First Grade Parade - Macy Style!

My great friend, Annie, brought this idea of a first grade parade to one of our schools about six years ago, and it's been a tradition ever since.  And now, because it builds school-wide community and a sense of collaboration between home and school, it's almost district-wide first grade.   You have to see it to believe it...  Each child makes a float.  Most of them do it at home with great elaboration and fanfare.  Many look just like those of the Macy's Day parade!  Sometimes even the simplest made are just as beautiful, and certainly the child is just as proud. 

About two or three weeks before, I send a flyer explaining to the parents what we are doing...It's made with a simple shoe box or similar size and has a string to pull it.  A few kids put wheels on them, but it wasn't necessary.  (When the pictures are developed, I will make a post of some of our floats!)


Here is one of the floats captured. It says, "Eat ham" on the front.









  Our school is separated into pods representing K-3.  And then 4th-6th is at another sister school down the road.  We went to our sister school first and the kids lined up outside and cheered and clapped and we threw candy.  My first graders puffed their chests proudly as they pulled their treasures down the sidewalk.   Then at the end of the sidewalk, we picked them up and headed to our school, where kids were lined up down the halls and all along the outside of the building.  I can see that this will be a tradition carried on in future years.

 

 

There will be more pictures to come.  But I'm sure you can tell from these that there was quite the turn out and there was a lot of enthusiasm as big brothers and sisters cheered them on. 

 

Have a fabulous Thanksgiving.  What did your school do to celebrate this day of gratitude?

 



   

Wrnkled Heart -vs- Full Heart Inspired by Molly Lou Melon

My kids love, love, love Molly Lou Melon.  They immediately related to her and want to cheer her on and protect her.   Often, they use the lessons she has taught us and try to apply it to new situations.  When we were doing our Family Meeting (sometimes called a Peace Circle),, we were talking about things that wrinkle our hearts and things that make our hearts full. We've talked a lot about thinking and be smart and not to cause a wrinkled heart.  One of our students drew Molly Lou Melon, and we hang our hearts beside it.

Here are some things the kids say wrinkle hearts:

taking things, calling names, not including someone, making fun of someone, being mean,  not sharing,

Here are some things the kids have said make our hearts full or grow our hearts (like the Grinch):
sharing, compliments, inviting others to play, cheering them on!, being nice,



Won't it make a great class book?   I think the kids will be pleasantly surprised.  We will put them side by side, to show the better choice...

SKYPE revisted for Technology Tuesday

We've been really enjoying the Skype experiences in our room.  Now we have a camera, and we aren't using my small little phone with the small little window anymore.  (Though the kids would still love every minute of the story, even just listening to it.)

This past week, my friend Annie read to us again from London . What I enjoy about this experience is that she was a first grade teacher and knows them as students and puts all her expectations for listening into place.  The kids sit straighter, and she asks them in advance not to play with their pumpkins or visit with their neighbor.  It's so cute!  They listen intently!


Another part that I like is that Annie chooses books that teach about character.  This week she chose a book about manners where a young child writes the Queen of England to ask about proper manners.  It's a funny book to the kids because the Queen writes back telling Kate to do the opposite of what she should do.  The kids laugh and say, "No!,  that's not right!"  We soared!

         http://clubs-kids.scholastic.co.uk/products/77756 - Yay!  It's a Scholastic book!  (However, it's an   
         English location.)

What I would love to encourage you to do is to try guest speakers in this way.  The kids love lots of different adults in their loves, and they especially enjoy guest readers.  Later this week, I am going to have my daughter, who is in the Coast Guard, read a book about her career to the kids.  They find this career choice fascinating, and it allows kids to aspire to be something that is worthwhile.  There will be lots of oohs and ahhs...I know! 

Now I see all other kinds of potential for this great tool.  Other teachers across the world can come right into my classroom.  Why should high school kids have all the fun?  I know that Annie will have the itch to teach soon.  It's in her blood, and when she's ready to teach a lesson, we will be ready.  For now, we will enjoy her beauty and her enthusiasm and marvelous sense of humor....She promised us a book about Knickers...all the kids snickered!

Have a fabulous Technology Tuesday.  Can't wait to hear what you do in your corner of the world.
Would you like to play in our room some day?

take care,

My daughter in Alabama, who is in the Coast Guard can read.

Being More Authentic in DOL

I love when an authentic way of doing something falls into place. Our school uses Metra for phonics in addition to Houghton Mifflin phonics. Recently, we started working with statements using the word"said."  The chart has very inauthentic ways of getting the kids to practice"said" statements. For example, Sam said, "Go fan Nan", or something similar to that...having kids repeat a bunch of phrases that are not as meaningful to them as they could be.

 

Here it's what I devised.  I've been placing statements on sticky notes so the kids can interact with them. The kids love using their names so I use four kids' names a day.

 

 

 

It says, Cyllus said,"Jerrick is a winner!"  And the other says:  Rylee said, "Bryton is fantastic!"

 

This sentence serves several purposes. It uses the kids' names in a positive statement. The kids are lifting up each other. One student arranges the sticky notes in the right order with the correct punctuation, ( which they all seem to get better this way), and the other student gets to use the pointer to have the class read it out loud, giving everyone an authentic way of using their sight words. Later, when we do Daily 5, this can be an option for Word Work.  All the names we've used so far are off to the side so they can insert anyone's name they want.

 

Oh, did I add that it's more fun for them? It's a win for everyone!

 

 

 

The only thing I would change is I would line them up a little more.  We were in the moment.

I much prefer doing these kinds of activities every day...I sometimes use their favorite , poems, and class books too.  If it's authentic, I want to use it.

Please tell me some things you do for early readers. 

 

London Calling - Love me some Technology!

I am so very blessed!  Yesterday, my kids got to  enjoy some lovely technology.  My best friend, teaching buddy, Annie, moved to London a month ago.  Knowing how much Annie was probably missing teaching, I set her up to read a book to my kids through SKYPE.  No, it's not new technology, but it sure is great technology for the classroom, so we'll celebrate!

Annie found the perfect book about a Tiger going to tea.  The best part about this book is that the author, Judith Kerr, is a beloved author of the families in England.  In addition, Annie chatted with my kiddos about English customs and colloquialisms - like what "coming to tea" is all about.  She also told them names for some of their favorite things - i.e.  "biscuits"  are what they call cookies, and that "chips" are French Fries and that what we call "chips" are called "crisps."  My kids were mesmerized.

Even though  our visual screen was limited to cell phone size, the kids didn't mind.  It was just so cool that they got to talk to someone all the way from London! 

I look forward to many more adventures with our teacher friend Annie.  Who knows, maybe we will do some long distance learning from a fabulous teacher in England.  Hello, London calling...

Oridinary Mary (not so ordinary) - Another Character Story of Kindness

This is a story that goes along with a Pay it Forward kind of theme.  Mary does something kind for one person, who, in turn, does an act of kindness for another person.  By the end of the book, you are able to see how one act of kindness can affect so many people.  (The end of the book even shows how many!)

What I love most about the book is that it shows kids that we can make a difference in the world just by being ourselves and going a little beyond what is expected of us to do something nice for another person.  It makes us feel good, and the other person feels good too.”   This is another great book to go along with our quote "Be kind in all you say and do, 'cuz acts of kindness follow you."

 After finishing reading this story, it's fun to have the kids brainstorm how they can help others just by using kind words, smiles and compliments.

May acts of kindness follow you today and every day.  

Character-The Tiger Who Wore White Gloves

 

There's no denying I love poetry, especially when it meets on the corner with character. Kids get poetry; sadly it seems, we adults sometimes lose our ability to really get into the meat of poetry and savor it.

In my classroom, we use poetry to learn to read, to learn to write, for character education and more.
 

The Tiger Who Wore  White  Gloves, by Gwendolyn Brooks, has stood the test of time.  I'm fortunate enough to have the poem t in book form because I think it's out of print. At first sight and listening, it seems to be over the kids' heads, but slowed down and discussed, it's a perfect poem about character. It's about a tiger who is way different than the other animals because he's tired of being fierce and wants to be fancy by wearing gloves.  The animals jeer him  into being satisfied with just being a tiger.

There's a part when you actually feel the crowd get crest fallen. At their tender age, sadly, they've experienced this kind of testing and feel sorry for the tiger.

For full effect, we act it out, practicing our fierceness, and then pretending we are fancy. By the end, they feel defeated just as the tiger did.

Another great thing about this poem is that it's easy to reference to when those incidents come up on the classroom....it can be read and acted it over and over and over again.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!