The longest-short week ever!!!

Today was the 13th day of school! Happy almost Friday!!! My class know the rules, the routines, Daily 5 and I was even able to run a couple of real rounds of Daily 5!  But boy am I pooped!
Here's a little 15 second look into my classroom--This is what my kids see as they walk in the door (just a note, I changed the beehive jobs chart out after this video was taken)oooh, before I forget
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I always feel bad when I don't have time to blog--but frankly, I just can't seem to stay awake!
After school it's homework with my kids, making dinner, a load of laundry and if I'm lucky--I get to vacuum! (well I guess that would not make me lucky but ---maybe the kids will do it?, Nah...)
Don't even get me started on early morning before school meetings!!! I am meeting'd out!  
Here are a few pics of some of the things we've been up to.

Our Class Name Graph from my Back to School Fundamentals pack

OUr Elmer E for the Alphabet Exchange with Chrissy from First Grade Found me.  By the way, she just started her own TPT store, she has a really cute First Freebie, click HERE to go to her store, follow her and leave her some love!!!

We learned about NOUNS. First we brainstormed on this chart together as a class. Later, we went on a Noun Walk around the school and on the playground. The students recorded the nouns they saw onto a Tree map, organized as Person, Place and Thing.

I have been using an alligator to teacher greater than or less than since I student taught back in 1997--yes, that's right 1997~  I made a little "Allie the Alligator" for each student.  I told the class to put him in the center and draw a "pond" around him.  The circle or pond, would be where Allie would stay. Most math workbooks, tests, etc, always have a circle for the symbols--so by calling it a "pond" it makes sense.  I have a large Allie that I stick on the board.  They use their dry erase boards and write the numbers as I write them on the board. They then had to turn Allie and trace his mouth to make the symbol.  Easy==Effective and FREE!!

 Of course we've done loads in 13 days--I just haven't been able to take pictures--That is my goal tomorrow!  Take more pictures!!!!
Have a great Friday!!!

Elmer--First Week of School Activity

One activity and book we used for the First Week back to school was....

                       Elmer by David McKee

After reading the story and talking about how it is ok to be different, the students made "Elmer Mosaics"  using cut paper squares.  If you have not read Elmer, it is a story about an Elephant who looks like a quilt of many colors.  He is the source of all the fun and laughter in the Elephant herd.  One day he decides he does not want to be different so he find a tree with elephant colored berries.  Elmer rolls around in the berries, until he looks like everyone else.  Upon returning to his herd, he finds all his friends very serious and not having any fun.  He plays a trick, to make them laugh.  All the elephants say "Elmer would love that, too bad he is not here".  Finally, it starts to rain and washes off all of Elmer's elephant colored berry stain.  In the end, he realizes that it's not bad to be different after all.
If you haven't started school yet, this might be a book you would like to add to your first week.



This is the "Sequal" to Elmer.  I have not read it yet, but my friend found it, and thought I might like it.  I plan on reading it during the 2nd week of school.