What to say at parent orientation...a top 10 list

 

Do you have a Back to School night or parent orientation?  I do. Sometimes it's tough to get all the information across without losing your audience. After about 10 minutes, they're gone. They're like a bunch of deer caught in the headlights. And I can't blame 'em. I'm a parent. I've spent my time in those headlights.

I have a ppt presentation that I show them. It's filled with all kinds of classroom information. I also save it as a pdf file and post it on our website so it is accessible to them all year. I don't hand it out to the parents, but I give them a blank outline so they can take notes if they want. Here it is. It comes in three different themes. Polka dot, enchanted forest, and secret agent. It's editable so you can change it however you see fit. I love it because it saves me so much time and gives me a guideline. And I can edit what I say based on the glazing I see creeping over the eyes of the parents in my room.

But here are some basics I think are important to let our parents know:
1. I love your child and want to be a memorable part of your family's life.
2. Your child will be given what he or she needs.
3. Your child's growing independence is a GOOD thing. Let them grow.
4. I will listen to you and work with you to help your child. That is why I spend my life doing this.
5. More worksheets does not equal a challenge.
6. All children are gifted. Just in different areas. It's my job to find and nurture that gift.
7. I am knowledgeable and experienced. Let me earn your trust.
8. Your kids will be fine after you drop them off.
9. 95% of the time, kids are better behaved at school. If they are making bad choices at school, I'm pretty sure they're doing it at home.
10. I don't need or want any more mugs.

Obviously, some of these things I can say and some not so much. But I think most of them can and should be said. Actually, I think I may go add some of them to my presentation. My pastors always end the service with a take-away for us. I think I'll do that same thing. These will be my ending take aways, give or take a couple!

Good luck with your parent orientation!

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Vocabulary words for a secret agent theme: a freebie!

I found a way to make my word wall words tie in with my secret agent classroom...footprints!
I know probably not many of you have secret agent themed classrooms, but they're free here.

I made them to fit inside library envelopes. Oh, and they're editable, so put in whatever you need!

My classroom is a total disaster right now...how about yours? Panic is starting to set in. But I know it will all come together. It always does.


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A word wall freebie

Have you ever gone to school thinking about all you have to do and how much you're going to get done, only to do hardly ANYTHING???!!! Sigh. That was me today. Lots to do and not much done. And, have you ever realized you have so much to buy and are OUT of money? Sigh again.
 I know I'm not the only one in this situation. So here you go, I hope you can find this useful. A word wall freebie. It's part of my Secret Agent classroom decoration set.

Which, by the way, I would have started to take pictures of if my camera was not left in CA where we went on vacation. Not good. But the staff at Duff's Cake Mix, yes THE Duff of Ace of Cakes, still had the camera at his bakery where we left it, and they are SO graciously sending it to us. Thank you Duff and your fabulous staff.

Thanks for reading. I hope you're getting tons of stuff done! And are enjoying yourself while you're at it.

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A word wall Joanna Gaines would be proud of.

Do you know who Joanna Gaines is? She is absolutely my favorite designer. I actually don't think she'd like my house, because it's too dark. But her stuff is SO cool.SO creative and simple and homey. She and her husband work in Texas and they have an HGTV show together. He is hilarious and so cute and she is super-model beautiful. But in a normal way. Anyway, as I sit here stalking watching them, I am working on my word wall. I have a secret agent theme, so I wanted to keep it in the theme. Here's what I came up with.

Consonants are white library envelopes. A little boring, but the magnifying glass adds color. I wanted black envelopes, but alas. There are none to be found.

Vowels are black and white chevron. Matches my black chevron border.

The white envelope is a little boring, but I think it will look clean, and stand out on my walls. I cover them in blue plastic tablecloths. They're pretty hideous underneath.

 

I'll be writing the words on old school index cards, so I need to add a little Chip and Joanna Gaines. Since there are magnifying glasses on them, I was thinking fingerprints. Any ideas?

Off I go to find word wall games and activities.

 

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Secret Agent Classroom Decor- 50% off

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It's done! My
classroom decorations are finally done!!!! It took tons of time, but I love it!

 

 

My classroom this year is 75% boys. And when I say boys, I mean BOYS. So I wanted to design something with them in mind, but also something that would get the girls' attention. So I came up with Agents of S.C.H.O.O.L.

Self-controlled

Capable

Honest

Observant

Obedient

Learners

It is full of about everything I could think of that a teacher could possibly need to decorate your classroom.  With lots of spy stuff and lots of color. And totally editable!

I have a plan for decorating, and I think the best thing about it is that it shouldn't be too expensive. And Oriental Trading just happened to have a Secret Agent VBS theme this year! Woohoo! Don't you love it when the stars align??!!

This product is 50% off for the next 24 hours. You can check it out here! I'll be displaying pictures  of my classroom as soon as I can!

Thanks for reading!

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Teaching addition and subtraction...at the same time?????

Have you ever tried to teach addition and subtraction at the same time? I was looking over 1st grade CC standards and re-doing my curriculum map. Ummm....was that supposed to be done all of last year, month by month?  Oops. Maybe.

Anyway, I noticed how so many of the standards would almost have to be split into addition and subtraction, at least in the math content area. You'd be basically using the same standard on your map twice, which is fine and happens a lot, but as a matter of teaching, I thought maybe it would be better to teach both processes together. So I tried doing some research on teaching addition and subtraction at the same time. There wasn't much out there. Maybe for good reason. Maybe this is a terrible idea. But I'm gonna try it. At least for the first 4 weeks. Here's my plan.

Wouldn't it be easier to compose and decompose numbers together? Couldn't we just do that as a whole group and then break it down into addition and subtraction number sentences, right from the get-go? Wouldn't that give them a greater understanding of numbers? Wouldn't that lead to a better understanding of word problems and fact families?

I still plan to use 6 main strategies:
1.Count on
2. Count back
3. Doubles
4. Doubles plus 1
5. Making 10
6. Adding multiples of 10

We will also learn the 4 basic types of problems:
1. join
2. separate
3. part-part-whole
4.compare

I plan to use many, many different types of manipulatives to compose and decompose. I also noticed in my plan that I didn't have anything written about introducing writing subtraction sentences. I have to add that. It will take me much longer this year to get through all of those 6 strategies. But I think that's ok. It will ensure that they are solid in their understanding.

I really want to take some time to plan this out well. I'll keep you posted.


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Decorating next year's classroom

I love decorating my classroom. It's one of my favorite parts of teaching. I spend a lot of time and research thinking about what I want to do, and change my mind many times during the summer. I usually know a year ahead of time what I want for next year, but then change my mind before I get it ready.

For next year I had planned and started creating a Candy Shoppe theme. And then I realized that many of my students will be boys. So I will finish my Candy Shoppe theme, but I am also in the process of creating a Secret Agent theme. I'm thinking Marvel Comics meet Mission Impossible.

So here's a part of what I have for the Candy Shoppe so far.

Name Plates

My secret agent set is still in the works. So far it's main colors are shades of lime, turquoise and black. Boyish, but girlie enough that girls will love it too!

Once I have them completely done, I will be giving sets away. So look for that in June!


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