When you leave your computer, there are no blog posts...

Hi families and friends!

Someone went to Madison this weekend and left her computer there. (Nice, I know.) Therefore, due to my limited availability with a computer, daily blogs will start again next week. Here are a couple important tidbits from our week to tide you over:

1. We learned about assertion this week! We explored ways to be assertive through role playing which wsa a huge success! I heard students using the language we practiced in real situations through our school day. The students loved role playing; we'll have to do more!

2. We started learning American Sign Language this week. We have been working on the alphabet daily, but today we started learning colors and animals by using the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?. Our goal is to learn all of the signs in this book so that we can sign it for our friends at school and for our families at home. The students are very excited about this and so am I! ASL is one of my passions and I am always inspired how it can enhance and transform our classroom community.

3. We took a trip to Kordiak Park in search of signs of fall. While we didn't see many leaves changing colors (yet!) we did have a chance to explore, dig, get a little (don't worry just a little!) dirty, and play together. We'll return in a few weeks to observe the changing leaves!
Alright, borrowed computer time is up. Look for a new blog post and pictures again on Monday!

Funky Friday (September 23)

We concluded our week with a lot, and I do mean a lot, of dancing today! In the morning, I always choose a different type of music for us to listen to as we come in and do our morning work. This morning I was playing Motown music, and Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 happened to come on. Two kiddos immediately recognized him and that started our day with singing, laughing, and dancing. The rest of the day we would transition to new activities by turning on some good ol' Michael Jackson and practicing our moonwalking skills. I wish you could have been here to witness all of the dancing that was going on! What a great day!

We started our very first Math Game Mania today! This will happen every Friday and is so much fun! The kiddos chose the math game they wanted to play and had a great time! I had the chance to work with kiddos of all skill levels throughout the mania. It's always fun to let the kiddos relax and learn all while they play. Plus, I love being able to work one-on-one with each kiddo, even if it is for a few minutes.

We continued our study of cooperation today with a very exciting art project. Yesterday, everyone chose a crayon that they liked. Then, I glued each crayon to a piece of posterboard and today we used a hairdryer to melt them all together. This is the conclusion that the kiddos came up with: We are all different, but when we work together we can do beautiful things. HOW INCREDIBLE! (And how perfect, this is exactly the conclusion I hoped they would see.) We will continue to draw connections between our lives and how we can use cooperation, but this was a thrilling, colorful way to learn. I will post a picture of the final product on Monday.

Books We Read Today:
Skippyjon Jones- Judy Schachner (one of my all time favorites)
Agate- Joy Morgan Dey (another of my all time favorites)
The Mouse and the Motorcycle - Beverly Cleary


Interesting Tidbits From Our Day

(After one kiddo expressed that he didn't care for Michael Jackson's music) "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! MJ is the best! In fact, he's singing up in heaven right now!" (Regardless of your beliefs about heaven, how funny is that?")

Room F's favorite singers: Michael Jackson, Justin Beaver (no, not Bieber, they are convinced it's "Beaver), Leonard Skinnard (well, really just Sweet Home Alabama) and Enrique Iglesias.

"ABC Blues" Cures Sleepy Kiddos

If you are looking for a way to instantly thrill your child try one of the three options: A. ABC Beat, B. Ze-Zi-Ziddly, or C. (and the all time favorite in Room F) ABC Blues. These are cheesy, yet oh-so-silly songs that the kiddos love to sing and dance to. We sing them everyday and it is a hoot to watch them dance! Don't fret if you don't know these songs! I would be willing to be your student will gladly sing them for you. Today while we were singing I had to stop because I was laughing so hard- the kiddos sing and dance so passionately and it is so cute you can't help but feel joy for them. The more I get to know our class, the more song and dance I incorporate into our day. I think we were made for each other. At the beginning of October I will be bringing my keyboard in, then we can really jam!

We've been working hard these past two days by working with numbers and turning them into tallies, and also by taking important tests! Yesterday and today we took our fall MAP tests. These show us where each student is starting the year. As we re-test in the winter and spring we can watch how they grow. I am excited for you to see your student's growth. You will be so proud! In math we've been working very hard to develop strategies for determining which number is larger. Once we do that, we translate that number into tallies. This is a tricky concept for two reasons: the idea that the fifth tally is a slash is confusing and it takes a lot of self control to be using whiteboards and counting. What a great lesson in numbers and self control! We started playing Top It today which is a huge hit. (It's essentially the game of "War" but with a much more peaceful name.) Tomorrow is our first Math Game Mania! Instead of me teaching for the entire duration of math, the students will get to do an academic choice. This is where they assess what they like to do or what they need practice in and do an activity that supports that. This also gives me a chance to work with small groups of students to help them with specific skills. Tomorrow our choices will be Bunny Hop, Penny Dice Grab, Top It, or I Wish I Had. Stay tuned to find out what your student chooses!

We have been learning about cooperation this week and have been practicing in various forms: through structured play, free choice, free play outside, during math and reading, and walking in the hallway. Playing math games and working in partnerships provides the ideal environment for teaching what cooperation is all while helping the students solve problems independently. We have a very exciting activity tomorrow afternoon that will help us remember what cooperation and our class motto ("We are all in this together") mean. Well, I'm excited...hopefully the kiddos will be too.

Here are some pictures that are just too cute to pass up. The cantaloupe was a huge hit!

Brandon thought that it was just too funny
that the melon was the same shape as a
smile!

The cantaloupe is almost bigger than
her!

This is no match for Kasey! I think he
ate three pieces. This is exactly the kind
of healthy eating we want to see kids
doing!

 Books We Read Today:
The Mouse and the Motorcycle - Beverly Cleary
Dooby Dooby Moo - Doreen Cronin


Interesting Tidbits From Our Day

One student came to another student and said, "I got over 100 points on my test!" The other student, who scores 170 points said with grace and compassion, "Wow, that's really great nice job!" Instead of bragging about his score (which is very hard for anyone of any age not to do), he chose to react that way. The other kiddo's face literally lit up with pride.


"Wouldn't it be cool if apples were black?!" (Other student, completely unimpressed by the notion) "No."

"Tomorrow is Friday? Do we never have to come to school after that?!" (Seriously, I don't know what it is about the kiddos thinking school is done for the year already...)

Sneezes and Giggles

WARNING! The "sick" season has begun! There are sniffles, sneezes, coughs, and germs rapidly spreading around our school. We went through a mass amount of Kleenex in our room today and therefore, we also went through a great amount of hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes to keep our room clean. I myself am getting a bit of a cold too. When my kiddos heard my voice at Morning Meeting (low, scratchy, and quiet) one said, "Wow, Ms. Carlberg are you ok? Because if you're not you can go home and rest and we can get another teacher. It'll be ok, really." How sweet! I'm just fine, but please make sure you're washing hands like crazy!

Our day started a little different today because we had to practice bus safety. This was exhilarating (for the students, not so much for me) because we got to get on the bus in the morning and practice exiting through the back of the bus! It was nice for me to hear the bus expectations from the bus drivers so I can help reinforce those in our room too. Here were are walking to and sitting on the bus:

Look at this line! We are getting
better at walking straight
down the hallway. 

We started learning a new concept in math today- using the number line to solve problems. We practiced "hopping" on the number line to help us count. For example, I said, "I had three cookies. Then I bought 4 more. How many more do I have now?" While some of the kiddos may know how to add this in their head, we are teaching a problem solving technique that will prove valuable throughout the year and all of the student's schooling. Also, we learned how to use the number line to tell which number is bigger. This is an easy activity you can do with your kiddo anytime. (It's especially great for downtime in the car.) Ask, "Which is bigger ____ or ____? How did you know that?' For the students, being able to explain how they know is just as important as them knowing the right answer.

We also started learning about one of our C.A.R.E.S. values today! C.A.R.E.S values are important to our classroom community but also to our school. They are: Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy, and Self Control. Today we focused on Cooperation. After reading a book and discussing, the kiddos decided it means: working together, helping each other, helping others to solve problems. First, we discussed, then we practice during free choice, and we concluded by having a discussion at the end of the lesson. Here are some friends using cooperation:

Davajah, Anoosha, Wesley, and Justice putting
away puzzles.

Connor and Josiah putting away pattern
blocks.

Cooperation at it's best!

How heart-warming is this?!

Books We Read Today:

The Owl and the Woodpecker - Brian Wildsmith
I Am the Biggest Thing in the Ocean - Kevin Sherry (back by request)
The Mouse and the Motorcycle - Bevery Cleary (we'll read a chapter everyday after lunch


Interesting Tidbits from our Day

"It's ok that you're sick Ms. Carlberg. We know you're trying your best...and hey! that's one of our rules!"

"I don't really want to do stop free choice. I'd rather do that than math."

"You know that thing when we sit at our desks and use pencils and write about our life?" (Me: Writer's Workshop?") "YEAH THAT, I LOVE THAT!!"

"Wait a minute...I thought you got married this weekend!"

I was greeted by a kiddo this morning with a perplexed look on her face. When I said "good morning" she replied with, "Wait a minute I thought you got married this weekend!". When I asked her why she thought that she said, "Well when grown ups get old they just get married. And you have to get married before you can have a baby. Do you want a baby?" Ha! I told her that some people make those choices but I'm not getting married yet. So, despite all of the rumors your kiddos might have come home with today, I did not get married this past weekend, nor am I getting married in any of the upcoming weekends. :)

We had a productive day today! I am still amazed at how all of our kiddos have adapted to our new room. We spent the morning in Read Well with our small groups. We have been working as a whole class for the past two weeks, but now the students will be working in small groups at a reading level that is most appropriate for them. And yes, I know you're dying to know, each small group gets a Slinky to use! WOO HOO! Once the students realized that, I couldn't get them to stop working and leave our group. How exciting! We also started working in our math journals, which always brings squeals of excitement! These will stay at school with us so we can work, but will come home when we're done so you can see all of our hard work. We learned a new math game today called "Bunny Hop". In this game, each student has a bunny that is trying to hop up the number line to get to 20 first. This game was a hit! It's a fun concept to have your bunny hop around, but also teaches students how to use a number line too. I'll send home a template for you to play at home.

We also started Structured Play today! Instead of taking the kiddos out to a playground and letting them play (there is nothing wrong with this though) I take the kiddos out and we all learn how to play together. Today we just learned how to circle up when a game is over. As the week progresses, we will learn how to play Walking Freeze Tag. Not only does this give kiddos ideas of games to play at recess, it teaches them what it looks like and feels like to play together. Plus, we get to spend some time outside too, which we all need.

Books We Read Today
Click Clack Moo- Cows That Type - Doreen Cronin
Leo the Late Bloomer - Robert Kraus


Interesting Tidbits From Our Day

As two kiddos were playing "Bunny Hop" one was very confused at how to play. "Here, I'll show you what to do. You watch and then you can try. (She models what to do) Now, you try and it's ok if you mess up because we're all in this together."

"You can dance during our song or you can play the jazz flute like me!" (Kiddo proceeds to drop to his knees as he plays a mean air flute!)

"Are you ok?! We heard you sprained your ankle and we were so worried about you!"

"Ms. Carlberg, will you teach us how to tap dance?" (Friday, 9.16)

We have some tired kiddos at the end of week number 2! I am so proud of all of the hard work they have done this week. It takes a lot of concentration, self-control, and energy to be at school for 7 hours a day after a long summer. We started our day learning about the Read Well small groups that will start on Monday. Through this lesson we also learned about the 3 B's of Interrupting: Do not interrupt a small group unless you are: 1. Bleeding, 2. Broken or 3. Barfing. The concept of barfing (pardon the crude terminology but it just wouldn't be the same without it.) was the catalyst for first, giggling and then flat out laughing. It was fun to wiggle and giggle as we learned. It gave such a new meaning to that lesson. We discussed how the kiddos can get their question answered should they have a question during small group time, but that was far less interesting as it didn't include any ridiculous words.

We also continued to learn about bullying today, which led to great discussions that warmed my heart. Yesterday we talked about the different kinds of bullying (bullying with your words, with your body, or by damaging other's things). Today we worked together to identify bullying behavior. The things that our kiddos came up with were fascinating and so true! I really wanted to emphasize that bullying is a choice, not a characteristic and I think the kiddos really understood that. ("Ms. Carlberg, sometimes people do bad things, but they won't be that bad their whole life.") Having this understanding is an important foundation for upcoming lessons about how to stand up to bullying. I'm excited to do some role playing with these kiddos because I think they will really take heart to it.

My favorite activity of today stemmed from our bully lesson. We read the book, Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon which is a book about a girl who loves herself even though others make fun of her. We all shared one thing we love about ourselves and then drew pictures. Listening to these kiddos was incredible and inspiring. Here's some of the answers:
  ~ My favorite thing about myself is my family.
  ~ My favorite thing about myself is that I am sassy.
  ~ My favorite thing about myself is that I'm a good dancer.
  ~ My favorite thing about myself is that I'm good at everything. :)
  ~ My favorite thing about myself is that I play Game Cube. :)
We will continue to do activities about ourselves throughout the year, but it's exciting to see that these kiddos have things that they already love about themselves. As I was introducing this lesson, I gave the example that I love that I'm a good tap dancer. Oh boy, did this open a can of worms! I explained it, I demonstrated it, I drew a picture of myself which was quite interesting, and by the end of the discussion I put a tap lesson into our lesson plans next week. This will be a great lesson on listening and self-control...


Books We Read Today
I Am the Biggest Thing in the Ocean - Kevin Sherry
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog - Mo Willems (can you tell he's one of my favorite authors. Read any of his books and he'll be yours too!)
Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon - Patty Lovell

Interesting Tidbits From Our Day


After telling a kiddo "I'm not your friend!" a boy burst out into tears... "I am so sorry I said that! I didn't mean it!" How sweet!

(After telling about my dogs and how one of them passed away last fall) "Don't worry Ms. Carlberg, you will always be able to think about him. Maybe he can be in your quiet place!" (He was listening during that lesson!)

"I'm wearing DC shoes and my dad has DC shoes. And you know what else? My dad's favorite meat is steak and you know what mine is?" Me: "Steak!" "No, chicken but it's meat still you know."

Ah, the joys of learning new words...like "enormous"

We have been busy bees these past two days! On Wednesday night, Highland had their annual English Learners Family Night which was a huge success! We had a great turnout of families that spoke a variety of languages attend: Spanish, Arabic, Oromo, Tibetan, and Chinese. It was humbling and thrilling to see everyone who has such a fundamental difference gather for one purpose-their children. I had two duties: greet people at the door and do childcare in K1. There were 75 (yes, I said it 75!!) children in one room!! It was organized chaos mixed with laughing children, mixed with 5 different languages being spoken in one room. HOW INCREDIBLE! Is Highland unreal or what? The night made for tired kiddos this morning, and one tired teacher (hence, no blog post last night). Here's an update about the last two days.

We have been practicing, practicing, practicing and we are getting so great at moving in our room, walking in the hallway, playing on the playground, and using our tools. We have been working together to make rules for our room and learn how to move and function in our room. Here are some friends modeling for us, as well as our posters we made together. 

Destiny and Wesley modeling how to sit side
by side while sharing.

Connor and Josiah modeling how partners
share one at a time.

Abby and Shayla modeling how to turn and
look at your partner when she/he is talking

Christopher modeling how to take
a break.

        Brandon modeling how to raise
       your hand on the carpet.

Davajah reminding us that our mouths
are silent when we listen.

We finished our Hopes and Dreams yesterday too! After working on each hope and dream we came together and talked about how we were going to make these come true. Through this discussion we found that there were some things that each of us must do, and these became our class rules. They are: 

1. Work together.

2. Listen to everyone.

3. Take care of our tools.

4. Be safe!

5. Have fun!

It's meaningful to our classroom community to have each kiddo involved in the process, and each student willingly aggreed to do these things! It's going to be a great year! Well, it already has.

These past two days we have found a common love between the kiddos in our room- music and dancing!! We absolutely can not get enough of it! Here's a list of songs we've enjoyed so far:

Animal Action (move like a certain animal)
Freeze!
Rock and Roll ABC's
Ze-Zi-Ziddly
Doe, a Deer (from the Sound of Music)
If You're Happy and You Know It
The Little Green Frog
Count by 5's
John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt

Singing and dancing together not only connects us as a community by allowing everyone to let loose and be silly, but also it teaches us how use self-control even when we are excited and having fun. We also respond to directions through song. For example, I will sing, "If you're sitting on your spot clap your hands" or "Come sit in the circle, the circle, the circle. Come sit in the circle we're ready to start" This works great and keeps the kiddos happy. Here are two epic pictures from some of our dance parties:

Abby and Naasifaayee during "Freeze!"

Wesley playing a mean air guitar during "Freeze!"

Finally, we have been learning how use, take out, and put away our learning tools. Today we used watercolor paints to paint pictures of our quiet places; places we think about to help us calm down and find our sense of self-control. These are beautiful! They will adorn our walls for awhile but will come home so you can see them. Check us out as we paint!

And, as promised, a picture of our beautiful birthday girl Anoosha who turned 7 this week! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Books We Read In Two Days:

A Quiet Place- Douglas Wood

Mean Jean- Alexis O'Neil

The Night Before First Grade - Natasha Wing

Ferdinand - Munro Leaf

Interesting Tidbits from our Day

Ms. Carlberg, "Tell me something you have or something you have seen that is enormous." Kiddo: "MY MOM IS ENORMOUS!!" (The hazard of teaching such exciting words.)

I asked two kiddos to pass out paint to each table spot. They saw that all of the paint was stored in one bin and devised a plan, completely independently, to hand them out. "Ok, so you hold the paint and follow me around and I'll put one on each spot. " "OK! Let's high five!"

One of our friends was very sad this morning upon leaving his family. He came up with tear filled eyes and collapsed into my arms. Instantly, 3 friends came over and said, "What is wrong, we see you're crying. We care about you, can we give you a hug?" (Then I had tears in my eyes!)

Seriously people, we have some AMAZING kids in Room F!!

"I'm not as sweaty today so it's easier to do my job"

It was a wonderfully cool and sunny day in room F! We enjoyed opening our windows and letting the breeze tear through our rooms. (It blew papers off of our desks all day today and every time, without fail, the kiddos laughed hysterically! It was quite entertaining to watch and listen to!) We learned about what volume voices to use during each part of our day and even had time to practice reading from our book bins and classroom library. We gauge our voice in inches: 0 inches= silent, 2 inches= work time/whisper, 6 inches= mini-lesson/talking, 12 inches= outside/yelling. As we learned about how to control our voices we also learned how to use our Take A Break chairs. These are chairs that students are directed to when they are off task, out of control, or just need a minute to calm down. These are not a punishment, but rather a chance for students to calm down, refocus, and get ready to come back and learn. In doing this we read the book, The Quiet Place by Douglas Wood and thought about our own quiet places. It was interesting to hear where students retreat to mentally to take a break from the noise of life. (I personally choose to think of laying on the beach in a hammock suspended under two shady palm trees listening to the ocean waves. But, to each their own!) Tomorrow we're going to review how to take a break and draw our own quiet places. Today was also a monumental day because it is finally the day we did a Guided Discovery on markers. (In order for students to use a tool, we all explore and learn how to take care of, use, and put away first.) This thrilled our kiddos and brought many, "You're the best teacher ever" comments. (I know that it's the markers talking, not the kids!) I am extremely proud of all of our students for how hard they have worked in the past days to learn all of the new routines of our room and to practice them all day every day! Let's keep it up for the school year!


Books We Read Today
Clifford the Big Red Dog - Norman Bridwell
The Quiet Place - Douglas Wood

The kiddos each read their own books during Read Well. Ask them about the books they read!


Interesting Tidbits From Our Day

One of our kiddos was feeling anxious about riding the bus. Not only did a friend from Room F offer to "stick with him and help him feel ok" but a 4th grader saw how nervous he was and offered to help him too! Isn't that incredible?! What a great example both kiddos set!

After singing a silly song, we in Room F have concluded that: 1. We are the best dancers in the whole world. 2. I am the best "silly face maker" in the whole world.

Question of the Day
(In order to help you connect with your kiddo and with other readers of this blog, I'm going to post a question that is related to our day. You can write a comment below and answer if you choose. Then you and your student can talk about each of your answers. It's a great way to stay connected to your student and to what we're doing in class.)

Where is your quiet place?

"7:46am: Why are we here? I thought school was over on Friday!"

It's the beginning of week two and we had some tired kiddos slide through our door this morning! It didn't take much to wake us up and get us going though: a silly song about frogs, a ridiculous poem about an enormous Emu, and a slinky to be exact. Our poem of the week is about an Emu which is apparently the most outrageous animal we could think of. We enjoyed pretending to be Emus today and then coloring them as we practiced writing our e's.

Look at our kiddos hard at work!

Mrs. Ellering, who joins us for read well,
encourages Kasey as he writes "e's".

During math we learned how to use white boards which was also a huge hit! There is something mesmerizing about a board you can write on with marker and it's ok! We're going to be using them often because they are fun, and it quickly lets me assess where students are at in their learning. Today we learned a new game called "I Wish I Had". I would put counters in a stack of five boxes and say, "I have 2, I wish I had 5. How many more do I need?" Students quickly found answers by observing empty boxes and extra counters. Here is a picture. I will be sending home this activity because it is a quick and easy way to practice making groups of five. (And then groups of ten!)

We spent the rest of our day practicing how to put tools away, (it seems simple, but it's a learned skill and worth our time!) writing our Hopes and Dreams for first grade, and celebrating Anoosha's birthday! (Pictures of the birthday girl to come tomorrow :)) We also read a very kind book that tells the story of two rose growers who were bring flowers to the U.S. on September 11th. This book sparked our discussion of what happened that day. We, all together, concluded that hurting others we are upset with is not a good way to solve a problem and we're going to try different ways. (We will learn them as we go.) It was incredible to see the empathy in our kiddo's eyes and hear how they thought we could make a difference in our room. It was a touching moment for me as a teacher, and for all of us as a classroom community. 

Books We Read Today

There Is A Bird On Your Head - Mo Willems

Pigsty - Mark Teague

September Roses - Jeanette Winter

Stone Soup - Marcia Brown

Interesting Tidbits From Our Day

We are becoming more comfortable with each other! Look how enthralled Connor and Destiny are reading together!

"Ms. Carlberg, I know how we can all make our Hopes and Dreams come true! We can work together! Just like our class motto, "we are all in this together!"

"My hope and dream is to become a dinosaur!" (Needless to say we had to tweak that dream a little bit...)

Funky Friday

Wooo hoo! We made it through our first week! Can you believe it? I wrote "happy Funky Friday" on our morning message today which sparked a long discussion about the word funky... what a great way to teach a vocabulary word. As you may have guessed, the rest of the day everything was "funky". ("Ms. Carlberg that chair is funky. Ms. Carlberg, that book is funky.) We have all been working extremely hard this week to learn about our school, classroom, and each other. This morning we finally got to explore our math boxes! (There have been kiddos asking about them all week.) These are boxes that are full of manipulatives that students can use as they solve problems in math. My goal is for these boxes to promote independent problem solving in our students. They are packed with: base 10 blocks, beans for counting, money, chain links, tower cubes, number lines, and counters. We will add more to them as we learn! The students had so much fun exploring these boxes and I was enjoying watching all of their creative ideas of how to use each of the tools.

What a fun, creative day we had in first grade, but the kiddos are tired! By the end of the day, they could barely function; and rightfully so, they've worked hard this week. After a weekend of sunshine and rest, we'll be ready for another week!


Books We Read Today
Miss Mingo and the First Day of School - Jamie Harper
I Am Invited to a Party- Mo Willems
Josef Had a Little Overcoat- Simms Taback
Chrysanthemum- Kevin Henkes


Interesting Tidbits From Our Day
It's Anoosha's birthday today! (September 10th) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

"Finally, we get to use these [math boxes]! I've had my eye on these things all week!"

(As I was asking what students know about snakes) "Did you know I love 1st grade? It's my favorite thing to do."

(student to another who ran and did a kick onto our rug) " Remember we have to walk in our classroom" (YES, we're starting to help each other out already! I didn't even have to say anything.)

Routines, Routines, Routines!

We have made it through day two already! I was amazed, but not surprised, at how the kiddos remembered all we had learned yesterday. They came into our classroom and did their morning routine like it's day 52, not day 2. (Our morning routine is: sign in, put your lunch stick in the appropriate cup, read and add to the morning message, and read the whiteboard for your morning work.) Watching them bounce their way back in to our room was exhilarating and set the tone for a productive, giggly day. During Read Well we brainstormed and learned what it looks like to gather and learn on the carpet. We also used the beloved Slinkys again...seriously folks, if you want to thrill your child, buy them a $1 slinky! Again, I'm not surprised at how quickly the students have picked up our routine and even learned the words to our songs. We also learned how to use two new tools today: pencils and our morning journals. When I told the kiddos that their journal was for them to draw and write about whatever they wanted in, one kiddo stood up and shouted, "No way!" Who knew a notebook, crayon, and a little freedom of creativity could be so magical. We worked very hard today to practice all we have learned about what learning looks like in our room. I expect some very tired kiddos tonight. (And by that I mean, I am tired!)

These are two posters we created as we learned how to meet on the carpet
and how to use our morning journals. 

Books We Read:
Ben's Dream by Chris Van Allsburg
Shiver-Me-Letters: A Pirate ABC by June Sobel
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
Cliffords First Day by Norman Bridwell
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin

Interesting Tidbits of the Day:
(After getting to a table to start working in his morning journal). "Umm, yeah, I'm ready for snack now."

(After I put paint on his hand) "This is so squiggly and squishy. Want to touch it? (As he puts his red painted hand on my arm.)

(I told the kiddos that it made me sad when my brother threw Legos at me.) "Ms. Carlberg, your brother needs to come back to first grade! We know how to use Legos!"

Sweating, Giggling, and Learning

Two words can effectively describe our day today: sweaty and giggly. Which ever way the wind seemed to be blowing it was not through our windows because it was hot in our room! I was sitting at the easel reading a book (Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems. So outrageously funny!) and as I show the picture I look and see sweat running down five kiddo's faces! This lead to a not-so-quick tangent about how thankful we are for the warm sunshine but how much we would appreciate a cool pool to play in. Regardless, the kiddos worked extra hard to stay focused and did so with ease. Along with sweat, our day was full of giggles! I think the students are getting more comfortable with each other and with me which apparently (news to me!) leads to excessive amounts of giggling. Well, and the fact that I worea polka dot skirt and polka dot shoes...who knew this would such a funny thing? This is such a joy, I wish you could be in our room to experience 20 six year olds giggling because you shout "Holy Macaroni and Cheese!". Of course, all this laughter was a challenge for me to teach as I giggle in response to the kiddos! Seriously, what a fun way to beat the heat and learn more routines. We learned how to use our classroom library, colored pencils, and glue sticks today! To practice using our glue sticks we made collages of animals just like Eric Carle does in the book, Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?  I was absolutely floored by the creativity and ingenuity of our students! These are hanging on our work wall for now, but they will definitely come home for you to enjoy too! I think our day can be summed up in a simple sentence: There is nothing more refreshing than hearing six year old kiddos giggle...and giggle...and giggle...

The animals we created by ripping and gluing paper. 

Books We Read Today:
Wild About Books! by Judy Sierra
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems (A silly tale about a mole rat who dares to be different by wearing clothes!)
No, David! by David Shannon
John's Picture by Elizabeth MacDonald
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin


Interesting Tidbits From Our Day
"I packed an extra apple so you could eat one and I could eat one! (Now that is some old school adoration for your teacher. Also, delicious!)

"Ms. Carlberg, I just can't believe you're wearing a polka dot skirt AND polka dot shoes! It's too funny!"

(One student to a new student) "Did you know our class motto is "We are all in this together?" So I'll help show you what to do today."

(In having a class meeting about how we're going to fix a counter of papers that got messed up) "Well, we are all in this together, so let's clean them up together. I'll start."

"Isn't this just the best day ever?!"

Our tired eyes and sleepy walking only lasted a few minutes (myself included) as we started our first day in Room F! The students were shy for about 10 minutes through our Morning Meeting and then from there had no problems finding and making friends. We started our new Read Well curriculum in the morning which brought many smiles and giggles. We learned a new way to sing the alphabet (it includes the rhythm from the song, "We Will Rock You") and read a poem about a snazzy, snoozing snake. (Ask your kiddo what those words mean, they know!) By far our most popular event of our new reading program is the stretching and shrinking of words because it uses...drum roll please...Slinkys! Every one of our students eyes lit up when I pulled that Slinky out of my drawer. I had many requests to "see" it throughout the day. The rest of the day was spent practicing new routines such as lining up, walking in the hallway, sitting on the carpet, getting tools from places in our room, and showing five. By the end of the day I think everyone (again, myself included) had a head that was spinning from too much information. We did a Guided Discovery to learn how to use crayons in our room which brought many smiles and sparked interesting conversations. (One student was trying to convince another that he was in fact a superhero...) We left the day tired but excited about tomorrow because we get to use...drum roll please... paint! Onward and forward!

Books We Read Today:                                     
The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash                
The Night Before First Grade                            
The Kissing Hand
My Crayons Talk


Interesting Tidbits from the Day:
(student while using crayons) "Isn't this just the best dayever?!" (Wait until we get into our bat unit!)

"If your crayon falls on the floor you are in BIG trouble, and have to go home and never get to come to 1st grade again! (Not true, but dramatic.)

  "So, Ms. Carlberg can I call you Ms. C? Ok, Ms. C, *wink* do you have my lunch stick?"

Open the Shades and Bring In the Kiddos!

Open house is finally here! After two weeks of sorting, stapling, coloring, unpacking, and yes, even sweating, Room F is ready! With the temperature being 95 degrees, the shades to our room have been shut and the lights have been off, but now it's time to open the shades and meet the kiddos. I was thrilled to see Room F students not just enter our room, but jump, squeal, and wiggle their way in! One of our kiddos took his name tag to a table he wanted to sit at and upon seeing the numerous bins of books said, "This is the coolest room ever!" Now while I'm not sure it really is the coolest room ever, it will be a room of learning, fun, creativity, music, and community. Thank you to all of the families that came to open house! I can already see it's going to be a great year!