Five For Friday!

Happy Friday!  Thanks for checking in to see what we've been up to these past few weeks!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for:

Here's part of my new focus board:

We're going to read Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall next week, and I set up the focus board to go along with that story.  We've been working on making predictions when we do all our read-alouds which have included plenty of George and Martha stories.

If you want to check out this product on TPT, click here.

Our Morning Messages have also focused on synonyms:

We've also been working hard on multiplication strategies:

We even started learning a bit about division!

Of course, I LOVE teaching about Massachusetts and our state symbols.  We've also been reviewing the name of our continent, country, and state. 

We also made some compass roses and learned out the New England states.

On a personal note, my dog, Gabi, got sprayed by a skunk last weekend - what an ordeal!  My son, Andrew, had taken her out on the trampoline with his friends at 11:00 at night.  Gabi doesn't miss a beat so she couldn't resist checking out the skunk. 

Today Gabi made sure to point out a skunk on our walk early this morning - it was a pretty big skunk, too!

The groomer told me that if your dog gets sprayed with a skunk to put baking soda on the dog's fur; leave it for at least an hour to soak up the smell; then bathe as usual.  I meant to stock up on baking soda at the supermarket today but forgot.

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

1

First Week of School Five For Friday!

Hello!  School finally started last week!  I have plenty to share for Doodle Bugs Teaching:

The first day of school was last Wednesday.  The kids worked on their vacation reports; enjoyed Library; learned routines;... 

Before school, I made sure to get a picture:

We LOVED using the story kit I made for Officer Buckle and Gloria:

 
You can read more about this story kit here.

We did the experiment "Saving Fred."  The kids needed to rescue Fred, the gummy worm, who was trapped under his "boat" while his life preserver is on top of the "boat."  The goal is to put Fred's life preserver on using four paperclips:

In some cases, Fred took quite a beating with the paperclips.  We were especially lucky that our principal, Mr. Kessaris, joined us for this activity.

We shared our favorite books:

See that book on the bottom right - The Trolley Car Family.  That's my favorite book from childhood that I amazingly found in my cellar last summer while cleaning/decluttering.  I'm reading it again during "Read to Self."

We made an adorable craft/card for Grandparents' Day:

Check out this Grandparents' Day activity here.

0

Relaxing With My Favorite Subject!

Today I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' for:

My very favorite subject to teach is Social Studies.  Here in Massachusetts, third graders learn all about the geography and history of our state.  I just love teaching about Thanksgiving, the Puritans, the American Revolution,...  I find that I become more fascinated and interested every year because I realize and learn something new.

Yesterday my son, Derek, and I had a tour of the Massachusetts State House and State Senator Jason Lewis.  We were in the Senate chambers looking at this bird:

I kept trying to remember the story of the bird that I had heard on a prior tour with State Representative Jim Dwyer.  He explained how Ben Franklin had wanted the turkey to symbolize the new USA because he thought turkeys were courageous.  Others wanted the bald eagle.  The bird in the State Senate is a combination of the turkey and eagle and is known as a "teagle."

I just find history fascinating!

I need a good night's sleep to make my work life easier.  One way I wind down at the end of the day is to read magazines before falling asleep at night:

I find the articles are easy to read, and I learn something new about how to make easy dinner, lose weight, decorate the house....  Of course, I never do any of the projects, but I enjoy reading about them any way!  My magazines help me to stop worrying about school issues - it's helpful to try to quiet my mind at the end of the day.

Today is my last day of summer vacation.  Happy Labor Day!

1

Classroom Reveal

Hello!  I'm joining in to share how my classroom has looked in prior years so I can link up with Blog Hoppin' for:

My pictures are from earlier years as we are doing Work to Rule.  Here's the definition from the Free Dictionary:  A job action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of a workplace.  This means that teachers can't report to school until next Tuesday to set up their classrooms; students will arrive on Wednesday when teachers can enter the school at 8:15 along with their new students.  Work to Rule requires us to follow the Contract to a "t."

My rug is my favorite place in the room.  It's where we have Morning Meeting, Read-Alouds, Sharing, Centers, Read to Self,...  It's a busy and well-loved area:

 

In addition, it's surrounded by our classroom library.

Here are some views of the rest of the room:

I love how these pictures make my room look so neat and clean and organized.  I usually spent HOURS getting my room to this point.  Now I'll have Tuesday between 8:15 and 2:40 - assuming we have no meetings.   

I will have to work with razor focus and prioritize every task.  Most importantly, I'll have to think positively and optimistically for all of the teachers in Woburn as we're all in the same boat.  

Happy Hump Day!

0