Groovy Educator

I am linking up with DoodleBugsTeaching for another fun Five for Friday.  1.  Last Sunday, my daughter had her picture taken with the Easter Bunny.  It was an experience.  She is normally a super friendly little darling... When she saw the Easter Bunny, her eyes bulged and she let out a blood curdling scream right there in the middle of the mall.  She was dressed to the nines but my husband and I were not.  We all ended up in the picture.  It's interesting.  I know we will laugh about it in the years to come.   We were not expecting this because she loved Santa.  She brings us so much joy.  Every moment is a learning experience around her.  I see the world with new eyes.  2.  My class made Leprechaun traps today.  Since St. Patrick's Day falls on Sunday we did this activity today and will have a treat on Monday.  I had the children develop a plan and draw out a draft before comm...

March 2nd is Dr. Seuss' birthday. This year my class did a home project-Book Reports! On Friday the children shared their reports with each other during our first Book Talk and Walk and then with the class.  They did such a nice job! We also made Cat in the Hat pictures and hats.  Here are the steps on how to make the cutest Cat in the Hat hats ever! Materials: 18x24 inch white paper. 18x24 inch red paper stapler glue tape 12x18 white paper Directions: Measure each child's head with the 18x24 inch white paper.  (These hats are tall!)  Staple to hold in place. Cut 18x24 inch red paper in half.  Fold it so that there are four long, skinny straight strips.  Cut or have children cut. Have students glue red strip to top of had and then leave a white space, glue another red, etc to make a pattern. Brim Directions: Trace circle around base of hat. Draw a 2-3 inch larger circle around this circle.  Inside the circle draw tabs. ...

Calendar is a very important part of the day.  In my first grade class a student leader "teachers" calendar and I guide him or her as needed. On my Teachers Pay Teachers page, I made a set of blank calendars! They have multiple uses! TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS The blank calendars can be used as citizenship documentation in which each child colors a square in corresponding to his or her behavior that day (e.g. green, yellow, or red). They can be used to track weather, teach calendar skills, document how the students are feeling that day. You can even use them to write down your instructional focus for the week and the daily objectives. The can be used as a testing schedule or to mark which days your students go to various pull out programs (such as speech or ESL). They are great for creating your own homework calendars.  These are useful if you have children that need more challenging work or extra reinforcement at home.  If you take the ti...

Tomorrow I have a workshop and next week I am back to work.  The students do not begin until the following week.  It is hard to believe that summer is already over. My mind is racing!  If my body moved as fast as my mind I would be paper thin.  There is just so much to do.  Right now I am pondering how I want to make initial contact with my students. This year I think I am going to send a welcome letter inviting them to orientation.  (Orientation is a week from tomorrow!!!)  In the letter I think I will tell them a little about me so they won't be so worried on the first day.  I am going to include details about my new baby girl, my six pets, and how I love cows. I'm debating on whether or not I want to give them their first assignment.  Part of me wants to have them come to school with a picture of someone special in their life (someone that they love).  I want to do this for two reasons.  First they get to be comforted by th...

These books are amazing!  I love lists to begin with but these books are imbued with useful resources.  I love to refer to them when create new word sorts or when I am making a practice page or activity based on a specific skill. Author:  Edward B. Fry    The Vocabulary Teacher's Book of Lists is just as amazing as the Reading Teacher's Book of Lists , Aside from the fact that it includes twenty four methods for teaching vocabulary, it is full of information about prefixes, suffixes, homophones, and so on and so forth.  You just have to see it to believe it.  If you click on the picture of the book, it will take you to the Amazon.com website where you can look inside.   While I was surfing the internet looking for more information about Edward B. Fry, I happened upon this website:  http://www.uniqueteachingresources.com/Fry-1000-Instant-Words.html It has Fry's 1000 most frequently used words available for download.  I ...

Orientation and Back to School Night are the two times of year you can count on quite a bit of parent involvement.  Where I live, Orientation is when students and parents meet the teacher and drop off school supplies the Friday before school begins.  Back to School Night takes place about a month to six weeks after the school year begins.  Parents are invited back to see what their child has been learning in school. When planning for these special events, you need to keep in mind that the child is the focal point.  In my mind, Orientation is about alleviating fears about the first day and Back to School night is for the child to share about his/her school experience.  When I plan for these events, I always to remember it is not about me.  With that said, here are some tips to make the experience memorable. Orientation Remember Orientation is when everybody meets the first time so first impressions are important.  This is the first time that the pa...