Spongebog Pumpkinpants

Every year Willard South hosts an annual Chili Supper.  The money raised is always for a worthy cause and of course there is the much anticipated silent pumpkin auction.  Each classroom is asked to create a pumpkin to be put on the auction block.  There were some very creative pumpkins out there this year.  A mummy, a candy apple, black cat, and witch to name just a few.  I enjoy creating the pumpkins with my class each year.  In the past I’ve created a pink m & m, a princess, a pirate, and Bert from Seasame Street.  This year my kids voted to create a Spongebob pumpkin.  We named him Spongebob Pumpkinpants.  Each student took turns adding something to our pumpkin.  Although each task was small, we came together as a team and created a very fun pumpkin.  One of my students, Marc Brazeal, assured me that he would have our pumpkin at the silent auction later that evening.  I’m sure his mom had fun staking out the pumpkin for him at the Chili Supper   Well, Marc did win that pumpkin…to the tune of $18 (which will go directly back to our school)  I’m sure it will be displayed for everyone to enjoy this Halloween.  I’m happy it went to someone from our class.  Congratulations Marc!  Take good care of Spngebob Pumpkinpants.   I know you will!

RESPECT

As a teacher, there are certain things that I value in my students.  I value responsibility, perserverence, honesty, and cooperation among many others.  These words are just  a few that we will be talking during the course of the year as part of our Character Education series.  It is my belief that in addition to our daily studies, we must also leave room for learning good character.  Each month I will highlight a different word and we will spend the month talking about what it means to show evidence of it in our daily behavior.  The word for the month of September is RESPECT.  We will spend the last part of September talking about how we can show respect to those around us and how we can show respect for ourselves.  We will also be talking about ways that students show disrespect and how they may not even know it is a disrespectful behavior.  I will announce the name of a student that clearly shows understanding of this word of the month and present them with a certificate along with a trip to see Mrs. Crighton-Smith to celebrate this accomplishment.   Not to mention, their name will be posted on our classroom blog!  How fantastic is that?   Stay tuned for our lucky student!

We couldn’t have done it without you!

Congratulations to the next three students to add a gem to our class jar!  Let me take a minute to thank them personally for what they do for our class. 

Rachel was the 2nd to add to our jar after Mikayla.  I appreciate so much about Rachel.  She is polite, kind to others, responsible, and she participates in class.  She ALWAYS has great things to add when we are having class discussions.   I almost forgot to mention…she gives WONDERFUL hugs!!!

Sierra wa able to add to our jar for many reasons.  She has the warmest smile, a great attitude, and has  an amazing sense of humor.  She also stays  constructively busy when her work is finished and tries her best at everything we do.  I am thankful that she is in my class. 

What can I say about Noah?  Well, for starters he is extremely polite, hard working, and super bright.  I knew the minute I met him that he was going to be a great addition to the class.  I’ve also noticed that Noah is very good at accepting responsibility and being responsible.   I can always depend on Noah to be a great partner or team member. 

Thank you kids for helping our class!  You are appreciated by everyone…especially me.

Fastest Facts in the SOUTH

As we finish our first unit in math it allows us time to reflect on what we’ve learned so far.  We’ve learned about place value, adding  and subtracting multiples of 10.  We’ve discovered all the ways we can solve a given problem…and there are lots of ways.  We have also learned the importance of showing our work.  I realize that showing work is a new concept for many who “just know” the answer,  but this is a necessary  step as we prepare for MAP testing in the spring.  Part of our unit focused on being fluent in knowing our addition facts.  Students were given a challenge of learning a stack of 43 flashcards of facts that all 3rd graders should know.  They had to first seperate them into two stacks…an “easy” pile and a pile that needed some work.  Students were asked to practice these facts until they were ready to be tested over them.  There were lots of “eager beavers” out there, but many quickly learned it was easier said than done.  After a little more practice, brave little Journey decided to take a crack at it.  It was so awesome to see her spouting out those facts left and right!  She was the first person to add her name to the FLASHCARD FRENZY board.  She was followed not long afterward by Marc.  He finished in 1 minute and 21 seconds!!!  You could just see the smoke.  So far these kiddos are the only two to meet my challenge.  Some have come very close so I’m sure you’ll  be hearning of more very soon.  Congratulations Marc and Journey…my fastest fact finders in the SOUTH!

Finding Food

This week my student teacher Mrs. Amy Seaburn created a wonderful lesson about camouflage.  The lesson allowed students to have fun while learning about the significance  of camouflage in nature and how it relates to survival.  It began with Mrs. Seaburn throwing a bag of tri-color rotini pasta in a field of freshly cut grass.  While imagining they were “Mr. Owl” the students were put in teams and asked to race to find their “lunch” of little racer snakes (orange), little brown mice (yellow), and little green frogs (green).  It was neat to see how the experiment came out.  No students came back with green frogs.  Our human bar graph told the story!  FInding the green was the most difficult due entirely to its color.  It was a wonderful lesson and the kids had a lot of fun! Stay tuned for pictures of our camouflage experiment!

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Could it be you?

Along with our many other ways to earn a compliment, I’ve introduced one more!  I’ve seen versions of this activity used in many other classrooms over the years, but I never saw it in action until my student teacher used it last year.  Thank you Miss Lollis for showing me how well this could work!

Each morning I will randomly select a numbered popscicle stick from my mug which will correspond to a student in class.  I will not announce the name of the student until the end of the day.  Why you might ask?  Well, it’s simple…if the students don’t know who I am looking at they will be much more likely to be on their best behavior as a whole.  (The whole “is it me?” idea.)  I can’t tell you how much fun it is to string the kids along  and let things “accidentally” slip out as the day rolls around.  I drives them crazy…I LOVE IT!  I watch students all day as they go to lunch, transition from subject to subject, play at recess, get along with others, contribute in class and things of that nature.   If the Secret Student of the Day makes those good choices their name is announced at the end of the day, they will place a gem in our compliment jar, and sign their name to a poster that says “I helped my class earn a COMPLIMENT!”   The other side of the coin?  If a student does not make the good choices I am looking for, I will not announce their name, and a gem is not placed in the jar. 

Today was the first day to try this out with my current class and I couldn’t be happier with the result.  Not only did we earn a gem for our compliment jar, but we made a big stride in class unity.  I am so proud of our very own Mikayla Westberg.  Mikayla comes to Willard South from Chicago, Illinois.  She has been a wonderful addition to our school, and obviously to our class.  It was so sweet to see the impromptu group hug that Mikayla received when I announced her name.  She was definitely feeling the love!  The class was grateful to her for making the good choices she made today to help our class out!  I was too.  Thank you Miss Mikayla!

Let me “think” about it…

This year I am implementing a new system of discipline in my claassroom.  In the past I  have tried just about every form of discipline from missing recess to writing notes home to parents to “Love and Logic”.  I have struggled with the guilt of taking away a recess for kids who really need it.  I didn’t like the idea of “tattling” to parents each time there was an offense either.  I’ve tried Love and Logic and loved it for many reasons, but felt it left students wondering why each offense deserved a different consequence.  

I decided this year was a good time to try something new.  Why not?  Many new initiatives have been put into place this year anyway.  What was one more?  With this in mind I started using Think Journals as a way for students to think through their poor choices and conflicts with other students.  This new method has also helped me to document  particular problems the students are having.  I plan on sharing this information with parents if they should ask for it.   Here is how the Think Journal works:  If there is a problem I ask students to sit at a Think Station and write a letter in a spiral journal they have chosen as their Think Journal.  Their letter must consist of a date, it must be addressed to me, it must have the problem listed with two possible ways to solve the problem or avoid it entirely in the future.   It is then signed by the student.  Not only does this give the students the opportunity to accept responsibility for their actions, but it also reinforces good letter writing skills. 

In addition to a Think Journal, I sometimes ask my students to take a Think Lap around our playground track.  When the student is finished walking their Think Lap, they must come and tell me what they would do differently if the problem should come up again.  So far both ideas are working out pretty well.  The students may have another opinion if they have had to walk or sit at the think table this year, but I guess that’s the point! 

As always, I thank you for your support!

Welcome to my blog

Thank you for visiting my blog.  This is a site dedicated to improving communication between myself and the families of my students.  I will be posting spelling word lists, D.O.G. study guides, D.O.L. study guides, as well as other educational games and websites for my students.  Stay tuned for other helpful links to be added soon!