Week Four Update with Reading Notes and Parent Involvement!

Hey friends! So this week kicked off the 4th week of school for my district and I have to say that I am really lovin' my new group this year with their spunky personalities!! This year has really made me appreciate just how responsible little nine years old really can be. At the end of each year we have created such a well oiled machine that things go on without a hitch (usually). So trying to slowly move my way back to that well oiled machine has been somewhat of a painful difficult task for the first couple of weeks. However, now we are all more familiar with each other, we know the routines (for the most part), we are moving into the curriculum, and it has been going great!!!

This is the first year I have taught using the Daily 5 model and I am still trying to get a feel for it. It is so difficult trying to fit Daily 5 in with our current reading curriculum, which is Wonders by McGraw-Hill, since there is just so much to cover with such little time. Also, with having so many bilingual students we really take it at a slower pace which makes small group very beneficial, but again finding the time to fit it all in =  a challenge! Next week, I plan on letting the students choose their rounds of Daily 5 for the first time and I am hoping they will do alright. If they don't, I guess that means I didn't model and scaffold it enough and we need to go back through it! However, so far they have done a wonderful job following the expectations we have gone over together. They're building their stamina, becoming better readers and writers, and loving the independence.

I also have to show my Reading Notebook where I will keep notes on students' current reading abilities. I wanted to use a composition book, but able to use it quickly to keep the time moving. So I created my DIY tabs for the notebook and I am really happy with it!

For the tabs I simply created a table in word that was 4 rows by 6 columns. I put the names in the 1st and 3rd rows and then left rows 2 and 4 blank. Then I cut them out so that every name had a blank cell underneath it. I left this extra cell so I could tape it to the back of the page.... like so 

I know it's hard to see but this is the back side of one of the tabs. I lined it up along the paper and put one strip of tape over the blank cell and left the cell with the name hanging out (like a tab). I'm sure those directions were a bit confusing so hopefully the pictures help!

So far it is working really well. Each student has 4 blank pages to start for me to record notes and if I need to I can always make a 2nd notebook once this one is full. Oh I also laminated the table before I cut it out so the tabs were a bit more durable.

Now, on to what I originally came to blog about was parent involvement. At my school it is somewhat of  a struggle to get parents involved into their child's learning and one of the main reasons that is would be because of the language barrier. I hardly speak any Spanish and hardly any of parents speak English so I am always trying to find ways to pull the parents in. This year I decided to modify our grade level's "Thursday folders". Over the past 4 years my team and I have used "Thursday folders" as a form of communication between the parents and the teacher. Throughout the week, graded papers and flyers will go into the students' mailboxes and on Thursday the students will collect the materials in their mail box, which also includes a weekly newsletter from me, and house those papers in their Thursday folder. Thursday nights they take it home, they are supposed to go through the papers with their parents, and return the folder signed the next day. If I or the child's parents have comments they can either leave me a note on the right side of the folder or leave a quick note on the day they signed. 

Well this was all good and grand, but I got the feeling that the papers were coming out of the folder and going into the trash. I understand that everyone is busy and our schedules become hectic and crazy, but I wanted to know that my parents were taking the time to see how their child was doing and what was going on at our school. Therefore, I decided to give those Thursday folders an facelift!!!!!

Front of folder with label and student's number

                         

Now instead of just signing the folder the parents fill out a quick check box that tells me their feelings about their child's graded work. I included a happy face, an "okay" face, and a sad face. Then, next to the sad face, I wrote "I need to work at home on ______________ with my child." The check boxes with the faces allow it to be understood by any language and the quick statement next to the sad face makes the parent reflect on what they can do at home to help their child. So far it has been wonderful! My parents are being honest, cooperative, and I have been written more side comments this year than any year before. I feel like it's a great way for the parent(s) and I to stay on the same page and work together! I am hoping the rest of the year goes as well as this and it keeps the line of communication open between us.

Blank copy of the new face lift with signature, comments, and reflection.

Parent's signature and response! =)

I have quite a few more ideas that I will be trying out this year to continue improving parent involvement, but for now this is the first one I've implemented that is new(ish). At the end of September I will be going with a team from my  building to the Teach to Lead conference in Washington. One of our goals while we are there is to try and find ways to increase parental involvement. This means (hopefully) after the conference I will have plenty more ideas to implement and share with all of you! So tell me.... What do you do in your classroom to keep the communication open and the parental involvement up?

Getting to Know Your Child Worksheet

HI Friends!!! So I have officially made it through the first week of school! The kiddos started on Tuesday and the week flew by!! It was exciting to meet my new class and start the year fresh, but I am still having that feeling of "where did the summer go!?!?!".  Hopefully I'm not the only one feeling that way. I just wanted to share a quick post of a worksheet I use at the beginning of the year, or for new students, to better get to know their child. I have it in English and Spanish and I LOVE it. It gives me such great information to start the year with until I can figure out who each of my students are as individuals. If you like the worksheet I have it at my TpT store, in English and Spanish.

It includes contact information, medical need-to-know info., and a short questionnaire.

If you have any questions about how I use it, please feel free to leave me those questions in the comments. For the Spanish version you can click here.

What do you like to do at the beginning of the year when getting to know your children??

First Day Read Alouds

A few days ago I requested about ten books to be sent to my public library and they're all in!!! All of the books I requested are centered for the beginning of the year as read alouds with your new kiddos. I went to pick them up today and was so excited just from seeing the covers. I just finished reading them all and I can't wait to share them with my students. I know my new kiddos will just love them!

Usually my favorites for the beginning of the school year are First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg (to see the kids so puzzled right at the end) and Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester (every year it pulls at my heart strings because I love Wodney oh so much!). These have been my "go-tos" for the last few years.

However, the ones I've shared below are new to me. There were a few that were just so wonderful I needed to share! They cover a range of topics that you will want to cover in the first few weeks of school like bullying, tattling, and excitement!

The first one I read was called Dear Teacher by Amy Husband. It was an adorable book (in the shape of envelope by the way) about a student writing friendly letters to his teacher about his adventures that are stopping him from coming to school. The boy is witty, fun, and goes on great excursions that will keep the students' interests. You could read this at the beginning of the year or when teaching how to write friendly letters.

The next one was The Juice Box Bully; Empowering Kids to Stand Up for Others by Bob Sornson and Maria Dismonday. This one was great because not only did it explain about bullying, but it also talked about standing up for others and not being a bystander to bullying. 

After that I read It's Back to School We Go! First Day Stories from Around the World by Ellen Jackson. This one shares how the beginning of school is different for kids in different countries. It shares when they start school, how many times a week they go to school. and other interesting facts. Each page is dedicated to a new country and a child from that country. The child shares about their normal day at school. I think for this read aloud I will break up it over a span of two weeks. Every day I will read a new page to the class and we will discuss how that country is similar and different than our own.

The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill and Laura Huliska-Beith was ADORABLE. This is another great book about bullying. I loved the rhythm and illustrations of the book! It shares how "Mean Jean" controls recess time until a new student comes in. I enjoyed this story because it gave a new perspective on WHY Jean was a bully at recess. I am interested to see if, when asked, my students will pick up on that. 

(Adorable, right!?)

Next, was A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue by Julia Cook. Last year I had a really terrible time with tattlers in my room. It was driving me MAD! Was anyone else out there feeling the struggle!? So this year I decided to nip that in the butt (or at least try) right at the start of the year. This book is wonderful because it shares Josh's (the tattler) reasoning behind each tattle, which I liked because if you do have those tattlers in your class they won't feel uncomfortable knowing they meant well and just didn't know the difference between warning and tattling. I also loved it because it goes over 4 rules that help students know when to tell and when to not. I CANNOT wait to read this book. The yellow and purple spotted tongue adds a fun twist to tattling too!

Last, but not least (and I hope ya'll are still with me is) Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes. I think I adored this book mainly because I related so well with Wemberly to when I was a child. Wemberly worries about absolutely everything which I'm sure a lot of our kiddos can relate to as well. It tells her story and how meeting a new friend on the first day of school who also worries makes her come out of her shell. This book was extremely cute and sweet!! 

(Look at that precious face!)

Well folks that's all I have for now. I can't wait to read these lovely books to my students throughout the first weeks of school. There are so many great lessons that can be learned and related to from these great stories. 

So tell me, what is your favorite book to read on the first day of school?? 

Learning Under Construction

The end of summer is near and it is such a sad thought! This week was the first week we were allowed in my building so I went Monday and Thursday, but forced myself not to go the other three days to hold onto summer just a little bit longer. Monday was extremely productive setting up my classroom. I was able to get everything set up and my new decorations hung. Which brings me to our school's new theme this year!

Learning Under Construction

Each year our principal picks a theme from our whole school to follow. Two years ago our theme was sports. Last year was Learning Around the World, and this year is Learning Under Construction.

The year our theme was centered on sports Amy Lemons, from Step into 2nd Grade, had created these adorable table numbers she hung from her ceiling for her classroom. If you haven't seen them the post is located here. She also created labels for her bins. It was beyond perfect for me!! It matched our school's theme, she made had enough for all, at the time, five of my groups, and they fit the bins I had already in my classroom. WIN WIN!!

Then next year came and our theme had changed and Mrs. Lemons, nor anyone else that I could find, had created something for this theme. I was so hooked on these group labels though and they worked so well for organization that I had to recreate. So I made my own for last year's theme, they were blahh okay. However, this year I have made new ones again to match our new theme and I am pretty excited about them! I bought some cute clip-art from Creative Clips. I'm in L.O.V.E! 

My students' desks are in groups of four so I have a total of six groups. Each group has been assigned a tool name which may be used during a construction project. 

What do ya think?!?!

I also created the labels for the bins to match.

I'm going to have to get better at the whole photo taking process because it is going to drive me nuts. These aren't the best photos by no means, but you get the idea. ;-) I made six groups; tool box, hammer, wrench, screw driver, construction cone, and cement truck. 

I use these group labels so I can call students by tool name, group number, or color. It makes things so much easier, faster, and more efficient. They make me happy! =) In future posts you will be able to tell how important organization is to me. 

So do any of you have school or classroom themes each year? What is the theme for you this year!?

Welp that's all for now! The Mr. and I have an engagement party tonight for my cousin and his fiance so I'm off to start some din din and get ready. Happy Friday everyone! Have a wonderful weekend!

Introductions!

Hello All! My name is Christen and I am brand new to the blogging world. I currently teach third grade in Illinois, which I love!!  My kiddos make the day so interesting and enjoyable! This will be my fifth year teaching, all of which have been in third grade. I feel blessed to have had such security so far in my career and looked forward to what the future brings. I love using hands-on, creative activities with my students to help them grow and learn to love what knowledge can bring them. I also enjoy using the technology I am so lucky to have at my school. 

Last month I got married to my hubs of three years and it was wonderful!!! We went on a honeymoon shortly after and now things have definitely gone back to the real world. Nothing really has changed for the two of us since we've been married, but being a wife FEELS different in a great way! So now that things have calmed down from all the wedding planning, I figured what better time to start a blog! I enjoy spending time with my family, who are without a doubt are the most important people to me. I am a Pinterest fanatic and love finding new things to create and decorate in our home. When people come into my classroom and ask me where I came up with all of these ideas I always tell them that I have a Pinterest themed classroom. Mainly all of my ideas come from others in the Pinterest or blogging world which I am so thankful for. I always seem to be working on something in the classroom, which is why I love reading blogs because they are experiencing the same thing I am. As of right now the Mr. and I have no dogs and no children, but some day hopefully we will. All in good time! ;-)

 I hope to learn from all of you while sharing some new ideas I use in my classroom. I look forward to learning more about blogging and hopefully making this a tool for other educators out there to use! Happy summer!!