'Twas the Week Before Christmas...

One more day and I am officially on Christmas Break! It's so exciting, I have to say.

 

I have a few random things to share, mostly about school. I just want to get this stuff on here because I won't want to come back and do it after Christmas and I know it will be a mad dash the next few days.

 

Last week, my kids finished their persuasive writing projects. They worked sooooo hard on them and I think they did great!

 

First, I had the kids research a pet they wanted and a pet they didn't want. They made lists of facts and opinions about both pets.

 

We've been using the following poster to write paragrahs for some time.

 

 

I didn't come up with this. I found it here. I love it because it's simple and the kids seem to really understand it. I usually have them even underline each sentence in green, yellow or red to help them out.

 

So, to guide them a little, I created this little tool to help them write their paragraphs. They wrote the first paragraph aboout the pet they wanted and the second paragraph about the pet they didn't want.

 

(I can NOT get this to turn around! UHHH! You'll just have to use your imagination...)

 

After they wrote both paragraphs, we used the following poster to edit and revise them both independently and with a peer.

 

 

I found this poster here. I LOVE it! I've used CUPS for years. But, I've never found a great way to explain the difference between editing and revising. The kids seemed to really understand this and they did a great job of helping each other make their writing better. Another fun thing that I'm finding out third graders can do!

 

Next, they wrote out their persuasive letters. When they were done, I let them make their pets out of paper because... well, it was Friday. Why not?

 

 

 

It was time consuming. They literally worked on all this for 2 and a half weeks. But, they turned out great and I can tell they're improving in their writing all the time. So, it's all good :)

 

Fast forward to this week. We've had soooo much fun! We did a couple Grinch activitites yesterday. One thing we did was make Grinch similies. I did this with my first graders last year and since similies are a third grade skill, I figured why not do it again. The kids' favorite part? Oh, that would be drawing the Grinch. They were NOT. MESSING. AROUND. We have some serious artists in our class!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also did a fact/opinion activity with the Grinch.

 

In the afternoon, I had a parent come in and help me with this:

 

 

gingerbread houses!

 

Today, we had our class party and they got to decorate the houses! To say they had fun would be a major understatement. I looked up at one point and saw one little boy double-fisting candy into his mouth, another boy licking icing off his arm and a little girl with a knife full of icing (plastic, of course) hanging out of her mouth. Quite a picture, huh?

 

Free for all. That's what this was.

 

Decorating in progress...

 

 

Clearly the little Dears were just so timid about putting candy on their houses...

 

Ta da!

 

Okay, last thing. This sweet kiddo is Jackson.

 

 

He goes to my school. I'm friends with his mom. And, he pretty much adores Finley. He kept her for me some this summer so they are big buds.

 

Look what he bought her for Christmas!

 

Isn't that the sweetest thing ever? He made my day :)

 

 

He made her day, too. She's squeaking away on that chew toy as we speak.

 

Thank you, Jackson!

 

It's been such a fun week and I'm excited to give my kiddos their gifts tomorrow and watch the Grinch with them. Oh, and it's Pajama Day! And, pedicure day. But the kids aren't invited to that :)

 

Good night!



Silence for Sandy Hook

 



Just sad.

I was going to post this weekend about persuasive writing.

 

But, after the devastation at Sandy Hook Elementary yesterday, I realize that it's so not important.

 

As a teacher, you obviously do every thing you can do to teach your students. The goal is for them to learn and we get very caught up in that. But, this weekend more than any other, I realize that my job is SO MUCH MORE than teaching kids multiplication facts and suffixes.

 

My job is keep my kids safe.

 

My job is to make sure my kids FEEL safe.

 

My job is to love them.

 

And, it's not even a job. I do it because... how could you not? They're precious and sweet and innocent. All of them.

 

I keep hearing stories about teachers at Sandy Hook who hid their kids in closets and cabinets and bathrooms. Who told the shooter that their kids were in the gym when they were, in fact, 5 feet away... hiding. Who pulled kids out of the hallways and into their rooms to protect them. Who held them in their laps and prayed over them while gunshots rang out.Those teachers are heroes.

 

I take comfort in knowing that most teachers in most schools would do the same. I know I would. I would do everything in my power to protect my kids. Everything. Any of us would.

 

I've been praying for the families of the innocent kindergartners who were killed. All children are innocent... but, kindergartners are the most innocent. All children are defenseless... but, kindergartners are the most defenseless. It's just so sad.

 

I feel for all the other children who will never again feel safe in school. School should be the one place (besides home) that a child feels safe and secure. I'm sorry that those children lost their innocence yesterday.  

 

I'm so incredibly thankful for the 21 hugs I got at the end of the day yesterday and for the sweet blessing those kids are to my life.

 

I plan to spend next week just enjoying them. Just loving them. I don't need to be sitting at my computer doing report cards while they're watching The Grinch. I need to be sitting on the floor watching it with them and enjoying them and our time together.

 

All the other stuff can wait.

 

They are my priority. They are why I chose this profession. It's so easy to get bogged down with everything else.

But, I want to be in the MOMENT with them.

That's just what I intend to do.

 

12 in 12!

Hello, friends. I'm going to link up with Miss Kindergarten and A Teeny Tiny Teacher's awesome party today: hold your excitement, I beg you. I did this linky last year and I really enjoyed reading about everyone's year. And, to be honest, Kristen from A Teeny Tiny Teacher is maybe my favorite blogger ever! She's hilariously witty and sometimes she comments on my blog and it makes my entire week because she's a BIG. TIME. CELEBRITY. At least to me, she is. If you don't read her blog, you are missing out!!

 

Click here to join the party!

 

 

12. Favorite Movie You Watched

 

I'll say The Hunger Games. It was good. I'll be honest, it didn't leave this huge gaping hole in my heart when it was over. And, I don't know what's wrong with me... but, I wasn't as big a fan of the series as every other woman in America seems to be. But, like I said, it was fine. It was a fun night out with my friends and I'm sure I'll see all the other movies. I really need to go to the movies more!

 

11. Favorite TV Series

 

This was the year I discovered Friday Night Lights on Netflix. And then proceeded to watch the entire series in a month. And then watched it again immediately after. I was slightly obsessed this summer. It was a little unhealthy. But, it's soooooo good! I will never understand why that show wasn't promoted more and it makes me sad that it never found a big fan base because it's a REALLY GOOD show! I also really like Parenthood, which is interesting because both shows are written and produced by the same people! I like what I like, what can I say?

 

10. Favorite Restaurant

 

Hmmmm, I'll go with Cracker Barrel. I've never had a bad meal there, have you? It's familiar and it makes me happy and I do love some biscuits, guys. Plus they sell candy in the lobby. So, yeah. Cracker Barrel, it is.

 

9. Favorite New Thing You Tried

 

Oh, well, this little thing called TEACHING THIRD GRADE! Ha. Ya'll, I was soooo, sooo scared to move grades this year. Excited, but scared. And, I had told my principal that I was okay with moving so I knew that if I was miserable this year I could only blame myself. But, thankthelord, I LOVE third grade! Love it. It's stressful and hard and all that, believe me. But, I can 100% say I don't have 1 regret in moving grades.

 

8. Favorite Gift You Received

 

I got a Kindle Fire last Christmas. And, I loved it. Until it died. And, lazy me never got it fixed. But, for 4 short months, it was awesome. Really awesome. Finger crossed for an iPad this year :)

 

7. Favorite Thing You Pinned

 

Weird, I know. But I pinned this iPhone case and then actually bought it! I never do that, but I knew as soon as I saw it that it was the perfect case for me. Because we all know that's really important...

 

6. Favorite Blog Post

 

I made a blog post this summer about my love for Tim Riggins on Friday Night Lights. And, uh, um, the "research" I did was quite exstensive. I had to do a lot of google searching for images and all that. It was just glorious torturous, let me tell you. Here it is: Oh, Tim Riggins. And, just to warn you, if you're not a fan of Tim, you will be after reading this. At least, that was the goal :)

 

5. Favorite Accomplishment

 

 

I think maybe my favorite accomplishment is decorating my bedroom. That's a little pathetic, isn't it? But, I don't care. It took a lot of work!

 

4. Favorite Picture

 

This picture was taken the day I got my puppy Finley. She was TEENY TINY and weighed about a pound and a half. I love this pic because I want to always remember how sweet and little she was.

 

 

3. Favorite Memory

 

My brother and sister-in-law got married in September and that was a great memory. Fun times, friend. Fun times.

 

2. Goals for 2013

 

I'll be honest. I'm not the biggest goals fan. I have some goals for school (that revolve mostly around test scores). My personal goals are to keep my house clean and to keep myself out of drama.

 

1. One Little Word

 

My word for 2013 will be QUIET. I'm going to do my best to be quiet and listen. To be quiet and stay out of drama. To be quiet when I can't say something nice. I just want to be more quiet....

 

It was a great year and I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store!

 

 

Fa La La La La....

Today, I'm going to link up with this blog. Every week she does a "Sunday Social" where you have to answer questions about yourself. This week, it was all about Christmas... so, I decided tojoin right in!

 

1. What are your favorite holiday movies/tv specials?

 

Well, how much time do you have?

 

 Because, seriously, I could list them all day.

 

I love Christmas Vacation. Love it. It's the funniest, hands down. I haven't watched it yet this year... I need to get on that!

 

"Oh, Sparky!"

 

I also love Elf and Home Alone, because I'm still a kid (in my mind).

 

"Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?"

 

"AHHHHH!"

 

And, the Jim Carrey version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a MUST-SEE every year.

 

"7:00... dinner with me. I can't cancel that again!"

 

But, hands down, my most favorite is The Santa Clause. It's the movie I grew up with. I just love it.

 

Happy - that's what this picture makes me.

 

2. Do you do any volunteering during the holidays? If so, what?

 

This year, my family and I participated in Franktown Open Hearts Christmas. This is an organization that started out of my church and it's geared towards helping kids from low-income families throughout their middle school and high school years. Every Christmas, we have a big dinner and then they send all the kids out with families and we take them shopping for their families. We actually did this last night! It was so fun! The little boy we took was so shy and sweet... and, he really reminded me of some ofmy students.

 

 

I also do some Angel Tree stuff for kids in need at my school.

 

3. What's your favorite toy you recieved as a child?

 

Well, again, I can't pick just one. So, here are my top 3...

 

Oopsie Daisy doll

 

(I don't remember this thing looking so creepy as a kid. But, I do remember that it was practically impossible to hold, bigger than I was and it didn't fit in my doll stroller... but, I loved it because it crawled, fell down and cried. As if we needed more noise and chaos in our house...)

 

Little Miss Make-Up

 

(Again with the ever-so-creepy early 90's dolls. My cousins and I all got our own and this was a BIG DEAL FOR REAL! We sang a song and everything. I have it on tape. My grandmother can show you...)

 

Barbie Townhouse

 

(Ya'll, this thing had an elevator. An elevator!)

 

4. What was your must-have item in high school?

 

In middle school, it was all about the Timberlands. I begged. I pleaded. I promised. I offered. And, then I snooped. And I found them under the bed. And, I realized it was NO FUN to know what you were getting for Christmas. So, I never once snooped again, ha!

 

If I had to sum up middle school in one picture: this would be it.

 

In high school, I don't really remember one specific thing: mostly clothes and purses and Clinique make-up.

 

I wear make-up from Walgreens now. Just sayin...

 

5. What was the item you begged for and never got?

 

An American Girl doll. And, I'm still bitter.

 

Oh, Samantha. We would have been such great friends...

 

6. What are your Christmas Eve traditions?

 

Shop during the day, dinner at Steak N Shake, go look at christmas lights, watch a Christmas movie (or 6) before bed

 

I can't believe Christmas is 2 weeks away!

 

 

 

The Buzz in 301...

We have been SOOOOOOOO busy in third grade! It feels like we never have a moment of rest. And, honestly, I've been struggling to keep my head above water day to day... so, preparing pictures for the blog has been waaaaaaaay down on the priority list. As it should be. But, I did manage to take some pictures Friday and I thought I'd do a little random update to catch you up on the buzz in room 301.

 

1. One thing we've been working on is asking/answering questions. So, I brought some posters I made about 4 years ago. I used these so much in first grade and I think they're a fun and interactive way to get kids excited to ask questions. I decided to hot glue them to the wall so we can incorporate them into more of our lessons.

 

 

Another way we praccticed answering and asking questions is in the next pictures. Basically, I took books about animals and laid them on butcher paper around the room. The kids walked around and wrote questions about the animal or gave statements that they knew were true. Then, when we were done, I had each team go back to a certain book. The teams had to use the books to look up the answers to the questions on their papers. Or, if they saw a statement on their paper, they had to find out what the question would be. They used a graphic organizer that I completely forgot to take a picture of. It was a great activity because it was fun and interactive for them!

 

 

(I think that blue one on the bottom says "Moths antennaes are poofy." HA!)

 

2. I wanted to share our Word Wall because this year, my kids are actually using it! I think the reason is because we add pictures to the words. It's really helping the kiddos to be able to look up there and see a picture to remind them what the word means. I'm sure your kids do this, too. I know it's nothing original. But, if there's ONE person out there who doesn't do this, it's worth it to share! I also think it helps that my kids adore vocabulary and they are dang good at remembering the words we've learned and pointing them out to  me all the time.

 

 

 

3. This past week we've been working on data and graphs. We have pretty much spent all our time looking at graphs, making graphs, doing graph probes on DEA - you name it, we did it. I'm honestly a little sad because my little friends struggled with this on the test - even after all that practice. They did it wonderfully all week... I don't know what happened. I think maybe we practiced it in multiple choice too much and all the open ended questions through them off. But, what's the right answer? Because, you want them to know how to do it for the standardized tests!

 

Third grade is hard, folks.

 

 It's no joke.

 

I thought I had struck a good balance... until about 6 of them answered "What's the difference in blue cars sold and red cars sold?" with "The cars are different colors."

 

Um, no.

 

 

4. We've also been working on incorporating quotation marks in our writing. We made this anchor chart one morning before a field trip and it really helped my kiddos elminate all the "saids" from their writing. And, they're getting better at using quotation marks. Plus, it was a great fluency activity because I had the kids read it aloud with me every morning that week and they would say each quote in the voice described.

 

 

5. We've worked a ton on cause/effect, too. Like, for three weeks.  I took NO pictures... but, this was one of my favorite activities we did. My kids used Pebblego.come to research a storm. Then they had to fill in the following graphic organizer. I felt like this activity was great because they were conducting a resreach project AND practicing a reading standard. It makes me so happy to incorporate science and social studies into our reading block!

 

 

 

6. We also spent a ton of time on plants. We have plant science kits and the kids really enjoyed planting seeds, observing and graphing their growth, pollenating the seeds, observing dry beans and soaked beans and making a plant lapbook.

 

I found this great website that had lots of plant information on it. So, we used it to research plant structure, kinds of plants, part of plants, fertilization and what plants need to grow. The kids had a BLAST working on this. They just used index cards to take notes as we learned new information. They would literally CHEER when I passed them out each day - that's how excited about plants they were, ha!

 

 

 

 

This was the same week that we did the asking/answering questions standard so I had the kids get with a partner and use their lapbooks to ask questions for the test. Then, I made a test (using some of the questions they came up with - come on, I had to make it a little difficult!) and let them use their notes they had taken to answer the questions on the test. But, they only had about 20 minutes. I like how the question standard and the plant growth standard tied in with each other... I'm telling ya, there's no better feeling :)

 

That's all I've got tonight.

 

Have a great weekend!