Why I Teach Art

I have made it a point to teach one art skill/project each week to my students.  I wish that I would have done this years ago, but with all of the stress on getting it all in, I didn't.  This year, I decided to dedicate time, on Fridays, for students to let their inner artist ROCK!  I have seen fine motor skills develop and students' creativity take off.  I am so grateful to also have a parent volunteer (hard to come by at my school) come in and help each week.
Their creativity has supported the connections they make during reading as well as their writing.  I can't ask for anything more!

As a way to share ideas, the following ladies and I have started a collaborative Pinterest board filled with project ideas you could try with your students.

Please let me know if you are interested in contributing to this board.

How do you teach art to your students?

Math Monday - Connect4 Make10

This year, I began incorporating math centers into my daily math routine (previous post).  I have had so much success with them and it seems to have become my students' favorite part of the day.  I have been wanting to incorporate some different forms of fact practice and thought this idea would be the perfect fit:

Connect4 Making10
  

I was able to find Connect4 on sale at Target, so I picked up 2, and got to work!

The game came with 2 bags of discs, but I only needed 1 for the math game.  I wrote the numbers 1-4, and one 5 per color, on the discs.

The object of the game is to get 4 in a row and create a sum of 10.  You can definitely create variations of the game, but I wanted to make it challenging for my high fliers.

 No win here because there are only 3 red discs in a row, even though the sum is 10.

 The yellow discs won by creating a sum of 10 with 4 in a row!

I decided to use the other bag of discs to create a collaborative word work game.

 For this variation, students use their discs to create as many words as they can together.  When no more discs are left, students count up how many words they were able to create together.

You can see 3 words in this game already: hat, best, and web.

Be sure to check out what other teachers are up to, through A Burst of First's Math Monday Linky!

Don't forget to enter my November Giveaway for your chance to win The Ugly Pumpkin, by Dave Horowitz and my mini unit.

Currently-November

I survived conferences and am ready to start report cards (yeah right!)!  I did make it through conferences, with only a couple no shows this week.  So now, I need to start Monday by tracking down the families that didn't show.  I make it a point to meet with every family, even if that means a home visit.  And, reports cards are around the corner...ekkk!
Here is what is CURRENTLY happening...

It is definitely hot chocolate weather in Oregon!  I love the yummy drink, but honestly the marshmallows are my favorite part.  I found this recipe for honey lavender marshmallows and can't wait to whip up a batch.

What are you currently up to?

Be sure to swing over the Farley's blog to see what other teachers have to say.

Primary {P}inspiration

There is no fooling it...I LOVE PINTEREST!!!  It is a wonderland of super teaching ideas.  So when one of my BESTEST blogger buddies suggested a collaborative pin board I couldn't say yes fast enough.

Swing over to Elizabeth's blog, Seconds at the Beach to become a part of this project.

Be sure to follow this Pinterest Board for {P}inspiring primary ideas!

Back to School Ideas

 I have about a month left before pre-service week, but I am already anticipating back to school prep. Thankfully, Pinterest makes finding and organizing ideas so much easier.

Check out what I found this week:

This is such a great way to keep behavior notes organized.  Now, I just need to find this container.

I love this tutorial!  I can't wait to make a mini for my back to school literature.

With all of the chaos of back to school, I need to keep my blogging organized!  

I have always struggled to keep classroom jobs organized.  I love the idea of having a daily "helping hand." 

This is the greatest!  I can't wait to make this for Back to School Night.

Last year, I used tubs along the counters for centers, but I love the idea of organizing centers throughout my classroom.

I am still contemplating having a classroom pet.  Does anyone have any advice?

This is the Daily 5 JACKPOT!

I love how these turned out.  Do you give colleagues a Beginning of the Year gift?

This pack is fully editable!  Perfect for beginning of the year organization!

Check out the back to school finds other teachers have pinned.

 

How Pinterest Has Made Me a Better Teacher

Like many of you, this past year, I experienced a teaching shake-up.  I was laid-off and recalled to a position I had not taught before.  Although I have several years of classroom experience, it was all at the intermediate level, making the thought of teaching 1st grade daunting.  With only a few days before the start of the school year, I knew I needed to learn how to organize a primary classroom FAST!

My sister introduced me to Pinterest the previous spring, as a visual learner this site became my haven for DIYs and decor ideas.  The most powerful pins I have found are definitely those aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  With 45 states having adopted the CCSS, I am intrigued by the ability to share ideas nationally.  Having taught in 3 states,  I love that I can now share ideas that former colleagues can use.

It wasn't until I started playing around with the search feature that I came across a multitude of classroom resources.  The search feature allowed me to explore first grade ideas, without getting overwhelmed with everything else.  I loved the ability to glimpse inside other teachers' classrooms, while building a bank of ideas.  I can't wait to take the spastic pinning I did this year, to survive my first year in 1st grade, and "Rock the Socks" off of this coming year's classroom and teaching!

Throughout my use of Pinterest I have learned the following:

• make sure the pin is active BEFORE pinning it to your boards
• double check that you have "Permission to Pin" ideas that you find on blogs and websites
• organize your boards to make reviewing ideas simple




• monitor your time (Do you get sucked in like me?)

Happy Pinning!