Reader of the Day and more Skippy!

What is it?!  Each student has a day that he/she reads to the class for 5 minutes!  Simple as that, but ever so effective! 

You can run this however you would want.  In the beginning, I gave each student a day of the week.  Then we went to 6 day cycles--so I gave them each a "cycle day."  Then we moved to 4 day cycles... which didn't work out because they would be reading every 4 days.  Now, I create a monthly calendar and schedule the students to read 2 times a month.  This allows me time for them to read! 

I set a timer for 5 minutes.  They read until they finish or until the timer goes off.  Afterwards, you can have students praise the reader.  (You could do 2 praises and a push, etc.  Whatever your time allows.  Quite frankly, I just let them read.  The biggest reward of this "idea" is that they are reading.  Period.)

I used to keep track of what each student read and how well they did, but now, I just fill out a form for each student and write an encouraging note and/or recommend something for the next time they read.  (i.e.  Practice reading louder for next time!  or  Don't forget to show us the pictures!, etc.)  I've found that the real prize in this activity is the time spent at home reading. 

Give it a try! You'll be amazed at how your most reluctant readers start to shine and take off after a few times in front of the "crowd!"

Click {HERE} to grab the letter I send home and the scoring sheet I give them!

***I fixed the error that you see on the student scoring sheet!  So, when you download it, it will be a correct version... sorry folks!  My brain was FRIED!***

Also-I just HAD to let you know about this fantastic website that actually found little old me!!!!
(And, I have NO idea how I've missed it!!)  

Seriously.  If you missed out on the fantastic Kohl's Skippy stuff last year, you can get some things here!  (Of course, it's NOT $5, but, it's not at an outrageous price either!)  I am totally getting the Skippyjon Jones mask, cap and ear headband!  My kids will FLIP when I read them these books with it next year!

 


 Are they NOT the cutest??  They also have bags that would be great to take a stuffed Skippy home in to have families write about....  Oh, the possibilities are endless!  I am just SO excited that they found me.  (And, just as excited that my blog was posted on Skippy's Facebook page!!!  holy guacamole!)

Also--I was super excited that my son's baseball game was cancelled last week.  It gave me a chance to take him and a friend to hear, none other than Judy Schachner!  (the day after we went and got her autograph at the library)  Can I tell you how amazing she is?!  She is such a fantastic speaker and I loved hearing the stories about her cats.  If she is ever near you---GO!  I was even more excited to learn how she lives somewhat close to me!!!!  Yay for PA! :)

{They wanted FRONT ROW seats!  Adorbs!}

I'm linking this up with Freebielicious!  Check them out for more great stuff!

End of Year Gifts and A New Look!

I'm sure you've noticed!!  I have a brand new, pretty awesome blog look now!  I was tired of my old, dark, mismatched look.  After searching and looking, I went with the Honey Bunch Blog Design---and I am beyond thrilled!  LOVE! <3

I have 2 hours and 45 minutes left with my students.  It's been one of those years.  I will miss them dearly, however, I will enjoy not being as stressed as I was this past year.  I slept the best I have ever slept last night....  hoping for a repeat tonight.  Coincidence?!? 

Here is what I did for my kids this year.  I see about 40 first graders throughout the day, and have 3 different groups.  For my reading group-I just gave them a new book from Scholastic with my bonus points.  I noticed that Robert Munsch's Sandcastle Contest was $1, so I snatched it right up.  It was THE perfect gift for them, as they just are in love with him since our Author Study.  Easy, peasy.

For my math kids, I wasn't sure what to do.  One day I was shopping at the Dollar Store and I came across the supply aisle and saw the 3 pack of rulers (for $1) ;)  Perfect!  {Of course, just forget that we don't teach STANDARD measurement anymore.... the kids certainly didn't care!  OH-and you might want to have the little talk we had before they left my room.  Rulers are NOT weapons.  You know, just in case some of those boys have forgotten?!  They are also not backscratchers, drum sticks, fly swatters...}  :P

{Click HERE to grab a copy of the tag I attached to the rulers}

My homeroom was where I got creative.  Inspiration came from Pinterest of course!

Though, it took me FOREVER to find a mold for the popsicle crayons!  But, at last I did!  I'll save you the trouble---go here! {My popsicles started to become mixed ones as I ran out of colors---the kids will love it, I'm sure.  Of course my 2 little ones at home thought they were pretty cool, anyway!}

Word to the wise--they do NOT work well just baking in the oven....  bummer.  So I melted crayons in the microwave in small bowls I got at Target for just that reason.  {Another word to the wise--melt SAME color crayons together--otherwise you just get a brown crayon.  I did know this before melting!!}

I also had corkboard laying around that I had gotten at BJ's a few years ago.  It used to be up in my room, but has since fallen down.  If you don't have easy access to it, you can find it {HERE} fairly cheap.  I was able to get 9 small "clipboards" out of 1 sheet.  Make them about 3 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches.  I got the clips at the dollar spot at Target and the post-its from staples.  I divided the post-it notes into halves to clip to the boards.

You could get all creative and decorate the corkboard with duct tape, but it looks pretty cute all on its own!

{Click HERE to grab yourself the tag I used for this gift*}

Last, we created class books throughout the year that I sent home for parents to read, comment and return.  I disassmbled it and sorted them all by the student's work.  I whipped up this cover and used my random leftover cardstock that was in my closet.  Staple together---and you have yourself a fantastic keepsake for the parents!  {Whoops!  I completely forgot to take a pic of the final books to show you!}

{Click HERE for a copy of the cover sheet* also-I took the date off, so that you can use it ANY year}

*I included K-6 copies in the file

I know a lot of you are already out of school {LUCKY!!}, but you can tuck this away for next year!

Still in School...

We have a week left of school.  This past week has been quite loonngg...  if you know what I mean!  We ended today with a field trip!  Thankfully it was inside, because we are feeling the rain from the Tropical Storm Andrea..  Umm.  Isn't that a bit early?  Thankfully we only got a few inches of rain, but seriously.  We could have ended the school year like we started (if it were last year anyway!)

During our last full week, I have special days with my kids.  My favorite, by far, is Camping Day!  The kids bring in sleeping bags, books and a flashlight.  I build our enormous tent in the middle of the classroom (which I JUST realized that I didn't snap a picture this year!!)  Here's last year's pic:

{I have a packet in my store with the activities from above, but you could certainly do this without spending a dime!  If you have purchased my packet, look for an "upgrade" soon!  I'm adding a few extra pages of things that I added in this year---but probably after school is done next week.}

Reading with flashlights!  You don't have to just wait for a "Camping Day" to pull this one out!  This would be a pretty awesome class reward as well!

{Why yes.  That IS a headlamp!  Um.  Can we say SMART?!?!  lol}

This is an easy event that really you do not need a lot of prep work for.  We aren't allowed any food in school, so s'mores are out of the question--UNLESS you make "s'mores"  :P  I had my kids "roast" their "marshmallows' (cotton balls put on their pencil tips over my "fires") Then we assemble the s'more with our chocolate (construction paper) and graham crackers (cut up cardboard boxes).  Then we write how to make a s'more!  {I tried to keep their beaming smiles when I blurred their faces.  It was nothing but first grade squeals and giggles of delight!}

We do a lot of other fun stuff that is in my packet, but the last thing we do on camp day is look for the ABC's of Nature, with a partner, clipboards and our very cool "binoculars" (toilet paper rolls and decorated with duct tape!)

 {SOOOO engaged!  You'd never know that it was less than a week away from the end of school!}

Speaking of duct tape----my baby wipes containers that I have been using to organize have gotten a little makeover!  What do you think?!?!  {I still need to add labels for the containers, which are coming soon!}  If you can't tell, my "ADD" has taken over and instead of cleaning up/out my room, I'm creating MORE to do!!!  WHAT?!?!?!

 BEFORE:

 AFTER!!!  {I'm obsessed with this new tape I found!!!!!!}

Before I go, I'm leaving you with a picture of who I met today!!!!!!!  I'm also signed up to hear her speak again tomorrow with my son and his friend!  Can't wait!  (Though, we were supposed to be at his baseball game, but it was cancelled because of the rain..)

{Can NEVER get a picture with everyone looking at the same time!  It's also a little blurry... Hubby's not the best at getting clear pics...  I think it might be time for some glasses?!?} ;)

Where does your closet lead?? More Skippyjon Jones Fun!

Was this week long for anyone else?!  I guess it is the weekend now, so it must have gone by fast at some point... (most likely the nights..)

This week we wrapped up our Skippyjon Jones books and fun.  It's kinda sad.  They had such a blast reading and loved learning some Spanish words along the way!

During reading, we worked in 2 groups to do a Reader's Theater-Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice!  You can find the script here on Skippy's website.  (Click on "for teachers"  It's free!)  I had the kids choose and problem solve in groups over the parts they wanted.  Lesson learned--next year, I'm going to "randomly" choose the parts.  I had a few parts that needed switching due to the amount of text to read and the pace/volume of the kids' voices..  They did actually do well with problem solving.  After practicing it for a day or 2, I gave each student a 9X12 piece of white construction paper.  They wrote their character's name and drew their pics of their character.  I tied it around their neck with yarn.

 (I didn't get any pics of the play as I was recording their "shows" to put on my school website for their parents to see.  They were just adorable---especially with that expression!!!!)

In writing, we worked on CREATIVE writing this week!  Creative?!  What's that these days???  On Tuesday (we had a special day on Monday, and didn't have our Reading time), the kids brainstormed ideas of where their closets would take them, if it could.  Wednesday was spent drawing on plain white construction paper (9X12 size), held up and down, like a door ;)  Thursday they spent time writing what happens in the picture.  They used the following paper (look below for the link to grab this page):

Friday, we decorated brown construction paper to look like a door.  I even had them include a little name sign for their doors.  I stapled the door to their pictures and stapled their writing to the bottom of their pictures.  I hung them in the hallway---not sure why at this point in the year, but the kids were so proud of them.  They just HAD to be displayed somewhere--even if we only have 20+ days of school left!  :)

Some of my littles used more than one sheet of this writing.  I just stapled them all on top of on another, so you need to flip to continue to read.  I just love how they incorporated some of the phrases that they found in Skippyjon's books!  {I just realized that I forgot to snap a picture of the display in the hallway before running out of school this afternoon!  I will add it next week!}

Check out these darling pictures!

{The door}

{Open the door and you'll see.... this one is the Great Wall of China!}

 {This one is just the desert}

{Attached at the bottom is their writing---this one is about the Great Wall of China--she has a second page too, that I didn't snap a pic of}

{More writing---I love this---she bounced on her BIG GIRL BED!}

{I love this one too---he wrote that Skippy started to sing!}

Some of my littles used more than one sheet of this writing.  I just stapled them all on top of on another, so you need to flip to continue to read.  I just love how they incorporated some of the phrases that they found in Skippyjon's books!  {I just realized that I forgot to snap a picture of the display in the hallway before running out of school this afternoon!  I will add it next week!}

Click {HERE} to grab the copy of the writing page.  I haven't updated my Skippito pack-ito yet, to include this, but it is coming.  I had one more idea that I'm going to be adding to the packet, as soon as I can get a chance to make it "packet worthy" for you all!  Once I do, I'll make sure to let you know to go download it again!

Thank YOU sale!

It's all about Teacher Appreciation this week!  And Tuesday and Wednesday are no different!  I'll be participating in the Teachers Pay Teachers 2 day sale and will also be participating in the Teachers Notebook sale on those days as well!  All of my things will be 20% off and you can get an additional 10% off by entering in this code at Teachers Pay Teachers:  TPT: TAD13

Here are some of my newest items if you haven't had a chance to check them out!  (Click on any of the pictures to see it in my store!)

 {JUST uploaded tonight!  This will be great for the end of the year, or even at the beginning of next school year, depending on your kiddos!  To see how I use them in my room, click {HERE}}

And some old favorites!

 {I will not have this discounted-as I'm donating the proceeds to the Fox Family---however, you can still get 10% off of it!}

Thanks again for your continued support!  XOXO