Currently June

This is a quick post. It has been a couple of  crazy, busy days.  I am joining Farley's Current Linky for May before heading off to bed.

Hubby is a Pacer's fan. Since the Red Wings bowed out of the hockey post season, we are on to the NBA for now. It helps distract him from his coaching anxiety. Our girls' performance at the State Meet today has left him hoarse, happy, and hyped up just a little. "Our" girl was the state champ in the long jump, setting a new state record, won the 200 meter dash, and took second in the 100 meter dash. We also had six other girls perform very well. Coach Hoj and the girls put together our best finish in our school's history.

After a three hour trip home, and a long day in the sun, I need some sleep and to fit a haircut into my crazy year-end schedule. A day in the sun and wind has me wanting to chop, chop, chop!

We have a week and two half days left. I need about three weeks to get in all the fun things I'd love to do. One thing I hate doing is inventorying books and packing the library. I have some sweet volunteers that have just started the job.

Although my vacation may not be starting for a few days, being in the sun made me think about importance of sunscreen. I was glad I had comfy shoes and my camera today. We made so many trips between events to catch the girls in action. Now I just need to print lots of pictures. One of the girl's graduation parties is tomorrow. I want her to have a big picture for her display table.

How crazy has your life been? Don't forget to join up with Farley's Linky.

Service, a Bundle, and more

With the tragedy of the storms, anything I had to say here seemed insignificant. I hope you don't mind a delayed sharing. It has been a high point in my week.

Tuesday had to be one of the most rewarding days of this year. We completed our second service learning project. We previously read a story about Alzheimer's and had our principal's daughter, a geriatric social worker, talk to our kids about the disease. Many of the students have a great-grandparent that has been diagnosed with the disease.

We went to a memory care unit to visit with some Alzheimer and dementia patients. This was a very emotional day for the students and teachers alike. Students visited with patients and colored pictures. Then, they played songs on their recorders, and sang. It was very emotional to watch patients that don't remember much of their lives, or even what they just had for breakfast break into song. When students saw the principal's daughter crying, and realized how many of the patients were singing along to "This Little Light" they had to do an encore. Almost all of the patients joined in, including the resident hummer, that can no longer speak. Hardly a dry eye in sight! I was so proud of my kids! This was very meaning for them and all involved.

As I looked around I realized how blessed I have been. My thoughts and prayers went out to all of those affected by the devastating storms. This truly has been a year filled with so many tragedies and challenges for so many. As always, the educational community has come together to provide much needed support for those affected by the horrific tornadoes. Teacher's Notebook has a bundle of products to provide support for Moore, Oklahoma. It is available through Tuesday.
                                                   

Tuesday was also made memorable when I reached 200 followers. Yipee! I am planning a giveaway, but need some time to get it organized. Want to help by donating a item? I would love to hear from you!

Hope your day was rewarding, and memorable for the right reasons.

Kidblog? Tried It!

I love to integrate technology into my curriculum and instruction. I participate in online projects regularly. Last year I had my own classroom blog through Blogger. I didn't like that the kids had to be "guest bloggers". I tried other blogging programs, but didn't like them. This year I tried Kidblog.org. I wrote about it here.

What I like about Kidblog is that I can monitor what is written. Only registered students can leave comments. The teacher has to approve all posts and comments. Kidblog has given students an authentic reason to write. Often we write posts and copy them to word to post on our display boards in the classroom.

The students like different aspects of Kidblog. They liked choosing their backgrounds and creating avatars/icons on their own. They have so many technology skills that they love to showcase, and this allowed them to show off.

It has truly been a good experience for students. They hate to see the year end, and want me to leave their blogs in place so they can keep using them in middle school. 

A drawback, if there is one, is that the space for each classroom appears to be limited. We use a lot of space because of the photographs on our posts. The kids know I blog and take pictures for my Learning in Bliss blog, so they insist on using pictures in their posts. They are waiting for me to upload our service learning pictures. 

Would I use Kidblog again? Probably. I may give Edmodo a try with kids before we end this year. I like some of the features, but haven't tried it with students yet.

Do you use Kidblog or Edmodo? Is there a better choice that I don't know about? Love to hear from you!

Service Learning, Part 1

With less than a month to go, my students have been bombarded with special events and projects. One of our all time favorite projects is growing flowers in our Life Lab. Our award winning life lab was one of the first at an elementary school. It houses plants, a pond and stream, a butterfly house, and numerous animals. Every spring the students get flower plugs to plant. They grow a flower for every student's mother for Mother's Day. We also grow flowers that are transplanted downtown.

Last Friday was our Downtown Planting Day. Our Downtown Development Authority pays for the plants and dirt. Our fifth graders then plant them in decorative pots and urns throughout the downtown area. This year's plants are an ornamental grass, yellow coreopsis, and a purple wave petunia. The purple and gold theme is a favorite, since it reflects our school colors. To show their appreciation, two restaurants that overlook the planters gave students discount coupons. The students were eager to eat at the restaurant, and the restaurant owners are pleased with the way their businesses will look with the flowers in bloom all summer.

Now all we have to do is hope we don't have many more cold nights! It has been a wet and cold spring in southern Michigan.

For Next Year...

Pinkadots Elementary is hosting their first linky. School supplies are the topic.

                                                

What supplies do you ask your students to gather for the next year? As we head into the homestretch for this year, most of us are simultaneously thinking about prepping for next year. As grade level chair, I have to have our supply list ready to go home with this year's current fourth graders. We send the list at the end of the year, as well as posting it online and having copies at Target, Walmart, Staples, etc.

My students use journals for writing. I provide one composition book for the math journal but students must provide their own writing journal. I let them choose between composition book or spiral. If they choose it, they are more likely to use it. We decorate them with photographs and memorabilia. Students must have a binder. We prefer a basic 1 1/2 to 2" 3-ring binder. Trappers don't fit in our lockers easily. Students are expected to keep our Student Planner/Handbook in the binder. Parent communication takes place in the planner.

I have my own list of necessities for making my life better.

I love PaperMate's InkJoy pens for checking papers. I prefer colors other than black, blue, or red.

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My must have are multiple sets of Scentos! My kids love Scentos for our Rainbow Writing in Word Work.
                                       

I have already started stocking up on my supplies for next year. What supplies should I add?

Tried It Tuesday!

                                          
For this week's Tried It Tuesday linky from Fourth Grade Flipper, I tried switching from desks to tables.

We departmentalized the year I switched rooms. I grew tired of hearing students complain their pencils, pens, scissors, glue, etc. had been taken. Last year, I turned all the desks backwards to form tables, and made students keep supplies only in their cubbies.

This year, I took the plunge, and swapped desks for the round tables. I decided tables freed up walk space. The cubbies had reduced the amount of visual clutter. The round tables, although they don't all match, are more visually appealing and lend themselves to collaborative work and discussion, a must in my classroom. The tables do encourage a little extra talking, but when students have the opportunity to choose their seats, they will fight to keep them. Excessive talking moves them to the "time out" table.

I am negotiating with colleagues to exchange the two mismatched tables for the matching ones. I am also trying to get a new group work table for my co-teacher, a kidney shaped one. I need more table and floor space next year with a larger class coming. Mismatched or not, trading my desks in for tables was the best decision. My goal is to make my classroom into a "Literary Lounge". Think Barnes and Noble.

What things have you tried that made a difference in your classroom? Link Up!

May's Monday Made It!

I am linking up for Tara's monthly made-it party at 4th Grade Frolics.

Last week was a very busy week. Without hubby's help, we wouldn't have been able to make our Mother's Day project. He got up early and picked up our ceramic tiles for our trivets. (I was headed to Lowe's or Home Depot every day last week, but never got there!) He also helped us with our service learning project. More on that later in the week.

I saw so many variations on the trivet, including using student pictures, which I had my teacher neighbor do last year. I decided to do one of my own, but to use a Wordle. Students came up with their list of descriptive words to include in the word cloud. The only problem, I only have one color printer, so it took a long time to get all of the word clouds finished. We glued, Mod Podged, and sealed the wordles. The kids were thrilled with the results. They also had our flowers we grew in our Life Lab. We wrapped those in bright paper and a bow. 

For my next project, I made a spring-y sign to hang outside my door. My black/white/shots of color wreath had been there, but I wanted something bright. The sign was from Michael's. I just painted and wrote my name and message.

With a dark purple wall (School Color), it is hard to find something that doesn't get lost. 

My last project was inspired by Tara's previous post. I wanted poly zip pockets to store my math center activities, but wanted to be able to store them in three-ring notebooks. I scoured our area Staples store, and found these. As a discontinued item, they only had one pack in stock. They ordered them online and shipped free. I am organizing my games to store for summer, and for easy retrieval next year. Thanks for the idea, Tara!

 The best part, the poly zip folder can be used to hold the center sign on my display board next year.

Now I just have to print, laminate, and cut out all of my purchases I made during last week's sales.