Day One of 2nd Grade!!!

Oh boy, did the day fly by! I was so impressed to find that all 20 of my little second graders were here today for the first day of school!

We started the day with some procedural stuff. I did the A & Q that I learned from Amy Krouse Rosenthal. The kids were amazed that I have 4 dogs, 4 kids, and one cat. When I gave them the answer "I have one, it is a boy." one student said "A husband?" Tooooooo funny! But, yes, one husband works too. I meant my cat. Any ways......then we worked to create a our clip chart as it is required at the school. I decided that if this is a system that they are to use and hold themselves to, then THEY should be the ones to create it! This is what they came up with.

 They worked really fast coming up with the terms for "clipping up", but the "clipping down" parts took a little more thought.

I have to tell you that when we got to the bottom of the chart, I was shocked at the number of students who wanted it to say call parents. I simply explained to them that I didn't want to call their parents only to tell them about bad choices. In fact, I told them that I look forward to calling their parents with praises for great learning! They were shocked. Therefore, the "Let's Talk" part is the bottom of the chart because they decided that it would be time to talk with me so that I can help them make a better choice. Of course, they all vowed to NEVER have to clip down. No down clippers today! They all CLIPPED UP!!!

Next, we moved on to Math! I was STOKED! I asked the question (credit to Greg Tang here)....Tell me what goes with 8. I was surprised to see that it took A LOT of discussion for them to understand that 2 goes with ten, 7 goes with 3, 9 goes with 1 and so on. We talked about all the ways to  make ten and looked at the configurations on ten frames. We did a little subitizing fast flash too. Then it was time to see them apply what we talked about. All students were given a label to wear with a number on it. The game was to find their friend and make ten.

They got it! It was fun to hear them...."I need a friend number 8!". After a few rounds of this I gave them a challenge. Since we talked about how our friend is ten and how it is super easy to work with ten, I challenge them to make groups of 20.

These kids are amazing! I even captured all of the combinations of numbers they made!

We also talked about Math in Our World, which I found to my surprise that they think it is all about worksheets and calculators. I told them that when I look around I see math when I see shapes on houses like the windows and doors. It's all GEOMETRY! They were able to come up with two ways they see math in our world, and I told them to look around tonight so we can revisit it in the morning. I can't wait to hear what they saw!!!!

Oh boy, math was fun today. (I did have one little one tell me she didn't like what we were doing, she wanted worksheets.....CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!? It saddens me that students are so ingrained with that concept.....just saying!)

We also focused on 2.RL.1 today...WWWWWH? Here is a chart we made together after reading The Kissing Hand on the iPad!

We also read another story and worked on an awesome foldable I learned from Dr. Jean this summer in Vegas!

Here is our chart that came out of our discussion of fiction and nonfiction! These are the words they came up with.

So.....I am sure that by now you can tell that the first day of second grade was super FABULOUS! Bonus of the day was my two dear friends, Andrea and Azure, bringing me lunch AND flowers! I felt so special! I am going to be sure to pay it forward. 

Thank you, Andrea  and Azure!!!

But wait...........what about HOMEWORK????? They all smiled when I told them to play games for homework!!!!!!!!

 I can't wait for Day 2!!!!!!

My First Meet the Teacher in Over 5 Years!

Wowsers! I always knew that being a teacher is tough business, and apparently being out of the classroom for over 5 years has made me a softie! Tomorrow is the first day of school in Casa Grande, Arizona. I will be debuting as a 2nd grade teacher! If you follow my blog, you may know that I am a district specialist, but as of yesterday, I am a new member of Mesquite Elementary! Go Roadrunners! I will be temporarily taking over this second grade classroom until a teacher is hired.

Today was meet the teacher. I had to go big! I, I mean my friend Azure, filled baggies with goldfish and I attached a little card that read....I want to o-fish-ally welcome you to 2nd grade...THANK YOU PINTEREST....but wait, there is more. Then I  decided that I really wanted the kids to be super excited so I ordered balloons to tie to the baggies. (Thank you, Andrea, for helping me with this!)

First impressions are everything, right?! I wanted to start by offering the students choice, so I handed them their name thingy to place on the desk they wanted to be their seat and in return they take the balloon and snack. Win-win! Choice....snack....balloon....and while they did that I could chat with the families about transportation. We all know how important those transportation lists are!

Here is what the room looked like before the kids showed up to meet me!

It really did make the room look festive and made each and every one of them smile! I love that!

I was shocked at how many parents prefaced their introduction of their child with a warning about how they are talkers. I looked right at one mother and said, "Great! I love to talk too, I can't wait to talk about how math works and all of the super wonderful things we will read this year!" Now, the mother did kind of pause and then she smiled. She may think I am crazy now, but wait until her kid comes home talking about what we talked about in class! I know I totally threw her off, but it just bugs me to hear kids get in trouble for talking! Talking is a part of processing! Talk it out! I can't wait to get them talking!

I've got lots of work to do tonight. I still need to make a newsletter and I am going to go to Matt B. Gomez's blog to look for great classroom apps! I am going to be using my iPad and appleTV to work my magic and get them learning in different ways! I am so super excited! I am not sure how long my stint at a Roadrunner will be so I really REALLY want to maximize my time.

More tomorrow.....Day 1 of 2nd Grade!!!!

Boston, Cambridge, Salem, Greg Tang, Amy Krouse Rosenthal and so much more!!

I had the honor of being in the presence of some of the greatest people on earth this past week. I had more than one A-ha moment along the way. Let me start by saying that Greg Tang is an amazing person. If you don't know who he is.....YOU SHOULD....check him out at gregtangmath.com. He has a different way of thinking through math and teaching math. All for the better for our students. Yes, you CAN call me a Tang Groupie (and proud of it). I was honored to be one of 300 educators to attend the first annual Math Plus conference. Let me tell you...it is going to get bigger and BIGGER each year. Not only does Greg deliver a panel of AMAZING presenters (one being his incredible wife, Tammy), but he also takes the time to provide yoga sessions and swing dance lessons during the conference. Learning about doing math in a new way requires us to think out of the math box we were taught in....thus getting us to swing dance also pushed us to try something new.

A life changing moment for me was seeing Amy Krouse Rosenthal speak. She inspires me and it is nice to meet someone else who has a fascination with words just like me! What she does and what she is all about makes me want to be a better person....yes, she made me shed tears of amazement!

She shared her newest book with us that is due out in less than a month. I totally pre-ordered my copy. The craziest part of learning of her new book was that it is about a Unicorn named Uni. My daughter, who is 6, has an imaginary friend named Uni, who is a Unicorn. I am pretty sure I will order an additional copy for a keepsake to give her on graduation day or her wedding day. This amazed me! Amy was even kind enough to sign my book not only for me but also for my daughter and take a photo!




This women is truly AMAZING!!!!

I was also fortunate enough to see Cathy L. Seeley speak. Boy, she is my kinda gal....she tells it like it is!


She stated that it is not that we have an achievement gap in America, it is that we have untapped potential! Another inspiring educator!

The trip was amazing. I learned so much and I am so excited to support teachers and share the new ideas!

While in Boston, I received some news from my school district. Due to a teacher shortage in Arizona, I am being placed in a second grade teaching position for the beginning of the school year until a teacher is hired. While some may think that this is not a good thing or would think that I am upset, I feel just the opposite! I am being given a platform for trying out all of the things that I have learned while out of the classroom for the past 5 years. I am so excited to see the little faces come Wednesday, the first day of school. It has always been my most favorite day. I am getting the opportunity of a life time! I can't wait to teach Funny Numbers (Greg Tang) and use some of the strategies that I learned from Amy Krouse Rosenthal. I only hope that I am there long enough to try all the amazing things!

One a final note, I had a blast exploring Boston, Cambridge, and Salem with my two amazing coworkers and FRIENDS! I can proudly say that I know how to travel by train, subway, and taxi now!

Well, here it is, the official launch of my blog! I was so incredibly inspired when going to the TPT conference this summer that I made a goal for myself to get this thing up and running. A HUGE thank you to Honey Bunch Blog Design for their amazing work and the quickness with which this was all put together!

I am very excited about the upcoming week! I am going to Boston to attend the first ever Math Plus conference hosted by one of my total faves, Greg Tang! I call him my math  boyfriend! Hehe! He is an amazing thinker and the strategies that he shares just make so much sense. I know that if someone had taught me strategies such as those he shares, I would have had a heck of a lot more fun in math classes in high school and college. I have learned so much from him already, but know I will learn even more in the coming week. I can't wait to share it with teachers! What educators are an inspiration to you?

I am in Arizona, and if you are too, you know that we are having a teacher shortage. Where are you located and is your state experiencing the same thing? I would love to hear from you!