Teaching in Moore

I have always been proud to be a Moore teacher. Yesterday was one of the scariest days of my teaching career. We were very close to being hit by the tornado that ripped through our city. We felt it coming, but we were very lucky that it passed us with just some huge wind and the debri ball. So far we have had several staff members who have lost their houses, and I have no clue how many students have lost their houses or even if all my students are okay. My heart aches for my fellow teachers and students in my district who were not as lucky as my school was. We are out of school today as most of our schools have no water and no power and many of our patrons in our district have no home or school to go back to. Please keep Moore in your thoughts and prayers as we face the process of digging out, mourning, and rebuilding.

Five for Friday...uh Saturday

In a perfect world, I would have posted my five for Friday yesterday. Unfortunately, exhaustion hit yesterday evening by the time I finally got to sit down at like 11:00. I decided my bed needed my company.

I have loved linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for the Five for Friday linky. Now for my five fabulous events from this last week...

1. Teacher Appreciation Week

Our PTA spoiled us this week with breakfast one morning, a great bbq lunch another day, a candy bar, and tons of other little things. They also came up with themes for each day like sticky note day and soda day. My kids obviously realize my favorite drink is Dr. Pepper because I got a bunch of them. This pile is mostly from one kid who to be honest is a HANDFUL. It makes me feel good that all the extra time and attention I give him is appreciated so much by him and his family.

 

2. Louisiana Purchase Lapbooks

My students have been working on these lapbooks to finish up our study of the Louisiana Purchase. They are turning out really cute, but I way UNDERESTIMATED the time it would take for us to get them done. I'll probably do a post with more pics and details on these in the future.

 

3. My school's 65th Birthday Party

I posted last week the cute decorations my students were making for our birthday celebration. The final displays turned out really good.

One of my co-teachers and I went a little crazy decorating our hallway. I think it turned out really cute.

Our students also picked a piece of artwork they had made to display as well. I have some awesome artists.

4. Focus Questions

I got an idea from my Student Teaching Mentor Teacher recently. (Yes, I have taught for seven years but still value my mentor teacher.) She started this year teaching her Social Studies using Focus Questions with each lesson. I loved the idea and decided to give it a try with my Westward Expansion Unit.

Each day I had the students copy down the two to four questions I wanted them to focus on during the lesson. At the end of the lesson I would go over the questions with the students to make sure they all had the correct answer. Yesterday, we had a Westward Expansion Focus Question Quiz. The students had to use only their brains for the first five minutes of the quiz. They were then allowed to use their Focus Questions and Lapbook for the rest of the time to finish the quiz. Overall, the scores were great. They loved that they got to "cheat" off themselves.

5. Lunch with my fiancé

I had a training one morning this week and decided to take the rest of the day off as a recharge day. Considering I have been gone a total of three days this year, I really needed it. My fiancé surprised me by taking the day off too! We went to lunch at an awesome burger place neither of us had been to since we were kids. It was a blast from the past, and the burger we shared was HUGE!

Hope your week was as fabulous as mine!

End of the Year Crazy

Time is running out on this school year. We have ten total days including tomorrow left! While I am very ready for summer to start, my schedule for these last few days keeps getting more and more full. Only three out of those ten days don't have some sort of scheduled assembly, fun event, or planned interruption.

Somehow in the middle of all the "fun" I still have so many things to teach.
1) Finish our novel: Loser
2) End of the novel unit project
3) Finish Westward Expansion
4) Bill to Law simulation activity
5) Two part Gates testing
6) Brochure for upcoming 4th graders
7) Reading and Social Studies class survey

Wow!
I think I need another week!

Spark Student Motivation- Brownie Points

It's Saturday, which means I get to spend some time catching up from my LONG week. I'm linking up with Head Over Heels for Teaching for Spark Student Motivation Saturdays.

This week I will be sharing my Brownie Points system I have been using all year. I saw the idea last summer on Pinterest and knew I wanted to use it. Thanks First Grade Sweeties for the awesome idea! I apologize in advance for the poor picture. I couldn't find a more up close picture.

This motivator is used to encourage my class to act appropriately in all parts of our school. My homeroom students earn a brownie to be added to the pan anytime they get a compliment from someone else. Once the pan is full, I make brownies and bring them to class. So far they have only earned brownies once this year, but they are a few pieces away from getting them again.

I love that this motivator is cheap to start. All you need is construction paper, a cheap pan from dollar tree, and an empty box of brownie mix.

My students love when I add a brownie to the pan. If a teacher gives them a compliment when I am not around, they will make sure to ask that person to tell me.

This motivator is by far not my idea, but it has worked well for me this year. I am positive I will continue to use it next year. Hope you enjoyed learning about one of my most yummy motivators!

Five For Friday- May 3rd

 

Time to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday! I had a LONG, but fun week.

1. Counting Down to the end of school

I saw this idea somewhere to count down to the last day of school. Pinterest perhaps? Anyhow, each balloon has a number on it and a slip with a special treat inside it for my homeroom. Each morning we pop the balloon and get to do whatever is on the slip. Since my students switch classes each day I did make the rule that they only got to do the special activity or get the treat if they got good reports from the other teachers. I know that probably makes me look mean, but I REALLY need them to keep their behavior in check for the next few weeks.

 

 

2. Tiger Safari

This week the Tiger Safari came to our school. They brought several animals for the students to pet and learn about. The kids got so excited to see all the animals! Sometimes I forget that even my big kids get excited about little things.

 

3. We got an award

I'm sure it seems silly, but I got so excited the day the custodian walked into my room and said it was so clean she didn't need to vacuum. I was already happy, but when I came in the next day to this certificate it put me over the moon. It's the little things that get me through the crazy times at the end of the year.

 

 4. The Great Pencil Challenge

I saw this last week on Ladybug's Teacher Files and got beyond excited. My co-teachers loved the idea, so they started it the same day as well. I started this challenge on Monday, and guess what? Most of them still have the same pencil! This is almost a miracle as they were losing a pencil a day and even some losing a pencil per class. Woo hoo!

5. Getting ready to party

Our schools 65th birthday party is next week. Today one of my co-teachers was gone, and we had to spilt her class. So we decided to start working on some decorations for the party. They turned out super cute. My favorite is the one that says "I like Central Elementary because Ms. Bateman is Awesome."

 

 

I'm so excited to have some new followers! It makes me so happy to see that other people are reading what I say. I'm also learning so much and getting tons of ideas from everyone. Hope your week was awesome! 

Tricks of the Trade Thursday- Bulletin Boards

I saw a new Linky by Compassionate Teacher and Joy in the Journey called Tricks of the Trade. I think this is a great idea to help new teachers and just teachers who want new ideas!

Time for an honest confession, I am the WORST bulletin board decorator. I have a storage system in which I have TONS of stuff stored to make all kinds of bulletin boards, yet in the box my decorations normally stay.

Tip #1:  I like my boxes, but they are boxes. If you want something that will last a long time, buy something made of a longer lasting material than cardboard.



Tip #2: Buy a flat staple remover. They are only a couple bucks, but make pulling staples so much easier. No more ripping things to shreds with "the claw."  It also catches the staples as you pull them. Brilliant invention!

Tip #3- If you want things to last go with fabric behind the board and laminate everything especially the border and store bought decorations. You want the money you spent on your stuff to last.

Tip #4- Make boards that serve a purpose versus just looking cute. I love cute boards with fun themes, but I barely have time to look at my boards let alone change them out each week or even once a month. Boards with a purpose will be used much more often and will seem like a better use of your time.

With those few tips shared, here are a few pics.

This is my bulletin board in the hallway. The students tweet about Genre using this board. The board has stayed the same since December, but I update the tweets every so often.







 

 

This is my CAFE Reading board. I know it looks a little busy. It's a work in process. If you'll notice the background is a fabric. This fabric has been used for five years and still looks awesome. The content on the board changes, but the cute fabric stays.

 

This is probably the board that gets used the most in my room. It actually isn't even a bulletin board, but a chalk board at the back of my room. I covered it in fabric using hot glue and magnets. Voila, bulletin board! My students check in each morning using the stars which have magnets on the back. The stars have their numbers on them, so I can reuse them every year. I'm all about saving money. Also, my calendar numbers are put on using paper clips. You simply poke a hole, thread half the paper clip through, and then slip the number in the clip. It makes it super fast and easy to change out the calendar.

Like I said before, I am such a lazy bulletin board decorator, but I thought my few tips might help others have an easier time as they create beautiful works of art. Decorate on, you creative people you!

May Currently

Today I'm linking up with Oh' Boy Fourth Grade for the linky May Currently. I like this linky because it's super easy, and I'm having fun reading what everyone else is currently doing in May.

Listening- I love this song by Miranda Lambert. Luckily, I am not suffering from a broken heart. But it offers some great advice. My favorite part says to "Run and hide your crazy and start actin’ like a lady..." We all lose it sometime, but being a Southern Girl we are taught to keep it together no matter what. I actually had a discussion yesterday with our fifth grade girls to start acting like ladies.

Loving- Pajama pants. Need I say more? Such a long day deserves pajama pants and possibly a glass of wine?!?

Thinking- It's the end of the year. I love my students, but the closer it gets to the last day, the closer they get to losing it!

Wanting- It would be wonderful if my state would pick a season. Yesterday was AC and tank tops. Today is jackets and heater. My wardrobe and allergies have no clue what is going on.

Needing- I stayed up way to late watching the Thunder game last night. After a really long week and getting little sleep last night, I REALLY need a nap.

Summer Bucket List- I'm having a blast planning the wedding, but I really need to make some decisions this summer. I have lots of ideas, but very few things set in stone.

Hope the rest of you have a fabulous May!