Wednesday

Today was a lot tamer than yesterday, but sometimes those crazy days can be great b/c the day moves so quickly...

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• MELA-O prepared and ready to go for tomorrow
• almost done with MEPA scheduling
• Cat 2 today after school
• first REAL snow today starting just in time for indoor recess...-.-
• kids watched The Cat in the Hat cartoon during indoor recess
• lorax's feathered truffula trees came out so cute :)
• spirit week meeting this morning

Biggest Concerns:

• Cat trainings
• running records
• MEPA/ MELA-O

CRAZY TUESDAY

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• Today was crazy...no other words can describe it...
• The day began with a stabbing of my finger by a badly stapled journal...gushing...rough. -.-
• Then...administered the first ELA QA2 to an individual student.
• Then...rehearsal for our assembly at 9:30...where I videotaped my students so those not singing could watch themselves being foolish. -.-
• Then...during math, one of my kids had an accident. -.-
• Then...after lunch, I had an informal observation!  but it went well. :) Lorax activity obvi.
• Then...recess duty, and I lifted up my friend to go on the swings...rough.
• Then...assembly where my kids were front and center during a song that they didn't know all the lyrics to...oy vey.
• Then...pictures with my 2 girls that dressed up for our "concert" today...so cute.

Biggest Concerns:

• MEPA/MELA-O/ELA Q2 before March 16th-- super.
• PT conferences in 3 weeks!!! I have to start cracking down on those p/t conference sheets from last time
• DESE

Photos:

getting started on my new bulletin board...

The Cat is Back!

Oh MANNNN....waking up this morning was so R-O-U-G-H.  Even worse than the after Christmas/New Year's break.  My body is so plum-exhausted!

Highlights/ Low-lights today:

• all my kiddos stayed on green today! great way to start the week/ stretch until April vaca :)
• Dr. Seuss kick-off today with The Lorax DVD...they loved it!  And I think they really understood the story!  Still need to work on the whole saving the planet bit, though...
• Horton is on the door :)
• Truffula trees go up tomorrow!  Wish I had crazy feather boas to use for the leaves ;-)
• Category 1 began today...not bad, and it helps to know people in the class! :)
• missed the staff meeting today
• assembly rehearsal was rough today...hopefully the kids will get it...they're pretty good with singing though!

Biggest Concerns:

• acknowledging Leap Day on Wednesday?
• ELA assessments for 2 special friends

Photos:

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

Friday before Feb. break

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• spelling and reading comprehension tests today for both K and Gr. 1... 6 100s for spelling and 3 100s on the comp tests
• new Spongebob certificates are a hit with the kids...individualized and given for each 100 on a test sent home
• my new spelling test score chart is really helpful for me to see how students are doing as a whole and to monitor their scores individually as well.  It's also easier for me to keep track and is visually appealing.

Biggest Concerns:

• priorities--> category trainings or staff PD? hmm...
• pacing for grade 1 with ELA

Thursday

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• Assessment, assessment, assessment time! 2 given to each grade today for ESL
• assembly on safety in the morning
• turned in my QA2 math scantrons
• crazy ESL today...I don't like others correcting my assessments unless they know how I do it.  I don't like red markers being used an x's for incorrect answers!
• ELL team meeting after school today...have to start thinking about family night and MELA-O/ MEPA testing in March

Biggest Concerns:

• my teaching licenses
• transitioning one of my students to his correct grade within the next 2 weeks

Photos:

My kids love this game that I am finally implementing since finding it in September.  I found it at http://firstgradealacarte.blogspot.com/.  Fun and engaging way to practice rhyming and assess who needs help in this area :)

Wednesday

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• first-graders did pretty well on their key words test...only 1 bomb...
• ESL was very slow today-- think we were all tired from the previous day's activities
• subtraction and addition problems went well with K today
• IEP meeting this morning...one of my friends will be getting services and tested into it! mixed emotions...nervous about his ESL instruction

Biggest Concerns:

• getting things done so that I don't have to worry about it Friday afternoon and the Monday coming back

Valentine's Day Craziness

Highlight/ Low-lights:My morning began with making pancakes at 6am and packing maple syrup and bagels and cream cheese

• Loved the valentines I went with today..."you're just write for me" :)
• Goodie bags put togethecomputer was accidently shut down and now I don't know the log in...great.
• Pancake and bagel breakfast was cute and fun
• Last 40 minutes of the day were crazy because we combined making valentines for families with handing out valentines...woah baby.
• Lipgloss in J's eye..poor guy

Biggest Concerns:

• surviving until vacation

Photos:

prepping for my valentines

cutest valentine notepads

Heart-shaped pancakes! I let the kids use cookie cutters to cut out their own. :)

valentines for kids

"I love..." writing prompt-- they were so excited to be using pink paper

[parent gift] foam hearts to frame their individual photos and attach glitter heart stickers to

Valentine rose from my dad :]

Monday!

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• Today was an OKAY Monday, except for the fact that 5 minutes before dismissal, one of my girls knocked over a cup of green paint.  It looked like slime was splashed on the floor from Nickolodeon. -.-
• The kids LOVED the homemade valentine printouts I made on the computer (in case some don't have any tomorrow).  I wouldn't be surprised if they brought some in and still wanted to hand out the ones they colored!
• Played our "Pieces of a Quilt" song for the kids today...needless to say, they were nervous when I said we'd have to memorize it for the assembly in 2 weeks... >_>
• attended the union meeting with the superintendent today after school...embarrassing that I was falling asleep, but I just get so tired!  Ended up leaving 30 minutes early (after being there for an hour!) because I had things to do, and I couldn't stay until late late tonight...
• Sometimes people smell...literally...
• I hate when people don't listen to me; then they figure it out and mention it to me as if I didn't say it months and months ago. curses -.-
• Grade 1 QA2s weren't as bad as I thought they might be!  Everyone was over 75%...that means they're all at least proficient right? hmmm

Biggest Concerns:

• finishing my Valentines
• pancakes tomorrow
• valentines tomorrow

It's Friday, Friday...

TGIF...only 1 more week until vacation!!

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• 8 100s on spelling tests today-- woohoo!
• math centers were FUN today! Penguin game was a hit with the kids, and it really helps their subitizing and addition skills!  Interesting to see which kids counted each dot, counted on from another di, or stated "3+2" to figure out their answers... loved observing them.  Now I want to figure out how to use this game more often, especially within the next month...
• situation with one of my girls today...worried about her, and I hope that everything is okay at home...
• was able to fit in a story for Black History Month today...good thing b/c I've been slacking
• 100th day for K students
• arrived at 7:20 today and left at 4:40... record/slacking for me ^_-

Biggest Concerns:

• student safety
• Second Step implementation
• IEP meeting on Wednesday
• scantrons for Q2
• category trainings postponed...
• assembly next Thursday @ 9:15 about....who knows.
• participating in assembly on the 28th...I have to prepare my students!

Thursday

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• I was so tired today! ...from an uncomfortable sleep and just because the kids were crazy! I even told my kids today: "I am too young to be feeling this old!!"  Led me to eat a whole sleeve of Thin Mints today...rough...
• ESL went smoothly...my K students are really grasping their letter names/sounds...so proud.
• Math went well with K, too...things are slowly but surely beginning to click for kids.
• Penguin bulletin is up and running. :) I wonder what I should do for March now...

Biggest Concerns:

• Grade 1 math Q2 pushed to Monday because they're having a tough time with review
• chair pockets for K?
• math centers for Fridays?

Photo:

Wednesday

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• Half day today because of district-wide PD...went to my Math course from 12:30- 3:30...
• 100th day!! Baked 3 separate cakes last night to make my 100 cake :)... super exciting!! Funfetti, vanilla frosting, and rainbow sugar/sprinkles... Totally not aligned with our school motto, but I couldn't resist after seeing it on Pinterest! The kids ate it up
• 100 day= morning meeting (big day with counting the straws!); necklaces with 100 Cheerios/Apple Jacks; 100 year old students; 100 glasses; and 100 cake eating... a high-energy day that left me exhausted and past out by 8:30!

Biggest Concerns:

• MEPA in March
• MCAS cards for older kids
• IEP meeting in one week
• Valentine's Day activities
• Q2 for Grade 1

Photos:

I hung up their "portraits" along the light fixtures. :)

100-yr old man

100-yr old woman

another 100-yr old woman

100 cake

Tuesday

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• Got so much done during the full 1.5 hours of ESL...I like doing storytime after morning meeting, but it sure does take some effort to squeeze it in there...
• "I'm A Little Penguin" poems and mosaics done ..woohoo
• created a vocabulary board for my first-grade kids...hopefully it helps!

Biggest concerns:

• Q2 assessments for Grade 1.. eek! I hope they're ready in 2 days...
• Black History Month...building their bg knowledge

Photos:

Grade 1's Unit 4 vocab

 

Penguin mosaics

Final Product

Penguin Door Design

Monday

The Monday after your team loses to the Giants in the Superbowl = not.fun.

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• new vocab board looks good, engages the kids, and will hopefully build their vocabulary 
• penguin tree map finally created...just going to read the poem tomorrow and hopefully paint penguins or rip/glue them mosaic-ly
• Play-doh high frequency words-- kindergarteners loved it.
• unknown numbers with kindergarten today to teach partners of 10
• no 100s for the first-graders on their unit test in math
• my principal asked me to be the staff spotlight for the March newsletter  O_O

Biggest Concerns:

• category trainings-- are they happening?
• Black History Month
• Wed's PD and what to leave my para

Photos:

Mr. Penguin

 

"You are making a boy penguin to be with the girl penguin?" >_>

Finally Friday

LONGEST WEEK EVER!  TGIF!

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• day was chalk-full of assessments: K and 1 spelling tests; Gr. 1 Key Words Part 1 assessments; K #1-20 writing and oral counting...we didn't even get to the Gr. 1 unit test in Math
• stayed after school later today (per usual, though...) to plan for next week and make copies, etc. since I will probablyyy not feel like doing it Monday morning after the Superbowl
• Not happy with my Superbowl squares that I chose at work...rough times.
• Kindergarten Farm puppets today...came out kind of cute, but not the best...whatevs, they loved them!
• New Hire breakfast meeting this morning at 7:30...they are always so nice and stress-free...was kind of put on the spot by my principal thought to describe how my groups transition during center time (which doesn't happen anymore!).  Whatever...I was able to describe how things were in the beginning of the year
• served the kids hot chocolate at the end of the day...forgot to get it ready for when they came back from recess, but that's okay.  They were psyched. :)
• super-long playtime for Kindergarten because we were just DONE with the day/week
• one of my K suspects got a 100 on his spelling test today! sthuper exciting :)

Biggest Concerns:

• 100th day planning
• Valentine's Day planning
• category training and staff meeting schedules
• guided reading groups... how to implement them and when?

Photos:

Finally bought bead organizers to use for these borrowed letter tiles!  $3 for 2 boxes thanks to the overly-friendly Michaels employee, my 40% coupon, and my teacher's discount...woohoo!  And the kids helped me sort the letters into each designated section... holllaaa :]

 

Kindergarten "horse" puppet

Kindergarten "cow" puppet

Thursday

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• so much to do that I forget what I'm SUPPOSED to be doing during Math CPT...finally got the 2 articles read and responses written, though! phew!
• Groundhog Day today= read Geoffrey Groundhog Predicts the Weather by Bruce Koscielniak... some kids had watched Punxsutawney Phil running around on TV so there was some prior knowledge. 6 more weeks of winter-- ugh! 
• I found a poem for the kids to read and practice sequencing the words with; then they can use the puppets to sing the song... they loved it, and it's something new for them.
• We also made groundhog puppets and cut slits in green construction paper to represent the groundhog coming up to see its shadow
• one of my friends was pulled out for bilingual testing today... poor little guy! He hates working with strangers
• K Q2 math assessment went fairly well today...some of my k students did better than I thought they would (and of course the opposite for at least one of them...)-- already corrected and recorded the data for them, too-- woohoo!  Now I just have to complete the scantrons when those arrive

Biggest Concerns:

• Gr. 1 Q2 math assessments
• ESL MTEL
• teaching partners of 10 to my K students
• developing and building the reading strengths of my first-graders

Photos:

"Here's a Little Groundhog" (to the tune of: "I'm a Little Teapot")

"Here's a Little Groundhog" puppets

student's individual groundhog puppet

Back

front

Wednesday

Highlights/ Low-lights:

• PD about running records today from 12noon- 3pm.  It was interesting, and I learned a lot!  Good review on some things, and great resources/tools I can use with my kids now.
• starting to get easier in the mornings/ afternoons....my routine is more routine when I'm working by myself instead of running all over the place
• ESL was fine...small groups are working well, but I'm worried about the extra work given to some first graders

Biggest Concerns:

• Q2 math assessments for K and 1st-graders
• category trainings starting next Saturday
• 100th day planning
• Valentine's Day planning
• IEP meeting in 2 weeks

Photos:

super cute penguin book--> I Am Small by Emma Dodd

parts of a penguin review (cut and paste)

final product for "before reading"