I'm Going to Keep on Reaching High

Whew! The past three weeks have been a whirlwind! I thought changing schools but staying in the same grade level would be a breeze. Boy was I wrong! I have been staying at school until 6 (or later) like I was a first year teacher all over again!

We have been BUSY. And just when I thought we were in an awesome routine I had a new nugget show up at my door on Wednesday. Then GUESS what?!? His sweet cousin showed up on Thursday. So it's the 11th day of school and I already had two new nuggets. My motto: THE MORE THE MERRIER! (I can't complain because with my new nuggets I still only have 17 kiddos.)

We have iPads this year and let me tell you the kiddos are OBSESSED. I have incorporated "Golden Tags" from Kristen over at a Teeny Tiny Teacher and iPad is a Fun Friday Center. What an incentive. Maybe it's the iPad, maybe it's the honeymoon period. Whatever it is...it's WORKING! (I will be back later this week with my fave apps that are amazing!)

Tonight, I wanted to share our theme song with you. Our Title 1 Facilitator e-mailed this to us last week and it went perfectly with my Essential for the day. Be the BEST person you can be! (I adapted Ron Clark's Essentials into my firstie room!)

We sing this song EVERY morning. The kids love it! When I taught our essential we discussed how each person is special, just like they sing in the song. The kids LOVED that "The Black Eyed Peas" sang a song. (I may have fibbed a little and told them he made it for our school...oops!) My teammate and I are going to teach them hand motions once they learn the lyrics and perform at our Reading Night!

WARNING: This song will NOT leave your head. I find myself dancing around making dinner to it...I have gotten some strange looks from Nick (and Rudy) this week!

Before I leave you this Sunday I wanted to share my new vowel unit! Maybe it's my love of Big Bang Theory or the adorable Super Hero digital clip art floating around but I just had to find a use for them! So I am introducing Super Sam! He is a Short A Superhero. I am working on finishing up the rest of the "Vowel League" this week!

Stop by my TpT store to check it out! Well, Nick and I finally took the plunge (and bought a flat screen plasma TV...goodbye box tv!) so we are going to watch our first movie on it!

Have a great week back at school!

Star Student, eBooks and My First Linky Party

Hello Friends! I am finally back from a LONG hiatus from blogging! This has been a crazy few weeks that included a mini-vaca to the beach (soo fun!) and some trips to visit the sweet little girl I nanny for in the hospital (she's ok now, thank goodness!) and keeping her sisters while the parents spent countless hours in the Children's hospital. Needless to say, they have taken up much of my time that I was more than happy and willing to give them!

However, I'm back and FULL of ideas, new resources, and some new anxieties! Does anyone else get really anxious at this point in July... too much to do, too much to think, not too much time left! Time to get crackin'! Ok, here goes my randomness of ideas from the past few weeks!

Star of the Week Unit

The past few years I have used a "Camper of the Week" for my student of the week. Well, this year, that won't work! So, I changed everything to just "Star of the Week!" I figured this would be the most generic and easiest to use so I won't have to change it each time I change themes. (One of my new mottos's: Work Smarter, Not Harder!)

I have finally added Star of the Week to my TpT store! You can pick it up there to jazz up your "Star of the Week!" It has different certificates, signs and parent letters to choose from! I have even added some black & white choices since I will be on a tight color printing budget this year!

I have new love...Teacher's Notebook! I know, I know, I've been living under a ROCK! I have added tis unit to my Teacher's Notebook store. I am working today to add some more items to the store for you to check out! 

eBooks!

I went to this awesome training on eBooks the other morning! I want to share some amazing FREE resources that I learned about in this class. Before you read this, everyone has feelings about eBooks. I think that eBooks are a great resource to use in the classroom, especially for read alouds (now everyone can see if it's project on the interactive white board!) but NOTHING can ever replace an actual book! eBooks are just another way to engaging and immersing students in literature! 

Storyline Online 

This awesome site features your FAVORITE read alouds by some awesome celebs, including BETTY WHITE! (Takes me back to watching Golden Girls with my Grandma! :)) These books open in You Tube and you can play for your students. 

Pixle of Ink 

This AMAZING blog give you the daily deals for eBooks for your Kindle, iPad, Nook, etc! Sign up for the daily e-mail or facebook message to find bargains (and free) books for you and your kiddos. 

*They had different blogs for each level (adult, children) and the children's blog is broken down into age groups! 

We Give Books

This is my new favorite site! This is brought to you from Pearson Publishers. On this site, you can download and read the book on your computer or tablet. This site has different literacy campaigns and for each book you read, Pearson will donate to the campaign of your choice! This is a great way to promote giving back and literacy all in one! I smell a service project for my little nuggets. I'm thinking this year we will create a weekly/monthly goal of books to read and donate! 

Project Gutenburg

These books have been scanned by volunteers for Project Gutenburg. These are thousands of books that are available for FREE! 

Linky Party

With all these wonderful eBook resources out there, it made me wonder (this is dangerous!) what other eBook resources are out there! With the popularity of interactive white boards and tablets in the classroom, I want to know how you use eBooks in your classroom and where you download them from! So I am joining the linky party craze at The Ultimate Linky Party hosted by Teaching Blog Addict and hosting my own PAR-TAY! Join in on the eBook fun!

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Have You Filled a Bucket Today?

Have You Filled a Bucket Today? 

I would like to think I have! (I did help a friend move her office all morning...that counts right?!?) Have you read my favorite book to use for character education? Have You Filled a Bucket Today by Carol McCloud is a wonderful story that is perfect for any age classroom! You can add it to your beginning of the year (or anytime of the year) character education lessons! It promotes positive behavior to express kindness, appreciation and love on a daily basis!

Even though character education is NOT a standard, it is something we are constantly teaching. People today need those character lessons to help improve themselves as individuals and learn the importance of kindness, appreciation and LOVE! It is so important to be a positive role model in our students lives so they have a daily reminder of what a bucket filler looks like. No bucket dippers welcome here!

This year my new school is a PBIS school (any advice, suggestions are welcome!) and I am not as familiar and I would like to be with the PBIS system! I am all about some positive behavior plans! Hello, rewarding the correct behavior! Yes, please! Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think a student should be rewarded all the time for meeting high expectations but I do think a student should be rewarded when they go above and beyond!

To incorporate positive behavior and "Bucket Filling," I can't wait to read the book to my new batch of nuggets! Each year, we begin by discussing how we treat each other. To help with alphabet review we create a list of a something positive for each letter of the alphabet. (A=applaud others B=be kind to everyone C=cheer for others, etc). This helps the students think of creative ways to go out of their way to do random acts of kindness, show appreciation, and love each other! Now it's time to read the story.
After the story, we complete a Venn Diagram (together) to compare and contrast Bucket Filler's and Bucket Dippers. The comparisons help students to really analyze the differnece between the two and understand how to be a "Bucket Filler." Lesson over. Forget about Bucket Filling for the rest of the year. WRONGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!! We continue this lesson for the rest of the year! Wahooo!

At the front of the classroom we have a bucket (well a circle box but you get the point!) where students can write down the name of someone that has been a "Bucket Filler." Then, if I need a special errand or to choose a student for something special, I go straight to the classroom bucket to choose a special student. (BAZINGA! Positive behavior=reward!) Mission Complete!

Since I'm feeling SO appreciative for your sweet comments in this blog's short life and I LOVE gaining new followers and reading your BLOGS, I'm going to give you my bucket filler card that the nuggets fill out! Click on the picture below the grab these cute little coupons!

I would LOVE to know how you incorporate bucket filling or positive behavior in your classroom? Comment and let me know!