DIY

I have become addicted to DIY projects.  I know I am not alone when I say Pinterest now takes up a good chunk of my free time (when I do have some).  Not only do I love Pinterest for school ideas but also the DIY projects and recipes.  My husband and I are usually pretty good and make a recipe off of Pinterest once a week or every other week.  I have also made some really cool DIY projects throughout our house.  In fact, most of my daughter's nursery was from ideas off of Pinterest!  Also, just to prove my addiction to Pinterest, my friends and I have a Facebook group where we plan get-togethers to make projects off of Pinterest and share DIY projects we do on our own...

I thought I would share my latest DIY project I did last week.  It took me all of 10 minutes with a little bit of help from my husband.

Here is the hair bow organizer I made for my daughter.  I got so sick of digging through a basket of hair bows to find the one I am looking for.  So, I made an organizer for her room.  I know I have seen variations of this on Pinterest but never really saw anything I liked so I just made it up as I went.

I took a white canvas and covered it with Chevron fabric (I LOVE chevron) and then I wrapped two different colors of pink ribbon around it.  I used a staple gun to put everything on, used my husband as an extra set of hands and...viola, I'm done!  I have it hanging next to her changing table and it has proven to be more useful than I ever thought it would be.

Wow it has been a while (and that is an understatement)...

So it has been a long, long time since I have blogged last and a lot has happened since the last time I have been on here.  Looking back, my last post was in November 2011, right when I found out I was having a baby.  Needless to say my life and my priorities have changed a little bit from that last post.

In July 2012, my husband and I welcomed a beautiful little girl into our family.  And 2 months before we had our daughter, I got a new job teaching in my hometown.  So in the last year, I have gotten a new job, had a baby, and completed my first year of teaching in my hometown.  My life has been more than wonderful and I count my blessings each day, however...like I said...my priorities have changed.

I have also decided to change this blog a little bit.  I would like to continue blogging about my life as a special education teacher but I am also going to include things about being a first time mom and our wonderful, crazy life.

Just to update people on my new position...I now teach in the same elementary school I attended with many of the same teachers I had, that is a bit of a learning curve!  I am a special education teacher and teach K-5 grade students with Emotional & Behavioral Disabilities and Autism.  I love my new job and it is everything I expected it to be plus more.  It is wonderful working less than 5 minutes from where I live, my previous drive was over 40 minutes.  This allows a lot more time to spend time with my daughter and husband and I am also able to get more work done at school without having to drive so much.

Now that I will be starting my second year at my new job I plan to get back on here more often.  I am currently sitting in a technology class about blogging so it seemed like a perfect time to start blogging again.  Please stop back soon...

Moving Monday...Top 10 Lists

Here is the next active learning strategy to help get your students up and moving and learning at the same time, it is called Top 10 Lists.

This is a great review activity for the end of a lesson, day, week, unit, or year.  There are many ways to incorporate this active learning strategy into your daily lesson plans.

Let me know how you adapt this activity for your classroom and your learners.

Download Here: Top 10 Lists

From: Udvari-Solner, A. & Kluth, P. (2007). Joyful learning. Active & collaborative learning in the inclusive classroom. Corwin Press. See www.paulakluth.com for related content & ideas.

Daily 5 EEKK Poster

I have been making more anchor posters for my classroom.  Here is the poster I made for EEKK (elbow to elbow, knee to knee) for the Daily 5 rotation Read to Someone. 

This poster really helps my students remember what EEKK means with the spider on it.

Enjoy!

SNOW

We got our first snow storm today in Wisconsin and no I am not excited about this.

Not only did we get way more snow then they originally predicted but it started 6 hours before they said it was going to.  That means we had a whole school full of kids who were so excited about the snow they could barely control themselves but no snow clothes to go outside at recess to play in the new packy snow.  So, all of the recesses were inside today making the students become even more stir crazy and itching to get outside.

And, I forgot to mention it is WKCE testing, our wonderful standardized testing.  So now we have students who just want to go outside but instead they are stuck inside taking a test that means nothing, nothing to them and I spent most of my day making sure students' eyes were in their test booklet and not looking outside.

Anyways, here is a picture from the window in my classroom.  Wonderful, isnt it?

Hopefully it melts by the weekend, I think it is suppose to be in the 50s!

Field Trip to Cranberry Marsh

So, it has been a while since I have blogged and I have a lot of stuff to catch up on.  School has been pretty busy so I plan on taking the next week and updating my blog with activities that we have done and pictures I have.

First, today I have pictures from our trip to the Cranberry Marsh.  As part of the 4th grade curriculum, the students learn about the process of growing cranberries and how they are harvested.  Part of the curriculum is visiting a Cranberry Marsh to see how the grow and are harvested first hand.  This is a great trip and the students learn a lot, I even learned a lot, who knew that cranberries did not grow on top of water (the commercials are so deceiving)!

Walking around the marsh.

More walking and looking at the bogs to the right.

Harvesting of the cranberries.  That big machine sucks up the cranberries off the top of the water and separates the berries from the leaves and stems.  The trucks then bring the cranberries to the Ocean Spray plant for processing.

Eating lunch in a park after visiting the marsh.

Tomorrow is our Cranberry Fest at school.  More pictures to come...

Guided Reading PLUS

This year, I have decided to use Guided Reading Plus as a framework for my guided reading intervention groups.  So far I really like having a specific structure to follow, especially that I am still a new teacher.  I feel like I learn more and more about Guided Reading each day and this has really helped give me an easy framework that I can follow. 

Guided Reading Plus is also a research based RtI intervention so I feel better knowing that I am doing something that has been proven to work. 

Here is the lesson planning sheet that I have made.  I have a different sheet for each of my groups (3 right now) and I keep them at the back of my lesson plan binder.  This has really helped me become more organized and not like I am grabbing at straws during Guided Reading. 

Please use if you can! Lesson Plan Sheet

Labels

Each year, I try to figure out how I can become more organized and to make sure everything I need for the day is in one spot.  I hate when I am running around my classroom like a maniac trying to find the lesson I am looking for, a misplaced book, a file folder game, or a worksheet. 

This year I invested in a hanging file folder thing with pockets.  So far, this has worked to help keep me organized.  I made these labels to keep each day organized. 

Hopefully this works this year...

I will add a picture of my new setup as soon as I can.  Please use if you can!

Another Daily 5 Poster

Here is another poster I made to help my students remember what we are learning during the Daily 5 lessons.  These posters really help make our classroom library look more welcoming and they are a good reminder to the students. 

Here is the poster for the I Pick lesson on helping students choose good-fit books.  And it matches our jungle theme in our classroom!

Moving Monday...CATCH!

Here is the next active learning strategy.  This is a great review activity after a daily lesson, unit, or important concept.

CATCH

From: Udvari-Solner, A. & Kluth, P. (2007). Joyful learning. Active & collaborative learning in the inclusive classroom. Corwin Press. See www.paulakluth.com for related content & ideas.

Daily 5 Poster

We are getting deeper and deeper into the Daily 5 and my students are loving it.

Here is a poster I made to help my students remember the 3 Ways to Read a Book.  This poster will hang in our classroom library.

Currently...October

Another month has passed already...wow!

Oh Boy 4th Grade is having another Currently Linky Party!  I could not agree with Farley more...I LOVE October and everything that is associated with October and Fall (including my Birthday...yay!)

So, here is my Currently for the best month of the year.

Help Please!

Alright, it is time I graduate to the next level of blogging.  I REALLY need a blog button and signature for the bottom of my posts. 

I have tried reading posts on how to make these and a) I do not understand the directions and/or b) I do not have time to sit down for hours on end at my computer trying to figure this out.

So, I am asking (actually begging) for someone to either make me a blog button and siguature or tell me who can.  I am willing to pay (giftcard) for your services.  I just really need some help.

Thank you in advance...I really need your help.

Moving Monday...Community Builder Activity

Welcome to week 3 of Moving Monday!

This week I have decided to highlight a community building activity.  Students have been in school for a couple of weeks now and they are beginning to feel more comfortable in their new classroom, with their peers, and with their teacher.  Most teachers do not continue to do community building activities beyond the first week of school, but as students become more comfortable with each other these activities can again be beneficial for the classroom community.

This week's activity is a play off of the old "Telephone" game we all played when we were younger.  Students pass compliments to each other while playing a familiar game.

Let me know how it works in your classroom and with your learners!

Pass the Compliment

From: Udvari-Solner, A. & Kluth, P. (2007). Joyful learning. Active & collaborative learning in the inclusive classroom. Corwin Press. See www.paulakluth.com for related content & ideas.

First Field Trip

It was another crazy, crazy week but on Friday, the 4th grade went on their first field trip of the school year.

We walked to a local park and History House near school to partake in some trader activities.  The students were able to see people dressed in traditional clothing, how guns were loaded and shot, how to pan for gold, make soap, make candles, and how people lived.

This was a great field trip (especially since it was free) and the students really learned a lot while being able to do hands-on activities.  The students are going to have a lot of background knowledge in the spring now when this is discussed during social studies.



Here the students are learning about the old guns.




 

The gold miners' camp with animal skins.

Panning for gold.

Working hard to find the gold and put it in the container.

Sifting through the stones.

The miners' camp again.

Time to learn about making candles.

And how to make soap.

The students also were able to do a craft.

What the finished products could look like.

I love field trips...I feel it gives the students amazing experiences to connect to their learning.  Even with increased pressure on test scores and standards, it is nice to get as many of these experiences as possible throughout the school year.  So, thank you to the individuals who organized this great activity!

Halloween Giveaway

I had to repost this amazing giveaway for one of my favorite holidays...Halloween!

What the Teacher Wants and Lesson Plan SOS are having an amazing giveaway for 5 people.  They are giving away all of their lessons for Halloween.  Hop on over to their blogs and check it out!



Moving Monday...Popcorn!

Welcome to week 2 of Moving Monday!

This week I am introducing Popcorn another active learning strategy from Joyful Learning.  This activity has endless possibilities and can be modified numerous ways to fit your classroom, learners, and preferences.

This activity, as described in Joyful Learning, "...is controlled chaos at its best."  Students fly around the classroom during transition times in random directions just as popcorn does.  "This activity is useful for the times when you want students to share information, teach and learn from each other, and get ideas or opinions from more than one person in a very short amount of time."

Please enjoy this activity and come back to let me know how it went in your classroom and how you modified it for your learners.

Popcorn



Enjoy!

From: Udvari-Solner, A. & Kluth, P. (2007). Joyful learning. Active & collaborative learning in the inclusive classroom. Corwin Press. See www.paulakluth.com for related content & ideas.

Student Behavior Log

It is official, my favorite time of the year is here.  Cool temperatures, football on the TV, and my wonderful husband is making chili for supper!  So, this will be short and sweet...

Since I am a special education teacher I spend a quite a bit of time on behavior and behavior management.  In addition, part of the research I am doing this year focuses on behavior so I made a different behavior chart to use this school year to help me keep track of the behaviors my students are displaying throughout the school day and the consequences to their behaviors.

Please feel free to use this chart...Student Behavior Log

Question...

We are about to finish our second week of school (our first FULL week) and life is crazy! 

I have a question for special education teachers out there and/or general education teachers...

I would like to know how other special education teachers maintain continuous communication with the teachers that they work with and with parents?  I just have not found a system that I like yet to make sure everyone is always on the same page. 

I am working with less teachers this year than I have in the past so it is somewhat easier to constantly check-in with these teachers but I guess I am wondering what kind of systems (that have worked) that other people are using out there.

As far as with the parents...my students are mostly 4th graders so they need to begin to be accountable for themselves and be able to bring things back and forth to school but there is not always that follow through with home to school.  How do you maintain communication with parents, make sure the students are organized, and not have to run around like a chicken with your head cut off at the end of the school day writing in every student's agenda or home-school notebook.

I am open to any suggestions...just wondering what everyone else does.  Communication is one of the most important aspects of my day to day job and I feel it needs to be improved...

Introducing...Moving Monday

Hello and Happy Monday!  Today I would like to officially kick-off Moving Monday! 

Each Monday I will be presenting a different Active Learning Strategy to get your students up and moving in your classroom and to help promote differentiation in the classroom.  I heard a statistic over the summer that really made me think twice about the way I teach...elementary students are only able to concentrate and pay attention for 5-7 minutes at a time before they are unable to take in any more information.  That is not very much time, so I decided to start Moving Monday to help teachers incorporate Active Learning into their classrooms to get their students up and moving while learning at the same time.  Please try these strategies in your own classroom, then come back and leave me a message on how it worked in your classroom. 

Many of the strategies that I will be featuring will be from Paula Kluth and Alice Udvar-Solner's book Joyful Learning.  As I have said before, I have had the opportunity to see Paula talk numerous times in the past year and she has inspired me in numerous ways, I also had the amazing opportunity to have Alice has one of my professors at UW-Madison during my last semester.  She also has inspired me to make learning joyful in my classroom.

So, now I will get on with the strategy and stop talking so much!


Moving to the Music



Remember to please leave a comment if you use this strategy in your classroom.  I would love to know how it goes and how you would differentiate this activity to meet the needs of all of the learners in your classroom.

From: Udvari-Solner, A. & Kluth, P. (2007). Joyful learning. Active & collaborative learning in the inclusive classroom. Corwin Press. See www.paulakluth.com for related content & ideas.