2 Tips to Tame the Morning Chaos

Hi, teacher friends.  It's Peggy Means from Primary Flourish with some tips to help you and your students 'flourish' with a morning routine.

Don't you just love this picture?!
Look at their enthusiasm ...
... their determination ...
... their speed ...
... their joy ...
all coming into YOUR classroom!

After years of frustration with the chaos of my mornings with the students,
I found 2 routines that tamed - not squelched - tamed and directed ...
... their determination ...
... their speed ...
... their joy ...
as they come into YOUR classroom!

I call it "Rise & Shine" because that's what I want the students to do...

rise to the challenges of the day ...

and shine with their best!

It is PowerPoint slide that you project every morning as the students arrive.  They can quickly see what they need to do to prepare for the day - and you have a few moments to take roll, lunch count, or any other morning responsibilities that you may have.

This really transformed my mornings!  Now the students were self-directed and productive!

And it was a snap for me to create every day - much easier - and cuter - than writing it on the whiteboard every day.

If you would like to give this a try - 

you can download it - 

for free!

I made the slides editable so you can add what you need to for each new day!
I think it will make your mornings so much easier!

There is just something wonderful about music and the effect it has on us!

I found that music playing as the students enter the classroom helps them 

transition and refocus their attention!

I have a morning playlist with a variety of tempos:

Quiet music on Mondays when their energy is high.

Lively music for the Fridays (and the day after a field trip).

Variety of tempos in between.

I hope these 2 tips will help you 'tame the morning chaos'!

DIY Seating and "Cubbies"

Hey there! Lauren Lynes from Simply Second Grade! Today I am sharing two cheap DIY projects with you that I hope you can use in your classroom!

A few years ago, I started the Daily 5 in my classroom. I had been blog stalking all summer long, looking for ideas for Daily 5. Many classrooms I came across had all kinds of fun, comfortable seating areas for students to read. I wanted to provide some more fun seating options for my kiddos during Daily 5 without breaking the bank. And then one of our 3rd grade teachers gave me this awesome idea! And it only cost about $6 a pop!

I bought a few crates from Wal-Mart for about $3 each. I bought enough padding at Hancock Fabrics for 4 seats ($12). Hancock Fabrics does a teacher discount, FYI! I had some leftover fabric (free!) and my dad had some plywood in his shed (free!). My dad cut the plywood for me, but I found out that Lowe's will cut it to the correct size for free if you buy the wood from them. Have the wood cut so that it can sit inside the basket where you would normally hang folders. Hot glue the padding to the wood. Cover with fabric, and use a staple gun to secure the fabric. And voila! Cheap seating for your babies (or you!) And BONUS! These seats serve as extra storage! I store my kiddos' extra school supplies inside my seats. 

When I got my first classroom, it did not come with cubbies. Those things can be expensive, especially for a brand spanking new teacher! And at the time, I did not know anyone carpenters, and still don't :) So I use cans instead of cubbies! They are the perfect size for papers!

This was a SUPER cheap project for me, and these things have lasted since I started teaching in 2007. I get a lot of compliments on them, too! Ask your cafeteria staff to save the large cans that fruits and veggies come in. Make sure the edges where the cans have been open are not sharp; you don't want cut little fingers! You can put globs of hot glue on the edges if needed. I cut butcher paper to fit the size of the can. I used calendar numbers to number the cans, then I laminated the sheets of paper. I hot glued the laminated sheets at the seam, and bam! A cute, CHEAP way to send your kids' papers home :)

I hope you are able to use these ideas in your classroom!

DIY Labels for... everything!

Hi everyone!  I'm Angie from Rulin' The Roost and am so excited to be a part of this wonderful blog!  This is my first post so, before I do that, let me tell you about me.  I'm a former first grade teacher (for 11 years!) who is now in Second, for my second year.  I am a BOY mom.  I have three wonderful, BUSY boys ages 9, 5 and 1 year (well, in 2 days he'll be 1!).  {odd fact-all THREE of my boys were born on the 15th of their month!  March, April and September!}  Let see...  I love to bargain shop, create things for the home and classroom.... and I HATE coffee!!!!  Say what?!  I don't know how I get through my days without it, but I do!  ha!

Okay-onto my quick little tutorial for you do create yourself!  Creating labels that look cute and don't get all funky with spacing issues and what not when using word to create it all.

What you need:  Computer (ha!), Word (or a word processing that you use for your labels), PowerPoint or KeyNote (though I'm not as familiar with that), some cute graphics and of course some adorable fonts!

Step 1
Know what your label dimensions are.  Mine were the 1x2 5/8 style.
Open Powerpoint and click on File and go down to Page Setup...

 Change your page size to your label size.  I actually changed mine to 1x 2.5 to make sure it would work perfectly.  Click OK.

Now your slides will be super small, label sized!

Step 2
Add your clip art and arrange your font.  What I LOVE about PP for creating is the ability to manipulate my font and put it anywhere I want.  Word drives me INSANE trying to line up things where I want.

Step 3
You are going to save the slides as pictures.  Go to File, Save As Pictures.  I keep it as it is and save as a JPG.  These will go to a file folder somewhere on your computer.  Mine save to my desktop so I can find them easily.

Step 4
Open up word and get it ready for labels.


Step 5
Open your folder that was just saved with your pictures.  Drag the picture you want into a cell/label.  If you want an entire sheet, copy and paste into each.

Step 6
PRINT and stick!

I hope that this will help you create some cuteness with your labels.  I don't know why it has taken me so long to do it.  {I do need to warn you that they may print pretty s.l.o.w.l.y....  but, they come out beautifully!}  Now I can't wait to find more things to make labels for!  ha!  (I could have been making some cuteness for my kids' stuff for daycare through the years too!  O'well.  Maybe that can help some of you instead!)

Thanks for stopping by!  If you found this useful, I'd love to hear how you use labels in your room and hear how it turned out!

Tips to Challenge High Achievers in Math

 

Hi everyone!  It’s Susan Morrow from the Keep ‘em Thinking blog. As a gifted coordinator, one of my responsibilities is to help general education teachers differentiate for high achievers in their classroom, so today I’m going to share with you some tried and true activities to help you meet the needs of high achievers in math. 

 

 Our role is to prepare our students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers.  Too many times we’re too focused on the content at the expense of the thinking.  For example, many teachers think that students in second grade who already know their addition and subtraction facts are ready to move on to multiplication.  While I feel subject acceleration is appropriate for some students, I believe it is more important to increase the depth and complexity of the grade level content rather than teach above grade level content. 

 

By depth and complexity, I mean to increase the intellectual demand.   Provide opportunities for your students to apply what they have learned in situations that require them to analyze, evaluate, and create.  

Okay, enough of the soapbox.  What does increasing intellectual demand actually look like in a classroom?  Let’s say you have a group of students who have already mastered their addition and subtraction facts.  What can you do?  Let’s have them use some algebraic reasoning! Give them addition problems with missing addends, minuends, and/or subtrahends and have them figure out their value.  Once they have mastered that, have them create their own problems.  Here is an example of some task cards I created that are great for second graders at the beginning of the year:

 

These cards really require the kiddos to think and analyze.  You don't have to use cards like these.  You can make your own and substitute geometric shapes for the clip art.

 

If you’re teaching money, how about having the students complete some logic puzzles using money?  This is an example of a money logic puzzle I created for second graders.  These logic puzzles require the kiddos to analyze and use deductive reasoning to figure out the solution.  You can download a free set of money logic puzzles by clicking on the picture OR here:  MONEY LOGIC PUZZLES

Another activity I created for second graders was mystery money puzzlers.  Students are given clues to the amount of money in a pocket, and they have to figure out the amount.  They are a great activity to place in a math center.  My kiddoes LOVED this activity so much that they took them home for their parents to do.  I knew this activity was a hit when some of the kiddos started creating their own puzzles. 

Kids love math riddles.  You don't have to use them just for money.  Here is an example of some math riddles I have used successfully with my students:

 

1.   I am a 2-digit number.  You say my name when you count by 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s.  The sum of my numbers is 12.  What number am I?  48

2.  I am a 2- digit number.  You say my name when you count by 2’s and 4’s.  The difference of my numbers is 1.  What number am I?  32

 

Give your high achievers word problems and multiple step problems.  They are learning the same content and skills, but you just increased the intellectual demand.  I also love to have my kiddos write mathematical fairy tales.   It is a wonderful opportunity to integrate writing into the math curriculum.  Here is an example of a fairy tale using money which was written by one of my second graders. 

Lastly,  I want to share with you a fun activity you can use with your kiddos. Have the student select a beginning number and an ending number.  They then use ten steps with addition and subtraction to get to the target number.  Here is an example of the challenge:

Here is how one student completed the challenge. 

 

 

What I love about this activity is that there is no one right answer!  There are so many different way to complete the task.  I think that is especially good with math because most of our kiddos think there should be one right answer to any problem.

Our high achievers often make straight A’s with little or no effort.  If we want to teach them the relationship between effort and achievement, we must provide them with challenging learning experiences.  High achievers get excited with challenge, but if the work is too easy or something they can master quickly, they become bored, develop poor study habits, and can be discipline problems. 

I hope you find these activities beneficial and incorporate a few into your math curriculum this year.  Next month I plan to give you some great ideas to differentiate for high achievers in language arts.  Until next time, remember to always Keep ‘em Thinking!

DIY Keeping Track of Who You've Called on!

Hey hey all! Do you ever feel like you call on the same kiddos over and over all day long!?  I was feeling like that a few years ago.  I felt like I always always always was hearing from the same 4-5 kids all day long.  So I had an idea.

I have my kiddos numbered in alphabetical order, and it makes it SUPER easy to make tools and resources that you can use from year to year when you're writing their NUMBERS on things instead of their names! So, I got some fun colored popsicle sticks (from the crafting aisle at Walmart) and a fun pencil cup from Target Dollar Spot (I'm obsessed with shopping at Target!), and numbered the sticks 1-29, one for each one of my kids!

When we're in class discussion, I would just pull a stick to be able to call on a kiddo at random and call the number I pulled! But STILL I felt like I was picking the SAME STICKS....

SOOOOO I tried to problem solve initially by pulling their stick out of the cup when I called on them so I couldn't pull their number again until I had called on everyone and pulled all of the sticks out of the cup.  But then I left the sticks laying where I laid them for sometimes WEEKS at a time because I'd be all cute and take the cup to the library with us or to the carpet meeting area or to the guided reading table....  I LEFT THE STICKS EVERYWHERE!! I would ALWAYS forget to scoop them up and then {crap} their stick wasn't even in the cup to pull the next time!!

SOOOOOOOOO then I saw this GENIUS idea to use WASHI tape {and who doesn't need a good excuse to use washi tape?!?} from Michelle Griffo at Apples and ABCs.

I put washi tape wrapped around the end of the stick that had their number on it.  I start with all of the sticks washi tape DOWN and then as I pull those sticks and call on those students, I put the stick back in with the number and washi tape side UP! That way I know who I've already called on and their STICK STAYS SAFE IN THE CUP! :) 

EASY PEASY! And a FUN and colorful DIY!! Do you have a fun and creative way to keep track of who you've called on?!? I'd love to hear about it in the comments! Thanks for reading!!

DIY Crayon-Style Pencil Holder

Hello colleagues! We hope your school year is off to a great start. Here in Yucatan, our kids just went back to school on the last day of August. If you started earlier, don't be jealous though, because we'll pay for it later when we get out of school in mid July! 

Today we're blogging to share a fun and easy DIY project with you all. Eliceo and I love making crafty teacher stuff and this is one of our latest creations. It's super simple to make and only requires a few supplies. All you'll need are some cans, crayons, and craft glue (hot glue will melt the crayons). Then all you do is glue the crayons around the can. You can arrange them like a rainbow, or make a fun pattern with the colors. You could also tie a ribbon around them for added cuteness. Then we put it on our desks to hold all our writing tools. These would make a great gift for your colleagues, or even your secretary. If you're planning to make a bunch of them, make sure to stock up on crayons in the fall during the back to school deals. We hope you enjoy it. As always, happy teaching! 

Michelle wants to "REMIND" you of something...{Techy Tuesday}

Hello, hello and Happy Tuesday everyone!  Summer may not be officially over yet, but Labor Day has passed and teachers are back to school!  Our district had teacher convocation and meetings last week, but today is officially my first day back to school with the kiddos.  I know my heart will SHINE as soon as I hear the first "Ms. T.!!!" squeal in the hallways and give out some high-fives. 

Back to school time can mean a lot of things: a new year with a new class, perhaps a new curriculum, maybe even a new grade-level.  With new students, we also receive a new set of parents and guardians.  Think of how you've communicated with parents in the past.  Hand-written notes?  Quick conversations at the end of the school day?  Student planner communication?  Phone calls?  E-mails?  Well, I'm not saying "out with the old", but I AM saying "in with the new"!  Today, I'd like to share with you a new form of digital communication you may choose to use this school year! {Like how many times I used the word "new" ...it was on purpose, guys! :-) }

It's called REMIND!

{ Click here to view the Remind website }  

Remind is a free messaging service where teachers can safely, simply, and instantly text message parents.  You read that correctly: TEXT parents.  Yes, folks, we are in the digital age.  Remind makes sure your phone number is secure and private, so even if you are using your cell phone, your number is not shown; parents only see a special, unique code.  We are 2nd grade teachers after all, but some secondary teachers even choose to use Remind to text their students!  

Remind can be used to send:

. reminders about assignments

. reminders about homework

. reminders about assessments 

. reminders about special days {i.e. class trips, picture day}

OR

...my favorite...

. motivational messages

I mean, how awesome would you feel if you got a text from your 2nd grade teacher saying, "Don't forget, you are special!"  What a great way to build a positive rapport with students and families!

The nice thing about Remind is that if offers so many different features.  For one, the service is available via website as well as app, so you can assign your messages from the computer or your smart-phone.  Secondly, Remind offers two forms of communication: one-way announcements {teachers can mass-text a reminder to the entire class} or two-way communication chat {teacher can have a conversation with one parent at a time}.  Additionally, the service also allows you to schedule reminders in advance and will send out your messages when you desire.  You can even send voice clips!!!  Are you sold yet?!  Oh wait, you don't have to be - it's FREE!

Okay, so what do you do now?

I suggest you download the app!  

 If you use your school e-mail address, your school may automatically pop up on the "link your school" page.  This is a good thing, because Remind also allows you to message or chat teachers in your school who are also on Remind.

I typically name my class by year (i.e. "2015-16").  However, if you teach multiple groups or classes, you may differentiate between them. :-)

Once you create your app, you get a special "number" code and "message" code for parents to message.  It's just like when you hear the commercials, "Text ____ to #####" for coupons, etc.  For web-based messages, you may choose to share a unique "link" to open communication or send invitations to parents yourself.  I find this is a great "Back-to-School Night" Activity... have all the parents sign up right then and there! 

So, if you like what you see, give it a whirl!  You may mind that it makes your life as a teacher just a little bit easier!  

To ease your tech searches, 

I've included the links below 

for your personal browsing pleasure!

Remind Website     .     Remind App

Now, let me Remind you to have a BEAUTIFUL school year full of peace, learning, and lots of memories!

xo,
Michelle Tomaszewski
from 
Michelle + the Colorful Classroom

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