Five for Friday - September 26

Whew!  Another week down.  This was such a great week.  I felt like routines were FINALLY taking shape and my kids were rocking it all week long.  Could not have been more proud of them and what they accomplished this week.  They were finally digging in so deep to their learning and it was fun, exciting, and rewarding to watch. 103 is the place to be - let me tell you. :)  Here's my Five for Friday for the week!  I haven't done a linky in a while and felt I needed to get back on board - so here goes!

We dove into beginning, middle, and end this week in reading and I integrated it with being a good citizen.  We watched lots of Franklin and Arthur videos to help us describe what a good citizen is - responsible, respectful, fair, caring, and honest.  We read some nonfiction books and then we did lots of describing, BME, and what not with some fiction books.  One day, we did an "impromptu" lesson that popped off the top of my head with major vs. minor events in a story.  I think it was super beneficial for my kids - they were really into it and fixing their papers to have more important events and not ones that didn't matter. Does any other teacher think that impromptu lessons sometimes go the best?

We began our geometry unit this week and my kids are eating it up.  They love messing with the pattern blocks and making shapes.  My big focus this week was really getting my math workshop to how I wanted it.  I took time on my writing workshop and it is running like an well oiled machine.  I did the same thing with Daily 5 and now felt like I could focus on math.  This week my kids helped me accomplish my goal - they were fabulous mathematicians during workshop time.  They were so engaged and on task.  We did lots of filling in shapes with our pattern blocks and then adding up how many blocks we used.  They did so well during math workshop that I got though my whole class math testing that I needed to get done so I can start small groups next week. Go me!

Last weekend I ordered my first set of Jamberry nails.  I am so excited for them to come - I've been putting on nail growth stuff all week so that they are ready to go next week!  I'm still waiting and hoping that they show up tomorrow.   I'm ready to get them on this weekend!  Through all my blog searching and reading over the summer they seem to be a teachers dream for not chipping and such with our busy hands during the week.  I'm up for whatever works because when my nails chip I immediately start peeling it off - hoping that Jamberry changes my nail life!

Our first grade team has decided that our Student Learning Objective for the District this year is for 100% of our students to improve their AVMR score in math on Backward Number Sequence and Numeral ID.  With the new Common Core changes lots of our kids are behind in math and continue to fall behind as the year goes on.  Does anyone else use AVMR at their school?  It's a great intervention tool and it's quick to do for the kids.  I usually squeeze my meeting and groups into our math workshop time. Since we're focusing on backwards number and numeral ID I whipped up this Bingo game last night that I'll be introducing to my kids next week.

I sent it home with my kids today to play with their parents over the weekend.  It's easy and quick and what kid doesn't love Bingo?  We also use this app a lot in our room to help with numeral sequencing and it's adjustable to help my higher students too!  It's free. :)

Nothing makes me happier then arriving home to new clothes in the mail.  I'm a sucker for Abercrombie and Fitch clothes lately.  They are so comfy and look great for casual weekend styles but can be spiced up for the work week too.  Today, I came home to a huge bag that my husband and I ordered over the weekend when they were having their 50% off sale.  I squealed - literally out loud. I love new clothes - especially when they can be purchased from my couch.

There's my Five for Friday!  Tonight, I'm planning a date night with the husband with a weekend of relaxation to follow.  Naps, grading, creating, and cleaning are on the agenda.  Monday is inservice day in our District - so while I am dreading Monday, I'll refuse to think about it all weekend. :)

Until next time!