Summer is in Full Swing

Summer is here and we have been out of school since May 23rd. I had to work May 27th and I've been off since then. I am already going stir crazy and looking for something to do. Don't get me wrong, I love that I can sleep in but there is only so much I can do around the house without needing some outside stimulation. 

So I was excited when my principal sent an e-mail saying we could get in to the school building to start working this week. Of course, I had to go! This first picture is what my room looked like when I arrived. 

This is what it looked like after working for one day. I was only there for a few hours but I was able to accomplish a lot. 

My furniture is now in place but I still have a lot of cleaning out to do. I'd like to find a good way to organize my math files, games, activities, and manipulatives so they are all together in one place but I'm still trying to find the best way to do that. I've cleared out a filing cabinet drawer but I haven't starting that project yet. 

This week I also ordered the brochures I send to my students before school starts. Since we are switching classes again next year, Mrs. Smith and I went to together to create our brochures. I chose the design with the school colors and I love the way they turned out. I'll share a picture once they arrive. 

Brochures by Vistaprint

I also ordered some Random Acts of Kindness cards. I created them using the free business cards. We do a lot of these and I wanted a way for students to leave a note with each one. I think I'll have my students leave one of these cards when they do random acts of kindness.

Free Business Cards by Vistaprint



I also ordered a few books from Amazon. 

Doing Science in Morning Meeting

Doing Math in Morning Meeting

Teach Like a Pirate

I did morning meeting with my students last year and they really liked it. I think their favorite part was when I let them sign up to bring things in to share. It was like show and tell for 5th graders. There was always someone who had something to share. They shared jokes, magic tricks, pictures from trips, and insects they found. This coming year I'd like to be a little more consistent with morning meeting and thought if I could incorporate science and math (subjects I teach) it would be a great way to start each class after transitions. 

My brain is already thinking of ideas of things to do different next year. Do any of you do morning meeting or closing circles with your students? I'd love to hear your success stories!

I'm always looking for new ideas to try in my classroom! Are you planning something new to try in your classroom next year? I'd love to hear about them so please feel free to share!

 

Week 2: Saving Fred

I have been doing morning meeting and closing circles with my students this year. I teach two different classes. I love doing this to build a sense of community. I found this post about organizing the materials needed for morning meeting so I decided to make my own. I used my Cricut to cut the letters for the front of the bucket.



Inside I have a sharing sign up sheet, my resource books, index cards, duct tape, and a few of my noise makers.



I have also been using the iPad app called Music Cues for morning meeting and closing circles. When students hear the song Walking on Sunshine (Morning Meeting) or Final Countdown (Closing Circles) they know it is time to begin greeting their classmates. When the music stops and the chime rings they form a circle for sharing and a group activity.

Both of my science classes saved Fred this week! Check out all the supplies my parents sent in! They rock!



Here is the story about Fred: Fred (gummy worm) loves to go out on his boat (cup). He is out on the water (desk) every day. But Fred can't swim so he must wear his life jacket (gummy Life Saver) every time he goes out. One day Fred went out on the boat on his own and forgot his life jacket. His boat flipped over and the life jacked was stuck under the boat. If Fred touches the water he will die because he can't swim. The students must find a way to get the life jacket out from under the boat and around Fred so he can swim to safety. Here is the catch... students can't use their hands to touch anything. Each student gets 2 paperclips.



It was great to see the students working together to problem solve. If Fred hit the desk they had to set everything back and start over.













This week our daily data question was about their favorite subject: science or math (the 2 subjects I teach them). Students used push pins to cast their vote. At the end of the week we recorded this venn diagram in our notebook and made a bar graph to display the results. Students then made 2 inferences about the graph we created and answered the question "Who cares?" One student said people who created apps might care because they would sell more science apps than math apps.



STUDENTS: What do you like the most about morning meeting or closing circles?