I PICK

I PICK chant

This one's a keeper! This is one I found on YouTube, not from my own class, but it's really helpful!

Lesson #952: Go with the Flow

At the beginning of the year, the kids made "bean-sticks" to use with math. On wooden craft sticks, they glued pinto beans, 10 on each stick. They each have a set of 10 bean-sticks and 12, or so, loose beans to work with on place value. We hadn't worked with them for a couple of days, and I thought it would be good to bring them back out. When the kids pulled out their bean-sticks during math, I heard an unusual amount of giggling from the back of the class. One little girl was having a hard time completing the task of taking out her bean-sticks out of her math bag, and as soon as I walked over, I knew why. Over the course of a week, her beans had begun to sprout on the wooden craft sticks! Her math bag had become a personal garden for her pinto beans.  Needless to say, we had a mini-science lesson within math today. With some thing, you just have to take a time-out from the norm!


Out of the Mouths of Babes....

Student #1: "When I grow up, I want to be an Avatar."

Student #2: "Jesus was an Avatar."

Beware! First graders on the air!

We have a classroom full of radio stars! After we made recipes for some of the snacks we've enjoyed, we created a script and shared it over the air, through the local radio station. It was such a great chance to learn about, and participate, in the local community. Click on the link below, and choose October 8th's show of "Living Locally for Less" to listen to our spectacular broadcast.


Listen to our radio show!

First Grade Dictionary

You won't find these in Webster's...

aminal (n.) - like a dog or a cat
"We are studying about aminals in school."

buhstead - but; except for 

"I like all vegetables, buhstead, not broccoli."

caddywhompus (adj.) - the way your pencil goes when you put it in the sharpener the wrong way

"My pencil's all caddywhompus in the sharpener."

calipittar (n.) - something that, someday, will turn into a butterfly
"We found a calipittar on the ground out at recess."

hanitizer (n.) - stuff that gets the germs off of your hands
"I brought my hanitizer, because my hands get dirty at school."

pasgetti (n.) - the only thing some first graders will eat
"My mom makes the best pasgetti."

pramantis (n.) - an insect that often looks like its praying
I have to leave school early, b'cause my dad and me have to go pramantis hunting."

Words of Wisdom from first grade:

Constitution Lesson
Teacher: They made a new country and they wouldn't have to listen to the king of England.
Student: But everyone has to listen to God!

Teacher: Our saying is, 'don't cry over spilled milk.' What does it mean?
Student: It means that, when you spill your milk at lunch, Ms. Lois will come and clean it up, so you   don't have to cry!

Student: I'm a vegetarian now.
Teacher: Oh really?
Student: Yeah, my dad was gonna do it too, but we have too much meat in the freezer, so he can't.

AR Reading Time

Everyone comes in, hot and sweaty from recess. They bring their books over to our meeting place. After reviewing expected behavior during AR time, I let them begin reading. It takes a minute for everyone to get settled into reading spots around the room. Then....

Miss Walker, can I take a quiz?
Miss Walker, can I go to the library?
Miss Walker, I can't find my goal sheet.
Miss Walker, is this the quiz number?
Miss Walker, who can I read with?
Miss Walker, can I go to the bathroom?
Miss Walker, look at this cool part in the book.
Miss Walker, I already read the whole book.
Miss Walker, I already retold the story to myself.
Miss Walker, what do I do now?
Miss Walker, what's this word?
Miss Walker, can I take a quiz next?

Teachers could benefit from one of those machines you find when you go to the DMV. Then they could sit at their desk, and direct students to, "Take a number." Hmmm, I might have to stop by the DMV and see where they get theirs.

Mother May I?

There are not enough hours in a day for a great teacher in the classroom to also be a selfish person outside of the classroom; this I have decided. So if you know a great teacher, assume he/she is also a genuinely great person. 

New discovery: I talk too much.

Fun stuff: At lunch, the student across from me looked up and said, "Mom...(thinking face)...I mean...Miss Walker...." I've been called "Mom" several times before, by other students, and kids I have babysat, but it still cracks me up every time. 

Apples, and Berries, and Taters, oh my!

In a fight between Farmville on Facebook and Austin Family Farms in Paonia, the Austin's knocked Farmville out of the ring, if you asked the kinder through fourth grade kids at our school. We had our first field trip yesterday, and the students were introduced to the farm life. There are three generations of the Austin family that run the farm.  They grow apples (several varieties), peaches, apricots, plums, blackberries, raspberries, potatoes, pumpkins, and various types of squash. They also raise bees for honey, and pigs for, brace yourself, breakfast. The Austin's have to be one of the neatest families, and such gracious hosts, to share their lives with a bunch of noisy "schooligans". They work hard, and they work hard together.

Thinking back on my personal experience in first grade, field trips were the highlight of my week/month. Whether or not I was interested in the place we were going, I would just  be so excited to switch things up a bit and leave the school. There is so much to be learned, and a flutter of anticipation flies through the classroom in the moments before we get lined up to get on the bus. 

It's debatable whether teachers feel the same way. Potty breaks, head counts, lunch counts, limited space on the bus, three to a seat with knees pressed against the bench in front, all things to remember during the process of planning a field trip. I think it was totally worth all of that, because the kiddos were out of the building in which they will spend a good chunk of their time, they got to pick and eat fruit straight off of the tree, and they got the chance to experience great hospitality. Hopefully they caught a glimpse of what real life looks like for some, since it comes in so many different forms. Sorry Farmville, maybe another day. 

Entry #1

With the beginning of every new journal, or other reflective project, I feel like there should be some awe-inspiring message and a good overview of what people can expect upon reading. This way they know right away whether to keep reading, or move on to something which would better serve their time. Since it is Friday, and my week has been spent in a first grade classroom, teeming with enough energy to power Iron Man's suit, this is as good as it gets: 

Knock, Knock! (I know, you're already searching for alternate ways to spend your time)

- Who's there? -

Cheetos.

- Cheetos who? - 

If you eat my Cheetos, you'll be sorry!

For those who teach in the younger grades, be excited, because you get to be the first, and sometimes only, to hear these masterpieces that students fabricate from a place unknown. So, from this blog, expect the unexpected, which is a skill my first graders are so dutifully helping me practice!