It was a 5 day week!

In the words of Junie B Jones...

 "WOWIE WOW WOW WOW!"

I hope you survived your first week of school! These first grade teachers survived our first week of school which was also our first 5 day week! SHEW! Couldn't have done it without my amazing team!

So COFFEE....yes please! One in the am and one in the pm! My coffee is on a timer, mug next to the machine and ready for me each morning! 

JESUS!

If it was ever a time to lock your self in a prayer closet, this was the week for us! It was back to school, changing babysitters, bathroom renovation and the AC went out. UM HELLO!!! DOES ANYONE KNOW I AM GOING BACK TO SCHOOL THIS WEEK? Of course the AC could have called it quits while I was on summer break BUT NO! We busted out all of the Jesus we could this week; extra pray time, extra devotions, church, K-LOVE. What ever we had to do to keep ourselves from losing it we did! I'm not sure if praying for your AC during your dinner blessing is appropriate but we kept it real this week! And of course He always takes care of us! Everything is back to normal now except for our bathroom. The Mr. and I will just squeeze in our little bathroom for a little while longer and re-live our glorious apartment days and appreciate the finer things in life later like a double sink! ;) 

Can't wait for it to be finished! Pictures soon!

FIRST GRADE!

It was a very busy week in first grade and we went all out with flexible seating. The students responded so well to the different "options" and have handled the freedom to choose so well! It is all in the training and that has been our motto since school has started. 

Here are a few pictures of how we have things organized right now. 

Around the room are I have placed the 3 drawer storage cart. Each drawer has 2 items in it. I put pictures of each item on the drawer so students remember how to keep their things organized. Each drawer is numbered 1-5, 6-10 etc. Best management catch phrase "grocery store line"!

Crate table with 6 crates and pillows on top from ikea!

Table with stools with the option for students to remove the stool and sit on the floor.

Wobble cushions 

You may have noticed that there are no supplies this the caddies. This is because we introduce supplies ONE AT A TIME! If you haven't seen the "Mystery Box" by Babbling Abby check it out! We use that to introduce new things to students. It is so exciting and they love the clues! We use guided discovery and we discuss how tools are used properly in the classroom, we practice and then it is theirs to us as a community. 

By day 5 we have all of the supplies out on their tables and they are ready for week 2!

Here is a close up picture of the drawers! On top is a basket of 5 ipads. Here students will store their ipads all week and put them away when charging is needed. 

We ended the week with some discussion on how we should treat each space. What do we do if that seat isn't available and how can we problem solve with flexible seating. Here is an anchor chart that I made with them. I found it on Pinterest and everyone signed it.

I have also found some great resources on flexible seating for parents on TPT. This new seating is a stretch for some parents who are used to desks, rows or tables. But I assure you, my firsties are shining stars when it comes to flexible seating! It's like they never skipped a beat! LOVE! 

Well friends that is all for now! I can't wait to share more and stay tuned on our 1:1 ipad adventure this year! 

How is it August?

COFFEE! 
I'll never forget a parent telling me around Christmas time one year that she asked her child if I drank coffee. She wanted to get me a Starbucks gift card. His response was "well she walks around with brown drink all day but I don't know what that really is."

Yes my friend...it's my life line!

Do you ever put your coffee cup down some where in your classroom and walk around in a frenzy trying to find it? Finally you recruit your first graders to help you find it and they know within seconds where it is! Just a simple reminder that they are watching your every move!

JESUS & FIRST GRADE!

This week these two will go together. Why? Because let's face it...it's back to school time and we all need a little Jesus! Teachers need Jesus, kids need Jesus and dear mommas need Jesus!

My cousin has a sweet kinder this school year and we were talking about letting go through text with tears streaming down our faces! She shared this blog entry with me for moms of Kinders and it inspired me to share a few things from the other side.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/11070742


3 things this first grade teacher wants parents to know as we prepare back to school.

1. I will love your child. No one will love your child like you do but I will do my best to make sure your baby is happy, feels welcome and loved.

2. Your child is safe. As we build our community the first week of school I will make sure that our classroom is a safe place to: make friends, ask for help, share, be brave, take risks and be yourself!

3. I need your help just as much as you need mine! We are in this together. This year I will make sure your child is learning all year, grows, thinks for himself, makes friends, works well with others, reads, writes and has fun all at the same time! But I need your support! It takes a village!

So as we go back to school please say a few prayers. I am doing the same on my end for your firstie and your family. Pray for your child's teacher. She needs it. We work hard to make sure your child gets on the right bus at the end of the day and still has a smile on her face! Pray for your child's principal! He is doing more, handling more and listening to more than you can even imagine!

I know we can't wait to see their smiling faces in the meantime take a look at our space now.

We are getting closer to getting ready for our friends...here's a sneak peek of some progress in our fun space in first grade! Still lots of work to be done! A teachers job is never done! We are thinking about those kiddos all summer!

Short & Sweet

We are back from the beach and some much needed time away...and this little diddy will be short and sweet this week!

COFFEE! 

"Hello housekeeping, can you please drop off more coffee, we have been up since 5am with our little stinker who is sleeping in our room and knows if she stares at us and cries long enough from her pack-n-play we will get her. Great thanks Bye" 

Yes that is my second mug of HOT coffee that I drank at the pool on top of the cocktails menu! Bless!

And a little something from Jen Hatmaker and her book For the Love. She speaks from my soul!

JESUS!

And when the hard times come, we know this to be true! For the Love! 

 With everything going on I really urge you to watch this! Who can heal America? I might know a man...

FIRST GRADE! 

Our job is personal. We care about what are students do, how they feel, how they "perform" if they are making friends. We bring work home with us...We are forgetting about ourselves. We have to be filled up in order to give. Don't let yourself run dry! Calling ALL people in education! Listen or read about her story! You will be inspired! Let's all get on a plane....we're all going!

Check me out!!! Teachers Pay Teachers

Busy Week and its Friday!

COFFEE!!! Its 2pm and I am just getting my coffee!!! WHAAAAAT! I know I am about to lose it! I could drink coffee all day! I lit some candles on this rainy day just to make it feel like the house is more clean than it really is! ha! Anyone else do that?

JESUS!!! I am trying to read in my "free time". I say this as my shadow sits here next to me while I type with her favorite snack "fishys". 

I am reading For the Love by Jen Hatmaker. I am reading it with my cousin. Our own little book club! I really do love it! She is hilarious and its a fun read! Follow her on all social medias! And one more book...this is a time of my day I simply cherish! We are reading this book for the second time! We read it the first year of our marriage and then again! It is a nice little 1 page read for the end of our day. We get to talk about us and spend a few minutes not talking about our baby or work. It's perfect! 

 

FIRST GRADE! We have been very busy at school in our new space!

Our classroom library will be a shared library. Lots of books and lots of great authors that are part of our weekly author studies. We are still working on making it more cozy but we have a great start! We will also have a shared word wall. Under the word wall we have pockets where students can have access to words that are on the word wall or students names. This is something my teammate Sue has done in her room for years. If a student needs to write a letter to a friend, he or she can go get their name, take it to a space for writing and copy it correctly.

Classroom Library with authors that we spotlight and leveled books where students can book shop.

This space is still a work in progress. I need to figure out that wall! I am hoping to get some funding from our Donors Choose project Wildcats Working Together in 1st Grade! to help with that wall and other spaces. 2 tables will be lowered to crate seating and 3 will be lowered to floor seating! The 2 tables that are against the wall are at standing height. Lots of options!  

So here is our space! I am standing against the wall and looking all the way down. Classroom #3 is down by the windows on the other end by my teammate Sue! :) The left side of the picture is our shared calendar space. Students will run calendar once we are well into our routine. They can reach everything and write on each piece. I love this time of the day! 3 kidney shaped tables (no teacher desk), 4 BIG rugs and lots of flexible seating under way!

We still have lots to organize and put together but we are excited for the transformation so far! I will add more pictures as we go! In the mean time, check out what else I have been up to this week in my TPT store! 

Have a happy weekend and thanks for taking time to read my blog! :)

And so it begins...

Coffee...because that is how I get through the day. Jesus...because that is how I get through the day! And First Grade because that is where I am all day! Can I just say that these are three things that I LOVE so why not write about them? Maybe even throw in a few pictures of the 15 month old princess that runs our house too!

So here I am taking the plunge...a few years ago my principal said "when will you start writing a blog?". I thought, what's going on in here that is so special? My mom says, "you better write all of this down so one day you can write a book!" ha! ok mom! Well both of them are right! So many special things are happening right now in our little first grade world, how could I hold back? None of this would even be happening or possible without my amazing teammates. We work together, plan together, laugh together and cry together. Really, it is a dream!

I decided to start writing a blog because so much is happening right now in first grade at our wonderful Wilson Elementary! We are making a huge shift in first grade and we couldn't be more freaked out and excited!

Let me just throw a few words at you that will sum up our year next year:

flexible seating

1:1 iPads

sharing students

5 sections

small-ish class sizes

only one year left in this building and then it gets torn down (more about that later)

one really big room

PTL for a supportive principal who is letting us run with it because here we go! 

Let me start with our room. This is not your normal classroom with 4 walls and a door. Oh no! I don't even know what to call this room and maybe we will come up with a name for it once we hit the ground running in August but man oh man will this be an adventure. Pictures coming soon so you can get a better idea of what I am talking about! This room was made with 3 "sections". We are putting 3 teachers and hopefully no more than 60 students inside. (hello Mr. SUPT. we love you over in 1st grade with our small class sizes) ;) 

Attached to our big room is 2 other first grade classrooms that are the traditional size with 4 walls and a door. There are even windows and we can peek over at each other during the day....how fun right? Our doors and windows will be open at all times and students will have the freedom to choose seating based on how they learn best. They will be moving in and out of spaces during different parts of the day. What does that look like? Well we don't know yet! AHHH!!! 

This is our summer focus, how do we share students but also make them feel like they have a "home-base", a safe place to learn, to feel like they are cared for and loved, to have a sense of community? How will we group them and how often will groups change? Will we start out slow and which subject first? 

We are reading everything, Pinterest is our best friend, here we come IKEA, crossing our fingers for a grant and away we go!

If you have any experience in any of these areas I would love to hear from you!