Work Harder, Get Smarter

I know I have told you all several times how wonderful my students are this year, but today it was proven to me once again!

We have been working on our "Number of the Day" packets for a few months now, but today I challenged my students a bit more.  As we started back to school in January our new number of the day packet include: place value, skip counting number patterns, greater than/less than, 1&10 more/1&10 less and tally marks.  

All and all my students have done really well with these concepts.  The 2 areas my students have struggled a bit with are skip counting number patterns and place value.  They have been able to work through these whole group, but when it comes to completing them individually, my students lack confidence and are hesitant!  I have all of the confidence in the world that they are capable of doing this! So, today I challenged them.  

Together, we talked through these two areas and even completed them on the front board together, but when it came time for my students to complete their own packets, I erased our work!  As you can imagine, my students were not happy about this!  It sparked a conversation about working harder to get smarter.  I know this is one of those cheesy sayings, but it just came out!  Anyhow, my students were extremely motivated by this!  They fell right into my little trap!  ALL of students happily completed their number of the day independently!!!

While my students were working, one of my less motivated and low achieving, but very capable students starts telling his table neighbor, "No, I don't want to copy your paper anymore!  I am smart!" Of course my ears perked up and I started listening.  He continued to tell his classmate how he can do it on his own and that he doesn't need to look at his work.  I am so very proud of this student!!  He is finally beginning to believe in himself!!!  Don't get me wrong, he does not regularly copy his friends work, but there have been times that I have stopped this from happening.  I was just thrilled to hear and witness that he is recognizing his skills!

It was absolutely one of those days reinforcing the positive impact I can make on my students!

Nate the Great

Hi there!  

I sure hope everyone had a great holiday season!  Mine was fantastic!  I am clearly still adjusting back into my regular routine!

My reading group was working through detective stories just prior to the break and really enjoyed them.  While reading these stories, we were specifically working on story mapping skills - characterization; setting; plot; beginning/middle/end; and even making text-to-self connections.  My students were really impressing me!  So, I created a mini unit of my own for Nate the Great.  

After completing book talks on the various Nate the Great books, each student chose their own story to work through.  Once they have completely dissected their stories, they will be presenting their book to the group.  They are very excited to present their information to the group.  We have had very private work sessions as not to "ruin it" for the others.  Haha!  My students crack me up!

Here is a link to my unit, which is compatible with any Nate the Great story.  I hope you enjoy!

Holiday Crafts

It is my first day of winter break and I am enjoying every lazy minute of it!  I left the house only to walk the dogs.  I, of course, am still in my PJ's because with this rainy cold weather, I simply layer all of my rain gear on top of my PJ's and nobody knows (except you) that I haven't gotten dressed for the day! :)  It really is a win-win situation!

Anyhow, we spent the last two days of school finishing up our Christmas ornaments for our parents.  It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed themselves!  One student continually came up to give me a hug and say "Thank you for letting us make...."  He did this for each project, including decorating cookies.  The funny thing about this is he is one of my littlest kids and if I am standing, he often grabs my butt as he hugs me because his arms don't make it around me.  He has NO idea this happens, but I think it is kind of funny.

The first project we made were photo puzzle wreaths.  We simply used all of the puzzles we have missing pieces and then hit up the Goodwill for additional puzzles.  The kids glued the puzzle pieces in a circle then painted them green.  Once they were dry, we added their photo, a bow and some little pom poms for berries.  They turned out quite cute in the end!

Just imagine a cute little face in the middle of that wreath!

Next up was our candy cane ornament.  The students used their patterning skills to create an AABB (red, red, white, white) candy cane for their parents to hang on the tree!  Here is what it looks like.

Our final ornament was a snowflake.  The kids love this one because it includes glitter - LOTS of it!  They simply start by making a blob of glue on a piece of wax paper and then using q-tips that have been cut in half to make the 6 points of a snowflake, making sure to role the cotton end in the glue too!  Once it is all laid out, they sprinkle away!  It takes quite a bit of time to dry, but once it is dry you simply peel it off and then add a paper clip and your done.  We add an additional piece of paper so the kids can write their name and the year on it for their parents.  It also provides extra support!  Here is what the finished product looks like...

The final job is for the students to write a card to their parents.  We talked about how cards are personal and should be meaningful.  Therefore, I do not dictate what they should write.  I simply tell them to start with "Dear."  We talked about how we all have different names (mama, mommy, mother, mom, etc) for our parents and you should use what is appropriate.  In the past my students have kept things very simple - Merry Christmas or I love you's.  This year, I was SOOO impressed with my students.  Here are a few samples of what they wrote to their parents.  

Dear Mom and Dad,  This Christmas is going to be the best Christmas ever and ...

Dear Mommy & Daddy, Merry Christmas.  I hope you have a great time.  I  am having a great time.  I am too...

Dear Mommy and Daddy, I am so happy to spend the day with you.  From L

 We also decorated the front of the card with a cute little tree and then stapled them to the front of their bag for their parents.  Here is what one of the final present looked like.

To say the least, the students and I had tons of fun! 

However, it wasn't just the students that were in the Christmas spirit this year!  Every year a talented 5th grade and Kindergarten teacher create an amazing holiday video that no other school comes close to creating!  I hope you enjoy!

 Merry Christmas to everyone!!