Adding some SUNSHINE to a school year and a FREEBIE

Hey Dear Friends!

I've had a chance to get back into my classroom this week and begin preparing it for a new group of 3rd graders.  As I've been working in my classroom, I have time to reflect upon the new group of students I will have this school year, and how to make our learning community a positive and FUN  (yes I said fun) experience for every student.   

Do you ever feel like teaching at times is like the postcard below?

As a third grade teacher, in the state that I teach in, I do at times.  I feel like the the bar is constantly being raised for our students ,and that they are missing out on some important life lessons such as social time with others and just having time to be a "kid.  It makes me sad for our kids.  I LOVED going to school and enjoyed 2 recesses a day to talk with my friends.  I remember my 5th grade teacher teaching us how to make these little bunsen burners out of a coffee can for a day camping trip we were going to take. We even got to repel off of a small, small, cliff.   ( I know.. it's been decades since I've been in grade school.)

When I look at my empty classroom that is soon to be filled with new students, it's important to me to  incorporate activities throughout the year that will put a smile on their face and great memories from 3rd grade.   

Life has changed so much for the society in which we live and SO quickly it seems to me.  In my little learning community, I have had students who have parents with cancer, parents who have passed away from cancer, students who are  homeless, students who are home alone for long periods of time after school, students who come from broken homes, students who are being raised by their grandparents, students who may have a sibling that requires lots of extra care and assistance, and the list goes on and on.     Can you imagine being a student with one or more of those worries weighing on their little heart?  It breaks my heart, AND then we expect them to come to school and leave all those worries at the door and LEARN?    I don't know about you, but if I were going through some of these things I couldn't do that.

SO it's time to put some FUN back into learning.  For many of the students mentioned above, school is a "safe" place from those problems.  It's a place for students to visit with their friends and just be a "kid" for a little while each day anyway. 

I realize I may sound like I'm on my soapbox.  I apologize!  It's so important to me to  make sure my learning community is a safe, caring, and fun place for my students.

Here are just a few easy things I do/ plan to do  in my classroom to help encourage a positive and caring classroom environment:

1.  I LOVE to share with my students a funny story from home or maybe something my family did over the weekend.... Believe it or not... Students LOVE to see this "real" side of you.  I often have parents that comment  or e-mail me about these little stories as well because their child shared it with them after school.     I think it also helps my students feel more comfortable and at home in our learning community.

2.Sunshine notes

While it would be extremely difficult to give each and every student in my classroom a personal handwritten note about a success that day, I do pick 5 or 6 students daily to give handwritten sunshine notes.  These notes are short little notes from me that might compliment them on something that day, praise them for working hard in a particular area, and etc.  If I do 5 or 6 a day, by the end of the week each student in my room has received a personal handwritten sunshine note from me.   It's amazing what these little notes do for some of these students!   ( I just need to be a lot better about fitting these notes in on a weekly basis this year.  These notes do make a big difference.)    You can snag these little "Sending you some Sunshine" notes for FREE  HERE or by clicking on the photo below. I've included a color and black and white version.

3.  Warm and Fuzzy Jar
 A.K.A. marble jar

This works similar to the marble jar except that students get to put in those pom poms  for doing something kind for someone else.  Once the jar is filled to the top, the class gets a "classroom filled with kindness" party.
To make this project all you need are:  some pom poms- I purchased mine from the Dollar Tree
ribbon to go around the top of the jar
a jar- I stocked up on the plastic jars from Dollar Tree
the "warm and fuzzy" printable- you can download it for free from HERE

4. Brag Tags
 I started using brag tags on a regular basis with my students last year.  It was such a hit!  They looked forward to getting a new "tag" on their necklace.  I had a special place in the classroom in which all of the necklaces were placed.  Students could wear their brag tags on Fridays.  This was so great for inspiring a positive learning environment.  Students would give out compliments to others on the "earning" of a new tag.

These fabulous tags came from Corinna at Surfin Through Second and Miss Nelson from Run Miss Nelson's Got the Camera.  Click HERE. and HERE. for the links.

5.  Brain Breaks
I find my students start asking for these once the school year is just a few weeks in.  These are a great way to take a "break" for just a few minutes between subjects.  Students often have the opportunity for movement and social interaction during these brain breaks.  You can find them anywhere..  I LOVE using Go Noodle also for brain breaks.

Here is one of the  brain breaks I have in my classroom:

You can find this in my TPT store by clicking HERE or on the photo below.

These are just a few easily manageable things I have added to my classroom to promote a positive, fun, and caring learning atmosphere.   I would love for you to share some of your favorite activities to promote a fun and positive atmosphere for your students!!!

Halloween, Full Moon, and a Spooky Math Scoot

Hi sweet friends!

It will soon be time for Halloween. 

I'm not one to get into the "frightening" part of Halloween, but

I love to see the kids in their cute costumes and the smiles on their faces. It's also going to be a full moon on Halloween.  Look out!  This generally makes for an interesting day at school.

I have a few fun ideas planned for my students this week.  

First, my students are going to complete this Halloween Costume Character Trait activity in reading from the Peanut Gallery.

In Writing, we are going to do a Frankenstein Writing Activity.  Amy Lemons posted on it earlier last week.  I thought this sounded like a fabulous activity to do  with my students in writing.

Simply click on the link to check out Amy's post about this activity and the freebies she posted to go with it.  http://stepintosecondgrade.blogspot.com/2012/10/halloween-freebies-and-sale.html

In math, my students are going to complete a review Halloween scoot.  It covers place value, addition, subtraction, and multiplication.  Click on the pictures below to find out more.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of my little Halloween cuties.

Have a fabulous week!

Ready for school anyone??........... AND Target finds

So I've been home EVERYDAY 24 hours a day for almost 8 weeks already with my kiddos and can I say I"M READY FOR SCHOOL TO BEGIN.  Seriously.... I can handle 28 kiddos in a classroom but give me 4 at home, and I'm about to go out of my mind.    Does anyone else ever feel this way??  Please don't misunderstand... I LOVE my children and have enjoyed this time with them BUT..

I know I can't be the only parent out there ready for school to begin.  Lately when I've gone to the pool, supermarket, even the ballpark I've overheard parents saying, " I can't wait for school to start."   Maybe I'm in the middle of the summer slump.  I am so anxious to get into my classroom and get it completed, but I am only able to go in one day a week since that's the day I send my sweeties to the sitter.  I tried earlier last week to go into school with my 2 year old and 6 year old in tow.  Needless to say my 2 year old ran off down the dark hallways with a basketball in search of a gym ,and it took us half an hour to locate him.   This 2 year old has NO FEAR.

Oh but just wait... give me a few weeks into the school year and late evenings in my classroom and then you'll be hearing me say, " I miss my kids and am ready for another summer with them."  I guess I'm impossible to please.


Okay.. enough whining complaining....  My daughter and I went to Target at the end of the week to get everyone's school supplies.  I LOVE school supplies.  I had to stop by the dollar bin and check out what was in there.  Here are a few things I picked up:

 I purchased a couple of $1 pocket charts.  I plan on using one with the Math Station Bulletin Board from the Clutter Free Classroom.  I also found some cute apple post-it notes.  ( Who can have enough post-its?)  I also found some small baskets to use with my writing center supplies, labels ( I'm going to put on one of my Made It Monday Projects), and these fabulous dry erase pockets.  There were only 2, so I'm hoping to  check out another Target for a few more.  ... There were also these fabulous Dr. Seuss erasers, bookmarks, and pencils that I WISH I would have gotten.  They would be perfect for Read Across America with Dr. Seuss in the spring.  I was also tempted to get the mini plastic organizers to use with games, but I resisted.   ( We already had a cart overflowing with school supplies for 3 kids so I felt guilty buying anything else.)

Have a fabulous weekend!  We are off to see the new Superman movie with our kids.  THEN I have to do something with all of this:

We will be eating much salsa and spaghetti this winter.  :)

HaPpY, HaPpY 4th!!!

Twas the day before 4th of July and all through the house, the smells of baked goods, fruit kabobs, and more filled the kitchen.  Outside the red,white, and blue trimmings flocked the yard and house. Even the little ones were decked out in red,white, and blue.

HaPpY FoUrTh of JuLy!!!!

We celebrate the 4th with time in the pool, a barbecue with family, and end the evening with hometown fireworks.  

Enjoy this time with your friends and family!!!  How do you celebrate our nation's Independence Day?

Also I'm having a FOURTH of JULY FLASH SALE! All items in my TPT store are 20% off July 4-July 6.  Click on the picture below to be taken to my TPT store.

Let's Go To The Beach

I have been M.I.A. lately. Thanks so much for begin so patient.   I truly thought it would be so much easier for me to blog regularly during the summer.  Wrong!!!  My family has been keeping me SO busy.  I'm hoping now that our family vacation and baseball/softball games are over, I will have time to blog a bit more.  :)

We just returned from the beautiful beaches of South Walton on the gulf coast.  It was so relaxing and so much fun.  Even though the forecast was for rain the entire week we were there... it only rained once in our area ,and we just happened to be visiting another beach during this time and missed it.  The overcast weather did give me some great photos of the beach.

Please stop by again soon.   I have some educational related posts planned for this week. 

Carnival Craziness and Dunk Tank Drama

Every year we hold a end of year carnival for our sweet third graders.  It's something they have all come to expect at the end of the year.  It's so much fun and SO MUCH WORK!  There are 7 third grade teachers in my building, and each of us has  taken on an area of need or committee in order to help share the work load in 3rd grade.  One of my sweet colleagues/friend does most of the behind the scenes of our third grade carnival.  She does such a fabulous job, and I can't take any credit for what goes on behind the scenes but I wanted to share with you our carnival.

Generally about 30 school days before the carnival, we begin passing out tickets to our students.  They each have a bag with their name in which to place the ticket he/she receives daily.  The ticket is also a good behavior incentive.  Students lose a ticket for not following the rules during the school day.  These tickets are a helpful reminder about expected behavior especially as the school year comes to a close.  Even some of my students who have a tendency to forget about some of the rules seem to need only one reminder.  No one wants to lose a ticket.

These tickets also teach  responsibility.  We spend a great deal talking with our students about responsibility.  Fourth grade is a big jump for our third graders especially in the area of responsibility.  Students are responsible for keeping their tickets in  a safe place.  They do not get new tickets if old ones are lost or misplaced.  This can be a hard lesson learned for some students. 

We send a note home to parents about our carnival.  The note asks for volunteers to help with the various games on that day, and asks for each student to bring in $5.00.  We use the $5.00 to rent the dunk tank ( most popular hang-out on Carnival day) , purchase prizes from dollar stores, and purchase snacks.  Each game or snack costs 1 ticket.  Some of the games we have are: ring toss, face painting, darts ( magnetic), photo booth, duck pond, put put golf, ball toss, grab bag, cake walk, guess the  baby picture, and the dunk tank.   There is also a toy store where each student can purchase one item.  The most popular item is the silly string which is not sent home with the students until right before they go home.

Then the day arrives.... we work together to get the gym set up for our carnival.  Some of us show a movie in our room or play games with two or three classes of third graders while the rest of us work in the gym to get things set up for the afternoon.  The first year was a little rough.... but now we have a map of where every game should go.  We have it down to a science... almost.

I'm not sure who decided to begin the tradition of a teacher dunk tank... it sure wasn't me, but I think it's safe to say we are stuck with it for awhile.  Actually, aside from the frigid water, it's a lot of fun.  I have to say my first year was so EYE OPENING.  I never realized how that little window in front of the dunk tank magnified everything.  I'm always so paranoid about what I wear into the dunk tank.  Silly I know... but one you get dunked everything's  clinging to you and not to mention the magnification that's going on from that little window view once you get rocketed into the  dunk tank.  Fortunately, there are 7 of us so our time in the dunk tank is limited to about 10 minutes each. 

Here are a few pictures from our Carnival Day.   

Face Painting

Bean Bag Toss

Duck Pond

Sucker Pull

This reminds me of the miniature version of the Plinko Price Is Right Game.

Grab Bag

Ring Toss

The hats were one of the prizes students could win.  They were a hit.

 The funny glasses and stick-on mustache prizes were also a big hit.

 

I'm sorry I have no pictures of the dunk tank in action. Maybe next year.... I forgot to have another 3rd grade teacher take a picture while I was out there, and I wasn't about to take a picture of any of my friends in the dunk tank. 

If you are looking for a fun way to end the year, I highly recommend a Carnival Day.  The tickets work well for good behavior incentives, and it's relatively inexpensive to come up with most of the games.  When we first started, we found several games from Oriental Trading that we purchased. I'm sure Pinterest has some fabulous ideas as well. The students have an amazing time, and now that our carnival has become  a tradition ( this was our fourth year) most parents are more than willing to send in money to help with prizes and so forth towards the carnival while also lending a helping hand on this day.  We usually have so many volunteers that we are able to simply walk around and monitor the carnival.


Happy Wednesday!!!  It's FINALLY the middle of the week....

I would love to hear about the fun activities you do at the end of the year.  Do you have a field day, beach day, races, or a carnival day?

EVERYTHING is turning up RED......

  It's practically a holiday around here today AND not because it's Friday the 13th.   Why do you ask..... It's OPENING DAY for my favorite baseball team... The St. Louis Cardinals!!! 

 I know... I know.... baseball began a week ago, but today is FINALLY the Cards first home game ... and it's against the CUBS.
Can you just feel my ENTHUSIASM!  I am  a HUGE baseball fan.  ( I blame it on my little brother who ate, slept, and breathed baseball when he was younger.  I loved watching the games).

How do we celebrate this HOLIDAY around here you ask.... by wearing red and lots of it.  We had Cardinal day at school today.  (You should have seen our school during the play-offs and World Series.  So much fun!!) The kids wore their favorite team colors... They also had ballpark food for lunch. This included hot dogs and nachos.  Here are a few pics from the day....

"M" and myself

"The Gang"

I even was sneaky enough wore my red flip flops for the occasion. (tehehehe)

And to celebrate this occasion I'm having a sale at my TPT store.  Everything is 15% off this weekend... Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The link to my store is to the right of my page.



Have a fabulous Friday!!

Wild Wednesdays

What is it with Wednesday mornings?!!  It seems as if something unexpected always seems to begin this day.  Not that I don't mind the unexpected.. just not this kind of unexpected. This morning it began with a call from my fabulous sitter letting me know she was not feeling well.  PANIC coursed through my veins because all my friends worked... who could I get to stay with my youngest while I went to work.  AFTER ALL... we were testing today... I JUST had to be at school.  I had TEN minutes to figure something out and QUICK while getting four children out the door.  .... Fortunately the problem was resolved within minutes.. as my youngest was able to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa who live about 45 minutes away.  


Even though my kiddos haven't been able to do our space or literature units this week, they are still having fun.  Take a peek.......

 

Time for a brain break

... And who said testing week wasn't fun?!!

 

The best news is... we only have two more tests to go!!!

"Y-M-C-A"

I've managed to get many things done during testing week.  Take a peek at one of my common core posters I have hanging on the wall.  My students are very curious about this "Common Core"stuff...   Unfortunately our color copier is not working and when I took it to our local copy store to have color copies made... the font did not copy correctly.  I now have 2nd grade common core posters on my TPT store.  Click Here to check them out!

Don't forget about the Giveaway that ends tonight.  Check it out here!

Have a wonderful Wednesday evening!