Nothing like the feeling of knowing you have no school responsibilities for the next week! I made it. It is Spring Break, finally!
For the next week I have a few things on my agenda, HAVING FUN and making memories with my family. Time to play and enjoy each other.
We are heading to the magical world of Disney!
I am giddy about this trip.
My husband has never been and I am looking forward to experiencing the magic with him. He really has no idea how awesome it is; I know that he will love it.
We are surprising our 3 sons with this trip. They were disappointed we were not heading to the beach, usually we go to Hilton Head with their grandparents. They have no idea how fabulous this trip is going to be. They are all at the age that they can appreciate it.
I have not been since 1985, so I am really looking forward to reliving the excitement.
We have warned/promised the kids that we plan to play and embarrass them. It is time to let loose and celebrate this wonderful life we have. We are lucky to be able to do this and I plan to have tons of fun.
Our sons think we are going to Ohio. We cannot wait to see/hear their reactions when they realize we are going to Florida.
My oldest is a worrier/anxious and he would have flooded us with a million detail questions. He would have worked himself up in to a mess, so we decided to save the details for when we were actually there. It is bugging him that I would not tell him anything beyond the letter of where we are headed. When I told him "O" he guessed Ohio since his Dad once lived there. I knew O was a safe letter, if I said D he would have guessed it. (Several times he has expressed the desire to go to Disney instead, it will be wonderful when he realizes his wish came true.) So we went with Ohio and let others in on the surprise. Everyone keeps telling him how awesome "Ohio" is.
So if you don't hear from me for the next week, you will understand why. I hope you have a great weekend and your week goes smoothly!
Happy days!
Laura
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Time for a break!
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Playing catch up!
It is not a secret that I have been behind on blogging. The events and details of this half of the year are keeping me incredibly busy!
I am slowly catching up on things here and there. I am embarrassed to say that I am even just catching up on some emails. I spend a lot of time on my school email, try to keep up with the home email- mostly clearing out the trash, then add in a gmail account that sorts things in random ways.
As I sorted through my gmail account, I discovered that Angela from Southern Fried Teaching had nominated me for the Liebster Award. I was honored and embarrassed all at once. Embarrassed because I had not responded.
Recently I also received some sweet emails about the Sunshine Award too. (I am working on that post too!)
So here I am. drowning in the duties of life, and some lovely blogger friends were bestowing kindness on me and I was not even aware!
Liebster is a German word that means beloved, cute, lovely, dearest, and welcome. The Liebster Award is an award for new blogs, and I am so grateful that I got it!
Thank you to Angela for taking the time to nominate me! If you are unfamiliar with Angela's blog, check it out. She has some great posts and pictures highlighting her adventures while teaching abroad in Korea.
Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the blog that nominated me
2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers
3. Answer the questions posted for me by my nominator
4. Share 11 random facts about myself
5. Contact my nominees and let them know that I nominated them
1. Link back to the blog that nominated me
2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers
3. Answer the questions posted for me by my nominator
4. Share 11 random facts about myself
5. Contact my nominees and let them know that I nominated them
Here are the questions from Angela for me:
1. What is one of your favorite teaching memories? I have one class that was truly sweet and I loved the entire year. We read together so much and their love of reading really touched me. When it was time to decorate the room for our year end celebration, I had 3 girls show up on the weekend to help me decorate. I was touched. Their little sisters come and hug me every single day, their smile let's me know that their sisters adored me as much as I adored them!
2. What is your favorite school lunch? I pack my lunch daily. School lunches are not for me! I eat lots of leftovers for lunch.
3. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Spare time? I do not really have any with a full-time job and 3 young boys. I love to sew and take photographs. I am very behind on me time!
4. What song gets you up and going and puts a smile on your face? Happy. I cannot resist dancing to it, even in my classroom.
5. If you had to give any advice to a new teacher, what would you say? Reflect and grow; you will make mistakes, but you will also become a great teacher if you learn from them.
6. What is a simple review activity that you do in your classroom? We play ZAP. They answer questions in teams and then pick point cards when they answer correctly. The kids love it.
7. What is the best teacher gift you have ever received? A parent made a collage of all of my students, had them write notes on the back of the huge frame from IKEA {heart}, and wrote a top 10 about me David Letterman Style. The frame broke, but I still have it. Those kiddos are now in high school.
8. What is one piece of advice you really wish you could give to parents? Support their teacher! If the teacher assigns homework, work with your child to complete it, if you have questions ask the teacher. The more you know about what they are doing and the more you require them to complete their work, the stronger signal you are sending to them that school is important and following through is an important aspect of life!
9. What do you love about blogging? All of the great tips I can learn and all of the great friends I am making!
10. How do bring laughter into the classroom? I use lots of puns. I am viewed as a very serious person, so I have to make a point to laugh with my kids.
11. What is your favorite book to read to your students? I have 3: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, Wonder by RJ. Polaccio, and Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
1. What is one of your favorite teaching memories? I have one class that was truly sweet and I loved the entire year. We read together so much and their love of reading really touched me. When it was time to decorate the room for our year end celebration, I had 3 girls show up on the weekend to help me decorate. I was touched. Their little sisters come and hug me every single day, their smile let's me know that their sisters adored me as much as I adored them!
2. What is your favorite school lunch? I pack my lunch daily. School lunches are not for me! I eat lots of leftovers for lunch.
3. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Spare time? I do not really have any with a full-time job and 3 young boys. I love to sew and take photographs. I am very behind on me time!
4. What song gets you up and going and puts a smile on your face? Happy. I cannot resist dancing to it, even in my classroom.
5. If you had to give any advice to a new teacher, what would you say? Reflect and grow; you will make mistakes, but you will also become a great teacher if you learn from them.
6. What is a simple review activity that you do in your classroom? We play ZAP. They answer questions in teams and then pick point cards when they answer correctly. The kids love it.
7. What is the best teacher gift you have ever received? A parent made a collage of all of my students, had them write notes on the back of the huge frame from IKEA {heart}, and wrote a top 10 about me David Letterman Style. The frame broke, but I still have it. Those kiddos are now in high school.
8. What is one piece of advice you really wish you could give to parents? Support their teacher! If the teacher assigns homework, work with your child to complete it, if you have questions ask the teacher. The more you know about what they are doing and the more you require them to complete their work, the stronger signal you are sending to them that school is important and following through is an important aspect of life!
9. What do you love about blogging? All of the great tips I can learn and all of the great friends I am making!
10. How do bring laughter into the classroom? I use lots of puns. I am viewed as a very serious person, so I have to make a point to laugh with my kids.
11. What is your favorite book to read to your students? I have 3: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, Wonder by RJ. Polaccio, and Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
Here are 11 random facts about me:
1. Teaching is my second job, I started in social work. Teaching is way better!
2. I check the date on milk before I drink it. One bad experience is all it takes, this habit goes back to 1st grade!
3. I auditioned for Teen Jeopardy when I was in HS. I did not make it past the initial test, but my mom and I had a blast in Boston.
4. I was a teacher's pet.
5. My mom called me bah lady as I grew up. Everyday when I haul a school bag, a lunch bag, and my workout clothes in from my car I think of that name.
6. My mom also called me grandma when I was little, I had a grown-up soul in my little body. After talking with some teacher friends we think many teachers might have that in common.
7. I was inspired by my uncle to start blogging. He blogs and is the only family member who knows I blog.
8. I was hired at my school then received a call that I could not have my job (certification technicality), I called HR - got my job back, worked for a year at that school, then was displaced, then went back the next year. I have been there ever since.
9. My high school class was larger than my college class. At the time, my high school was one of the largest in the country.
10. I am a klutz! I broke my foot walking back to my car after a picnic with my husband and two oldest sons. My sons were 2 1/2 and 6 months old at the time. Nothing like having your oldest push your youngest in a stroller while you hobble on crutches. Crutches and teaching are hard! My students would argue about who was going to get to push me around the building in the rolling chair. My students never tipped me out of the chair, but a co-worker did.
11. While growing up, I had long-distance friends whose Dad put a wire tap on the phone and their mom read all of the mail I sent them and they sent me. When I was a little older my mom told me about the snooping, and the things that she knew because of the wire tap and the mail snooping. Talk about rocking your view of life, trust, and friends! I am no longer friends with them.
I now have the honor in nominating some bloggers for the very same honor.
If you are a 3rd grade teacher you may really enjoy Third Grade BROWN-ies. She shares her plans and provides great insight in to assessments.
Another great blog you might enjoy is Keep Calm and Hoot On. She provides insight on her classroom and her adventures as a mom.
Here are my 11 questions for my nominees:
1. If you were not a teacher, what job would you have?
2. What mistake do you most remember from your first teaching assignment and what did you learn from it?
3. Did you know someone at your school before you started there?
4. What is your favorite subject and/or topic to teach?
5. What do you do to de-stress?
6. What is your favorite Spring Break vacation?
7. Do you want to be an administrator one day?
8. Who was your favorite teacher as a child and why were they your favorite?
9. What is one piece of advice you would give to a student teacher?
10. What is your favorite game to play with students?
11. What is the worst gift you ever received?
Thanks again to Angela for the nomination and the opportunity to share more about myself with the blogging world.
Thanks for reading and being a part of my life!
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Math Madness: Spark Student Motivation
March and April are tough months for teachers because of the looming {dreaded} standardized tests that are in the near future. Teachers start worrying about how the kids will do, and the kids stress about taking tests. Not fun for either party! Testing is not a party nor is preparing for testing.
This year has been a little more stressful because our district extended our school days, due to all the lost snow days, by 30 minutes daily. Our school decided those extra 30 minutes would be for test preparation, with the primary focus on reading and math. I know some teachers secretly wanted an extra 30 minutes of recess, and I wanted 30 minutes to catch up in science and social studies. Well, what's a teacher to do?
Extra test preparation time has its benefits, and if you plan for it well you can make the best of the situation. Catch up in science by reading or writing about a science concept. Read a fantastic article highlighting a topic you have not taught in social studies yet. Kill two birds by reading the social studies passage with reading skills in mind, then ask them to look back for evidence on a social studies concept. Or better yet, make the review in to a game so the kids forget that you are working. With this approach to the longer day, it has become a little more manageable and the time flies.
Playing games and making review fun is always a motivation for students. Not only have I used this approach in the last part of my day, I am capitalizing on this approach to motivate the kids during math class.
To inspire and motivate my students to work harder, they are competing in a Math Madness competition. I am using the awesome Basketball Madness packet from Diane at Fifth in the Middle.
Each page is differentiated with three different levels of problems. Students can earn 1 point, 2 points, or 3 points depending on the problems they complete correctly. There are a total of 6 sheets that are all based on math skills including operations and algebraic thinking, number and operations in base ten, fractions, and measurement.
The sheets follow the basketball theme so they are most definitely a winner in the minds of my athletes.
The amount of problems is not overwhelming either so there are very few complaints about it being too much. I have granted mine a choice of how many they complete, which also cuts back on some of the whining. Instead what you hear in my room when they are working on their sheets is pencils racing across the page and the wheels spinning in their heads. Because they are working, my smile glows and I do a little happy dance!
No, I have not sprinkled some magic dust nor threatened them, instead I motivated them with choice, a prize, and competition. And, it is working! {Swoosh!}
I knew I wanted to display the results, but was uncertain of how. If I went with a basketball tourney bracket, like the March Madness bracket, I would have had kids out in the first round, then their effort would have dwindled. Instead, I made a chart with each round, their names to the side, and I post the points earned daily. From that group the top score(ers) earn a red star, then from that I pick a random winner to earn a yellow star. The red star indicates that they won that round, and the yellow that they earned at least the minimum and are the random winner.
To become eligible for the yellow star they have to earn at least 6 points. Each day I have my son pull a paper from the eligible papers.
I do not give prizes out very often, so it is a big deal when I offer one. They can earn coupons that are good for 5 bonus points on a math assignment, get an answer to a test question for free, or pick out a snack.
I have allowed them to make a choice on each page as to which problems they complete. They know that points are important so many are trying to complete the whole page. Some start with the 3 point problems and work their way down. Some quickly solve the 1 pointers and work their way up. I set a time limit of 13 minutes.
The math sheets have become my morning warm up activity. They have been the perfect motivator for my kids to get started right away. They do not want to waste their time; time equals opportunity to earn points. They are striving to complete the whole page instead of avoiding the work.
The sheets are also eye opening for me. I am able to assess which skills we {desperately} need to review. You may not be able to see all the details, but round 2 resulted in low scores. The simple skills of rounding, expanded form, and written form are weak. We did those at the beginning of the year, and many seem to have forgotten what to do. Round 3 was multiplication. With the time limit, it was harder for them to complete the whole page, but many were also making careless errors that we can remedy through a discussion and daily review. Luckily we are about to dive in to volume and I always reteach multiplication with decimals during that unit, now I know that I will really have to emphasize that skill.
The packet includes an answer key making it quick to check, a definite bonus for me. My students check that board every morning. I wait to post until they leave so they are not distracted during the rest of the day. One boy even asked me if I had scored his paper, minutes after finishing, I guess he was really motivated.
To celebrate the perfect scores I am posting those sheets next to the results.
At the end of the madness, I am going to have the students review finding the mean of a data set, and add their mean score to the chart. They will then compete in a paper basketball shooting contest. They will receive 1 sheet of paper that equals their mean score, they can then shoot it in the {trash} basket.
This packet is truly a winner! My students are working hard - score! They are striving to do better - three-point score! Having fun while reviewing is always a score! Add in the bonus point of being able to quickly pick out the penalties in their work.
I may have lost the tourney bracket I selected this season, but I am winning in my math class with this Math Madness!
If you are looking for a way to motivate your math students, check out this packet at Fifth in the Middle. It is on sale this weekend (3/29-3/30/2014). If you are looking for other ways to motivate your students, check out the links at Head Over Heels for Teaching.
This year has been a little more stressful because our district extended our school days, due to all the lost snow days, by 30 minutes daily. Our school decided those extra 30 minutes would be for test preparation, with the primary focus on reading and math. I know some teachers secretly wanted an extra 30 minutes of recess, and I wanted 30 minutes to catch up in science and social studies. Well, what's a teacher to do?
Extra test preparation time has its benefits, and if you plan for it well you can make the best of the situation. Catch up in science by reading or writing about a science concept. Read a fantastic article highlighting a topic you have not taught in social studies yet. Kill two birds by reading the social studies passage with reading skills in mind, then ask them to look back for evidence on a social studies concept. Or better yet, make the review in to a game so the kids forget that you are working. With this approach to the longer day, it has become a little more manageable and the time flies.
Playing games and making review fun is always a motivation for students. Not only have I used this approach in the last part of my day, I am capitalizing on this approach to motivate the kids during math class.
To inspire and motivate my students to work harder, they are competing in a Math Madness competition. I am using the awesome Basketball Madness packet from Diane at Fifth in the Middle.
The sheets follow the basketball theme so they are most definitely a winner in the minds of my athletes.
The amount of problems is not overwhelming either so there are very few complaints about it being too much. I have granted mine a choice of how many they complete, which also cuts back on some of the whining. Instead what you hear in my room when they are working on their sheets is pencils racing across the page and the wheels spinning in their heads. Because they are working, my smile glows and I do a little happy dance!
No, I have not sprinkled some magic dust nor threatened them, instead I motivated them with choice, a prize, and competition. And, it is working! {Swoosh!}
I knew I wanted to display the results, but was uncertain of how. If I went with a basketball tourney bracket, like the March Madness bracket, I would have had kids out in the first round, then their effort would have dwindled. Instead, I made a chart with each round, their names to the side, and I post the points earned daily. From that group the top score(ers) earn a red star, then from that I pick a random winner to earn a yellow star. The red star indicates that they won that round, and the yellow that they earned at least the minimum and are the random winner.
To become eligible for the yellow star they have to earn at least 6 points. Each day I have my son pull a paper from the eligible papers.
I do not give prizes out very often, so it is a big deal when I offer one. They can earn coupons that are good for 5 bonus points on a math assignment, get an answer to a test question for free, or pick out a snack.
I have allowed them to make a choice on each page as to which problems they complete. They know that points are important so many are trying to complete the whole page. Some start with the 3 point problems and work their way down. Some quickly solve the 1 pointers and work their way up. I set a time limit of 13 minutes.
The math sheets have become my morning warm up activity. They have been the perfect motivator for my kids to get started right away. They do not want to waste their time; time equals opportunity to earn points. They are striving to complete the whole page instead of avoiding the work.
The sheets are also eye opening for me. I am able to assess which skills we {desperately} need to review. You may not be able to see all the details, but round 2 resulted in low scores. The simple skills of rounding, expanded form, and written form are weak. We did those at the beginning of the year, and many seem to have forgotten what to do. Round 3 was multiplication. With the time limit, it was harder for them to complete the whole page, but many were also making careless errors that we can remedy through a discussion and daily review. Luckily we are about to dive in to volume and I always reteach multiplication with decimals during that unit, now I know that I will really have to emphasize that skill.
The packet includes an answer key making it quick to check, a definite bonus for me. My students check that board every morning. I wait to post until they leave so they are not distracted during the rest of the day. One boy even asked me if I had scored his paper, minutes after finishing, I guess he was really motivated.
To celebrate the perfect scores I am posting those sheets next to the results.
At the end of the madness, I am going to have the students review finding the mean of a data set, and add their mean score to the chart. They will then compete in a paper basketball shooting contest. They will receive 1 sheet of paper that equals their mean score, they can then shoot it in the {trash} basket.
This packet is truly a winner! My students are working hard - score! They are striving to do better - three-point score! Having fun while reviewing is always a score! Add in the bonus point of being able to quickly pick out the penalties in their work.
I may have lost the tourney bracket I selected this season, but I am winning in my math class with this Math Madness!
If you are looking for a way to motivate your math students, check out this packet at Fifth in the Middle. It is on sale this weekend (3/29-3/30/2014). If you are looking for other ways to motivate your students, check out the links at Head Over Heels for Teaching.
Hope you have a fantastic Saturday!
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