Woo Hoo...Day 2!

Hold the phones...it's well before midnight and I'm actually getting to fulfill my goal for the day...adding another post for this week.  Woo hoo!!

Of course, it goes without saying that my sub plans are not quite finalized for tomorrow, my house is   still a mess (for me!), and I still have a bag ready to burst at the seams with STUFF to go through.  But...I set a goal and gosh darn it, I'm gonna do it!  (insert smiles here)

My goal was to post at least one picture a day this week.  Why you ask?!?  Great question.  

The answer...why not??  

Sometimes I overwhelm myself with the plethora of lists and things to do.  Anyone else do that?  Every teacher (and mom) out there is screaming, "YES!" right now.  I can feel it.  

Okay, maybe not sometimes I overwhelm myself.  Maybe most of the time.  That being said, I wanted to take one insanely crazy week (although, really no different than most weeks when I compare) and set some attainable goals for myself to be able to check off at the end the day and feel good.  

And this blog was it.  

So...here is my daily picture (I actually have 4 because I really can't control myself when it comes to taking photos).

As I was leaving tonight and thinking about all the fun stuff I could write about, this seemed like the logical winner.  

Our Tooth Tree

After teaching third grade for 10 years, the occasional missing tooth never seemed to phase me very much.  Go to the nurse.  Get your tooth treasure box.  Moving on.

When I came to first grade, teeth looked SO AMAZINGLY DIFFERENT to me.  Probably because most were missing them!!  I had never sat in a classroom and taught to so many toothless faces.  It easily (and strange, I know!) became one of my most favorite things about teaching first grade.  

And just when I think I might be getting a little numb to all the missing teeth...enter the blood and wiggles.  Love it!  I'm not a squeamish person.  After all, I am a mom.  I was a nanny.  I am a teacher.  Every imaginable fluid and grossness has been on me at some point in my life so I'm not really phased or traumatized by the blood.  Am I numb to that?  Sure.  

However, when I see a 6 year old, missing all her front teeth within the last 48 hours, looking like a 90 year old man, I quickly realize, how do you ever go numb to this sort of cuteness?!?!  

All their words become lispy and they try desperately to figure out new placements for their tongue while speaking.  First grade favorite all over again.

Enter the tooth tree.  A couple years ago, I found these great fake trees at a garage sale.  While I like the greenery in my classroom, they also needed to serve a purpose.  I'm all about "Everything being on Purpose."  A tooth tree.  When a child loses his/her tooth, I give them a tooth cut out (found at most teacher stores).  The toothless wonder writes his/her name on the tooth in bold marker, adds a mini tooth sticker, and hangs it like an ornament on our tree.  Doesn't look like much at the beginning of the year...but by the end, holy smokes!!  We have lots and lots of teeth dangling from our branches. Each time a child loses a tooth, if they already have a tooth on the tree, they simply add a sticker.  I also give them a larger sticker to wear and a pencil for the first one of the year.  They love it and it's a quick easy way to recognize their big moment!  

From teeth to stars...

Last week, I was the "Star Student" of the week.  Here's a look at my star corner. 

(the wall portion anyway)

I brought in my treasures and shared my special week to model for kiddos what they would be doing each week.  I spent a lot of time (too much time) coloring and designing my poster in the hopes of inspiring them to do the same when it is their turn.  Minus the posters (which can be found at most teacher stores), everything I do is included in my You're A Star packet here. 

I always get so excited to see what students bring and to hear them present to their peers.  So sweet!

From teeth to stars to spots...

Next up on my picture hunt, I stepped outside my classroom to share this bulletin board.

Normally, I change up my bulletin boards yearly especially when I know I have siblings coming up.  However, I created this one last year and LOVED it so much I couldn't bear to take it down yet.  Last year, I happened to be in the Hobby Lobby clearance section and found a circle cutter.  #inheaven  Later that same day, I was splurging on my usual bulletin board border and found this border.

spots + dots = match made in heaven

Lo and behold...this bulletin board was created.  First Graders Have Been Spotted.  

The amount of time and fun I had cutting out these silly circles was definitely worth it.  The people on the board change every two months.  I have the students draw and color exactly what they look like on the first day of school.  I hang them up exactly as is.  After a couple months, I take them down, save them for end of the year memories (more on that later...much later), and then they create a new person matching them on that date.  I love these sort of keepsakes that show how students have changed and grown just as an artist throughout the year.  

This bulletin board also helped inspire one of my Smartboard Attendance pages.  

You can get yours here.  

Tomorrow I'm getting ready to AIM.  SHOOT.  SCORE.

Wanna know more??

Check in tomorrow to find out how I use this in my classroom........