I'm Back!

Okay so I have been gone for a very long time! I promise I have a really wonderful excuse!

 His name is Eliott and I am 110% OBSESSED with him! He was born January 22, 2014 and was 8 lbs. 12 oz.! I couldn't believe how big he was!!

We have had an adventure since that day as we have gotten to know our sweet boy and become a family of four. It's been a whirlwind since he was born! He has already lived through TWO ice storms...that's only one less than I've lived through!

I have one more week of maternity leave (totaling 11 weeks) and I am very upset about it. I keep trying to remind myself that I only have to work for 6 weeks and then I have an entire summer to stay home with my two babies but for right now that doesn't seem to be making it any easier!

I didn't have to go back to work a regular job when Audree was this young so this is all new territory to me. Her dad would come home and I would go to school for a few hours or go to work for a few hours. I am realizing that I took that all for granted!

I cannot believe that my first "baby" will be 5 years-old in a short 3 1/2 weeks! It may sound cliche but it seems like she was just the teeny tiny one all wrapped up in blankets. Now she's holding one! She absolutely loves being a big sister. All of her baby dolls have suddenly become boy dolls and they are all named after her adorable brother. I love watching her mimic everything I do to take care of him. She even takes full advantage of his toys and supplies when he's napping in his bed! It is not uncommon for me to find baby dolls on his boppy pillow, in his mamaroo, or wrapped up in his blankets.

I can't get over how much they look alike! Eliott is still hanging on to those blue eyes, which I hope he keeps! Daddy and Audree have brown eyes and I'm the only one with green so if his change to that then I'll be okay with that too!

Don't they look like the same baby!? Crazy!

As for school stuff...

I will be heading back to my kiddos after spring break. We have 6 weeks to wrap up the year with assessments, final teachings, and fun activities. I'm hoping everything will fly by! Not to mention, I still have to have two walk-through observations and a formal observation (eek!) by my principal. I offered up some desk space for her since she will basically have to live in my room for the rest of the year to get everything done!

I also know that I will not be teaching 1st grade next year. I've taught it for 3 years and I can honestly say I want a new challenge! I am keeping my fingers crossed for an older grade. I won't know details until probably May but that's not too far away! Once I know where I am going I plan on making TONS of stuff for TPT this summer while I lounge by the pool.

Summer is so close I can taste it!!

Thanksgiving Grammar Practice!

Whew! Day 1 of 5 is done and we are 24 hours closer to our week-long Thanksgiving break! The students are going to be reviewing all of the standards that we have taught during this six weeks. This includes nouns, verbs, and adjectives. I searched online and didn't find anything that really stood out as what I needed for my reading groups. So, I made something!

Here is my Thanksgiving Grammar Sort! The students will be using this in an independent small group to sort through the words and figure out if they are nouns, verbs, or adjectives. There's also a recording sheet that they can put their answers on so that I can check what they did.



We have an amazing PTO that comes in on Tuesdays for work days. This is already printed and ready for my laminating/cutting bucket. It will feel like a Thanksgiving miracle for them to take care of it all for me and then for me to just have it ready to go on Wednesday!

Please head on over to my TPT store to download this activity and save it for years to come!

I hope everyone had a great Monday and that your Tuesday is even better!!

Let the countdown continue!!

Organize it!

I don't know about you, but reading groups is my favorite thing to do with my students. While it is my favorite, it has also been one of the hardest things for us to get into a routine this year! I have literally stressed myself out to the point of tears because I felt like I couldn't stay consistent with my kiddos so that they could get as much out of our reader's workshop. Well that is no longer a problem!!

This past couple of weeks I have tweaked my schedule in a big, major, AMAZING way! I had to get over the fear of splitting up reading time into different sections of our day. Our schedule in 1st grade is pretty crazy this year. We are pretty much in our rooms for about an hour and then have to leave for something like specials, lunch, recess, etc. You can see my schedule below.

 

I finally gave up on trying to fit four reading groups into a one hour time frame. With everything we needed to include (phonics, grammar, and four groups) I was basically pulling my hair out!

 

The schedule that I created above has worked out BEAUTIFULLY and I am really excited about it! I will be leaving my kiddos in January because that is when little Eliott is scheduled to make his debut so I needed to get things in place and practiced before everything else goes through major changes! I made these reading group organization labels to help with the new schedule. Head on over to my TPT store to download them for just $1.

 

 

 

 

 

Only 5 days left before Thanksgiving break! I hope everyone enjoys their week, it will be over before we know it!



Pumpkin Day!

This will be my third year having Pumpkin Day for my kiddos! I learned how to get it started from a friend that took me under her wing during my first year of teaching. It feels like it was so long ago but only three years have passed! Anyways, each year I have tried to tweak this fun day and make it even more fun for the students.

This is my first year at my new school and away from my previous team mates. I have to admit that I've taken advantage of having a partner-in-crime to plan everything with! Having to plan the entire day's activities has been a much more detailed task than I thought. My new grade level is excited about the activities but I want to make sure that they have everything they need so that their day goes off without a hitch!

The first task of Pumpkin Day is to have the students bring in their own pumpkins. Our rule of thumb is that they are to be able to carry it by themselves both to and from school. This tends to help with getting humongous pumpkins turned in to the front office that I have to go and take care of! Keep in mind that I'm almost 7 months pregnant and have been threatened  told by my doctor that if I don't take it easy they will put me on bed rest! So yet another reason for reasonably sized pumpkins!

The excitement starts among the students the minute the first pumpkin is carried through the door. I know that they are eager to get things started so I have a count down for them going on our board. This year was also convenient because it will be on Halloween so they are extra excited to get things started.

The second task of Pumpkin Day is to reach out to parents. We will have 8 different activities for the students to complete and will therefore need more adults. I like to get parents to come in and help out so that I can have the fun job of going around the room to observe and take pictures. I am thankful for all parents who are willing to step in and get their hands dirty!



While preparing for the day I make the students a book that they will take with them throughout their centers. This is so that I can prove that we are working on the standards while getting covered in pumpkin juices and seeds. Of course I try to make the book as cute as possible so it takes a little while! The first draft of the book came from my previous co-worker. I tweaked her version to make it work in my classroom. There were some activities that I had to take out because I did not have the same resources and then there are others that I was able to add because my time will not be as restricted this year.



The students got a kick out of each station. They had so much fun that it wasn't until later that they realized they were doing MATH! If I had to guess, I would say that "sink or float" was their favorite activity, they were most surprised with the amount of pumpkin seeds that were in the smallest pumpkins, and they were WAY too high on their estimation of circumference of their pumpkins. There were a lot of laughs and fun learning moments on this day and I know that I will continue to do this activity for years to come!



I'm uploading examples of the materials that we used for this year's Pumpkin Day. I'll post an updated book and materials for next year on my TPT store so don't forget to follow me here and on TPT so you can grab everything you'll need!

**I keep trying to add pictures to this post but blogger isn't being my friend at the moment! I will try and edit it again later and hopefully you can see the fun activities we did!

Halloween Place Value FREEBIE!

As promised, here is my Halloween Place Value "I Have, Who Has" game! I use this in class as a mini lesson and review of our tens and ones. It is helpful for the students to be able to visualize their numbers. The first couple of times that we play I give the students a dry-erase board or manipulatives to use to figure out the numbers. Once they are comfortable they stop using anything and are eager to announce the number as soon as they know it. I love seeing their light bulbs turn on, especially when it is from something that I personally created. Thank you for stopping by! It will be free in my TPT store for the first 24 hours, so spread the word!

 

 

I am finishing up the second version of this activity that will go above 100 for those students that need accelerating. Thank you again!

 

BINGO!

As we all know, students love to play games instead of learning. Well, with my Bingo games I am letting them think they're getting away with some play time instead of practicing! Here are two different Bingo games that I created to use with my students. You can print them separately or mix them together to have both time to the hour and time to the half hour. Head on over to my TPT store to download!

 

 

 

 

Enjoy! Please don't forget to share and follow both my blog and my TPT store!

 

-Mrs. Durden

 

 



Oranize It! Freebies!

We have started teaching our students how to fill in graphic organizers and gather their newly learned information. Due to the different levels in the classroom, I like to mix in both picture-based graphic organizers as well as ones where students fill them in with sentences. I wanted to kick start my blog with these two freebies! Don't forget to head over to my TPT store and download them! Here is a preview:

Lewis & Clark Graphic Organizer:

 

 

Another standard that students are to learn is about goods and services. Students are to understand the difference between the two as well as tie them to producers and consumers. Here is another freebie that I use with my students. They are to draw an example of a good and service and write a sentence about each. This can be a culminating activity, a pre-test, or a ticket-out-the-door. Enjoy!

 

 

Goods & Services Freebie:

 

 

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