will give students this survey to complete with their peers to get to know each other.  I got this idea from fellow blogger, Kristen Smith.

Stay tuned for many stories of the first day of school.  Only 15 hours away... haha

Fun Photo Friday!

It's officially the last work day before the madness begins.  Students start school on Monday!  and as excited as I am to have a brand new, bright-eyed batch of second graders (the BEST grade), I can't help but be melancholy reflecting on my kids last year.  They are growing and moving on to new experiences in 3rd grade.  My role as their teacher was to love them, nurture them, and teach them.  That motherly mindset is still there, but now I have to let them go.  I absolutely cannot wait to see the looks on their faces as they begin their third grade journey with a new teacher.

Last Friday I posted some sunset pictures. This week I'd like to share sunrise pictures to represent the dawning of a new year and a rainbow to represent hope. 

Daily 5

I am a huge fan of the Daily 5.  I started practicing this reading resource 4 years ago.  Imagine my delight when I found awesome poster printouts for FREEEEEEEEEEE.  Sorry, I love that word.  Anyway, I wanted to share it so that other lovers of this teaching practice can find it and use it.  Go here to download and print.  Enjoy!