Spider Estimation FREEBIE!

 So I have been seeing these adorable fingerprint spiders on Pinterest and I have been wondering what I could use them for. We've been working on estimation and these little fingerprint spiders worked out wonderfully today. Here's what I did....

First, they chose a number between 25 and 99 and added that many fingerprints.

Then they added legs:)

Next, they got a recording sheet and they went around the room and estimated how many spiders their friends had created. We talked about making and EDUCATED GUESS. 

Later in the day we worked on counting collections and each student got another student's spiders to count. As you can see they chose a few different ways! 

Finally, we walked around the room and explained how we counted the spiders. This really gives students the opportunity to think about HOW they worked and give detailed steps for their process.

If you'd like this for your students, click here and it's yours!

Meeting the Parents

Well, technically I've met the parents already at Meet Your Teacher Night and I've seen most before or after school BUT this week is conference week and I will be sitting down with ALL the parents. I could probably teach for 50 years but I don't think parent/teacher conferences will become any less nerve-racking!

I've prepared a few things to help get me through conference week that I'd like to share with you!

I use these as talking points. I  find 3 positive things about each child to start the conference with and then I give a few areas that might need improvement. I've taught first and second grade so there are first and second grade copies. If you don't teach first of second I added an "Things You Should Know About Your Awesome Kid":)

I also end the conference by having each parent write a note to their child which I place on each child's desk later in the week so that they can get a special note from mom or dad or even both! This has been something I have done for years that both parents and kids LOVE!

Back to lesson plans I go! Have a great rest of the day!

T.G.I Friday!

I'm baaaaccck! Twice in one day!  I just couldn't say no to a Linky Party!

My district utilizes an online reading assessment program. So every other week my kiddos take a reading assessment on the computer. I have some GREAT readers but those nonsense words are stumping us BIG TIME! So I made these (yup handwritten...gives you and idea of how impromptu this idea was) cards with some similar nonsense words to practice in reading groups. Sometimes I have them just read through them and other times I read one of the words off a card and have them tell me which word I read. 

I am also trying to make them stop and think about their choices and use process of elimination. So I say a word from the card like "lut" and then they have to cover all the words that don't say lut and then tell me why! For example I covered lint because it has an n sound and there is no n sound in the word lut. 

Tuesday the kids had field day. It was an hour of fun filled activities from 8- 9 in the morning. Let me tell you after 9am the time moved like molasses! I was EXHAUSTED and the kids were bouncing of the walls! 

For YEARS I have been saying I want to try Donors Choose! I FINALLY completed a project request. I am so excited! I find out in 5 business days if my projected was approved!

Have you all heard of the math game Around the World? One kid starts the game at someones desk and battles against another kid to answer a question first. The first one to answer moves on the other sits down. The object of the game is to move all the way around the classroom. Well this game was my FAVORITE when I was in elementary school! I rarely play it with my class because I try to stay away from games that don't have active engagement for everyone all the time BUT the kids love it. So I introduced this game this week using math facts but I told the class that I really needed to have all the facts we went over  recorded. I told them I really needed them and asked if they could write the facts down for me if it wasn't their turn while we  played. Then I told them since they were writing it down why not try to answer the facts on their slates before the two player going against each other could answer. So while two players were racing each other the rest of the class was getting their practice too....WIN. 

Last the hubs and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary yesterday! We were married on 10-10-10!

Hey while you are here...check out my post from earlier Gone Batty and grab yourself a freebie!
Have a great weekend!

Gone Batty and a Freebie:)

Hellooooooo 4 day weekend! It is Friday morning and I am still in my pajamas listening to baby snores! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

I'm linking up with Teaching Blog Addict this week to share a freebie with you all!

We are practicing writing informative text this month. We have been learning about main idea and key details and it was time to put our knowledge to the test this week. We spent an entire morning reading about bats, watching bat videos, and discussing all we know about bats! We gathered our information on a web that the kids made themselves and I made a huge adorable ( well I think it was adorable) bat out of butcher paper that we also collected bats on. {Insert adorable bat anchor chart here} Someone forgot to to take a picture...I'm guessing I had 4DAY WEEKEND on the brain! Here are the pics I did manage to take....

Graphic organizers

It's beginning to look like Halloween in my room!

Click on the pic below and you can write your own bat reports:) 

Now I am going to go Netflix it up! Maybe if I am not to exhausted from my lazy day I'll be back for the 5 for Friday Linky party later ; )

I'm Wide Awake

I'm wide awake (and now singing Katy Perry's Wide Awake to myself)! Seriously though what is wrong with me? I have been up since 1:30 am! Here it as 4:30 and my alarm will be going off in a half an hour....pointless to go to sleep now! Argh! I am in for a lonnnngggg day today!

Well since I'm up....

We are continuing our adventures in non-fiction and read up on the solar system last week. Our district has created units for us to use to go with the new common core standards. When I saw our current unit I flipped! I kept thinking that the solar system was WAAAAYYYY too complicated for beginning of the year 2nd grade! But I stuck it out and my kids LOVED it. They really learned A TON about the solar system. I guess that will teach me to underestimate them again!

Anyway, I decided to test their note-taking skills with this fun organizer....

Inside they had to write a main idea/topic sentence and give 4 details that went with their main idea.

On they outside they did four small pictures to go with each detail and added a bit of glitter!

The kids kept asking if it was really a test! They had so much fun putting this little project together! I feel like they worked a little extra hard to create a beautiful project. LOVE how these turned out! 

 I better go get my caffeine fix if I am going to make it through the day! I'll be back later this week with a freebie or two! 

Happy Wednesday! 

Friday is My Favorite Day!

It's time for another linky party!!!

While most people imagine orange and black and spiders and pumpkins when it becomes October, I THINK PINK. I lost my mom when I was 23 to breast cancer. She was only 49. She wasn't at my wedding. She never met my beautiful baby boy. She never got to be a grandma.

 October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I urge you to talk with your doctor about your risks and tell the special people in your life to do the same! 

My Momma and  Me

Pink treats for my co-workers

I work with some AMAZING people! I truly do...

Pink gifts from a co worker!

Pink gift from my teamie:)

Look who came to visit! Alyse from Keep Calm and Apple On helped me out in my classroom this week!

Alyse hung these ADORABLE numbers from Amy Lemons...LOVE them and her!

And how cute is this face?

Is it Thursday Already?

It's one of those never-ending weeks that flew by! Does that make sense?  I really meant to blog every day this week BUT I blinked and Thursday was here! This week was sooooo busy! One of the things we have been working on is our fact fluency (What?! Another math post?!).  We focused on addition this week. Our goal is to STOP USING OUR FINGERS! That is tough especially since....do I dare admit this?  Sometimes I catch myself using my fingers to count!! EEEeeekk! I know...so bad.....

I've been using activities from my new packet...

Here are some activities you will find in the packet...

This is separate from the packet. But I added this last minute so students could keep track of the strategies. We usually start the lesson entering a new strategy in our book. 

Closer look at our strategy flip chart

YIKES! a messy anchor chart! These labels are included in the packet. 

We did a two minute drill every day this week! 

We watched our scores grow using these progress monitoring sheets that are also part of the packet:)

Good night all!