The rest of Snowflake's Adventures

As I've previously shared, we have a classroom elf.  It's not tied to any holiday and I have not mentioned it's a scout elf for Santa, but rather our visiting elf for December.

The third graders love it and it's pretty precious. Plus I planned out all the elf's adventures beforehand, so there wasn't any thinking or frantic planning in the morning.

In honor of Star Wars, 

I definitely looked up the opening lines from the original films and made it my own.

I happened to have scarf in my purse and used a patterned straw to mimic a light saber.  I timed this the release of the new movie since many of my students are fans.

Tuesday was a spirit day, so naturally Snowflake got in the festive spirit:

One of my students brought me a teddy bear (who we named bear), so I decided to use it for a game of hide and seek:

We also experienced yet another pencil drought, so it was Snowflake to the rescue.

As I'm sure every other elementary school teacher can attest, every so often it seems that all of the pencils in the classroom disappear. I swear they eat them. We had some pencil stealing drama the day before, so I problem solved with new pencils for everyone.

Our final day with Snowflake meant the introduction of a new elf, Candy:

One of my sweet students got me a robe for the elf.  However, since I have the non-traditional sized elf, the robe didn't fit. Three Targets were all sold out, so Amazon Prime to the rescue!  

The new second elf arrived the night before the last day of school (December 21st), so it was perfect timing.

The kids loved the two elves and had a great last day. I wrote a goodbye note from Snowflake on snowflake stationary.

All the elf props went into a box into the garage for next year. I also snagged some props and another outfit for the elf after Christmas on sale at Target.

I fully accept that I'm now "that teacher". 

Did you think that one through?

One of our back to school surprises from our administration was new electronic pencil sharpeners.

Secretly, I was thrilled.  My one last year was broken by a student (yes, he did it on purpose) and I really didn't want to buy another.

We were gifted with these:

However, while it looks nice in my classroom:

It's beyond impractical.

This is the plastic portion that holds pencil shavings:

That's it.  I can sharpen maybe four pencils before it's time to dump it and start over.  In an elementary classroom with three dozen students (yes, you read that correctly), this is just silly.  The capacity is ridiculously small.  

Bostitch, did you think the design through on this?  What teacher sharpens only four pencils at a time?!

I miss my old sharpener:

If you're upgrading classroom supplies, don't upgrade to this product.  The only upside I see is that it was a gift.

Simplicity, part 3

As previously mentioned, I'm committed to small, simple tweaks this year to make my classroom a more organized and positive place.  Today I present ideas eight through ten!

Idea Eight: Notebook Bookmarks

One of the things my students seem to struggle with when using notebooks is finding the page they left off on.  For some reason unknown to teachers, they love to skip pages.  At the beginning of the year when we set up our notebooks with our table of contents, page numbers, and color coded markers to distinguish subjects, I go over the norms of not skipping pages and using the backsides.  However, by November, this is usually forgotten.

Not this year!

No, this year will be different with the help of this ribbon and duct tape combination!  After journaling, they will simply put the book mark in their notebooks to indicate where they left off and then put their notebooks away.

Idea Nine: The Great Pencil Challenge

Could it be? Can washi and/or duct tape can solve the mystery of the disappearing pencils?

I could have cute prizes for the students who have their assigned pencils at the end of the day, then a few days, then a week.  

When the pencil gets down to basically nothing, I'd give them a new pencil with the same number but different tape (so I could keep them straight). 

Idea Ten: Table Organizers

The great bucket idea of last year failed.  Yes, these shower organizers that were so meticulously color coded by table and had so much hope...didn't work.  

By May, all of the buckets had been stepped on and cracked beyond repair without so much as a simple apology.  Part of this was my fault because the buckets didn't have their own space to rest on when not in use. See, the buckets would rest on someone's desk (if he or she was absent) or on the floor, where the buckets were inevitably and frequently stepped on.

However, I could have eliminated the problem with this set up:

I was already planning on placing my students in Kagan groups of 4-6 (depending on class size), so I could arrange the desks around these organizers.  I know they are at Target, I just need to wait for them to go on sale or be in my cartwheel ap (or both!).  

I'm getting excited to get into my classroom and begin setting up! 

Candy-free Valentine!

As part of our first week of school, I always make my students some variation of these:

(2 years ago)

(last year...no access to a colored printer, so I used labels instead!)

Not only does it make them feel welcome, but the more practical use is now they have a sharpened pencil to use and that's just one less thing I need to worry about :)

While procrastinating grading and looking on pinterest, I found these:

What a cute Valentine's day adaptation!  Plus there is no candy involved and I can't think of an elementary student who doesn't need a new pencil!  Seriously, some days I think they eat the pencils, I don't understand how these supplies go missing so often.  

If I hadn't made cute space valentines yesterday, I would seriously be on board with these!  Perhaps I could make a St. Patrick's day surprise with green ones...I do believe there is a shamrock die cut at our school!  Stay tuned for more crafty procrastination adventures!

Survived the first day!

At 2:30 today, I let go a big sigh of relief.

I did it, I survived my first day with students.

I tried to explain my anxiety to others, but was met with "you've done this before".  Yes, I have.  This started year five.  But the kids are different and it doesn't mean it's any less scary.

Last night was riddled with nightmares of every possible worst-case scenario...all of course, occurring on the first day.

I started my day around six am by prepping their "you're just write for this class" pencils:

 Normally Target's dollar spot pencils are decent but this batch didn't hold up to my fifth grader's sturdy hands.  About half broke within the first twenty minutes...good thing they brought their own!

Next, I finished my word wall with scrabble letters:

'

The words will be color coded by content area.

I also finalized my pencil vase with a button:

I think it looks super cute :)

When my students entered, there was a slip of paper for them to write their feelings on.  Luckily it was early enough in the morning that they didn't question me.

While they were at art, I turned their feelings into this wordle:

Overall, they were excited for fifth grade and I hope that feeling continues!

This group of students might be the most talkative yet so I know I'll have to reinforce the norms of taking turns and using whisper voices.

We went through a lot of procedures, class room tours, etc.  

They had a lot of fun with our "No Way Jose" and "That's a Fact, Jack!" sort:

I love my job, but my oh my am I exhausted! I haven't talked that much in a while and my feet hurt from wearing shoes all day.

Bring on day 2!

Projects

A few days ago, I posted about my intention to make a pencil vase to hold flower pens.  

Today I bought my supplies:

I figured I needed a polka dot ribbon to hold the vase together and I think the green will blend nicely :)

(Finalized project picture coming soon)

I wasn't planning on the blue flowers being almost the same shade as the picture frame I bought for book quotes...but that's okay! (Hard to see from image)

I also wasn't planning on this project blending so nicely with my new behavior management tip of "noise":

Using these magnets and super glue, I'll turn these letters into my newest behavior system.

I will remove letters as students get too loud and when it's down to "NO," there is no more talking.  Students can of course, regain letters based on good choices as a class.

(on my fridge)

I'm excited for craft time and very appreciative that Hobby Lobby makes everything in similar shades!  It makes me seem much more coordinated :)

Combating First Day Jitters

Naturally, a few weeks into summer, I'm starting to think about the start of the school year.  Last year I created some cute welcome notes to help my students feel at ease and welcome in our new classroom.  After all, fifth grade can be a scary place!

While some of the ideas are modified from things on Pinterest, I am still rather proud of the cuteness that occurred in my classroom.  

First things first, every student needs a shiny new pencil to help them show off their best work!  So I found the image, dicut a lot of large circles, added two hole punches and stuck a brand new pencil into their treat.  Time intensive? Perhaps...I think I accomplished the whole assembly process during an episode or two of the Office.  But my students loved them and I'm glad I made them, since many munchkins forgot a pencil on their first day.

Plus a pencil...

Of course, I am not above bribery during the first week.  While I tend to wear a black dress on the first day when we read Ms. Nelson is Missing, I also make sure they feel included with treats like these during the first week:

That's right, we are bursting with excitement!  During standardized testing time, we are bursting with knowledge :)  I cut these out and attached them to a few mini packs of Starbursts.

A slightly healthier option is going with a bag of Lucky Charms :)  A nice, dry cereal snack for the first few days while everyone's tummies are readjusting to the school schedule (and needing to wait to eat!)

Good luck on your first day smartie pants!

To encourage reading, I found these cute freebies on TpT.  The image is small, but they are colorful bookmarks that say: "Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but here's a novel, so read it maybe" 

I love the first weeks of school almost as much as I love summer :)

Ms. Vice