Hello Friends!
Thanks for joining me on what is rapidly becoming my customary Friday "date night" line-up!
The following is my foolproof list of ingredients for enjoying a comforting and low-stress evening as I wind down from the work week...
Company--Basset Hounds, Bloggers, Books
Destination--Couch
Refreshments--Coffee and Cookies
Attire--Hoodie Sweathirt & Yoga Pants
Activities--Writing and Reflecting, Watching a sappy and sentimental Hallmark Channel movie
I am happy to report that this week was MUCH better than last week, and both my home and school lives are getting back into more of a synchronized rhythm and pattern! My classroom was actually quite a pleasant place to be for the past few days and here are five reasons why!
The following is my foolproof list of ingredients for enjoying a comforting and low-stress evening as I wind down from the work week...
Company--Basset Hounds, Bloggers, Books
Destination--Couch
Refreshments--Coffee and Cookies
Attire--Hoodie Sweathirt & Yoga Pants
Activities--Writing and Reflecting, Watching a sappy and sentimental Hallmark Channel movie
I am happy to report that this week was MUCH better than last week, and both my home and school lives are getting back into more of a synchronized rhythm and pattern! My classroom was actually quite a pleasant place to be for the past few days and here are five reasons why!
If you have not yet discovered Judith Viorst's laughter-inducing, thought-provoking, lesson-teaching chapter book series about a spunky, stubborn, and selfish little girl named Lulu, you need to! After reading about them on Funky Fresh Firsties' Facebook page, I ordered all three from Amazon and scooped up Stacy's fabulous book companions from Teachers Pay Teachers! Click on the icons below to check them out!
My class now LOVES to start our day with predictions of how Lulu will approach the next obstacle or problem in her path, and discuss how she may need to "adjust her attitude" or "change her behavior" in order to overcome or solve it! The plot lines have been VERY helpful in reminding my class how NOT to act or speak as we wind down our school year together! They've all agreed that we would not want a student like Lulu to be a member of our classroom family!
Check out the new "widget" I just magically installed on my blog sidebar to read more about all of Lulu's adventures! My class groaned when I stopped reading Lulu's Mysterious Mission this afternoon in order to start preparing for dismissal, so you know that the story is a crowd-pleaser!
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In honor of Earth Day, I teach my animal
habitat unit at this time of year, and incorporate conservation and endangered species lessons into my Language Arts lessons. I also share a
variety of Magic Tree House chapter books and informational picture
books that relate to each geographic area or topic aloud, and my
students become "world travelers" as we read, research, and write about our favorite places and the animals that live there.
I supplement these cross-curricular Science and Social Studies lessons with Brainpop Jr. clips and other educational videos to give my students an idea of what each place really looks and sounds like. Yesterday, we watched Reading Rainbow on United Streaming (Discovery Education) and traveled by airplane to a remote village in South America to meet the village and people featured in Lynne Cherry's story, The Shaman's Apprentice. Host LeVar Burton led us on a tour of rain forest, and interviewed the tribal medicine man who explained how plants and trees there have provide important medicines and remedies. My students were absolutely fascinated, and were very eager to learn more about this endangered habitat.
The first day of the new month always means preparing new boxes and displays of books for my students to enjoy during Read To Self and refer to during Working On Writing. We are currently focusing on identifying and using text features in non-fiction books to improve reading comprehension and do report research, so our counters and shelves are full of picture and chapter books about "real" things! Bugs, plants, weather, the rainforest, and animals are all high interest topics in Room #2!
A combination of fiction and non-fiction "Teacher Favorites" always have a place of honor on this bookshelf. Note the "antique" copy of Robert McCloskey's Caldecott Award-winning classic, Make Way For Ducklings! It was
a gift from my godmother when I was six-years-old, and is a much-heralded and well-loved read aloud staple every spring! My class absolutely loves it when I do the duckling "roll call" in my best Mother Duck voice, and I love it when I overhear them using their own when re-reading the story to a partner during
Read To Someone!
"Come along now Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack!"
The next two weekends will be quite full of family celebrations and a bit of travel, so I am posting pictures of my College Graduation Girl-To-Be now! It seems very fitting that she is modeling her cap and gown in the theater dressing room! The time has come for her to find her way to a bigger stage, and I am so proud of her continued fearlessness and fortitude!
Just keep swimming, Nemo! Your great adventure has just begun!
As a professed "Word Nerd" this photo from a Living Well, Spending Less
Pinterest board made me smile, and reminded me of what my daily priorities should be!
Don't forget to stop by my Facebook page and scoop up this Fraction Action activity with monstrously cute clip art from Krista Wallden! I was the lucky winner of one of her giveaways last month, and had great fun creating this "scoot" style review game for my students! Woo hoo!
This FREEBIE is just one of many begin offered through The Primary Gal's May Facebook Free-For-All! Click on this tab so that you can start collecting great resources right now! Have fun and be sure to leave feedback on your product downloads!
Until then, enjoy the rest of your weekend by keeping a song in your heart and sharing your story!
Peace Out!
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