Squinty-Eyed Smiles & Such

Who doesn't need a squinty-eyed smile and a laugh or two to brighten up their Monday?  

Order up.  One squinty-eyed smile coming your way!

As for the laugh or two - this little guy can provide those.

While we were exploring the geoboard and the many ways we could use it he announced, 

"I'm making a Chinese word."

"What does it say?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said, "but I've seen it on Chinese tv."

So there you go...if anyone knows what "Chinese" word he has made fill us in.

And my favorite quote of the day came from the same kid as he was putting away his phonics book,

"I love this book!" he proclaimed, "It's educating!"
Why yes it is.

At the end of the day we gave this little one a group hug

and said good-bye for now as she and her family go to join their Dad at home for a little while.  We will miss her but we know that it's been hard for them to be separated so we're glad they get to be together again.

PROJECTOR PARTAY!

Every year I teach, I pick up little tidbits of information here and there that can be incredibly helpful in teaching kids routines and proper usage of classroom items.  When it comes to manipulatives, which look ever so enticing and very toy like, it is hard for kids to resist the desire to play with them.

 

 
In recent years, I picked up the idea that it is extremely helpful to let kids have time to play freely with manipulatives and explore before they are required to use them in the way that the teacher directs.  So every year in the first few days of school, I let the kids loose in groups to try out some of the manipulatives, explore and think of ways that they might help in math. This is an awesome beginning of the school year activity!

Enter the PROJECTOR - light shining from a small box on to a wall at just the right height to place your body parts in front of and make shadows - Hello!  What could be more fun that?  Unless you are the teacher for whom making shadows was not the intended use of the projector.  So said teacher decided that if the free play concept works for manipulatives then it might work for the projector.

30 seconds later, I now know that if you give a First Grader time in front of a projector...

 

You will have a PROJECTOR PARTAY!

 

Flailing arms, bobbing heads, craning to be in the light - welcome to First Grade where the thrills are as cheap as they come!

Being Symmetrical is Cool (or The Post In Which Iya Loses Her Cool)

The other day Iya and I were having a conversation.  It went something like this...

ME:  Iya, did you know that you are really quite symmetrical in appearance.  In fact, I think I'll take a couple of pictures of you so that I can use them in math class when we talk about symmetry.

 

IYA:  Really, I don't get what the big deal is about symmetry and frankly, I'd rather not have my picture taken.  In fact I think, I'll just turn to the side and thwart any attempt on your part to take a straight on picture.

 

 

ME:  You know it's for the children, right?

 

 

IYA:  Ahh, you had to go and play the Kid Card.  Fine!  I'll give you one but that's all you are getting!

 

 

IYA:  You did hear me say I was done, right?

 

 

IYA:  Jeepers, you won't even leave me alone when I'm eating.

 

 

IYA: ALRIGHT!  THAT'S IT!  I'VE HAD IT!  I'M ABOUT TO MAKE YOU LOOK SYMMETRICAL!











Marvelous Moosetache Monday

Something fun had to be planned for our last Monday to make up for the shocked looks on my students when they came into the classroom and found everything down off the walls and a bare bones classroom as we prepare for a summer paint job.  So Marvelous Moosetache Monday it was!

I discovered this freebie over at Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives that capitalizes on the moustache craze and gives students the chance to collect data and craft their own graph while sporting their own "stache."  Then I was cleaning my book bins and ran across Margie Palatini's Moosetache about a moose with an unruly moustache and his attempts to tame it. 

Could there be a more perfect combo? So I ran with it.

Using this template, I created a moustache on a stick for everyone.  We started the morning by selecting our moustache and posing with it.

Then we decided on a question for our graph.  I encouraged them to choose something that had to do with our school year.  So we had questions like "What was your favorite hot lunch?", "What was your favorite recess activity?" and "Who was your favorite teacher?".  Then we went next door and using our moustaches declared in our most sophisticated voices, "I moustache you a question"  followed by our question.  After collecting data from the third graders, we returned to our own room to survey one another and complete our graph.

Later we read Moosestache and I had the children imagine what they would do with their own moustache named after them.  They were braided and twirled, used as wings and blockers in a soccer goal.  Amazing!  As each person revealed their "stache",  I had the rest of the students write describing words on post-it notes which we placed on the person's picture once they were done.  Here's what mine looked like.  I couldn't for the life of me come up with anything for my Bethstache to do but create an old lady hairstyle so I went with it. 

One of my students wrote down "teacherish" as their adjective.  Eeewww!  I hope not! :)

After lunch, we created our own Moose and gave him a moustache that could be styled in anyway imagineable. 

The kids came up with some pretty fun ones.  One of my parents had given me some lollipops so we also created two of these one for ourselves and one to share.

By this time we were almost "moustached" out, but we topped the day off with a moustache shaped cookie.  No better ending to Marvelous Moustache Monday than a few whiskers and some juice to wash them down!

For more activities to go along with Margie Palatini's Moosetache you can go here.

Inspired By...

Inspired by one of our new math books - that's what my students have been!  I checked this one out and read it on the day that I introduced the concept of even and add numbers.  They loved it!  It has a great story line, illustrations that get children laughing and an ending that makes the reader want to put their hands on My Even Day as soon as possible.  What I especially loved is that without any encouragement at all, my children were inspired to write stories about an odd day.  Plenty a mother was growing multiple heads or arms, playgrounds were turning into chocolate and school buses were driving around on one wheel.  One thing that is for sure, when I get back to the land of bookstores this is one that I will be purchasing for my own personal teaching library.