Hoot #1
Welcome back to all of the teachers out there! Yes, this is our first post of the year. We know, for many of you, this is your first week of school. To those we would like to say, "Keep going! It will get better!" We are actually on our 5th week of school. It has been a roller coaster to say the least. We have 27 students in our room, and we have be taking standardized tests for the past 3 weeks. Well, we all have the same feelings about that so no need to get on that soap box. We also have first activity. Between that and breakfast, it can be tricky to find something for students to do during that short time. So we introduced morning tubs! Jodi and I simply do not have the time to create something (you know how it is), so we used Tara West's Hands On Exploration Tubs. We couldn't be more pleased. We printed them out on card stock and laminated the cards. We punched holes and put them on rings. We placed the appropriate manipulatives in the tubs, set them out and let the students go at it! There were a few rules that were put into place to make it go a little smoother.
1. There are 3-5 sets in each bucket. Students can only go to that tub if there is an available set.
2. The students can pick any bucket, but once they choose, that was their bucket for the morning.
First Friday! Eating my lunch with Presley House! Our house color is green! Each house wears their colors on Friday and we eat together!
Welcome back to all of the teachers out there! Yes, this is our first post of the year. We know, for many of you, this is your first week of school. To those we would like to say, "Keep going! It will get better!" We are actually on our 5th week of school. It has been a roller coaster to say the least. We have 27 students in our room, and we have be taking standardized tests for the past 3 weeks. Well, we all have the same feelings about that so no need to get on that soap box. We also have first activity. Between that and breakfast, it can be tricky to find something for students to do during that short time. So we introduced morning tubs! Jodi and I simply do not have the time to create something (you know how it is), so we used Tara West's Hands On Exploration Tubs. We couldn't be more pleased. We printed them out on card stock and laminated the cards. We punched holes and put them on rings. We placed the appropriate manipulatives in the tubs, set them out and let the students go at it! There were a few rules that were put into place to make it go a little smoother.
1. There are 3-5 sets in each bucket. Students can only go to that tub if there is an available set.
2. The students can pick any bucket, but once they choose, that was their bucket for the morning.
3. Use inside voices.
They absolutely love them!
This gives us time to get all of my morning jobs done without being interrupted constantly!
This gives us time to get all of my morning jobs done without being interrupted constantly!
Hoot #2
Last year, we posted how we went to Ron Clark and implemented the house system. Last year, was a trial to see what worked for us. We just had Kinder and 5th grade do the house system. This year, our entire school is doing it. We are a K-5 school with 800+ students. So far, it has gone great. We opened the school year with the teachers popping a balloon to discover their houses.
On the first Friday of the school year, students popped their balloons to see which house chose them. Each house meets once a month, and every Friday students get to sit with their house for lunch. Even though they are only kinders, they take a lot of pride in their house! The weekly winning house gets to fly their flag on the flag pole out in front of the school for the week.
New winners are announced each Monday.
They are having a blast, and so are we!
On the first Friday of the school year, students popped their balloons to see which house chose them. Each house meets once a month, and every Friday students get to sit with their house for lunch. Even though they are only kinders, they take a lot of pride in their house! The weekly winning house gets to fly their flag on the flag pole out in front of the school for the week.
New winners are announced each Monday.
They are having a blast, and so are we!
As each child popped their balloon, they got a bracelet that had their house name on it. The bracelet is the color of their house.
Rockstars had a blast popping their balloons and cheering on each other!
The Jitterbugs loved their bracelets and finding out who was in their house!
First Friday! Eating my lunch with Presley House! Our house color is green! Each house wears their colors on Friday and we eat together!
This Week's Holler...
This holler goes out to all of the teachers out there! We know that August and September can be rough, stressful, and very tiring. Yet, you get up every morning to tackle it all over again! You are amazing! There are the elite few in this world that can to what you do! So go out there and make a difference!
YOU GOT THIS!
YOU GOT THIS!
