My Absolute Favorite Brain Break

Ok so we've been doing brain breaks and I LOVE them!  They give the kids time to move especially in our huge 2.5 hour time after lunch until specials.  Well my teacher did this one today and I was so excited and dancing right along with it! SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Check it out!  The students loved it too!

Source: youtube.com via Nikki on Pinterest

I have more stories, but no time it seems like~ how do teachers do this!  I'm usually very on top of things but today felt so chaotic even with 2 of us in the classroom helping and teaching :(

Excited for the 3 day weekend though to relax and get back to normal.

WATCH THE VIDEO it will seriously make your day!

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Week 2 and Contraction Game

Week 2 finished!  Finally getting used to some kind of schedule- albeit that does not mean I'm still not SO tired all the time and may or may not be going to bed at 9 o'clock just so I can stay awake all day.

I'll do my Top 5 from this week (I think you're gonna like these :)

1. Contractions Game: This game/center/lesson can be done when learning about contractions and can be used in various ways throughout the classroom.  I created it because it fit with what we were learning about for spelling and grammar plus it's versatile and the students can play it independently if they want later.

Click the pic below to head over to my TpT store and check it out. 

It contains lesson activity, 2 different games to play, a center and extra lesson/activity ideas! Not to mention 21 pairs of contractions to use :)

2. I have already gotten some love notes from my kiddos (YAY!!!! ) They are so encouraging- most of the time.  One girl told me one day "I was too dressy" and the next day "I look like a teenager."  Oh well...I'm loving all the hugs and excitement that the classroom contains. 

3. Kid-isms- the things they say that make my day

• One student pronounced my name Ms. Hogalog (hog-a-log) even though it is Ms. Haslag (Haus-log).  
• One student wrote on their paper that their favorite book was: Gasy Dragon - it was hard not to laugh out loud on that one :)
• During conferencing during writing workshop one boy was writing and drawing a picture and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what "Hobe Lobe" was until it hit me walking around the room - HOBBY LOBBY!  I was like "I know what you're writing about!!! I LOVE HOBBY LOBBY!" 

4. Brain breaks are lifesavers- jumping up and down, hopping, climbing a ladder, wiggling - all these things make our extremely long math class seem shorter.  I even get in on the exercise and believe me it DOES HELP!  I can refocus too!

5.  New attention getter: I'm sure you've all heard: "Clap once if you can hear my voice, clap twice if you can hear my voice" Well my teacher adds "Hands on your hips if you can hear my voice, finger on your lips if you can hear my voice" Then the students are making the quiet sign (with finger on lips) I thought it was a great twist that definitely works on following directions and quiet signals in the elementary grades.

I just wanted to thank you all my followers- for following me on this journey! You guys rock!

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Freebie Friday

I'm linking up again with Blog Hopping for Freebie Friday!  How awesome has their entire linky week been?! I've loved reading all the posts.

So we've been implementing Daily 5 starting this school year.  I'm pretty excited to see how to set everything up and just how well the students are doing.  Granted we had the same kids last year so it is easier but they continue to impress me.

It was cool making anchor charts and watching them practice.  So far we have done Read to Self and Work on  Writing.  The kids love that THEY get to choose- those "Big" second graders :)

One of the great ideas my cooperating teacher had for writing was during Work on Writing the students get to use "special" writing tools, either mechanical pencils or special colored pens.  The students go CRAZY~ they absolutely love it!  She even put them in these super cute popcorn containers that go with our Hollywood theme.

Yes, we did have to teach them how to properly use these utensils, but they wanted to use them so they were very careful about following the rules.

Well they were so excited they were asking for "How-to" paper and "All about" paper so they could write those things!  We already had different types of booklets and writing papers but who are we to not submit to this request.  I whipped up some all about paper.  

Check it out below!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Technology Tip Tuesday

 

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin for their Tech Tip Tuesday!


I didn't know if this tip was suppose to be for school/blogging/both....I went with blogging.  If you've ever done a tutorial you might have heard of  Screenshot Captor, which lets you take pictures of your screen.

I love this tool and have been using it a lot recently! I'm sure there is any easier way to do this but its FREE and you can crop photos and save as JPEG easy as that.


I haven't messed with all the effects but if you head to the link above you can see what all you can do! Here is a link to a tutorial I did using the program and below are some sample screenshots:

My tutorial : Tips for Online Portfolios

pinterest- Elementary Experiments Collaborative Board- want to join? leave Pinterest ID in comments 

Gotta love Google

This would be much clearer if I blew it up!

Hope you find this helpful! Go link up - I need all the tips I can get!

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First Week Down! and Open House FREEBIE

Notice how I said....first week down! I was so busy I didn't even get to post after my first day :(

As a student teacher, I'm sure I have a unique perspective on the world of education.  Unlike many new teachers, I was completely un-nervous about the first day, even though my teacher definitely was.  Very unlike me, because usually I'm a massive case of butterflies, sweaty palms, and jitters, so that part was awesome.

Ok instead of rambling on I'm going to hit top 5 things I learned or remembered from the first week:

1. Stay calm!  In any situation (we already principal come in our class)  My cooperating teacher stayed so calm in the situation and never got flustered and handled herself even afterward like nothing I would have done and I'm actually glad to have witnessed.

2. Temperature matters!  The first day of school was so cold (to me!) in our room and I had to walk around with my arms crossed to keep me warm.  The next day our air was broke and it 78.  Not unbearable but makes me and the students sleepy.  News to self: bring a jacket!!

3. Work, Work, Work!  I had no idea how much went into a classroom till I was helping the teacher with ours! Cutting, decorating, copying, laminating (how do school functions when this goes out?!), planning....the list goes on and on . I was so wore out at night, hopefully I can get used to this schedule soon!

4. I love schools- No surprise here but nice to reaffirm it especially when I'm with kids all the time.  I've loved seeing the students already!  I love being around them, the hugs, love notes!  Even though I'm technically not teaching anything yet being around full time to help and observe has been great!

5. I need more clothes. Bottom line.  Not kidding, need flats, pants or capris, and simple shirts.  I know I've posted about where to look and I have done some looking but remember that part up there about being so tired...well I haven't gotten too much shopping in yet.

Well after surviving open house (parents!!! ahh!!!) I thought I would share this FREEBIE with anyone
in case you wanted to have parents sign up for parties in school.  I'm sure you're very much looking forward to this after the extremely long post.

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First Day

First official day of student teaching........meetings.  District meetings with Drumlines, videos, speakers- overwhelming!  Luckily my cooperating teacher was there for all of it and to explain everything!

Onto lunch (yay!) with the school, sitting across from the principal and getting to know the staff better was definitely a PLUS.   All the papers from staff meeting! What do I do with all them?  Keep them even though I know I won't use them?

There was so many things to keep straight even in the first meetings about changes and what all had to be done! - my goodness even to just get ready for open house!  I'm excited to see the students again and be teaching but all this pre-stuff is nerve wracking.  Although they did give us super cute photo holders and each of them had our names and there was even one for little old me! :)

I'm sure I'll be back with more when students start and how open house goes, off to mark my calendar with all the days and go over papers.

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Where to find books?

Even though I don't have  my own classroom yet, I love looking for books! I love Love LOVE children's literature.  I usually end up picking picture books because I can always read them aloud for the younger grades.

Books are awesome and a necessity for every classroom but they can be EXPENSIVE!  Here are some places I've found that offer cheap options for getting your classroom library stocked.

I wanted to share the places I find books:

1. GARAGE SALES: so underrated!  The books are so cheap especially if they are from other teachers, or mothers who have a lot of extra books!  Look in your local newspaper and hit some up- the early mornings really pay off.  Around my area books can be a quarter for paperback or $1 for hardback.

2. Scholastic - has plenty of options for teachers:

• warehouse sales- happen a couple times a year! Like the giant book fairs at school but cheaper and only for teachers (how cool is that?!).  Click here to find one in your area!  
• Book orders at school- I'm sure plenty of teachers know this one. You can order books with your points for the school or classroom.  This is also a great way to see what your students are interested in   and what books would be good to get for your classroom. 
• Scholastic itself- if you are lucky enough to have close relative work at Scholastic they offer amazing discounts on books for employees.  We have a couple Scholastic plants in our area and I know plenty of people who use this resource. 

Here's a bag I got, for 40 books for well under 50 cents a book! Even some great series!

3. Library Sales - our library has a giant booksale every year with books drastically on sale with table upon table of books for kids.  Great place to stock up.  Sometimes these aren't advertised as much, ask your local librarian when they get rid of books to find out if this is a possibility. 

4.  Other Teachers/School or Blogs- ok this one is more for book ideas. But when I'm blogstalking and see a book I like, I mentally note it so when I find it at one of the above places I can check it out.  Another great resource is to ask other teachers who might be retiring or the librarian at the end of the year if they are getting rid of any books.  I know one school that let teachers take books from a certain shelf at the end of the year and the rest were donated. 

Any other great places to get books? I would love to hear!!!!!!!!!!!

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SCIENCE BOOK!

Ok followers- this is HUGE!  Its the last week here at camp and I've been keeping track of (aka a gigantic PPT) of all the stuff we have done!  Over 75 slides!!!!

Well I know you all have been paying attention to all the experiments I've been putting up on here!  Now they are all in ONE place!  This has taken a huge amount of time but I wanted the kids to go home with something so they could do experiments at  home and when some of them can't write yet....well you have to work around it!

So I compiled all the experiments we have done into one giant PDF.  Best part is: ITS FREE!!! You read that right.  I just compiled this, but trust me:

These are only THE COOLEST EXPERIMENTS EVER!

I only picked the ones I really wanted to do and knew that the students would love!  They would be an awesome addition to any science curriculum or for anyone you know needing science fair projects! :)

Click the pic to download!  

If you download: 

Please consider following my blog  (if you don't already)  and 

please consider giving feedback on TpT and/or sharing this on a Pinterest board.   

What else have I been up to? :

Just taking some super cute pictures with the boyfriend before he returns to school :(

Don't you love the color dust pics? Have you seen them all over Pinterest?!

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August?! Currently

I'm linking up with Farley again for Currently! Excited to hear everyone's B2S favorites- I need them as a new teacher.

Back to my awesome massage I had yesterday.  Have you ever gone to a beauty school to get one done? Like the people training.  It is SO MUCH cheaper and they do a great job!

One hour full swedish body massage for 30 bucks! Can't beat that!

I mean it was my first massage, so maybe I'm a little biased, but worth a shot to check out in your area! Services are cheaper but still awesome!

Don't forget to link up with Farley!

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Microwave Puffy Paint

This was one of the coolest surprises all year. I found this recipe on the Steve Spangler website.  This stuff is so easy and so much fun!!! 

Microwave Puffy Paint 

Materials: 

self-rising flour

water

salt

food coloring

Steps: 

Combine 1 tbsp. self-rising flour + 1 tbsp. salt + food coloring + enough water for a thin paste

Make as many colors as you want!

Paint using Q-tips on stiff paper.  Microwave for 20 seconds.

Let the paper cool before handling.  

I COULD NOT stop touching it! It was so fun!  After its in the microwave its not liquid any more so you can feel it!

Here's some that we did: 

you can really see how puffy it is

Less than 2 weeks till back to school time!  Where has summer gone?

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