NYFW..Michael Kors - 30th Anniversary

                                                    

                                                              

 

Great Web Sites Honoring 911

I remember teaching 1st grade on 9-11 ten years ago. I was in the classroom and had no idea what had happened, but knew something was terribly wrong! Parents were taking their children out of class frantically. It was a very scary and a very sad day. It was even sadder when the students came back to school a few days later and we remembered and discussed what had happened and talked about their family, friends, and relatives whose lives were shattered because of what had happened.  I never really know how to teach or talk about 911 in the classroom.
My school puts on a really sweet sentimental ceremony as we are named
"The School of Heroes".
This year to honor the 10th year I wanted to do something in the classroom I found a-few ideas :

* Brain POP.com  (a very informative honest video).

*http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/911/ 

(many different activities)
* Scholastic has a Wall Of Heroes (this touched my heart)http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/911/activities_hall.asp
                        where, you can write about a hero from that day that you know of and they will publish your small story online.
                        * Read - A- Loud:


On September 11th horrific events occurred, yet through the simple text and vibrant art of first graders, we are reminded that the world continued the next day. On each page, children experience the comforts of ordinary routines, such as their teacher reading books to them, having homework and recess, and knowing that 2 + 2 still equals 4. This is a poignant message of hope that reassures us all that even after bad things happen, tomorrow always brings a new day.



                       

Cute DIY activities.

  Fun for the kids DIY activities that you can use in the classroom or at home.

 I've collected great educational easy to make - child friendly activities from a lot of craft blogs, I love them all but

You should really check out  sunscholars.blogspot.com/ - she posts a DIY 

For the Kids Friday every week.

Some of my personal favorites

 
  

1) A House for Hermit Crab (Eric Carl)    2) Mr. Shark Alphabet Chomper Game
3) Monster Pillows   4) Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Story Time

Word Family Eggs

at Living and Learning

 

Button Checker Board

by Little Miss Momma her blog is awesome and the DIY button checker board sew cute!

Magical Creature Answering Owl

by:Ucreate

Children get a kick out of the Magic Creature answering the riddles
(especially jokes you have heard 1000 times already!)

learning is exciting, memorizing math facts, state capitals and other school stuff
 she wears flowers made this OWL and posted it on Ucreate with Kids

 she wears flowers

 creative guest on Ucreate with Kids today!

FABULOUS Scarecrow Activities

at Katherine Marie Photography

Fashionable friday (T.G.I.F.)

I plan on starting my Fashionable Friday with a delish...
starbucks.com PUMPKIN SPICE LattE. 




After work my husband promised.... we could take a teeny tiny trip to


anthropologie.com 








I've had my eye on a cute little, ruffly jacket.. 

Scholastic had some amazing ideas.. (I had to share)

All of these wonderful Ideas have helped me get myself ready for BACK to SCHOOL 

this year.... they come from  my two favorite online mentors.

Alycia & Beth  @ scholastic.com  I cant begin to tell you how amazing these ladies are!
I am constantly stalking them for GREAT ideas and I am NEVER disappointed!
           I was a little tired of doing 
..the same- old- same- old . so i searched around at Scholastic.com 

and found some new, innovative, and creative ideas... YAY! 

A few things I needed to update were:

* grouping students ( with 33 students I needed some help )

* different read-a-louds

* art activities to make the classroom look inviting (but still tie into my reading/writing workshop)
* jazzing up "source-book" (writing notebook )

Cool Tool for Creating Random Groups  
At the beginning of the year, I find it hard to form groups before I really know my students and how they work together. Instead of having them count off in numbers or drawing sticks, I found this neat online tool at a site called Super Teacher Tools that will randomly group my students for me.  It allows you to create a class list and then choose how many students you want in each group.  It automatically creates the groups with just a click of the mouse.  (In addition to Group Maker, this Web site also has cool online review games and management tools you can use with your students.)

Partner Clocks    
I ask students to work in partnerships quite often in my classroom.  While they have assigned partners in Reading and Writing Workshop (based on reading level and other factors), there are certainly times when I want them to quickly find a partner with whom they can complete a task or do an assignment. 

Read-Aloud Books for Launching Reading Workshop
You set the tone of Reading Workshop in your classroom during your launching unit. For this reason, it is  important to choose read-aloud books that both reinforce the behaviors you are teaching during your mini-lessons and promote a love of reading.

(Click on each book for more information about the story.)

   

I used this one today!  But Excuse Me That is My Book by Lauren Child  

Normally I avoid books with a TV tie-in like the plague, but this really drives home the lesson about sharing books and varying our reading diet to consume a “healthy balance” of books. Written for younger children, this is a snappy read about Lola, who is peeved because another child has borrowed her “extra specially special” favorite book. My students enjoy adopting a superior tone as they discuss why young Lola is being unreasonable, and how they are far more mature (wink-wink) and therefore understand the nuances of sharing books. (Lauren Child also wrote the Clarice Bean series for upper elementary kids, which I introduce after reading this book.)
Drawing Similes:

Writing even a short poem can seem daunting to some students at the beginning of the year, so we start with a single simile sentence. I read my students Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood, and we discuss how the narrator uses a series of creative similes to describe himself. In my next lesson, I readMy Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil by Hanoch Piven to share some more complex examples of character trait similes. After immersing my students in the language of similes, we chart an extensive list of character traits that the students can pick from to write their own descriptive similes. Finally, my students illustrate their favorite personal simile with oil pastels and watercolor paints using the wax resist technique. Last year, I displayed their paintings along with their similes on sentence strips on a bulletin board in the hallway. Everyone loved learning about my students through their similes.

      

Have Students Personalize Their Writer's Notebook
My students write each day in their Writer's Notebook during Writing Workshop.  They are given a blank composition book at the beginning of the year and I ask them, in class and with aletter to their parents, to bring things from home (photos, sticks, postcards, souvenirs, etc.) to decorate both the front and back of the notebook.  While this may just seem like a fun art project, it is so much more than that!  Allowing students to personalize their notebooks helps them truly take ownership of the writing that will soon cover the pages of their book.  The photos and other things they choose to put on their notebooks often give them ideas for new notebook entries as well.  I have parent volunteers cover the notebooks with contact paper when they are done decorating them. 

Back to School

Today is the first day..


Sorry that I have been ignoring my blog, but I was very busy, getting my 
classroom ready (pictures today I promise). Have a great day today... 

September Styles

                         SEPTEMBER-stylesI was shopping around for a fall wardrobe @ shopstyle 

Where I love shopping for the latest trends because you can see what's out there from many different designers at one time.

Here are a few things I found:

 Forever 21 had some great pieces and several of the items I've seen came from their LOVE line! 
This line runs about a size bigger than the regular line. 
These items are all under $30 and you can click on any of the photos below to purchase. I'm particularly fond of the ruffle trim jacket - so cute!! The wrap dress reminded me vaguely of THIS Trina Turk wrap dress which retails for a heck of a lot more - and "spicy tones" are in for fall so your work wardrobe will be right on trend with this dress. shopstyle.com
SUPER SAVINGS: UNDER $30 - 

Day Dresses by Forever 21

Hoodies by Forever 21 

Longsleeve Tops by Forever 21

Sleeveless Tops by Forever 21 

R

Flat Stanley

I usually do a big Flat Stanley project in the Spring.        
                                 but...
Today the flat stanley project sent
 me a great video- that I thought I would share, plus keeping it
here in my blog archive,
is a great way for me to find it when I need it.
http://gallery.flatstanley.com/?p=296%3Fp%3D296

“Kids- if YOU keep your sense of humor, and reach out to other kids in ALL the world, and get them to reach out to you in their own way, there may be a human race here in another 100 years!”



Here is the Flat Stanley site:
flatstanleybooks.com
 I find that the new Flat Stanley Adventures fit perfectly into the 3rd grade social studies curriculum.
This is STANEY'S newest adventure: ( can't wait to read it )