Spring! Fun Authof of the Day Idea, Capture the Gold Freebie, and Five for Friday!

Hello Friends!

1.  Yay! It's Spring!!! And I am officially on my first day of Spring Break! I have no plans to go to Florida or the Outerbanks; just staying at home and doing things like cleaning my house, reading, and basically getting my personal life in order, so that when we return to school, that pressure will be over and I can concentrate on this last quarter!

 2.   Our leprechauns visited us on Tuesday. They were pretty tricky and were able to escape from all our traps. One lucky girl, though, caught a piece of the leprechaun's coat in her trap! The expression of  joy on her face was too precious!


3.  This was a favorite game in Math tubs this week. Kids toss two dice and try to "capture" numbers as they add the sums on them. They actually liked this game better than "Bump." This is free in my store if you still want to do a St. Patrick Day game this month! It says for K-2, but for this time of year, it probably is only suited for Kindergarten and RTI math for first and second grade......


https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Capture-the-Gold-Dice-Game-218150

4.  In my last post I mentioned that I had attended a presentation from Harry Kindergarten. One idea that he gave us was to play some fun, exciting music when announcing the Author of the Day. He suggested the theme song for the Chicago Bulls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq8VPYPzKHk
 I tried this and it was AH-MAZING! My kids sit criss cross applesauce on the rug patiently awaiting the announcement. I build up the author saying things like : Boys and Girls, please give your attention to the Author of the Day! This person tries hard to write at least 3 sentences in his journal writing. He works to make sure that his picture matches his words. He uses at least 3 different colors in his drawing. He puts spaces between his words. He can read the words that he wrote.... The AUTHOR OF THE DAY IS......... (and then I announce the author's name who then gets his/her journal and sits in the author chair.)

Since implementing this fun introduction, the writing in my classroom has been amped 100%! Kids ask me if they can work on their writing during FREE PLAY! They would rather write than LISTEN TO A STORY! Truly! This is amazing!


5.  We are a bit behind in our Health unit this year; due to a lot of things..... This week we discussed healthy food. Here is a SUPER simple idea that your kids can do that really cemented their learning of healthy and not healthy food. Simply title one side of a paper HEALTHY and the other side NOT HEALTHY FOOD. Kids cut food pictures from newspaper ads or food magazines and sort them into the proper side. We have a LONG discussion of how there is no BAD food; just food that you should eat more of than other food. I do not want to be the teacher who starts an eating disorder in my students, so I stress that is is OKAY to eat a cookie; just not okay to eat SIX cookies! I also stress the healthy plate diagram showing kids that half their plate should be fruits and vegetables AND that they should try to eat foods that are the color of the rainbow everyday.

Well that's it for now! Hope this finds everyone enjoying the first days of spring! Hop on over to Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!

http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2015/03/five-for-friday-linky-party-march-20th.html


Until next time!

Blessings,


4 comments

  1. I love the idea on introducing your author of the day. I will definitely need to do that! Thanks for the link to the theme song, too!! Enjoy your spring break!! Oooo.....we have 2 weeks to go!!

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    1. Yes, you really need to try it! I have been amazed at the changes in my kid's writing and they do NOT let me forget that an author of the day needs to be announced!

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  2. The outer banks are calling my name, but not until summer. This spring break I am hunkering down and getting stuff done around the house and for my classes.

    Cheers,
    Mrs. Harris
    Mrs. Harris Teaches

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    Replies
    1. Some day I will get to the outer banks...... but as I said, not this spring break..... I cannot wait to get some things finished around the house! Good luck on getting YOUR stuff done!

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