Holy end of the weekend, folks. Well, I am later than late with this Five For Friday post, but I am going to roll one out just the same. There’s nothin’ like pushing the limits of being “fashionably late” to the party 😉
ONE – FOOTBALL FUN
I am all about the pigskin. I swear it makes the whole back to school thing and working away on Sundays SO much more tolerable. With this said, I always parlay this love affair into a classroom theme. The boys always get way into it and the cheerleading element hooks in those ladies as well. It’s also a great way to push the whole “team” thing.
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| Hung my favorite goal setting board yesterday. So Much More Than A Field Goal. The kids wrote a goal for the year inside . . . it’s a flip book 🙂 |
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| We chatted about being a classroom team all week. They made fun football helmets on Fun Friday. Check out this FREEBIE here. |
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| We read a fun football flavored book (Kick the Ball, Marcie!). Then we discussed character and setting. I tossed in a smelly marker element and I had them eating out of the palm of my hand. |
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| I have been using A Cupcake for the Teacher’s Football Buddies for years. I morphed it a bit to include a teamwork write. These look so stinkin’ cute in the window. Thanks, Cupcake 🙂 |
TWO – FOOTBALL FREEBIE
Speaking of football, I made a fun little freebie for my kids to roll with in centers this past week. This real vs. nonsense spinner game was a huge hit. They dug it so much that we had to play it twice. Wanna snag a copy? Grab it for FREE in my TPT Shop 🙂
THREE – SONG BINDERS
Our song binder time continues to be a winner. The kids beg to get out their special binders and track songs with their magic fingers. We add 2-3 new songs each week and continue to spiral back to the old ones. It only takes about 6-10 minutes out of our day and it has proven to be a wonderful transition activity and/or brain break for the kids. The best part is that the kiddos don’t even know that they are working on building their fluency and learning about various first grade concepts 🙂 #teacherwin
How are they building fluency you ask? Here is a thought to ponder for a moment. How is it that we remember all of our beloved Debbie Gibson and New Kids’ songs word for word after not hearing them for years? Well, through repeated rehearsal, rhythmic data is naturally stored in the memory for later retrieval – even if it is something you don’t really care to remember 🙂 With this said, after singing these fun standards-based songs numerous times, our students soon will be able to “read” the words without the tune . . . in a fluent manner. Music in the classroom is truly magical!
FOUR – BUDDY READING
I introduced the good old buddy reading in groups this week. The kids loved hearing a little less from me . . . and they loved showing off and supporting one another. It was a super team building exercise.
FIVE – WEEKEND WORK
Working for the weekend has a whole new meaning at the beginning of the year when you are a teacher. Weekends are still filled with work . . . you can just get away with not showering, wearing PJs until well past noon, and drinking a pot of coffee without having to worry about bathroom breaks. Who’s with me??
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| OMGOSH . . . the horror. #teacherweekends |
Alright, all you alls . . . I am out of here. Gonna try and write a few blog posts for the rest of the week. Sure, I still have more to make for the week, but I am going to try and get it all done. We shall see 🙂
Big hugs and hang in there my dear friends. Remember, August is often awful and September can sometimes stink a little during this back to school run . . . especially in the primary grades (LORD help me with all the training and re-training of daily routines and expectations). However, I see the light at the end of this LONG tunnel. It’s called October 🙂
