Cool Giveaway

 is hosting a GREAT 

 

 The winner will receive Abby's ever famous Clipboard Classroom Activities, 

Deanna's Writing Templates and my Reader's Workshop Graphic Organizers.  

You'll have Reader's/Writer's Workshop, centers or Daily 5 covered for quite some time! 

 

Head on over there to sign up to win. I've got my fingers crossed because this giveaway would be AWESOME in my classroom next year!!

SmartBoard Lessons are my FAVORITE!

In the middle of my first year of teaching my schools tech person walked in and said "In the morning you will have a SMARTBOARD right here!" She was pointed right in the MIDDLE of the ONE white board I had in my classroom. Talk about disappointment, I was already ALWAYS asking for more board space and they wanted to cover up the little I had. The only word I can think of to describe how I felt isn't appropriate for this blog so I'll borrow a saying from Babbling Abby I was 12 kinds of mad!!! It also didn't help the I had NEVER heard of a SmartBoard! Sad but true that was my first year teaching and I had never taken a technology class so this was all new to me.

I got to work the next morning and there it was a SmartBoard covering up my ONLY white board. The tech lady knew I wasn't very happy about this so she paid my class a special visit. She showed us the many WONDERFUL things we could do with the board and I fell in LOVE with my board every since that day.

I use my board for many things throughout the day. I'm going to link some of my favorite Smart Board lessons below. Please note I didn't make many of these lesson but I do make changes to the lessons once I download them. You can do the same thing also. 

Smart Exchange Link

Click on the link above for a wide variety of Smart Board lessons!

Word of the Day

Something I love doing with my students is implementing the Word of the Day in our classroom. I brought the book at the top from a Scholastic Book Warehouse Sale. My book is for K-3 just couldn't find a picture of that book. The book includes lots of different sheets to go along with the words, even a test for the week at the end. I don't use any of those sheets though, I only use the words. I made my own sheet for my students.

 

Word of the Day

At the beginning of the year I give every student a folder with three rings in it. I get these folders from Staples when they are one cent!!! I then allow the students the opportunity to decorate their folders.  Here is an example of the folder 

This picture is BAD, but I left my camera at home :-(

After the students decorate their folders, I explain to them the purpose of the word of the day. I inform them that as first graders it is our job to expand our vocabulary. Of course at the beginning of the year first graders don't know what the word expand means. That's the reason expand is always the first word we use. On the SmartBoard I pull up my word of the day template and we do the first word together. 

This is the Smart Board Template <----click to download

At the end of the week I pick one or two of the words as bonus words on the spelling test. The students love it! 

Here are some examples of their work.

TGIF, have a great weekend!

Clean Hands

The CDC estimates that each year more than 164 million school days are lost due to illness, and that number could be greatly reduced with proper handwashing. As a result, NSF International—a nonprofit public health and safety organization—is challenging school teachers and classroom’s nationwide to stop the spread of germs by lathering-up and showing their cleanest hands through the Scrub Club Clean Hands Game.

Now through April 1, 2011, school teachers, grades K-5, can enter their classroom into a drawing for a chance to win one of five $100.00 gift cards for classroom. Anyone can participate by completing these two simple steps:

Snap a picture of your classroom’s clean hands
Submit your photo and contact information online <---click the link

Once you’ve done that you’ll receive a Scrub Club® Clean Hands Game Certificate and be automatically entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of five $100.00 gift cards for classroom supplies.

Feel free to also visit the Scrub Club website, which offers free lessons to school children on the importance of handwashing.


I'll be entering my class tomorrow!!!

Winner, Winner

Don't fret, I know I'm a day late announcing the winner of the Let's Get Poppin' giveaway. I know that makes me a bad blogger, but my weekend was filled with lots of fun and unexpected sickness. This weekend I had the change to take part in an awesome couples retreat. I'm talking five great couples spending the whole week in a cabin. Talk about GREAT, well that was until yesterday when it was time to come home, I got car sick on the way back. We had to stop SIX times on the way back. That meant our 3 hour drive home was more like a 6 hour drive!!! The good news is after the first four hours I felt much better and slept the rest of the way. Anyway none of that was teacher related but I had to let you all know why I'm late announcing the winner. 

THE WINNER OF THE "LETS GET POPPIN'" GIVEAWAY IS.......

CONGRATS GIRLIE!!!!!

Send me an email Amy with your mailing address at thirstforfirst1@gmail.com so I can send you the popper!!!

Thanks everyone for participating, be on the look out because there will be more giveaways to come!!!!

Let's Get Poppin'

As you all know I teamed up with Abby from The Inspired Apple for a great giveaway! The giveaway includes a copy of "Let's Get Poppin'" adjective activity and a brand new air popper!!! Well you know I HAD to give the activity a go before I could give it away. So today my class had a refresher course on adjectives. Talk about FUN, I'm talking *12 kinds of fun*!

First we did a SMARTboard lesson 
click above to go to the lesson

Then we started the activity 

Of course we used this stuff 

Completed the activity as a class and came up with this 

My door looks a little bad :( 

The students made their own popcorn chart and the best ones went on our JEAN-IUS WORK board

All in all we had a GREAT time doing this activity and now I'm SUPER EXCITED to give another teacher the chance to do this activity also.

What the teacher Wants Giveaway!

While I'm SUPER excited about hosting my first giveaway, I'm also excited that Rachelle over at http://www.whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com/ is hosting a great giveaway too. I would LOVE to win. It's a $100.00 gift card to The Container Store. I'm telling you this store is almost as addivitve as Target! If I win I would buy this wonderful file cabinet.

My goal this summer is to orginize all of my lessons by months. This would so help that process. Hope I win!!!

-Let's Get Poppin' GIVEAWAY!-Closed

Abby from The Inspired Apple made a GREAT activity to teach adjectives. I brought Let's Get Poppin' from her TpT site, I also ran out and brought a air popper from Target today. While in line I decided I would give away the activity and a brand new air popper for one lucky teacher. All you have to do is...

Follow these simple directions!

1.  Follow my blog "Thirst for First"

 

2.  Go to The Inspired Apple Blog and "follow" Abby.

theinspiredapple.blogspot.com

 

3.  Go to Abby's TpT page and "follow"

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Babbling-Abby

4. Post comment after you follow each page.

 

5.  Post about this giveaway on your site for an extra entry!

Happy Sunday!!!

The contest ends on Friday, March 18th at 5:00pm (central standard time). Winner will be announced on Monday, March 21st.

Exciting Giveaway post coming SOON

Later on today I'll be posting about a GREAT giveaway I'm having! Stay tuned, you are going to LOVE IT!!!

Operation SURPRISE Observation

Have you ever had an SURPRISE observation? If you haven't, today I did! *Oh my gosh* THANK THE LORD that I had some a really fun interactive activities going on in my class today.

My day at a glance:

8:30-Students come into the classroom hang up their belonging
8:40- Students seating in their seats practicing the skill "Read to SELF"
8:50- Students use the restroom (one of my little darlings pulled the fire alarm) FUN!, exchange pencils and take out morning work
9:15- Morning Work
9:30- Reading lesson- We were beginning our reading lesson for the day. This lesson included reading the book "whose mouse are you?" By: Robert Kraus. As a class we used the SmartBoard to show in words the sequence of the story. Next,  I passed out a graphic organizer asking the students "What Happened First" This activity was really simple, the students only had to draw a picture showing the sequence of the story. This went really well since we had just used words to tell the sequence on the SmartBoard.

10:00-There was a knock on the door and in walks the principal with her scary little observation notebook. My.heart.dropped! Why you might ask? Because my aide had been pulled to help administer the ISAT (standardize test) with the fourth graders. That leaves little ole' me in the class with 33 (yes, you read right) first graders!!! The class as a whole was just making a transition from our first activity to the second. The second activity was my favorite. This was going to give the students an opportunity to use their creativity and create their own story and illustrate it on a cartoon strip showing what happened first, next, then and last. Things were going good, everyone was doing their work (well except that one student that decided to sleep during my lesson this is the same student that pulled the fire alarm).
10:45- Principal leaves and we finish the cartoon strips. Principal lets me know she is coming back for math lesson.
11:00- Lunch
11:45- Students use restroom, come into class and rest their heads for five minutes
12:00-Math (The principal came back, right on time to see the lesson begin) My math lesson last about one hour and ten/twenty minutes. The break down is LONG so I won't explain everything if you have question just ask and I'll explain then.
*Calendar
*Math Journal- I plan on doing a post about these journals they are GREAT!
*Popcorn math or Fact Practice
*Introduction of new concept/Review- This is always the hands on part of math. Today we reviewed pennies and how to determine if a word problem is an addition or subtraction problem. (I made a SmartBoard lesson for this and whenever I learn how to load the lesson I will do so.)
*Guided Practice
1:10- The principal leaves my class but tells me she wants to see me during my prep at two o'clock.
1:15- Recess
1:35- Science - Solids and Liquids unit from Foss
2:00- Prep- Students go to music until 3:00- Meeting with the principal. Now I don't know about your P but mine ALWAYS has some way to make my lessons better, even when I know they were great! But today she didn't have anything but GREAT THINGS TO SAY! She even wants me to model my lesson to the whole staff so they can see what she expects from all teachers. Talk about being floored, I was smiling from ear to ear!!
3:00- Picked students up from music and prepared for dismissal (Got a call from the office, I'm needed in the Principal's office AGAIN) Walked in the office and with the principal was the head of our school the CEO. What did I think "Oh God I'm fired" but nope guess who got a raise today! ME ME ME ME ME!!
3:30- Dismissed students
3:31- Typed this LONG drawn out day because I was so excited and wanted to let the world know.
7:00- Going to church(bible study). These blessing didn't come from me and I must give HIM thanks.

The ABCs of Me

I found this on a really cute teacher blog and saved it but I didn't save her name. If you created please take credit in the comments. 

The ABCs of me:

A- Age: 26.

B-Bed size: King. I have no need for a bed that is so big but I love it!

C-Chore you hate: I actually hate ALL chores.

D-Dogs: I WANT ONE SOOOO BAD!!!

E-Essential to start your day: vitamins... Biotin, B-12 and a multi

F-Favorite color: Orange.

G-Gold or silver: Depends on what I'm talking about. Just a color I'd pick gold. But jewelery I'd pick Silver because my skin is super sensitive so silver doesn't break me out. 

H-Height: I think I'm a little under 5'2"

I-Instruments you play: none! I have NO rhythm

J-Job title: Educator! First grade teacher to be exact.  I love my job! It's funny to think that before I started teaching I told myself that I would never be a teacher now you can't pay be to change careers.

K-kids: none before 2013...After that ONE!

L-Live: Chicago. Although I want to move to North Carlina

M-My mom's name: Ma; Donna

N- Nicknames: TK;Boo,Sweetie,The Baby
O-Overnight hospital stay: none! thank goodness!

P-Pet peeve: people being late

Q-Quote from a movie: I don't have one

R-Right/lefty: Righty!

S- Siblings: One step sister that is 3 months older than me and a little sister that is the LIGHT OF MY WORLD. Jayla, she is nine in the fourth grade and I love her to pieces.

T-Time you wake up: 6:30am :-(

U-Underwear: yes of course lol

V-Veggies you dislike: Kale; just can't force myself to eat it

W-What makes you run late: my boyfriend, but in case he is reading this he has been working on this and he has been doing a good job!

X-X-rays you've had: teeth

Y-Yummy food you make: I just started to cook. But I make really yummy brownies, pound cake, meatballs, ummm lets just say everything I cook is yummy!!

Z-Zoo animal: I love the pandas and the penguins 

Early Morning Surprise!

When I got to work on Tuesday morning there was a note in my mailbox saying the principal wanted to see me on my prep! Not the message you want to receive in the morning, especially a person like me because I spend the rest of the morning trying to figure out if I did something wrong. Well my prep FINALLY came and I went to knock on the principals so to see what it was I DID!!! Yes, at that point I was STILL convinced I had done something wrong (I knew I hadn't done anything but I'm a worry bug). Anyway I got in her office and what did I see?

                                                            
I was so excited! I've been wanting a set of wikki stix for my classroom for a LONG TIME now.  The school gave me seven boxes and each box has 500 stixs in them! Talk about excited! I can't wait to use them in my word work center. Gotta love FREE STUFF!!!

Hope you are having a HAPPY SUNDAY!

P.S.- I'm going to be telling you where I got those stickers on my tables from in a post this week. Stay tuned!

How do you like my STYLE?

My template came from Ladybug Resources and Kristen is a GREAT person to work with! Please head on over there if you are looking for a blog remodel, you won't be disappointed. Thanks again Kristen for all of your wonderful help!

Pictures of my Classroom

I love looking at pictures of other teachers classroom, so I figured I should post a few pictures of my classroom for other teachers.

Empty classroom!

These are copies from the book "No, David". I read the story everyday the first week of school and we talk about the things David did that we shouldn't do. This is how we learn our classroom rules. I post these as a reminder to the students.

Do you see the seat pockets? I was dying to get my hands on these for my class. I ended up HATING them. My students kept them so messy! 

These are just a few pictures of my classroom. I've actually moved some things around so I'll be sure to take new pictures!