Teacher Week-Where Am I Therapeutic?

Teacher Blogger Week--Day 3

Showing pictures of my room, right now, would be embarrassing.   10 more days until students arrive.  Pictures to come later.  

Anyway, geographically, I teach in a suburb, outside of Portland, Oregon.  There are just over 500 K-5th grade students at our school.  Each grade usually has three teachers with class sizes between 27-34.  This year we blended 2/3 grades and there are five 2/3 classes....with 31-34 kiddos!
My school is part of the Right Brain Initiative, so we have multiple artists come work with us every year.

Here is the playground.  Under the bark is cushy, and that is pretty fun!  A track goes around it as well.

This will be my 10th year teaching here!  Crazy how time flies.  My first group of firsties has made it to 10th grade.

Teacher Blogger Week--Day 4

Reading is my favorite stress reliever...within minutes you are somewhere far less stressful than one of "those" days at school.  

I also love tv sitcoms for stress relief. 

Happy Thursday,

 

Teacher Week-Tech Tip

Teacher Blogger Week-Day 2

In case you haven't figured this out already, I am a huge reader...and not much of a tech wiz.  But I do know how to find books and how to find books for kids to read.  Here are a few of the very helpful websites I use to find book suggestions.

1)  Your Next Read  I type in a book I read and liked, it then shows me similar books I might also enjoy.  So I typed in For Darkness Shows the Stars and here are the suggestions:

The coolest feature of this site is so fun (if you have it connected to your books from goodreads.)  It takes all the books you have read, makes a map, and then shows you more suggested titles.

2)  Goodreads I use this website to keep track of all the books I have read.  You can also rate and review books as well as read the reviews of people you know or just other people who have read the book.  Books can be sorted into lists as well.

3)  The Stacks Much like goodreads...but absolutely geared toward kids!  A fabulous resource.

4)  Lexile  I like telling parents about lexile.com.  It allows them to put in a lexile range, and subject and then they get a list of books in that range.  Obviously, the range is a guide and not a rule, but I find it helps parents who have no idea how to help their child find good books.

My kiddos who are voracious readers find these tools very helpful.  Hopefully you will too!
Go find something new to read!

Happy Tuesday,
 

Teacher Week-Must Haves

Welcome to Teacher Blogger Week!

Here are the things I MUST have to function in my classroom:
1)  Books~Every classroom needs a great library so kids have access to good books everyday!  Label it, teach kids how to use it, and talk about it all the time!

2)  The Tiny Transition Music Box--it plays Take Me Out to the Ballgame and lets students know when to transition from one thing to another or switch from session 1, to 2, to 3, during Reader's Workshop.  The kids are fascinated by it and it plays simply by winding it on the desk.

3)  Clipboard--I never lose this thing.  I keep a current week's lesson plans, a student checklist, individual student pull-out schedules, and to-do list pages.

4)  Teacher Info.--Stuff that lets your kids know who you are and what you love.  Dodgers, my Aunt, and other random trivia about Miss Foote.

5)  Clorox--do we really need an explanation for why this is a must have?

6) Staple Remover--Seriously the best tool ever.  Whenever I use the squeeze kind of removers I would ruin papers.  This kind just slides between the paper and the staple.  So much easier.

7)  Breakfast--We start school at 7:45 and don't go to lunch until 12:15....This is a must!

8) Scentsy Warmer~because the room should smell amazing!

Your turn!  What must you have for your classroom survival?
Happy Monday,
 

Done and Not Done

Here is what I didn't do in my classroom today.  Oh the library....the giant project I don't look forward to, but love how productive I feel when it is is done.
I put all the books in plastic bags so I can keep the books dust free and wash out all the bins.  And scrub the shelves.
Here is the pile of picture books...

And here are all the chapter books....

When the weather cools down, maybe I can get some book organization motivation.

What I did do today.  Sometime this summer Clutter-Free Classroom did a post about places for anchor charts and I loved it.  

So I put up paper for the background.  And I added some of the border to the clothespins and a push pin to the back.

And done.  I am going to use one side for math charts and the other for everything else.  I love it! 

Happy Wednesday,
   

Welcome Back....A Little Sadness and Inspiration

I was not alive to watch the show during its original airing.  However, I watched a lot of Nick @ Night reruns and loved the all day Welcome Back Kotter marathons.  If you have never heard of this show it is about a teacher who returns to his own, inner city, high school to teach an eclectic group of struggling students.  John Travolta also stars in the show:-)  Today is a sad day.  My favorite character, Horshack, played by Ron Palillo passed today.  I leave you with a clip in memory of Horshack and well it is also a great clip about teachers teaching, not textbooks....learning not reciting....

Happy Tuesday,

Hoppy Birdie!

This little blog turns 1 today! 

love Miss MelonHeadz

So many more ideas float around my head because of blog stalking.  I loved to stalk The Inspired Apple and First Grader....at Last!.  

And my friend (who I do know in real life) has a blog that inspires me.  

Life in the Unknown

And A Teeny Tiny Teacher whose blog makes me laugh out loud and more importantly....she is a Dodger fan.

Now I have google reader and follow tons of blogs...and can comment.

sharing + talking=stalking

Then I thought maybe things that go on in a little classroom in the Pacific Northwest, could be helpful and so Chickadee Jubilee was born.  The year has flown by and I have made lots of new friends.  Friends who I talk about as if I have met them personally and have known them for years!  They need to be your friends too.  They leave lovely comments and have amazing things going on in their classrooms!  Go check them out...you will love them as much as I do!

BBFF Jenny @ Owl Things First

Barbara @ Grade ONEderful

Tammy @ Forever in First

Brigid @ Brigid's Daily Lesson Log

I could continue this list of new friends but then you all would stop reading, so for more blog friends, checkout the sidebar! 

Looking forward to another year of blogging!
Happy Monday,