#infopics what are they?

Of course @tonyvincent is an #edhero for me!  I was so lucky to attend Miami Device in Coconut Grove, FL and got to meet him, of course a selfie...

After listening to his podcast on iTunes I thought sure why not teach my friends to pull out nonfiction information and make an #infopic in Pic Collage.  We were reading about penguins and kids chose apps to showcase information. 

Here is a video of student work.  Not bad for 1st timers.

Life Skills for a Lifetime

Over the years we came to focus on Life Skills.  Skills you would need to learn, model, and carry forth to be productive members of society.  We had inspirational posters made thanks to our photo company of our very own students demonstrating those life skills in every day situations.  Thanks to Mrs. Walker, who would not want anyone to know she was the behind the scenes designer, kids from all grade levels throughout Cypress Creek will have their photos up in the hallway reminding us of the the little things we need to keep in mind to be a good friend, child, sibling, and student.  I happen to love the perseverance poster the most since my little Carson is one playing the trombone in the photo.  Thanks Mrs. Walker and the photo company.  Just love this and all it represents.

Have you been to bingobaker.com?

QR codes are so much fun and the kids love, love, love them.  Our county had us test and level students for SIPPS phonics instruction across the grade level this year.  There are a number of sight words for students to master that seems to be more than in years past.  Have a few moments why not play BINGO?!? Who doesn't love a good game of BINGO...ah my first friends LOVE playing BINGO.  Thanks to Tony Vincent over at learninginhand.com and his FABULOUS podcasts I learned about https://bingobaker.com You can program words on the board and then generate boards and calling lists by simply pressing the yellow generate button at the bottom.  Better yet take the web address and create a QR code to put on display for the class to play whenever.  I made many different boards according to the high frequency words the friends needed to know and a QR code for each.  When I want to play a list I pull up the QR code and then can scan and we can get going fairly quickly.  They love it!

CCE Teacher of the Year Michelle Larrimore

This post has been swimming around in my head and heart for some time. Each year I like to write about Cypress Creek Elementary's Teacher of the Year.  Our faculty gets together to nominate and chose a teacher to represent our school at the county Teacher of the Year banquet.  Well this year I have the pleasure of writing about a fellow teammate, Michelle Larrimore.

Their smiles tell it all, the kids love Mrs. Larrimore.  Michelle has dedicated the last 17 years to Volusia County Schools and all in 1st grade.  She has a talent I tell you.  Eight years we opened the school together and I had the pleasure of being her son's 1st grade teacher.  Michelle has been our team leader for the past few years and works hard to keep us informed on on top of things, did I mention how very organized she is? Thank goodness because I know you have seen my room.  She is very humble and does not like to draw attention to herself, especially pictures.  Well for her day she was such trooper and smiled in every one.  We celebrated her all day and grade levels made basket presentations to her with some of her favorite things.  She loves chocolate, McDonald's sweet tea, being a dance mom, watching her son race, taking pictures, and going to the beach for family time.  The baskets got bigger and bigger and delivered during each grade level's special area time.  What a day to celebrate our Teacher of the Year.  She enjoyed the day off for the banquet as a day for herself. Our team is the best thanks to Michelle Larrimore!  Congratulations on Teacher of the Year, an honor indeed.

Here our team sits with Cypress Creek Elementary's Teacher of the Year Mrs. Michelle Larrimore!

THANK YOU :) Florida Education Association-Retired We are a Grant Winner!

How happy do these children look? They are absolutely loving the new Lakeshore headphones we were able to purchase thanks to Florida Education Association-Retired through a grant we were awarded.

This year my mission was to really integrate technology into our daily routine.  I researched, talked to important people, attended conferences, collaborated with teachers, and used TWITTER like no other year before and it has changed my teaching.

Our district invested in Reading a to z and anyone that has used it knows the power it can be for a young reader.  You can listen to, read, record, and answer comprehension questions.  What do you do when you don't have enough headphones and you can hear others in the background?

Well Florida Education Association-Retired offered a grant for needed classroom materials and I made sure to advocate for my friends.  Who would have know they would have picked our grant out of all the entries.  We were so excited to get the news and order those headphones.  

My friends and I agree they make a world of difference in the classroom.  We are able to listen to information on the internet, record ourselves in apps, and practice our prosody as we get to be better readers.  I can't thank Florida Education Association-Retired (and Charles Moskowitz, District Director)for their efforts and making us a grant winner! #grateful

Muffins for Mom 2015

Mother's Day almost missed this post.  Here is Kid President with a message to moms so listen up he has something important to say!



We had our Muffins for Mom the week before last and I played this video for the moms.  These kids are the cutest thing ever!  You never know what you are going to hear come from a little friend or what you will read in their writing.  Please enjoy as they share a bit about mom.  I will have to tell you some favorites:  "I love my mom more than my dad." or "I love my mom more than my brothers." or there was "I love my mom more than ice cream." There writing was even cuter if you can imagine that.  I love that one of my friends thinks his mom's "favorite thing to do is clean his house" and then there was "My mom has a white van named Toyota." Kids say the cutest things right?
     I hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day.  I know I did surrounded by my hubby and kids, and with my mom and family too.  My brother even surprised my mom at lunch today at our house.  It was a grand weekend! Happy Mother's Day.
UPDATE: Our Art teacher Mrs. Hanna had the friends draw a picture of them and their mom.  Too sweet for words and a great keepsake. Enjoy.

Update on Valentine's Day

 Our administration provided a lovely spread for Valentine's Day fun for the teaches and staff.  It was amazing!  Hit the spot on a sweet heart of a day!  Thanks Dr. L and Becky for making us feel so special.

 What better way to celebrate Valentines' Day with our Clutter friends than a dance party and @gonoodle!  

 Thanks Ms. Amy for the laser light show because it was the best ever!

My class friends and parents are truly amazing!! Thank you so much for all the love and yummy treats.  I feel so loved and appreciated!  You guys are the best!