What a Difference a Week Makes

Hi, friends. Yep, you are reading a post from me two days in a row. But, this one shan't be as long as yesterdays...though a tad bit more on the serious side.

As I was trying to keep my students on task admiring my students' independent reading, I was reminded that one week ago today, these same sweet firsties were in the throngs of a duck-and-cover with a sub. Where was I? I was in Houston, in the middle of my second day of a 3-day literacy conference. Imagine the scene...three of my colleagues and I had just returned from lunch. The first gasp came from the next table, then there was talk of a tornado in Arlington. We exchanged puzzled looks. Tornado. In Arlington? Wait, but we're not there...we're here in Houston...a monumental (at the time) 4 hours away. Then came the announcement of a total district lockdown. Thus began the frantic calls home. Calls to the school. Disbelief set in. The only small consolation was that we (as a school) had practiced the duck-and-cover drill twice this year. The students knew what to do. They had a sub. But, the only problem was that I wasn't there. I wasn't there to console them, to reassure them, to physically see them with my own eyes and know that they were okay. Hours dragged by until we finally got a clearer picture of what had happened at school, in our neighborhoods, and in our city. A sigh of relief. We were truly blessed. Although some homes were destroyed (and a little too close for comfort) within blocks of my house, my kids were okay, their homes were okay, and our school was okay.

So, "H" may be acting wonky today. "B" seems to be having trouble following class expectations. "K" is a little too chatty. But, ya know what? All is good. I am in my classroom with my students. I can say we are all okay. Because I can see it with my own eyes.

The Best Things About March

Whew! I don't know about you, but March flew by. There was so much I wanted to share about our going-ons in the classroom, but time escaped me. Among other things, we celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday, created "Wild Things" for Open House, and got creative with Shoe Box Reports. So, I'm putting it all together in one post. Grab your favorite drink and enjoy!

First, we practiced making tally marks for each date in March for our calendar (we use Number Corner) and used an odd / even pattern with our green shamrocks.

........Dr. Seuss Day........

Then we celebrated Dr. Seuss Day by writing silly rhyming poems on hats.

We practiced related facts using Shelley Gray's awesome Dr. Seuss Fact Family Task Cards. She created this leveled math resource for differentiated instruction with recording sheets. Love this!

We also practiced telling time to the hour and half-hour using Alisha's What Time is It?  resource. It's cute, colorful, and has recording sheets ~ what's not to love? 

And we used The Elementary Contessa's Do You Like Green Eggs?  graph. The "popular" vote that day was a mighty "yes!" Silly peer pressure :)

After we read Dr. Seuss books, we ended the day with snacks based on Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Yum!

........Time for Open House........

After reading this post by Deanna Jump, I was inspired to use a "Wild Thing" theme for Open House. We started with her shared writing activity.

Talk about student participation!

We then used her text-to-self connection page. These are a hoot!!

I throw everything in my room and kick my dresser like I'm crazy. I scream like a girl. (Hey, now ~ lol.)

I chase my dog to the backyard. I chase her in a circle and around the house. (Fun workout now - wait 'til your older.)

I chase my dog in the backyard. Then I chase my sister outside. (You see a theme, here?)

I will run around like I am crazy outside in my front yard. (Hmmm...)

Here's what our completed hallway looked like:

........Book Box Reports........

Finally, I had my students bring in shoe boxes for their Shoe Box Report. I tweaked this first grade book report by adding lines for character names and blank stars at the bottom for a student rating. Click here for my shoe box version :)

click here for a copy

I know it was a super-long post...thanks for sticking with me until the end :)

I would love to hear from you. Your comments are like little doubloons in my virtual treasure box :)