Is it ever too early to think about college?

Funny 19 years teaching and I still get asked why do you talk about the Seminoles when you teach 1st grade?  Is it ever too early to think about college?  I do teach in Florida and yes we live and LOVE our college football-especially the Seminoles of FLORIDA STATE every Saturday!  Last year I had the pleasure of teaching Tye and his mom volunteered every chance she could.  She is the Media Specialist at Bethune Cookman University and she is the BEST ever! What a mom and inspiration as a truly genuine person! Today FSU takes on Bethune Cookman so my friend Lucas, who comes from a family full of Seminole fans, and I are putting our game faces on!  Check us out! Win or lose thinking about college is always a good goal to have...one day way too soon for my chickens.

Shake Those Beans

One way of practicing addition and subtraction together is playing Shake Those Beans!

Yes, it does get a bit loud in the classroom but the math you hear is incredible!  They shake the beans and spill them out on the placemat.  Sort the red and yellow, then compose an addition sentence using the red number as the 1st addend.  I love when they put them in a pattern like my friend Reese who put them in a 4 dot formation like on dice to reveal the number sentence 4+4=8.  They are such mathematicians!  Check out as Timmy and Logan play a round of Shake Those Beans.  I notice at the end they each have something close to what the other has...do you notice too? Make sure to pay attention to the part where the music is in the video.

9/11 Never Forget

I have seen this everywhere today and stopped throughout my day to think back to that day.  I remember it like it was yesterday not 12 years ago.  I sat with Kaile and Carson this morning and told the story.  Kaile was 6 months old and at Ms. Linda's house.  I was teaching 2nd grade at Horizon Elementary and my husband was working that day as a police officer.  We went to a lockdown but didn't know why and then Tim called, "Have you heard?"  Heard what we are in a lockdown.  "Someone flew a plane into the Twin Towers."  You have got to be kidding me and then it was all over the news, the papers, and in every conversation.  The days were filled with sadness and who could imagine the torture one lived through waiting to find out about loved ones.  Police officers, firemen, and first responders became heroes. It still makes a lump in my throat today, 12 years later...

We were greeted with our very own local Fire Chief and Fire Marshall.  Mr. Weir is a former Wright's Rippers parent and what a fabulous family!  Thank you both for everything you do each day to keep us safe.

Then Cypress Creek made a lovely dedication to Fireman Michael Roberts.  He is a cousin to a family at our school.  The children will never know what a hero Michael was since he was one of the first to respond and lost his life.  These kids were younger than 12 so they weren't here to be part of this but the effects live on within this family and hundreds like it across our country.

We observed a moment of silence in honor of these heroes and their families.  Thank you Cypress Creek for the dedication-and Ms. Garver.  Thank you to the Fire Chief and Fire Marshall.  Thank you to the family of Michael Roberts.  Thank you to my fabulous husband who works everyday to keep peace and order in our community.  You are all heroes and we will NEVER FORGET your importance, dedication, and sacrifice you make daily to keep us safe.

Have you played Garbage lately?

While teaching Thinking Math we try to share games to teach the students and then they can practice with one another or their family at home.  Here is a new favorite...Garbage.  Watch as Mia and CJ lead you through a game and find out who wins.  Make sure to practice with your parent and leave us a comment on what you think of our game.

Hat Day parade

We worked with the short a for 2 weeks and learned many words in the -at, -ap, -am, -ack, and -an word families.  What better way to end the week than with a hat parade?  Check us out in our finest.

The 10th day of school was met with a surprise delivery at 10 am from these 2 front office lovelies.

We couldn't wait to get it open and see what was inside.  Turned out to be a surprise from Zero the Hero.  There was a letter, some balloons, a cape, a mini Zero the Hero and DONUTS-shaped like you guessed it zeros!!

YUMMY donuts!  So after reading the letter to the class I asked when Zero would be back.  One answered "the next zero day" and when will that be "day 20"!  I have some smart cookies this year.  Thank you Zero!  We can't wait for you to visit again.

Week 1 was FABULOUS!

I really cannot believe a week ago I was up late waiting for the 1st day of school. Where does the time go? Where am I now? Trying to catch up the blog and putting those last minute details for this week's lessons. First thing first here is our 1st class picture!

They are a great looking bunch aren't they?!? So let's get a sneak peek into the week. Each year I start their personal journals on day 1 and we write EVERYDAY! I love reading and listening to them. We have lost teeth, lost family members, had brothers/sisters born, contests won, riding our bike without training wheels, and even attendance at the FSU games documented. GO NOLES! This one is extra special, CJ's mom got her first teaching job and CJ wrote about how each person in the house was "iksidid" for mom now how stinkin' cute is that?! We are very excited for you Mrs. Asbill and those 1st graders are lucky to have you.
We read bunches this week and wrote in our reading response journals. We used our face partners to read our writing to and it was too cute to hear them tell each other, "Thank you for sharing."

We learned about scientist tools this week and I think the exploration part can be summed up by this one picture...yes we got to wear the goggles.

I handed out the ActivExpressions and YIPPEE there was excitement that could be felt 6 doors down each hallway. We could share answers and text in number combinations. You should check out our class Instagram and Twitter feed to get the latest updates. Check out our friend texting his number sentence.

Who doesn't love a good book? Well reading Pete the Cat makes for an extra special time singing and joining in the fun because ..."It's all good."

and then before you know it it is time to leave and go home.

This is absolutely the BEST way to spend your days. These new chickens are ready each day for anything and they do so with a smile on their face. It is going to be a fabulous year so check back often and see us along for the journey. What do I have ready for them next week?

Oh my goodness school starts tomorrow...

I cannot believe another summer has passed by. My daughter Kaile will be a 7th grader and Carson will be a 5th grader. Where has the time gone? Thursday was such an exciting day I got to meet a new batch of firsties! I have 18 on the roll and 17 showed up to take a look around, munch on doughnuts, and get ready for first grade! I am so excited for these kids and the adventures we will take this year. I cannot wait to chronicle it here on the blog so the world can see them in action. I gave them some Night Before School confetti to sprinkle on their nightstand and here is a sneak peek into the room they will walk into tomorrow morning. YIPPEE for my I just love first grade! I am emailing this to all my families right after I post and if 5 children tell me "First grade is the best!" there will be a super surprise at 8 am. Wonder how many will say it? Let's see if I can get the 5 first right?