teach like your hair is on fire

Last month I went to a "support" meeting for the first year teachers in our county.  I really enjoyed getting together with other beginning teachers to talk about our first year experiences.  We discussed excitements and things that we have struggled with during our first year.  We were given the book Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire by Rafe Esquith.  I have enjoyed reading the first few chapters.  Makes me reflect even more personally on my first year experiences.  The author talks about his classroom being a "different world."  He says, "It's a world where character matters, hard work is respected, humility is valued, and support for one another is unconditional."  This is my goal.  I want my classroom to look like this.  I am eager to finish this book and learn some more of how he accomplished this "different world."
We had another follow up meeting this past week.  We had assigned seats and at each of our seats was a frame with a note from a student in our class and a photograph.  It was such a special surprise!

Little notes like this at the end of a day can make a teacher happy and proud!  We all need a little affirmation.  This is one of the best!   

The presenter at our meeting also read the book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.  He said he read it on the first day of school and last day of school.  I liked how he related it to the classroom.  I found it at TJ Max last night and plan to read it Monday to my students.  I might have to hold back the tears while reading because we only have a few short more months till our school year is over.  It is so hard to believe! 

Reflecting on this past year has been really good.  I am proud of my accomplishments and most important proud of each of my students accomplishments!!!

red robin

Every Monday I send home a word list folder.  As a part of their homework, they are to read these words and come back Friday and have a "test."  These word lists help the students practice sounding words out and working on blending.  They get so excited on Fridays to be tested. 
This week as one student was being tested he came to the word  "yum."  He started sounding it out and blending. 
He read the word, yum, then says,

"Red Robin, YUMMMMM!"

Glad he is comprehending the words he is reading!!

i do so like green eggs!

Last day of our Dr. Seuss celebration week!  I had one parent come in this morning and tell me that they have had so much fun this week!  I love to hear that! 

Today was Green Day.  We read Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss! 

And what kind of green day is complete without trying green eggs?!?!?



I scrambled the eggs and divided them into 23 little cups.  While I was passing out the cups of green eggs, I had one student tell me not to give her a cup because she was not going to try it!  I begged a little and told her she should just take one little bite!  So I counted to 3, and we all tasted them at the same time.  I think it surprised so many of them that they actually LIKED green eggs!  3 students did not try the eggs.  1 student told me, "Ms. Brown, if I eat these green eggs, I will throw up!"  I did not force her!!!  They begged me for more!  I only had enough for everyone to have a little taste.  I had a couple more eggs and told them after lunch we could maybe have some more. 

Each student made a green egg with construction paper.  Then we used the eggs while we made our graph.  We made a graph with the question

Do you like green eggs?

Friday is an exciting day because we have Fun Friday snacks at the end of the day.  Today I provided the snack.  We ate yummy sugar cookies and each child got to ice his own cookie with green icing and then put green sprinkles on his cookie.  And since they begged for more eggs I scrambled more eggs! 

I know you are thinking the same thing as I was...sugar cookies and green eggs go really good together!  They didn't seem to mind. 

My door has been decorated for Dr. Seuss the past two weeks and I have forgotten to share!

We read The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss and had a discussion on opposites. 

(Dry, Wet)

I found this idea on The First Grade Parade blog and had to use it myself! 

A little sad that this week is over.  It was a fun and exciting week.  We read lots of great Dr. Seuss books and some other Beginner Books that my kinders brought to share.  I know that I will treasure this week forever, and I hope my kinders will also.  

hat day!

This has been an exciting week that has worn me out, but it has been totally worth it!  We are all having a blast!
We had a early dismissal today so I had a lot to cram into Hat Day today!

We read The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.  Another book that I had never read and it was really long but my students seemed to really like it! 

All but 2 wore hats today!  I love that most of their hats are bigger than their heads!  They all looked so cute in their hats.  I was hoping that someone would wear a Justin Beieber hat.  They didn't fail me.  My student who has been faithful to JB from the beginning sported her JB hat and matching shirt.  Too cute!!!!

I have been trying to go with the whole Dr. Seuss thing in my apparel this week. 

We did not have extra time today to do special Dr. Seuss activities, but we did color and design a hat as if we were Dr. Seuss.  We also did some rhyming.  I love to listen to their thought process as they think about what words rhyme. 

So thankful that tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!

Tomorrow is Green Day.  I am excited about cooking green eggs tomorrow with my kinder friends!

happy birthday, mama!

Like mother, like daughter!

I am such a mama's girl!

I love my mom so much.

Today is her birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday!!!!

She is my biggest fan.  She is my best friend.  She is my prayer warrior.  She loves me no matter what.

She has loved my sisters and me with her whole heart and much more. 

She has given up so much of herself for her girls. 

We are the girls that we are because of her.  I know that she has prayed for me every day of my life and even before.  I know that she will support me and be by my side no matter what I do. 

She used to tell us that we were stars, and we picked her to be our mommy.  But I know that God picked her to be my mama because He knew that I would need her...BIG time!

I love her so much, and I know that I would be so lost if it were not for her.

p.s. Thanks Mama for always reading my blog and fixing my typos and grammar!!!  Another reason I couldn't live without you!!!

Wacky Wednesday

First thing I told my students..."We might look wacky today, but we are not going to act wacky!"  Special days like this whole week has been my kinders tend to be a little on the wild side.  I know they are excited because I am excited and their teacher is doing some crazy things this week!
I had never read the book until over the weekend.  It is a funny book!

My kinders looked so cute and wacky today!  We enjoyed giggling as each student walked in.  I had one sporting a red and black wig!  It was too cute!  We made a cute Wacky Wednesday class book.  They had to draw someone or something wacky from our day.

My wacky look for the day!

We also talked about Dr. Seuss.  My kinders did not realize that Dr. Seuss was a human.  They told me they thought he was a character!  Glad I had this reader from Mrs. Perry! 

We had yummy cupcakes made by Ms. Jordan!  She made a Cat in the Hat cake too!  I didn't get a picture of it before her students enjoyed it!  The cupcakes had cute cupcake toppers from Frogs, Bees, & Under the Seas.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! 

Thanks for the great books and inspiration!!!

funny things are everywhere

Today was Cat in the Hat day.  I was most excited about this day because my assistant and I dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2!!!

I made the shirts last night.  I was up pretty late and kept asking myself why I still procrastinate!!!!  I am proud of how they turned out so it was worth the little sleep!

Our students loved the wigs and our outfits.  They referred to us as Thing 1 and Thing 2.  Not Ms. Brown and Mrs. Green!

While we were Thing 1 and Thing 2 our students were cats!  They wore these super cute hats from Really Good Stuff.

After lunch while we were working on some fun Cat in the Hat activities my aunt, who is teaching at my school for 12 weeks, called my room and asked if she could bring her 3rd graders and come "look at us."  So they came and paraded through our room, took a look at us, and walked out!!!

We were quite a hit at our little school today! 

We worked on some great learning activities from a unit I purchased from teacherspayteachers.com. 

I really like the Dr. Seuss patterns and beginning sound worksheets that are included witht this unit. 

It isn't too late to get this great unit.

I loved this glyph from The Virtual Vine. 

Mrs. Larremore has a great blog that I follow.  She put together an amazing unit on Dr. Seuss, and it is free!  We made the cutest cats today from her unit.

Such a FUN day!!!

Tomorrow is Wacky Wednesday!!!!