A Pinterest-ing Spring Break #1

I've been thoroughly enjoying my Spring Break.  Since I haven't been going into the classroom everyday I have been surfing the internet...mostly Pinterest and BLOGS...for  ideas to use until the end of the school year next month. Here is a collection of activities and teaching ideas that I plan to use through the end of the year.

I re-pinned this tattling activity from Rachelle at What the Teacher Wants.  My kiddos had quite a bit of trouble refraining from tattling before Spring Break.  I thought this would be a great lesson to use to re-teach my class about big problems (issues the teacher needs to handle) vs. small problems (issues students can handle themselves).

This inferencing activity has SEVERAL blogs that have linked and re-created it. I found the idea on Pinterest from Coconut Cutie's Classroom who found it from StrongStart who in turn found it from ChildCareLand.com. Whew! Good ideas are contagious! However, Coconut Cutie's Classroom created a free printable that I'm using to re-create my own set! 

 

My First Grade Team has decided to teach a Fairy Tale, Folk Take, and Nursery Rhyme unit this nine weeks. Next week we are planning to study The Princess and the Pea, Rapunzel, Stone Soup, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Strega Nona as a part of our European folklore week. I thought this collage along with a sequencing writing activity would be an awesome activity after we read Stone Soup by Marcia Brown.

I'll be back to post some more Pinterest inspired ideas that I am collecting for after Spring Break!

April Currently

Linky parties always look like so much fun.  Excited to link up for the first time EVER with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade!

The Comeback and NEW Blog Design!

I have seriously neglected my blog since last school year, and this one is over half way finished!  I've moved to a new school and had a chance to pull together a brand new classroom {Pictures Coming Soon}.  Since things have changed so much since the last time I posted, I figured it's time for a fresh NEW BLOG DESIGN.  Come back in March to see my new design and relaunch of The NEW Teacher Noggin!

March...uh...I mean May Madness!

WELL....blogger friends, I must say that the month of May has been the busiest yet! I went on a three day camping trip with my class and the rest of first and fourth grade from my school to Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky! It was extremely tiring, playing Mommy to a cabin full of first grade girls, hiking, and helping with meal duties for our entire group. We all got on a couple of "those big busses with the TV's," as the kids call them (Grayline). Here are a few photos from our trip.

 We saw lots and lots of farmland. 

 And we went over a very, very narrow bridge. This is what we saw outside the window, Yikes! The lake was beautiful though.

 At the Nature Center we learned about different kinds of owls native to the area. 

At the Homeplace, a historic pioneer village, we watched some blacksmithing in action!

 That oxen was HUGE! A few kiddos didn't want to get too close!

 Our Nature Guide took us OFF THE TRAIL in search of a beaver dam.

 The 4th Graders got to go canoeing! There was a lot of flooding in our area (you may have heard about it on the news). The lake is usually MUCH further back, but since it flooded they actually canoed OVER the basketball courts and playground the children usually play at during down time...

Our Pond Life tour guide was FANTASTIC! He was so encouraging and helped the kids discover the little world inside the pond....even though one child found a leech! Ahhh! Ms. King got a little scared then, but don't tell anybody!

The children had a blast at the annual Pillow Fight after the Night Hike. Afterwards we had a late night snack of milk and homemade cookies! TIME FOR BED! Haha! After all that both the kids AND the teachers were worn out on the bus ride home!

This month has also brought a bit of uncertainty. I was displaced within my school district, so I'd been freshening up my resume and getting ready for interviews. As you all know the end of the year brings lots of TESTING and final REPORT CARDS! I'm shooting to finish grading today and finish report cards this week. I've also been trying to get a jump on signing up for summer professional development! WHEW! Only 7 days left 'til SUMMER :-)

Common Core Standards

image from http://www.corestandards.org/

I saw this post about Common Core Standards over at Swamp Frog First Graders and thought I should link to it on my blog. My state is switching to the Common Core Standards for the first time next school year. I'm excited about the change! I'm going to check out the http://www.corestandards.org site too. Hopefully I can find some sort of training or professional development workshop to learn more about it.

ADDICTED!

I've been a teaching blog addict since February 28th...oh how quickly things come together! I'm totally hooked to checking up on teacher blogs to get spectacular ideas for my first grade kiddos or to help get lil' ol' first year teacher me more organized! Teaching blogs have been a total life saver, LOVE them!

Good News! The teaching blog addict mecca has been created!

Check it out and feed your habit :-)

10 Things I've Learned About Teaching

Rowdy in First Grade is having a Linky Party to share all the different things teachers have learn over the years. Though I'd get back in on the fun! A year and a half of teaching has taught me lots, but there is still more to learn.

1. It takes a LOT of work, love, and effort to be a good teacher. Lots of people don't understand the FULL extent of this.

2. For some children you really are the sunshine in their life.

3. Organization is KEY!

4. Bulletin boards can be very time consuming, but end up looking very cute

5. No matter how much you clean, disinfect, take vitamins, use hand sanitizer, and wash your hands you will still end up being sick at least once.

6. Don't waiver on the things you say to the students.

7. Try to be AS CLEAR AS POSSIBLE when giving directions! Showing examples of what their work should and should not look like is helpful too.

8. I can't wait to teach again next year and make some modifications. Reflecting on your practice helps you and the kiddos.

9. Going back to school for a Master's Degree would be a great thing to do sooner than later! I'm really leaning towards a degree in Special Education next.

10. LIVE LIFE, LAUGH, and LOVE TEACHING :-)