Thursday, October 25, 2012

Over the Hill?

Lots to post today! That's what happens when I don't post for awhile. First of all, when I walked into my room this morning there were black balloons, black streamers and black confetti everywhere. Yep! Today's my birthday the big 40. I thought if I didn't make a big deal about it, I could wake up tomorrow and still be 39! Haha! My aide and my coworkers had other ideas! The whole faculty wore black in my honor! I work with the best people in the world!

 During all this we are also learning!  This week we are studying the number 8 and spiders.  My darlings mad some super cute spiders while learning spider facts.


 In case today isn't busy enough, I just put my Questions of the Day on TPT.  It is only the first half of the alphabet.  I am working on the other half.  Hopefully I will have that next week.  I have a Question of the Day posted each day.  It is always a question with a yes or no answer.  They put their name under the answer they choose.  Then we count up each side, total it and put the number at the bottom.  Then we can talk about which group had more or less, why they chose that answer, and have some beginning of the day conversations.  It's a great way todraw them in first thing in the morning and get the day started. You can purchase these "Questions" "Questions of the Day"

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

We Got It!

I love Fall. I love the cooler temperatures, football, the beautiful colors,and the cool weather foods. But I especially love that my students are finally getting in the groove. They know and follow the rules(most of the time). They are becoming independent thinkers. They are able to work in small groups and with partners to problem solve, play games and do learning activities. In the mornings when we come in they do Partner games. I put many games around the room on the floor. The rule is that only 2 people can play together and they have to finish the game before moving on to another. The games can be literacy games, math games, seasonal games or social living games. I try to change them up weekly. Sometimes the games are the same with different manipulatives. Today I noticed they are finally getting the hang of it! They are so excited when they find a match, get the right order, finish a lengthy game, or get the right answer. I love this time of the year! Now I feel like we are getting somewhere.