Elf on the Shelf, Part 2

So, yesterday morning our usual elf, Bernard, was gone!  The kids just have NOT been listening or following directions, and they needed a little something to shake them up and get them back on track.  In Bernard's place was a girl elf, Bernice, with a letter for the class posted on the SMART board.  (I'm shocked no one asked how the letter got there, or worse, asked me how the letter got on my iPad which was connected to the SMART board.)

{You can see a copy of the letter I wrote for the class in my previous post.}

When I was finished reading the letter to the class, they were SILENT.  I've never seen them so fixated and quiet.  You could have heard a pin drop in that classroom.

I was initially planning on having Bernard show up in music class later that morning, but the class still had a rough morning (behavior-wise) after the initial shock of the elf's letter wore off.  (That only took about four minutes.)  Instead, when the class returned from music (where Bernard did not make an appearance), Bernice was gone too!  I told the class she must have only come to deliver the letter, and then had to go back to the North Pole.  That was what the class needed to start paying attention to directions and focus on their work.   Realizing they now had NO elf, not even a new messenger elf, they were doing everything they could to make their elf come back!

So, this morning I gave them back their elf, Bernard, plus, Bernice came back too!

The students were SO relieved to see both of them back, together!  One of the kiddos asked me if they were boyfriend and girlfriend.  I told them that elves didn't have boyfriends and girlfriends - they're just friends.  :)  (In hindsight I wonder if I should have made them brother and sister?)

It was a bit more work moving all these elves around (boy do I like to exaggerate - "all these elves"! Ha!), but I think I've finally got my class (mostly) under control and back to a place where we can try to get at least some work done this last week and a half!

Next week is going to be a DOOZY of a wild schedule: it's supposed to rain several days next week in southern California (which means indoor recess, which means crazy, cooped up kids), we have a special music schedule to rehearse for the Christmas program in the church, we've having a birthday celebration for all the kids with December birthdays, and we're decorating gingerbread houses (just to name a few!)

We teachers need to pray for each other these last few days before Christmas break!  

Elf on the Shelf

One of my favorite parts of teaching first grade during Christmas is Elf on the Shelf!  My kiddos love, love, love our elf. His name is Bernard, and he arrived in first grade on Tuesday last week. (He would have arrived on Monday, but I couldn't get organized in time! Oops!). I even had a student ask me on Monday, "Don't all the elves come beginning in December?"  Thinking on my feet, I replied, "I wrote Santa a letter asking him not to send our elf until tomorrow, so we could make sure we were on our best behavior when he got here."  Luckily the kids all nodded in agreement at that, probably because they know the class as a whole has not been on their best behavior!

I love the conversations I overhear once our elf arrives. I heard one little boy saying to another boy in an impassioned voice, "He's not a toy, he's a real live elf!!"

Here's where Bernard has shown up each morning so far:

  

   

  

Unfortunately, Bernard's presence has not contributed as much as I had hoped to my classroom management, however. There are still a few kiddos who are frequently forgetting that the elf is watching!  So, I've decided to step up my Elf on the Shelf game a bit. 

On Tuesday, our regular elf, Bernard, will not be there.  In his place will be a girl elf, Bernice, with a letter for the class (I spent a good portion of today writing this letter in rhyming verse!):

I don't want the kids to be completely devastated when they hear that their elf has gone back to the North Pole (I'm hoping that having a substitute elf in Bernard's place will prevent actual tears), so I'm only going to make them wait until after recess to get Bernard back.  (I don't want to crush them, just give them a little wake up call to be more focused and attentive these last two weeks of school.)  We have music class right after recess on Tuesday, so Bernard will be on the piano in the music room when they come in. (I hope our music teacher will forgive me for the (hopefully only several) minutes of excited exclamations that will ensue when they see him!  

On Wednesday, then, both Bernard and Bernice will be in the classroom, and going forward they'll both be somewhere in the school until Christmas vacation. And now I can have the two elves interacting with each other in the classroom when I stage them at night, or, one of them can be in the classroom, and the other somewhere else on campus (either in the science lab, computer lab, or music room, if I think that my students need to be more attentive in any of those classes on a particular day)!  

I'm very excited about how I'm modifying my Elf on the Shelf routine!  I've never introduced more than one elf to a class, so I can't wait to see how the kids will react!  Stay tuned for another post next week on how it all turns out!

Bossy 'E' Unit Bundle for all Vowels, Coming Soon!

I've been working hard on my Bossy E Bundle Unit (on CVCe long vowel words), and I'm hoping to finish over Thanksgiving break!  I've already finished the Long I unit, which you can find here on Teachers Pay Teachers.   

Please leave me feedback in my TPT store, and let me know what you think!

I heart EngageNY Math

Dennis the Menace, times 35 . . . (and Report Cards)

Hello, blog readers!  

I realize I haven't posted a blog entry in months, so I've decided it's time to discipline myself and just start writing about what I've been up to in the classroom since my last post.  

First of all, I just want to say this: thirty-five students in one first grade classroom is too many.  Do I sound whiny?  Probably.  But the difference between 28 students (last year's class) and 35 (this year) feels exponential.  And, over two-thirds of them are boys.  And, most of them are your stereotypical boys to boot: boys who love to run, talk loudly, and get dirty.   They're all like little Dennis-the-Menaces: adorable and inquisitive, with a knack for messes and mischief.   But as adorable as my class is, and as much as I just can't stay mad at them for long no matter what they've done, I've been working my tail off trying to keep my head above water for the last three months!  More students = more grading, more parent emails to respond to, more reading centers to plan . . . I could go on and on.  My big idea of getting in shape this year, and going to Cardio Barre at least three times a week?  I fell off that wagon the first week of school.  Instead, I've been staying at school until it gets dark outside.

But let's look at the positive: I've just completed my first trimester report cards (woo hoo!), and on time, might I add!  Report card comments always take me forever, but luckily I was able to use a lot of the same comments I used last year for this year's students.  I always write my comments in a Word document before typing them into Gradelink (the online grading system we use at my school), so that I can refer back to them later for ideas when writing comments for the next year.  I realized most of my comments follow a formula: 

1. State how much you love the having the student in class (with varying levels of enthusiasm depending on how much you truly do love having the student in class).
2. Write about a strength that the student possesses.  (If said student is struggling in all areas, state which subject areas have shown the most improvement in the last grading period.)
3. Include an area of growth, where the student needs additional support or increased practice.  Often time, this is where I tell parents that their child "has a tendency to get distracted, which prevents him/her from doing his/her best work." 
4. Reiterate how you look forward to seeing the student grow over the course of the rest of the year.  

The hardest part about report card comments is making sure you're communicating the areas in which a student needs to grow, while still letting the parent know that you see their child's gifts and care about their child's well-being.  However, I've found that if written well, (and cushioned in the right euphemism), you can tell parents just about anything about their child without them becoming upset with you.  

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For example: 
You WISH you could say: Little Johnny loves the sound of his own voice, especially when it's speaking over yours (the teacher's), and barely stops speaking long enough to take a breath.  

You should say INSTEAD: Little Johnny has strong verbal skills, and enjoys speaking in front of the class.  He has a tendency to talk with his classmates at inappropriate times, however, instead of focusing on his work.  I would like to see Johnny channel that energy into his writing, using his oral language skills to improve his writing by "writing as he would speak." 

                                            ****************

See?  It's all about how you word it.  Both comments communicate the fact that Johnny talks. (All. Day. Long.)  But the second comment shifts Johnny's (oftentimes annoying) talking habit into a positive trait.  Here's another one: 
                                            
You WISH you could say: Little Ralphie fights with other students and cannot keep his hands to himself.  

You should say INSTEAD: Ralphie struggles with impulse control, both in the classroom and on the playground.  A goal for Ralphie this coming trimester is to work on using his communication skills when feeling unfocused, frustrated, or angry.  

                                             ****************

So, with the start of a new trimester on Monday, here's to fresh beginnings, and new resolutions!

1. Go to Cardio Barre at least once a week.  (Baby steps!)

2. Write a blog entry at least once a week.  

While it is perhaps true that the only one who will be able to tell if I've been working out is me when I'm trying on my skinny jeans, it will be quite apparent to my blog readers if I'm not writing blog entries.  Hold me to it, blog readers!  (I just saw that I've reached over 1,500 views so far!  While it may not be in the millions like some of my blogging idols, I'm still flattered and surprised that I've received over a thousand!)

Late-Instagram-Bloomer

What I'm about to say will shock you: I've just discovered the wonder of Instagram. 

Now before you judge me too harshly, I haven't been living completely under a rock the last several years. I've had Instagram on my phone for awhile, and even posted a few pictures of myself with friends (using those wonderful filters that make me look more tan than I really am) or random pictures of sights that made me smile.  And I would periodically scroll through my friends' pictures of selfies and beach parties and happy hours.  But I never thought about searching for other people to follow who were outside my immediate circle of friends. 

Until now. (Dramatic pause.)  I had no idea how many teachers had Instagram accounts that were essentially curated Pinterest boards of their own classrooms.  Teachers' Instagram accounts are like looking at a pictures-only highlight reel of teacher blogs!  No offense to my friends, but I'm more interested in seeing how other teachers arrange their Word Walls than seeing one more picture of a beach sunset.  

So I've created a new Instagram account, FirstGradeMenagerie, that I'm using for all my classroom pictures and ideas.  (I'm keeping my original Instagram account separate, in case I decide I haven't seen enough Santa Monica sunsets this week.)  It's exciting to see how many people are already following me - people that I've never met, but have simply stumbled onto my Instagram account (despite the fact that I'm a terrible hash-tagger).  Although I do love the hashtag I've recently discovered, #todayisaid. They are hi-larious. 

 

So THANK YOU Instagram followers. You give me a boost when you like my pictures and write comments. 

I want to get my Instagram account added to my social media buttons in the bunting of my header, but until that happens, my Instagram is www.Instagram.com/FirstGradeMenagerie.  (Side note rant: Wheennnnnnen will Instagram be available on the iPad?!?!). 

Grace Before Meals Unit

I've written another Prayer Unit!  My other Prayer Units that are currently on TPT (on the Nicene Creed and Our Father) are from when I taught 4th grade, but I've finished one that I can start using in my current classroom with my firsties.  We say the traditional Grace Before Meals prayer before going outside to recess/snack and before going to lunch, but I want the kids to really think about what they're saying instead of reciting words that have no meaning. I have several activities included in the packet, but I'll be adding more within the next several weeks after I figure out what else the kids need to become more thoughtful and contemplative pray-ers (other than needing, oh, another twenty years onto their ages).  

I've made the unit FREE on Teachers Pay Teachers until tomorrow night at midnight, so grab a copy before the Flash Sale is over!  And please, please please leave feedback on my TPT page.  I would really and truly appreciate it.   (And if you feel it isn't worth 4 stars, please send me an email to let me know what would make it 4-star-worthy.  Tell me what you need!)  Thank you, Blogger readers!  

Creating a Listening Center with an iPad

If you have an iPad in the classroom, you can create a listening center for your students to listen to read along books.    The trick is to buy a headphone splitter, which will allow up to five students to plug their headphones into one iPad.  You can even plug a second headphone splitter into one of the headphone jacks of the first, adding another four headphone jacks to your initial five.  I ordered mine on Amazon for about ten dollars - highly worth it, considering it just multiplied my iPad usability by five.  

Where before only one student was using an iPad to listen to a book on CD, now I have five students utilizing a single iPad. Even if you have a set of multiple iPads for your classroom, this still frees up iPads for other students to use at a different center. 

I've found a bunch of books with read along CD at the Dollar Tree last year, and all I did was put the CD in my computer to download it onto iTunes (I created a Read Along playlist just for books on CD), and then transferred my iTunes playlist onto my iPad the next time I synced up.  The kids know to go to Music on the iPad, and then look for the book title they're reading.  

Another fantastic feature of using the iPad as a Listening Center, is that you only need ONE copy of the read along CD.  Once you've put the music file on your computer, you can put it on all of your class iPads. 

Since there's five kids on one iPad, I did have to coach the kids on waiting until everyone had their headphones on, and their books open and ready before the group leader pressed Play on the iPad.   (I learned this lesson very quickly, after several students started crying that the rest of the group had started the book before they were ready.)

There are a few books with CD at Scholastic Book Clubs this month that I'm thinking about ordering... Now that I've nailed down my system for Listening Centers, I'm eager to start building my Read Along library!

What about you, readers?  How do you work listening to reading into your day?