Joining Numbers

In math we are focusing on joining and separating numbers up to 10. To celebrate for the holidays we used Santa as our manipulative. Each child had a turn to be a Santa number. Using the two giant 5-frames helped them understand how to join the numbers. I got the idea to use the huge 5 frames from Chalk Talk, a fabulous blog. I can see how it truly works with the students and understand. They also get excited to act out the math problem. 

Gingerbread Man and Girl

Today we read the books the Gingebread Girl and the Gingerbread Boy. After we read the books we made a Venn diagram comparing the two different stories. We wrote about which character we would rather be after we made our comparisons. For math time we are focusing on the numbers 11-15. We used 5 frames to create the numbers and displeased how many gingerbread santas could fit on the 5 frames. 

Jingle our Elf

Since Christmas is quickly approaching we are celebrating in school a different way each day. Today we celebrated by reading about elves, Santas helpers. We read the book elf on a shelf. We actually have a little elf in our own classroom, and named him the adorable name of Jingle. To celebrate the elves we made elf hats (which were super easy). After we brainstormed about the different types of jobs elves have and wrote about their jobs. We just LOVE our elf, Jingle, and are getting excited about Christmas. 

Bad Apple

Since Thanksgiving is approaching today we talked about Friendship. We read the book Bad Apple and made text to self connections about friendship. The class was so great thinking about why we love our friends, and why they make us feel so great. 

Force and Motion

This week in science we are discussing force and motion. We discussed what that means and charted the responses. Then I showed them one of Kennedy's toy fire truck. I asked them if the truck can move by itself. We graphed either yes or no with a little tire they made. 

After everyone voted I had them sit on the edge of our colorful carpet. I placed the truck in the middle and told everyone to shout move at the truck 1 time. They had a lot of fun watching it not move. We then practiced moving the truck with a push or a pull creating force into the truck. After we made a car craft quickly. 

Uncle Bigfoot

We read the book Uncle Bigfoot today. Since we are focusing on Families so much this past week. We made text to self connections talking about our Aunts and Uncles and why we love them so much. 

Reading Buddies

Every Friday we meet with our Reading Buddies with Mrs. Ewer's 3rd grade class. My class truly looks forward to seeing them every Friday. It is just a good time reading and socializing about literature. This past Friday we decided to interview each other. They asked each other the basic questions; name, favorite candy, favorite teacher, favorite book, etc. To throw in a curve ball they asked one another which Avenger was their favorite, and why. They had a lot of fun interviewing each other. Mrs. Ewers and I even interviewed each other. They were truly tickled to learn that my favorite Avenger was the Hulk because he looks like my cute husband. Lol. Meeting with them is always a positive end to the day. 

Reading Buddies

Every Friday we meet with our Reading Buddies with Mrs. Ewer's 3rd grade class. My class truly looks forward to seeing them every Friday. It is just a good time reading and socializing about literature. This past Friday we decided to interview each other. They asked each other the basic questions; name, favorite candy, favorite teacher, favorite book, etc. To throw in a curve ball they asked one another which Avenger was their favorite, and why. They had a lot of fun interviewing each other. Mrs. Ewers and I even interviewed each other. They were truly tickled to learn that my favorite Avenger was the Hulk because he looks like my cute husband. Lol. Meeting with them is always a positive end to the day. 

Voting

Our book character parade is this Friday,  November 1. As a class this year we voted on which book character we would be. We love Pete the Cat, Clifford, and 3 Little Pigs. Each student receive a piece of paper, they wrote their name, and then wrote either number 1, 2, or 3. After they got in line and casted their vote. We then counted the votes. They were very excited to see that Pete the Cat won the election. So... On Friday we will be Pete the Cat. 

In the pictures you may notice a lot of hats, and mustaches. It it red ribbon week in our district. They were allowed to wear hats, and mustaches today. We had a lot of fun today. 

Brothers and Sisters

In social studies we have focused on families this past week. Today we discussed the topic of brothers and sisters. We read the book, Julius baby of the World and made text to self connections with the book. We continued to talk about how we love our siblings. After the discussion we created a class Venn diagram. 

Rainbows

We love science. In science we hav focused on properties, matter, and the 5 senses. We discussed the properties of light and how a rainbow contains all the colors and how they are created. The kids had a lot of discussing rainbows, and creating them in class. 

5 Cute Dalmatians

We have been focusing on numbers 0-5. To mix things up a little we acted out the poem, 5 Cute Dalmatians. Each little friend wore a firefighter hat for fun. 

Miss. Nelson is Missing

Today we read the book Miss Nelson is missing. It is such a funny book. Thankfully, my awesome class is nothing like Miss Nelson's class. We compared the two characters in the book and made the scary Miss. Swamp. We had a lot of fun making her. 

Drawing

Today we practiced on our white boards drawing ourselves and other people. They really enjoyed using the boards and markers. Look how awesome they did today!! 

Daily 5 in the Works!

Wow!! I cannot believe we are already in the third week of school. Since the first day we have been working on our reading centers, Daily 5. So far we have built up to 3 minutes of reading stamina. Not everyone is reading quite yet, but they are focused on looking at their books. They are all doing fabulous as emergent readers! Great job Mrs. Trotter's class. 

Firefighter Baby Shower

One of my firefighter friends is expecting a little boy this October. My good friend and I hosted a baby shower for them. Since all our husbands work for the same department we decided to make it a firefighter theme. It was actually a couples shower, and a LOT of fun. For some of the activities we had the sign-in as a mark you "spot" Dalmatian. When the guests arrived they inked their thumb and then marked it inside of the puppy, and signed their name on the exterior of the dog... Most did. It turned out really cute. We also had the guests create an original onesie, and write little notes on some diapers. Some of the games we played were don't sat baby, dirty diaper (it got interesting) and guess what's in the bag. Most of the games were great because the guests could walk around the room and socialize while playing a game. It didn't require the hostess instructing everyone at the same time. 

The couple that  we hosted the shower for actually has a little girl too. She is very adorable, so funny, and at times not sure what to think about having a new baby brother. We included some silly Big Sister Quotes about her soon to be baby brother. They were a big hit and said, "Kale can go live with Pawpaw!" and "I do not want him in my room because boys are scusting." and my personal favorite "I love him and want him out of your tummy." We had a lot of fun and lots of laughs. Congratulations Justin, Kara, and Kaydan!!!