3D Shapes - Exploration

We've been working with shapes and this week was the end of fractions and 3d shapes. My firsties really enjoyed playing with the 3d shapes.

For our second lesson, I gave each group a set of 3d shapes. They were then given 5 minutes to build anything they wanted while working together. (The teamwork was amazing.)  After that, I called out different shapes and they composed new ones using the shapes I called out.

It was amazing what they created! The thing I enjoyed even more was hearing them tell me about the shapes and their attributes afterwards. One little girl even looked at me and went "That was our math? Thank you!"

 

I love it when they are really excited about our lesson and don't realize they're learning!

Half Way Point

I know it's been a while since I've posted. I spent the two weeks of holiday break visiting my boyfriend and his family. (I hadn't seen him in a couple of months, so this was an awesome way to spend break.) And I've spent the week since then getting back on track with school. (A couple plane delays threw off my plans of how to accomplish everything!)

On a happy note, we hit the half-way point last Friday. 90 days of school have passed and there's another 90 days left to get these firsties strong for second grade. With the 90 day mark passing, that means we have the 100th day of school coming up! What do you have planned for it? I would love to hear others' ideas for the special occasion!

On another note, my kiddos have really been enjoying my January work journal for morning work. I'm looking forward to creating one for each month from here on out. It has simplified planning for me because I know longer have to go searching for morning work each week. Instead, I run the book at the beginning of the month, the kids put it in their table baskets, and they get it out and work on it in the mornings. All I have to do is check it!  It has really been a great system. I'm greatly loving it.

If you'd like to get your own copy, click on one of the pictures above to find it in my store! For $2, you can have your entire month of morning work ready!  I will be adding up February in the next week or two. 

(P.S. I offered January's work journal for free to my Facebook followers. If you want to grab a February freebie, head over to Facebook and follow me in order to get the news about freebies!)

Now, I really want to hear about your ideas for the 100th Day of School! Comment with your favorite activities, printables, or blog posts about the topic!

Time to Bring Out the Elf!

Last year, I purchased an Elf on the Shelf after seeing so many great ideas on Pinterest!

Last year, I made things up as I went - it was a last minute purchase after all. I decided to go in armed with ideas this year!  So, after some Pinterest browsing, I've created a plan for the upcoming year!

Here's what I came up with. If you click on the picture, it'll take you to a PDF with links to my "Elf on the Shelf" Pinterest board and a free TPT activity I found.

Here's some shots of "Tiptoe" the elf from last year:

 He came in a box surrounded by "snow" from the North Pole with a letter from Santa.

He was waiting in the classroom for them after special area one day. I remember wondering if anyone was even going to point him out. They all came in, sat on the carpet, and no one said a word!

 

He left them a good morning message with our Scrabble Junior tiles.

 

He watched from the behavior chart.

 

He got into some copy room mischief one day and forgot to throw away the evidence!

 

He even thought he was a puppet!

 

 

My second graders really loved looking for him each day. I'm hoping my firsties get  just as excited this year!

 

I'll tell you about the advent calendar he brings in a post tomorrow. The kids enjoyed it as well. :)

 



Linking up with Flapjack Resources:

The Sub Plans Were Worth It

As you may recall, I went AWOL last week as I took a few days to go see my long distance boyfriend (which is a whole other story for a totally different blog).

The time away really made me appreciate my class in several ways when I saw what I returned to. I'm going to quickly share my top three things about returning to work this past Monday.

1. It was the first time I ever returned from having a sub and saw "You have a good class." among the notes left by a sub.

2. I had former students and current students welcoming me back with giant hugs, smiles, and even small gifts. I even had a couple parents drop a "Welcome back" and "How was your trip?"

3. My students made my first day back relatively easy by behaving quite well. (Then, the power of the full moon hit on Tuesday...)

All in all, I think this was the first time I returned to a neat room, pleasant note, and happy kids. This teacher certainly can't complain and you can bet I will save the number of this sub. (This was the second time I've used her...she was amazing!)

Keep an eye out for several posts coming in the next few weeks with goodies and new products just for you!