Monday Spelling Prep!

It's Saturday and you know what? I'm ready to rush the weekend! My children are off at a sleep over and I wish they were here with me. I finally get that peace & quiet that I desire and yet here I am complaining. How sad! Anyway, today I wanted to share how Roman prepares for his First Grade Spelling Tests!

On Monday, I hand him a typed up list and we read it together. After that we write the flashcards together while saying and spelling the words. Once we have finished that I hand him some stickers and he moves to the reading bench alone. Once he can read a word, he puts a sticker on it. If he can spell the word, he adds a second sticker to it.

On Tuesday, he takes his list words and uses water to 'paint' them on the wall as he searches for each letter and spells the words. This is a fun game that he gets to play as he learns. More information on this HERE!

Wednesday brings Barrel of Monkeys time! He takes his flashcards and our barrel of monkeys and works on spelling each word out. Once it is spelled, he takes our classroom camera (an old digital phone) and photographs his words. This allows him to work alone and me to grade his progress later.

Monday-Wednesday he has to write out each spelling word 5 times. I made the 3 columns right on the back of each flashcard, which makes it easy to keep in 1 place and for him to study as well.

On Thursday he takes the quiz in his notebook and any that he gets wrong, he must rewrite on a new page and copy them 5 times. Friday is TEST day & by this day he is usually more than ready! If he does get any wrong, he just writes it 3 times, to reinforce the word.

Enjoy your week my friends!

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3 Letter Sight Words

As I sit here and notice that Summer is flying by, I cannot believe it. How did it disappear so quickly? It must have been the very few hot days we had and the more balmy weather. Not that I'm complaining, I'm ready for Apples and Pumpkins and Orchards and Patches! This week I made up a worksheet for Roman to reinforce his 3 letter sight words. I do this every now and then, to keep them refreshed in his head. As he learns more difficult words, I don't want him to forget the other words. If you would like to print this one out (it's the first of the school year), go HERE!

Have a wonderful day my friends and remember to enjoy every single minute!

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What Would You Attempt....

If you could not fail?? Such a heavy question but it could be taken many ways as I broached this subject with my children. They had their new notebooks open and pencils sharpened to a point. Before we began our school year, I wanted to start a new tradition. These notebooks would only be written in on the first day of every school year and then as they started college, they would be free to take them with. A memory in the making.

I sat at my desk and asked the children: "What would you attempt to do, if you knew you could not fail?" I could see the gears turning and the youngest raised his hand right away. I shushed them and told them to just write it down. Draw a picture if need be, write a story, a sentence...anything at all to describe what you would do and then just date it. That's it. No grades, no right or wrong answers, no correcting your writing. Simple. It was so quiet, that I was a bit unnerved but then I too began to write.

How can a simple question bring to mind so many things? It really made me think and once I started writing, it was almost as though I could not stop. It felt good to put feelings to paper. What would I do? Too many things. My long time dream has been to open up a used book shoppe. Not just anyone in anyplace though. I have an addition on my house that used to be a beauty salon before we moved in and gutted the place. I would put it in there. I live on a main road and know traffic would be good (not that I want it crowded mind you) & well, I have the books. I want bistro tables, light music and chatter going on. I can imagine it every time I close my eyes. That's my attempt in the physical sense, I sketched it out and wrote out so much detail. When it came time to dig deeper, I knew my other attempt would be to just let go. I am a person that is always in control. I like to keep tabs on everything and execute it well. When something does not go to my plan, it bothers me. I wish I could let go and let someone else take over the reins. That would really allow me to live a different life. Could I actually do it? No, but if I was guaranteed not to fail, well then it's worth the shot!

As their notebooks were turned in, I read answers that were silly and serious. Though the answers elicited laughter, I knew the children were serious in their writing and that is all I asked.
Roman: I would jump off the roof. His picture showed him flying through the sky with a blue cape flapping in the breeze. How perfect this answer was, he is the one child that I know will grow up before his time and want freedom from this house as quickly as possible. He has his future all planned out by the age of 5 and I truly hope that his wings (cape) will take him far.

Gabriel: I would go to space. His picture showed a rocket ship taking off. This is my Gabriel, someone not meant for the ordinary jobs of the world. He was always thinking of ways to make things better, never satisfied with what just was. It had to be faster, cooler, different.

Autumn: I would be a Fashion Designer/Scientist. Her picture showed her in her lab wearing the most colorful, ornate and unique lab coat. She went on to explain that she loves Science and wants to do so much when she gets big. There are many things she wants to create and test and experience. Her brain wants her to be a Scientist and she knows it will be fun. She then goes on to explain that Fashion Design is her fun thing to do, something she can do at home instead of watching TV and on the weekends too. This encompasses all of Autumn, she wants to best of both worlds and will never settle for just 1. 

So my friends....I now ask you....what would you attempt, if you knew you could not fail?

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Classroom Confessions

Happy Thursday, today I felt would be a great day to let you into my head a little bit! It's a colorful place with too many ideas and thoughts floating around. I would imagine it's much like a tornado if they were colorful and instead of debris, left mountains of glitter everywhere! Today's blog post is all about classroom confessions!
::My desk is always messy. From the beginning of the day, until I head to bed.
::I drink home made iced mint tea non stop throughout my day.
::I have a nasty habit of always sharpening my pencils. I love pointy pencils.
::I love to doodle. I keep a notebook on my desk that is solely for doodles.
::If I am not addressing someone, I am on my computer creating new blog posts to post for when I go away for extended periods of time.
::I use a packing tape dispenser as a cup holder!

::Even though the kids have jobs to clean the shelves every day, I still go over it at night, because I enjoy it.

::I like to run my hands over everything in the drawers and on the shelves.

::When left alone in the house, I come to the floor of the classroom and just stare at it all.
::I rearrange my classroom at least once a week.
::My books all have book pockets in them like a library.
::I hope to one day own my own card catalog!

::I collect containers of all sizes and shapes, even if I do not know what they will be used for at the moment.

::I have photos of my travels throughout the classroom.

::I often wish I had a room like this growing up, I would have never left it.
::We listen to Classical music all day in the classroom and it switches to Country once the day is over.

::Whenever I see a box of crayons on sale, I must buy them. MUST.

::School supplies are my weakness, I love the way they smell and how everything feels new.

::I have to stay out of stores, because no matter what it is, I can find a way to incorporate it in my classroom & even the automotive store was deemed too dangerous for my wallet!

::I doubt myself daily

::I worry about my children
::I love the way a book feels in my hand
::I am grateful that there are people like you all out there reading my ramblings.

I really hope so!

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Wordless Wednesday

Enjoying the time together

Reading with BOB books and making Flashcards

Autumn is teaching the class how to sew!

Kids getting out of hand with their bickering? Give them a challenge to do TOGETHER!

Creating our own coloring pages that also make awesome wrapping paper!

Enjoy your beautiful life, every single minute of it!

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Days and Numbers

Hello and happy days my friends! I truly hoped you enjoyed my scheduled postings while I was gone. I tried hard to stay organize and have them done ahead of time, as I am not liking when every weekend it is completely blank in my blog. We spent 5 wonderful days away enjoying a beautiful wedding ceremony that my children stood up in. This was their kindergarten teacher who thoroughly enjoyed having them in class and we all remained close after the fact and now they were in her wedding.  A happy time for all! On our way home on Sunday afternoon, we stopped in the Dells for a night to enjoy time at Great Wolf. Unwinding from a trip where the kids were in constant demand at rehearsals, dinners, breakfasts, brunches, the actual wedding and reception made them quite exhausted and to just float in the lazy river and play silly games made all the difference. 

In today's Corner of my Classroom, I share this little shelf that holds a delightful Science Series of books combined with a religion series that my youngest absolutely loves. As he spends so much time here, I decided to go ahead and incorporate some other items that he would love working with. A small easel sporting calendar numbers allows him to enter the room daily and change out the day of the month that it is.
Young children need to be constantly kept stimulated, even if it's just letting them walk around a bit and this is how I keep my youngest involved. From there he moves to our large calendar and circles the Day of the Week and Writes the Month. This allows him to move and learn at the same time! 

Enjoy every minute my friends.

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Menu Plan Monday

Monday already? Honestly, how does this day sneak up on me every.single.week? Am I the only one that seems to feel this way? Crazy. Well, it's time to post my menu! I have had requests to post our breakfast and lunches as well. I will go ahead and have what I have on the schedule but as I am sure many of you know, with kids...well things change if a class goes too long or a play date goes into overtime!

Monday:

B- Cereal with Raisin Toast (First days back from the weekends are too hectic to cook)

L- Turkey & Tomato Wraps with Carrot & Celery sticks and hummus

D- Grilled Chicken over Garden Veggie Salad served with Tomato Soup

Tuesday:

B- Egg, Ham & Cheese English Muffins with Watermelon Slices

L- Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches served with Cuties

D- Grilled Shrimp over Fetuccini Alfredo

Wednesday:

B-Pigs in a Blanket with Cantaloupe

L-Ham and Cheese wraps with tortilla chips &  salsa

D- Taco Night!!

Thursday:

B: Cereal with Whole Wheat Toast

L- Summer Sausage & Cheese Curds with Veggie Platter and dip

D- Baked Potato Night with Garden Fresh Salad

Friday:

B- Waffles with fresh strawberry toppings and yogurt

L- Picnic Lunch packed for field trip!

D-  Dinner & A Movie out with the family!

Saturday: 

B: 3 cheese omelettes served with roasted potatoes

L & D will be on the grill as we begin to destroy our kitchen for a mini remodel

Sunday:

B: Chorizo & Eggs with Beans

L: Sandwiches and Chips

D: Grille Shrimp Skewers served with garden salad

Have a great week my friends!!

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Custom Flashcards!

Happy Sunday! A quick post with something I do often around here. Flashcards tend to get pretty boring over here with the kids studying them daily. When kids outgrow certain games (go fish, memory, matching games, etc.) I go save them in a small shoe box type bin. When the time comes, I take a game and add mailing labels to create something new! I create a new matching game, using Sight Words, Math Problems, Words in Books that are difficult to read, Spelling Words, Vocab Words...anything at all that I feel needs additional practice that isn't a flashcard. NOW its a GAME! The kids love seeing their old games used in a new way and I feel like I am saving a game that may be missing a pair or may be a bit warped, from the trash a little longer.

And play we do! We certainly love homeschooling!! Enjoy every minute of our ever fading weekend my friends!

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Saturday School Round-Up

Our new school year started on Monday! I know, I know, we school year round but we made it special none-the-less! Fresh supplies were put out, new books had their spines cracked and I added a desk to the classroom. I now have my very own teacher desk, with a new schedule. We spend the first 2 weeks tweaking our schedule and seeing what works for us and what does not. I also spend this time making notes on curriculum.

Organization is key in homeschooling and this year is no different! I purchased a storage unit from The Container Store, to keep everyone's school books, folders and notebooks in line. Everyone has a drawer and this is where they can find everything and put it all away. My master copies of books are also in a drawer!! I plan on finding cute tags to tag the unit properly.

New year, means new decor. There is only so much I can do in a one room classroom but I like to change it up often. New in our classroom is our book garland! These little books get a title written on them when we complete a book and they are displayed for all to see that visit us here. 

They are eager to learn and having a blast working on new books!

This is next week's topic in creative writing and it really has me thinking about what exactly would it be....more on my answer next week. Enjoy the weekend my friends.

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Shark Time!

Happy Friday my friends, I love this day of the week more than anything. It's always the promise of something exciting. We studied sharks this past week in school and had some fun doing it.

We took some time to read about different sharks and see if we could guess which ones were what. I like to keep books on hot topics in shelf bins so that they can all be removed at once.

Building a large model of a shark was so much fun! Over the Summer, we built it once before, so that the kids would figure out how to do it on their own and get a rough idea for it. Now they were able to do it together and they learned as they were building it!

What better way to end the day, then a movie on sharks, courtesy of NETFLIX! What fun it was to learn about something that truly excites us!

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