Itsy Bitsy First Grade Teacher: 2015

Long Weekend

Happy long weekend! We have been in the school routine for two weeks now and was very thankful to have a long weekend. I can tell that school is in full swing since my eyes begin to get heavy way before 9:00 (not that I ever make it to bed that early!) This weekend there are a few “little” projects that I wanted to begin/catch up on to get ready for the next couple weeks. One of them is taking the student information sheets I received and adding the information into a spreadsheet. I always keep the sheets handy but think this will be more beneficial to have all the information in one place.

On another note….I just added something new to my TpT store. It is an ELA review for the first six weeks. (Other six weeks will be added at a later date). It contains concepts that are taught in the first six weeks. They have been a great addition to my daily routine and don’t take much time to finish. Right now we do two days as a whole group, with partners for two days and one day independently. I love throwing in group work anytime I can. Students love working together and they gain so many great skills during that time. Below is a preview of the ELA Reviews. There are 25 days of review, and answer keys that correlate. I have also added vocabulary cards. I like to display common vocabulary on a wall in my classroom and wanted you guys to have them as well. Feel free to click on my Teacher Pay Teacher button on the side bar to check this item out at my store. (There are a few more previews that are not shown below). It will take you directly to my store.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Blessings,

ELA Reviews

Happy Hump day! WOW!! It is hard to believe that we have been in school almost two full weeks. This time has flown and am enjoying getting to know my little kiddo’s. They are so funny and of course never know what they are going to say…like today when they were guessing my age and one little cutie blurted 50~ Yep, happens at least once a year. Winking smile

We began our interactive writing journals today. I think that they are going to LOVE this and it will be a great “gift” they will have at the end of the year. It will be fun to see how far they grow in their writing skills.

Something new that I have started this year is a daily review for ELA. I only started this on Monday and have only tried it for 3 days but am LOVING it!! My students are loving it as well and what is great is that it doesn’t take long to complete. It will be posted in my store this weekend. Yippee!! I have been itching to post it to my store but have a few pages (like the cute cover sheet) and the packet will be finished. Each set will be based on the skills we are working on during that six weeks. Some of the skills will be reviewed each time, others will spiral back later in the year depending on the sequence. I will be adding new reviews during the school year (each six weeks). I can’t wait to share them with all of you and hope you and your students enjoy them as much as we do. Smile

Have a great evening and enjoy the rest of your week.

Blessings,

classroom

WOW! It is so hard to believe that I get to meet my sweet firsties in just a couple of days. This week has been busy with staff development. I will say that this year has been one of the best. I have lots of ideas that I will be incorporating in my class this school year. One of the things that you will hear about frequently is High Yield Strategies. They are really amazing and the kids are so engaged! I will share more about them soon. Today, I thought I would post an update on my classroom. It still needs work but is coming together.

This is a small portion of the front of my classroom.

This is the second half of the front. I have moved my reading table to the front of the room. I think I am going to really enjoy having it there and it will give more room for students to work in groups around the room. In the past, I have used seat sacks but am going to try something different. Each table will have bins that have 3 drawers. Each drawer will hold specific items. Their Daily 5 work will stay in the colored drawers at the front of the room. I am hoping it helps to cut down on the clutter. We shall see. Smile

This area will be where students get their supplies for math tubs and writing center.

The last picture for tonight is my word wall. The picture isn’t very clear but I LOVE it! Smile

Name Tags

Happy Wednesday! This year I decided I would try to make my own name tags for my student’s desk and word wall words. One task down and one more (or should I say…many more) to go! I think I may have started a new tradition. Here is a snapshot. Smile

Journal

Hey guys! Guess what???! I put the finishing touches on my November journal. It is now posted in my TpT store. I am so excited and it is just in time for the big SALE! Don’t forget to check out my store August 3rd and 4th. My store will be on SALE……. and who doesn’t LOVE a great sale! Winking smile

I don’t know about you but I already have several things on my “wish” list that will be moved to my basket. My goal is still to finish December’s before the sale begins. I’ll let you know as soon as it is posted. Smile

Below is a sneak peek of what you can find in the journal.

Sale

Save the date! TpT back to school sale is coming soon. My products will be up to 28% off! Smile

Journal Writing

Happy Thursday! This week has gone by fast. I have been working on my October Journal that you can find in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I think that the cover just might be my favorite one to date! The goal is to have November and December posted by the store wide sale at TpT. Don’t forget to stop by and check it out on August 2nd and 3rd. You will find lots of products 20% off, my store included! Here is a preview of my newest set. Smile

journal

Good evening! I hope that everyone has had a wonderful weekend. They always seem to go by fast. Speaking of fast…..can you believe that summer break is coming to a close?!! It won’t be long before I am trading in my flip flops and comfy clothes for work attire….not to mention the thought of wearing makeup 5 days in a row. Yep, maybe I have enjoyed this time off a little too much. Winking smile

I have been busy working on things for the upcoming school year and thoughts of what changes I want to make are continuing to flood my mind. Hopefully, all of the changes will be straightened out soon (only to be revamped after school officially starts I’m sure) Does that happen to anyone else??? Smile

Below is a sneak peek of my most recent Journal packet. It is for the month of September. (October should be finished and posted later this week….. Fingers crossed). You can check it out in my Teacher Pay Teacher store by clicking the button on the side of my blog. I am really excited about this set of prompts. I have added cute pictures to a few of the pages so that students may write about the picture. It will give them a great starting point to write using characters, setting etc. and allows for the prompts to be changed up a bit. Hope you like it!

journal

Hey guys! I hope each of you had a fabulous week. It went by FAST. Today I wanted to share with you an August Journal I created for my classroom. I know there are many of us who will only have our kiddo’s for around 10 days the first month, and there are others that might have to start much sooner. So……I decided to make this journal FREE! Smile

The journal has an adorable cover, list of “heart words” (sight words), 20 prompts and extra lined paper. I really hope that you enjoy the journal. If you would like your own copy, you can click the link below or my Teachers Pay Teachers button. Thanks and enjoy!

professional development

Happy Monday! I hope your week is off to a great start. Today was day 1 of 3 workshops that I will be attending this week. It is a little CRAZY how they are all this week. My mind was already thinking about how I will be able to incorporate what I learned today in the classroom. Our speaker had great information on phonics and how to simplify decoding for kids. I wish I had learned the trick sooner and can’t wait to try it out. Smile

Beginning of Year

Good evening! I am very excited to share the activity below. This is something that I do every year. I begin it the first week but does takes a while to complete. It is not a hard activity and does not require a bunch of unexpected prep work.

The activity is called “My Book of Friends”. I choose 1 student (once a day or a few days in between depending on my schedule) and classmates “interview” them. You can even spread it out over the span of the school year and choose 1 student a week. Students ask their friend 5 questions. We write the information that we have learned on chart paper. That information is used for the class to write a page in the “All About Me” book. The student that is interviewed works on the cover sheet. They get to take the book home at the end of the day. They LOVE getting to take a book home that the class has made for them.

You can pick up your own copy by clicking on the picture below. It will take you directly to my TpT store. Smile

Just for fun, here is another freebie! I hope you enjoy.

Blessings,

Beginning of the Year

Happy Wednesday! I hope your week has been off to a great start. This summer I have been spending time contemplating on what to change for this next school year. It is hard to fathom that I am already thinking ahead and haven’t been out of school for the summer for very long.

There are several different activities that I like to do the first week of school that gives me a chance to know my students a little better and helps to create a classroom “family”.

One of my absolute favorite activities is an “All About Me” sack. I have done this activity personally in my own classroom for more years than I can remember. I give each student a bag for them to fill with 5 items from home. We share the bags during the week. They absolutely LOVE sharing!

Here is a copy of the activity. You can now download it for FREE at: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Itsy-Bitsy-First-Grade-Teacher

I can't wait to share more soon. I will be adding a new packet to my blog tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your week! Smile

Blessings,

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