New BLOGGER Friend

Howdy Friends!

Yay! I am super EXCITED!

I just wanted to share with y'all that my MENTOR 

has started a teaching blog! 

Ms. Wolff is SUPER DUPER AMAZING!

Hayley took me under her wings 4 years ago when I started teaching on her 2nd grade team! 

She is the reason I have a solid teaching foundation! 

No lie! I observed her for like a week (I was new to the whole teaching world seeing how I was an accountant before) 

then I was set free! Talk about SCARY.... yikers!

She will ALWAYS have a SPECIAL place in my heart...she is one ROCKIN' teacher!

She also ROCKS the THINKING MAPS!

If you are needing some new ideas for Kinder (well any grade for that matter) or how to incorporate more technology in your classroom! She is definitely your go to gal! 

So check out her blog and start following!!! I just <3 her!

Crazy For Kindergarten

MIA

MIA- BIG TIME!!!!!

SORRY! folks for the long absence! I’ve been crazy busy as I‘m sure many of you are too! Honestly there isn’t enough time for me to get everything done on my “To Do List”.

I guess part of the reason I’ve been so behind is football games, house building and SHOPPING! HA! 

Hook 'EM \m/

Meanwhile progress is being made on our casita! 

We hope to be in our new home late November or early December...we'll see how that goes! STRESSFUL building a house! I rather it be when we go on Christmas VACAY!

SO let's do a little rewind...a bit of a modge podge of things because this is all I have seem to have captured on my iphone! BOO! 

I LOVE the Even & Odd activity that I borrowed from that sweet Mrs. Genius over at The Teacher Wife....I just heart her to death! Super cute activity! You can check it out here! 

A quick way I like to do an informal assessment with my mixed groups is to do a class Thinking Map and have each students come up with there individual contributions to our maps!

For example: (Circle Map below) Even and Odd numbers each student had to tell me their number before placing it on the map so I could see who was getting the concept or not. No help from their partners.

WE are crazy for Circle Maps...here are some examples of Circle Maps we have done earlier this year! I also have examples of what our Spanish students are doing in their L1.

I do want to share that we also take the information off the maps and turn it into a writing piece. I will make sure I capture more of our final writing products to share with y'all in the future. 

Here are some examples of our "Math About Me" Circle Maps...my math groups are mixed with English and Spanish students.

My homeroom students love to play "Maps Around The World"! 

It's like "Musical Chairs" except for I have some sort of "THINKING MAP" they must fill in with the skill we are learning. 

You could also do this activity with other subject areas. 

I use it TONS in Math!

 My homeroom class was learning about short a families. I used Circle Maps for each word family (5 short a families). 

They walked around the room in a circle (as I played music) and when I stopped the music they had to fill in the map they were closes to with a word that belonged in that particular short a family. 

They must also write down their name by the word they chose. It was a quick way for me to see who was still needing more guidance.

My Firsties LOVE this game! 

Here are some great examples of our Spanish students doing some writing in their L1-Spanish...beautiful handwriting! 

Christopher Columbus Brace Map:

I really love using the Brace Map for vocabulary...Whole to Part relationship...we did this craftivity during our 

Oral Language develepment block.

Vocabulary is key in any language so this is a great way to show how some words have different meanings based on the 

context they are used in. 

Example "BOW" I was so impressed with how much they knew about how many different meanings this word could have depending on how I pronounced it...AMAZING!!! 

In this case BOW- the front end of a boat or to BOW in the presence of a King or Queen (greatness)! 

SMARTIES I tell you!

I absolutley LOVE Kim Adsit's Hooray for Columbus Day! 

She is soooo AMAZING!! I truly love all her activities! 

I used her "Parts of the Santa Maria" for this activity. 

My bilingual pairs really enjoyed this craftivity!

Check out her blog over at Kinder-Gals!

Brace Map: Parts of an Apple

Bilingual pairs created their own brace map for this activity. 

Here is an example of each L1-English on the left. 

L2-English on the right. 

Okay so I had to share some of my homeroom activities because it is just so darn caaaute! Brace Maps for practicing their spelling words!

They have to come up with some of their own words that have the same phonics rule...check out "AFLACK"! Love it!!! 

They must also illustrate their words if possible... love the suitcase! 

They seriously MELT.MY.HEART!!!!!!!

How can you not keep a HUGE smile on your face day in and day out! I feel so very blessed to be a teacher...the rewards are endless!

Week 2: GOT ER’ DONE!!!

Can’t believe week 2 is over with! I just loooove 3 day weekends… followed by a 4 day week!

My sweet little Firsties worked very hard this past week… I am so proud of what they were able to accomplish in such a short time!

They took their first “Spelling Test” today…I know, Mrs. Hubble is a meanie!

They did a SUPER DUPER job!

I wanted to share a couple of maps with y’all…My Firsties are ROCKIN’ their Thinking Maps! 

In math I had my bilingual partners create a Multi Flow Map together...Blue is my English kiddo and Red is my Spanish kiddo. That's how I distinguish who did what work on any of their activities. 

The skill we were practicing was adding 1 more...on the back is 1 less. 

In Oral Language Development my pairs created a Double Bubble Map. We worked on finding similarities and differences in our names. 

They LOVED this activity! It was a type of informal assessment to see where my Spanish kiddos were at with identifying letters, if they knew the difference between consonants & vowels and letter formation. 

My last picture is of my PRIZE JARS...I am STOKED about how they turned out! YES, another PINTEREST inspired project! 

I am T-I-R-E-D! I plan to get some much needed rest...next week is all about DRA & TPRI testing! Wish me luck! Have a BLESSED weekend!

First Week FUN!!!

YIPPIE…first week of school is DONE! What an AMAZING start to the new school year!

I scored a SUPER DUPER STELLAR group of FIRSTIES! 

I have to say one of the BEST investments I made this summer was purchasing "Fun With Firsties"...created by Abby Mullins....LOVE her! 

There are soooooo many stinkin' cute activities to keep your FIRSTIES busy! 

I made "Jitter Juice" for the first time this year and I have to tell ya...it's a keeper! 

Who knew it would have such a positive influence on those sweet faces looking up at me! 

Jitter Juice....I believe they thought I was going to provide it everyday for them! Ha! 

In addition to the super fun activities..."Fun with Firsties" provides many opportunities to incorporate Thinking Maps...super PLUS for this teacher! 

We hit the first week running and I got to work introducing Thinking Maps to my Firsties! 

Thank You Abby for your amazing lessons...teaching is NEVER boring....I am just as excited as my sweet Firsties to get to school! 

Here's a recap of our week......

1st day: Sorry not the best pictures! 

Whole Group Thinking Maps...school wide we are utilizing the "frame of reference" a whole lot more this year. 

One of the activities in this packet is "What a First Grader Needs to Be Successful" super cute craftivity. 

We created a whole group Circle Map and defined what a first grader needed to do in order to succeed in first grade.

 After we completed our map.. I asked my students to pick 4 items from the circle map that they really wanted to work on this school year. 

A close-up of some of their writings...I really love how a first grader writes...it's stinkin' caaaaute! 

We switch at 10:00 and become mixed (Spanish & English) learners. 

My Firsties are very engaged and love hangin' in my classroom! 

Bilingual Buddies: Oral Language Development Centers 

I have to say I pushed them a little bit harder in Math this week...and used the Bridge Map to really get them thinking about numbers. 

Our RF: Relating Factor was "____ is another way to show____".

I have to say they rose to the 

challenge well... I love using the 

Bridge Map in Math!

Seeing relationships isn't always easy for a first grader. 

I think using the "Double Bridge" really helps the students to see and make the connections when you put the RF (Relating Factor) in the middle of the bridge. 

It's also know as the "Fat Bridge" 

 but we agreed as a class that we didn't like that name.

 So we took a vote and renamed the bridge! HA!

Here is another way I incorporated the Bridge Map this week. 

I needed to see who knew the alphabet and who could write their letters. 

RF: Relating Factor

"____ is the lowercase letter for___"

I just had to share one of my sweet student's art work...it melted my heart! This cute craftivity can be found in the same fun packet. 

My class completed this adorable craftivity today! 

I tell ya...Jitter Juice was a HIT!

Last but not least...just wanted to share how my objective frames turned out! 

 

I hope everyone had a great start to the new school year! 

I for one am lookin' forward to a 3 day weekend! 

I'm going to need the rest... so I can be at my best for this stellar group of Firsties!

Part 2 of Thinking Maps Gone Wild!

Okay folks here are MES grades 3-5 and how FABULOUSY they are using thinking Maps…

I just love how 3rd grade has really used the maps in teaching writing! Thank you to Ms. Allen and Mrs. Moeller for sharing your student's work. I really LOVE all the beautiful writing on your bulletin boards!

Here's  a look at what Mrs. Baca's 3rd Grade Bilingual class has been up to with Thinking Maps! Beautiful work!!!! 

4th & 5th Grade are ROCKIN' the MAPS fo sho! Here are some great ideas using Thinking Maps in Science and Math!

Another great idea for a reference wall....Thank You Ms. Ruppert for sharing!

We also have a FABULOUS Art teacher who incorporates as many Thinking Maps in his lessons as possible! There is some absolutely beautiful art work created by our students. Mr. Ramirez has done an amazing job with using Thinking Maps to teach his art concepts! Check it out......

I want to thank Mrs. Hyland, Mrs. Benney, Ms. Ruppert and Mrs. Vandertulip for sharing their ideas with us! I really do work with an AMAZING, creative, fun and caring staff! I TRULY LOVE comin' to work everyday!!!

I hope that sharing the maps with y'all helps to inspire tryin' some of these ideas in your own schools or classrooms!

So to all my fellow teachers in the BLOGY world.... continue to get your TEACH ON!!!

Thinking Maps GONE WILD!!!

So the other day I was strollin’ down our school's hallways and had a “light bulb” moment! I was going to BLOG about our campus and all the AMAZING Thinking Maps posted all over our beautiful hallways!

So the next morning I went all over the school asking permission of my fabulous teacher friends, if I could share their ideas and Thinking Maps on my blog. They were more than happy to say “yes” and help out! I was also very honored to know that many of them follow my BLOG!!!

 We became a “THINKING MAP” school last year! We sorta BANNED worksheets on our campus! Authentic student work is essential to our students educational development.

We only get 2 REAMS of paper every 9wks! YES, only 2! It was a hard adjustment but we have managed the challenge!

We have many creative teachers on our campus and it really helps to see what everyone else is doing! Taking a stroll around campus is very inspiring and puts that beat back in your heart for the love of teaching!

I am a HUGE FAN of THINKING MAPS!!!! I love everything about them! We use our consumables in our maps so they are utilized as well but in THINKING MAP style!

Seriously, I love the AWESOME teachers I work with! It’s an honor to be a part of our MES staff!

1st up:

 Kinder Dual Language- Mrs. Haynes and Mrs. Castro are a "Dynamic Dual Team"!!!

The Spanish side of Kinder Dual:

 Mrs. Castro is a fun and loving teacher! I admire her dedication to making sure our students get a good introduction to the Spanish culture. I love to run across the hall on Fridays @10:00 a.m. to show off our SALSA moves! She has the kiddos up and dancin' even the shy lil' boys doin' their salsa moves! HA! LOVE IT!

Ms. De Groote is an AMAZING writing teacher!!! No really "AMAZING" still doesn't really describe her enough.... she's a ROCK*STAR writing teacher!

She taught KINDER for the first time this year and she has done a FAB job with those Kinderoos! I am in AWE every time I check out their work! LOVE her! She has mad skills and patience!

Here are some examples of how Thinking Maps are being used in 1^st grade

I usually give my Spelling Test in TREE MAP style....love it!

Thank you to my 1st grade team for sharing! Mrs.Vernon,  Mrs. Robbins, Mrs. White and Mrs. McDonald are a stellar group to work with!

I am seriously crushin' on our 2nd grade team! They are go getters fo sho!! They take Thinking Maps to a whole new level! FABULOUS work and creativity going on in the RED hall!

THANK YOU to Ms. Wolff, Ms. Cunningham, Ms. Parsons, Mrs. Vetter and Mrs. Smith!

Y'all are ROCKIN' it!!!

I love how they created a Q-Club (Quality Work Club)! ONLY quality work goes on the outside board. The students also get a lil' party at the end of the 9wks. if they have been on the Q-Club board so many times! How AWESOME is that....a great way to set expectations!

OH.MY.WORD!

Mrs. Vetter is the QUEEN of Thinking Maps! How cool is this... a Tree Map Display on her wall of all the Math concepts taught and vocabulary! It's beautiful....wish y'all could see it in person!

Here's the same concept with Phonics. Each spelling rule taught is displayed here for future reference!

WOWZERS!!! LOVE IT!!!

Mrs. Smith has a great station in her rotation using Thinking Maps! What a brilliant idea!

Excellent way to build vocabulary...CAAAUUUTE!

Love how they are using our consumables in their Maps.... nothing goes to waste! Remember we only get 2 reams of paper per 9 wks! Creativity peeps! HA!

Oh, Mr. Howell! He's the TALLest guy on our campus... a.k.a. Mr. Principal! The nicest, sweetest man ever BUT he means business! He and our fabulous AP have lead us into many new traditions this year. They have a grand vision for Morningside and I love where we are headed! Amen for GREAT leaders! No, I am not kissing up... it's the truth & they deserves some PROPS too!

It's late and I am behind on gettin' this post up....I will get grades 3-5 posted tomorrow and our Art teacher has some cool projects with Thinking Maps! Until then BLOGY world...get your TEACH ON!