Egg-celent Workstations

I'm not sure what it is about March...

perhaps it's the change in the weather,

the birthday of my favorite middle daughter,

or just spring in general...

either way, I love it and I'll take it.

My class has been learning about life in the polar regions for the last 5 weeks and I'm happy to say we are leaving the cold for some new light and sound studies.  Ahhh...I feel the heat of the sun already shining down on me.  Sorry, I digress with dreams of spring break on the horizon.  

During our unit on the polar regions, my students diverted from our daily/weekly guided reading workstations and did a lot more "team" projects and research based learning.  It was such a great experience to look up during my reading groups and see such intense and focused thinking going on.  

(Insert a picture of a beaming teacher here.)

However, this week it was back to our routine of workstations.  Last March I had created some fun workstations that my students loved and I thought we would try them again this year.  Of course it wasn't as simple as pulling out old stations and "Go!" since our curriculum and pacing has changed since last year.  So I refreshed the stations and put them out today.  What a hit!

Here are my seasonal workstations for the week...in case you are still in need or want to bookmark for next year.

WORD WORK

Students worked on Shamrock Boggle making words.  Each small shamrock has a magnet on the back and students randomly choose the letters (must have at least 3 vowels in the group).  Then, they write their words on the large laminated shamrocks.

HANDWRITING

Each tray has 12 eggs filled with seasonal sentences modeling neat writing.  Students crack open the egg, read the sentence, and then copy the sentence in an equally small box to mimic the neat writing. 

(Each tray has the same sentences.  To differentiate, you could vary the sentences by ability levels and then assign colors to individual students within that station.)

Here are the FREEBIE sentences and writing sheet!

SIGHT WORDS

In large bowls, I filled rainbow rice and hid 30 high frequency word strips inside.  (You can see some peeking out in the pictures.)  The students have to dig in their bowl to find the word and then write it on the laminated recording sheet.  

When they finish, they can check their answers on my key.

(The trick is to train your kiddos to re-hide the words after they are through for the next group. Oh, and to remind them to keep the rice in the bowl.)  ;)

SPELLING EGGSTRAVAGANZA

In each egg carton, 12 plastic eggs are filled with words chopped into individual letters.  The eggs are numbered on the outside and the recording sheet is numbered.  Students crack open one egg at a time.  Unscramble the word.  Write the word on the line.

In the picture above, my kiddos are working on St. Patrick's Day words in one carton and Spring Break words in another carton.  I also have a carton with spelling words.

This also works with sight words and vocabulary words that your students are familiar with.  Again, this activity can be easily differentiated by filling cartons with various levels of words and assigning specific cartons to kiddos.  

I have several other workstations (10 in total).  I like an even balance of students at various workstations to help maintain independence but also behavior management since during this time I am working with my students at guided reading.  

I will share more about my Science workstations as we move forward into our light and sound unit.  Today was a success with it's launch and I'm eager to share.

Stay tuned...

Feeling Lucky?

What if you found a pot of gold???  What would you do?  

March will be here soon.  If you're looking for a cute activity to do with your kiddos, check out my Rainbow Pot of Gold Craftivity.  I posted about them last year but they were so cute and entertaining, I'll be doing them again this year.  

Here is my unfinished sample for the students and a few examples from last year.

Also, I just made new March nametags to use for grouping students throughout the month.  Would you be interested?  Should I post?  Love to hear your feedback.

Happy rainbowing!

Got questions? Ask me!

I have to admit that I'm not unhappy at all about this light winter this year.  Spring is definitely in the air today and I'm loving it.  (Although, I'm pretty sure a cold front is blowing in, but I'll take what I can get.)

On the school front, it's been a busy year and though I love to create, I have found the lack of time to recreate/invent this year an issue.  One of the biggest changes (er...challenges) was our district curriculum.  I found myself inspired and driven to intensely follow our framework and give it a fair shot.  What I found was I was creating and "testing out" many new activities and lessons in my classroom, but I ran out of time when it came to sharing and posting.  (Insert sad faced emoji here.)

Since starting to blog just a short year and a half ago, I found this new outlet for sharing what I love to do.  It has been a great way to connect with other educators around the world and keep the creative juices flowing.  Sometimes in the teaching world, this job we love, is often consuming, overwhelming, and a time-sucker.  Mostly because.....it never ends.  It's great to have those new friends whether it be on a blog, Instagram, or other social media that keep you going and growing.  

Which leads me here...

Even though I've been creating (and not sharing or posting) ideas/activities, I have often found myself wondering...what do people want to know???  

Often we forget (especially those of us who have been in this career a bit) that we have valuable information to share with others.  I, for one, sometimes forget how green I was at one point, too.  Whether it was year one (just starting out), year three (changing schools), year ten (changing grade levels and schools), or year sixteen (changing ELA curriculum), I have been blessed to know some things never change.  

These consistencies are what make my over-whelming-at-times-job more than just a job.

Kiddos always want to learn.

Kiddos always want to be respected and loved.

Kiddos always need to move.

Kiddos learn differently.

Kiddos need change and challenges.

Kiddos need to love school.

Period.

Even though some years are more challenging than others...

Even though some years you contemplate looping because you love them so...

Even though sometimes you think you can't do it anymore...

Even though sometimes the paperwork, expectations, and standards are too exhausting...

Kiddos need to love school.

That's the foundation on which to start.

How do you get there?  What are some teacher tricks?  What do you want to know???

Here's where I need your help...

I'm looking for topics/questions/ideas/lessons you need help and support with.  Whether it is behavior management, organization, creating lessons, using assessments, etc....I'm open to whatever.  

Leave a comment, post a question, visit me on Facebook or Instagram...

Perhaps I can offer a solution, give advice, find a resource, share my experiences, and/or be an on call teacher support.  I would love to share those questions and ideas on the blog because perhaps more educators need to know they are not alone and are just looking for some tips.  

How can we get both teachers and kiddos to continue to love school??

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Happy commenting!

Honoring Dr. King

So true.

I'm a firm believer in teaching both academics and character ed hand in hand.  There's nothing more important to me in my classroom than helping students understand the balance of being both academically strong in your skills as well as a good, honest, and caring person.   In virtually every story we read and lesson we learn, both of those messages and themes come ringing through.  It makes perfect sense then that last week we spent time each day learning about the significance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

(*I have to be honest and say that I was inspired by both Dr. King and Krista Wallden from Creative Clips for this project. Her clip art got me once again.  Can. NOT. Resist.  And so it turned into this...)


You can snag this activity in my TPT store.

We started off the week with lots of probing and question asking.  

What schema do you have about Dr. King?

Do you know what he is known for?

Tell a neighbor one fact you already know about Martin Luther King Jr.

I loved hearing what they had to say.  Since they haven't been around that long and had that many life experiences yet, sometimes the only schema they bring is from kindergarten.  Love those fresh eyes!

Over the course of the four days of our activity, we read some amazing picture books (included suggestions in my packet), watched a brief Brainpop Jr. video, read a Scholastic News article, and watched a few informational clips from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.  They were inundated with text and media clips (mostly upon their request to see the "real" footage).  

Each day after reading/discussing/viewing our informational topic, we colored, cut, and glued the triorama pieces to a new section.

Day 1...just the start

Day 2

Day 4

As we completed each section, students glued the trioramas together to make the completed square on the last day.  I have included some "wrap up" ideas in my packet for each day as a way to solidify thinking for the day.

Here's a view looking down.



My students were given several options on where and how to place the pieces on each section.  I tell them frequently that even though we all start with the same materials and pieces, art is about making it your own.  For each section, I listed the options I gave my students if you're interested.

(*Also, for the sake of time, I precut my triorama sections for the students.  Normally, I would give them squares and take the time to teach them how to fold, cut, and make their own.  However, we had too much to get through.  Next time.)

Enjoy!

Peace.

Cyber Sale Monday

It's CYBER MONDAY!!

I'm joining in the Cyber Monday Madness.  My entire First Grade on the Brain store will be on sale today, November 30th and tomorrow, December 1st. All products are 20% off!! 

Need some holiday ideas...

Here's a flashback to some of last year's favorite moments and goodies that are available in the sale.

After reading this awesome story 

Download this Grinch freebie

Then you and your students can make a Grinch from my Grinch Christmas Craftivity.

You may even want to download some word art to spruce up your classroom and/or home.  

Here are two of my faves. 

Christmas Tree Art 

Ornament Art

And....if you feel like being super ridiculous and celebrating with a Grinch themed day, here's an inspirational outfit to get your Cindy Lou Who juices flowing.  :)

Happy shopping!

Watercolors!

It's no surprise that I L.O.V.E colors!  My classroom has a "colors" theme (which may be confused for bright and overwhelming but oh well).  I often have difficulty even using just white markers on my chalkboard obsessions signs.  

As luck would have it, I got into some colors this Thanksgiving break.  While trying to spruce up some Christmas presents, I decided to add some watercolors.  Thus, a new product was FINALLY made.   And better yet, uploaded!!

My Watercolor Clip Art Pack!

Get yours here.

What I love most about these fun backgrounds was being able to add shadows and lines to make the posters really come to life.  Included in the pack are the six rainbow colors, a few combo clips, and even two posters I created.

I have a few word art posters for the holiday season, a plethora of Christmas presents that just turn on a whole new level, and a flurry of ideas to put these to use in upcoming projects.
Leave me feedback...I'd love to hear if you need more, want different colors, or have something else in mind to be created.  

Happy designing!

Cheers to Friday!

A little Friday inspirational poster...

Happy Friday!