And so it begins...

I absolutely LOVE teaching first grade!!  Besides my own kiddos and hubby (well, and family, of course!), there's not much else I love more than teaching.  When I was little (I'm sure like most teachers did) I would set up all the stuffed animals and play school for hours.  Days. Weeks.  All summer in fact.  My family made endless fun of me.  They thought it was just so humorous that I spent all day in school and then would come home to play school.  It made me happy though.  

So here I am...much, much older and still happy.  Although, now when I play school, as my mom likes to still say, I actually have little ones who respond and listen.  From August until May, it consumes my days.  And many nights, as most of my friends, coworkers, and family know.  Once that final bell rings in May and the buses drive away and the last tear is wiped from my cheek (yes, I'm a baby who cries just about every year), I start swinging from the chandeliers and thank heavens for summer break!!!  

Who doesn't love summer?!?! 

And when I say summer break...I mean June.  (Insert the "WHAT?!?" here.) 

Yes, I said June.  I sleep in (is that really possible with three kiddos who are early risers?).  I stay up late...not working.  I catch up on some tv that has been waiting through the insanity of May for me to watch it.  I enjoy the sun and playing outside with my kids.  I finally get to some of those house projects I've been meaning to do since...well...forever.  I transition to eating lunch at a slower, normal-person's rate of speed.  I take time to smell the roses.  Literally.  All for the love of June.

Then that pesky July rolls around and instantly I begin the rat race of getting ready for the upcoming school year.  For those of you who think we teachers enjoy a relaxing three months off every year and only work from 8am-3pm, I assure you, I can debunk all those theories and myths.  It's a lie.  Because when July comes blasting in with it's red, white, and blue, I know I'm in trouble.  Time to start planning curriculum.  When can I set up my classroom?  This year I will clean out all those overloaded cabinets and drawers.  And files while I'm at it.  Oh.  Goodness.  Way too much to do!!  Here's what I started with Monday 8am this week.

Yikes!! What a disaster!  But a couple hours later...and a lot of sweat and sore muscles, this was the progress made.  Not bad.  Not perfect.  But not bad.

Not quite done yet but at least it was manageable at that point.  Then, it was on to the behind-the-scenes work.  Cleaning out cabinets and drawers and getting organized.  I HEART to be organized!!!  My girls can tell anyone, our house (or my classroom for that matter) are never perfectly 100% organized but for the split second it is, Mom is a happy lady!!

With all the cleaning and my mind thinking of the endless list of things to do, I came across oodles of daily or weekly activities my kids love to do.  I set piles aside to bring home and get organized into units for the beginning of the year.  Which got me thinking???  Why not share some of these activities?  

The first activity I do every Monday beginning in October.  I give them a few months (we start early August) to learn routines and expectations and so to not overwhelm little firsties immediately with independent writing with an unfamiliar structure.  Every Monday, on their desks, sit a Weekend News paper.  After extreme modeling, brainstorming, and step by step directions, students enjoy coming in and sharing what they did over the weekend in their writing.  It's important for students to not only practice their writing skills such as conventions and structure but also handwriting, creative thinking, and yes, even some drawing and coloring but that they also get a chance to "talk it out."  So after silent writing, students share with partners, small groups, or even whole group.  Depends on the mood in the morning and how much we need to get going.  I like to have students do a little bit more writing after long breaks because I know they have lots to share!!  Firsties always have lots to share, but especially after breaks!  Here are my new templates added over at tpt.

We only write our Weekend News on Monday, however, we do calendar daily.  So over the years I have made, tweaked, revamped, tossed out, skipped and recreated several calendar booklets.  Since I have student led calendar time on the Smartboard, when the instruction moves a little slower, I notice some of my friends start getting quite squirrely.  Now, yes, I could shorten my calendar slides on the Smartboard, but I can't seem to figure out what to skip.  It ALL seems important!!  Alas, they are stuck doing it.  To help with the management issue (and for repeated practice!), I have my students work on their own calendars to follow along with our Smartboard Calendar Leader.  As the year progresses, some finish their calendar booklets and then just follow along and that works for me.  After all the modeling and direct instruction at the beginning, I want them to have independence and the autonomy to complete this task without me.  Here it is, fresh off the press!

And so it begins...

July is half over.  The classroom is taking shape.  Files are getting organized.  Love!  Class lists are being finalized.  And all things school have begun...again.

Summer is dwindling.  Extra time with my own lovies is becoming limited.  Boo!  The DVR is filling up again because there's no time to watch my shows.  Playtime is sparse.   Hiss!!   The tan is already fading.  Grrr!!!  How does that ONE MONTH off go that fast?!?!

But on the bright side...........it's almost time to play school again!!!

Check out my store at tpt to get your own Weekend News Templates and/or Student Calendar Books!!