Celebrating~Teacher of the Year!!!

Hi, Friends! How’ve you been? It’s been a while, so I’m gonna crash my own Wisdom Wednesday to catch up with ya!


I’ve been working on taking a little of my own advice and getting some much needed rest over these first few days of summer. That’s right folks! That fat lady has sung…the curtain has closed and it’s a wrap! We’ve celebrated the end of another fantastic year in 1st grade! It’s really true that time flies when you’re having fun! It’s so hard to believe that another year has come and gone.



Our A-Z countdown was a big hit! Watermelon Day was a favorite! There were lots of grateful yums and a whole lot of slurping going on in the classroom that day!



We reviewed animal habitats as we ended the year. Care to guess what habitat we illustrated as part of our math lesson? I’ll give you a hint…..it has several layers and is such a hoppin’ place that there are animals swinging from the trees! Lol…..exploring {the rainforest}…..was exciting! We read non-fiction texts, reviewed their features and used details to illustrate rain forest habitats after decomposing numbers on the tree branches. We did this activity on one of our very last days so it got packed up before I could snap a picture of the final product. After working with a partner to decompose the numbers written in the trees, students were free to conduct independent research using PebbleGo.com and add details to their illustration to show what they had learned.



We also reviewed a different phonics skill each day of the last week-ish. Do your kids enjoy The Little Old Lady…books? Mine did! Being that one vowel sound slides right into the other when we pronounce words with diphthongs, we usually use a wide mouthed illustration of the little old lady when we brainstorm these types of words. The trouble with that is…..I tend to forget that The Little Old Lady that Swallowed a Diphthong….{ahem}….may not be such a great title to use for this little activity!!!! Geez, lol! She’s eaten a lot of things, but ummmmm, that’s one we’d better skip! If you’ve got a suggestion for another good illustration, help a girl out and leave it in the comments. I guess we could just illustrate the words on the web, huh? 

After creating a word web of each of the spelling patterns together on chart paper, we completed a directed drawing for students to illustrate and create their own word webs. Students then chose words from each of the bubbles to include in a creative writing about our very greedy friend. They turned out looking a little something like this…..



Field Day…Play Day….Watermelon Day…..review, review….Awards and our very last day as a little school family were all loads of fun. I wish I could share them all, but we were so busy creating memories that the camera got left behind a LOT on those days! I’m so proud of how hard my kiddos worked this year, even up until the very last couple of days. Daily 5 time was absolutely sacred and they didn’t let anything interrupt their procedures! I was in awe of how well they worked together.

To hear my firsties reminding each other about how to choose helping partners, reminding each other to still check for understanding….even with only a day left?! To hear them using the language that we practiced all year, the language that we began using on the very 1st day of school?! Amazed and just plain ole proud! Yep! They were ready. There was nothing more left to do other than enjoy making memories and send them off to 2nd grade with a bang!



As the year came to an end, I also received an awesome surprise! This year, without a doubt was one of the best! I had the best class of inquisitive little loves. We learned so much and grew so much….TOGETHER. After making sure each one of them ended the year feeling loved and celebrated, I was invited to a celebration of my own! Just last night I was recognized as TEACHER OF THE YEAR for my rockin’ campus! I can brag on my kiddos all day, but I get a little shy when it comes to directing attention directly on me.

It was a sweet show of appreciation and I couldn’t have been a bit more grateful to my coworkers that took time out of their summer evening to come support me. It was great to see my very 1st principal’s smiling face in the audience and then there’s the person that nominated me…my current principal. Let me just say, that could be a complete, whole ‘nother blog post! If she moved to the moon, I’d be ready to suit up and follow…..she’s absolutely the BEST! She encourages each of us to strive for excellence in such a way that makes it easy to go the extra mile, to show up and rock each and every day. Our school is a place that is filled with love and laughter and people that genuinely care for each other. The positive atmosphere on our campus is like no other and its all a tribute to her leadership. To be complimented in this way, by her…means a lot to me. My heart was completely filled with gratitude and I appreciate the recognition for doing what I love and LOVING what I do.



I hope you’re enjoying some rest and relaxation too! Stay tuned….I’ll be back soon to share a TREAT from our very last day!

Five for Friday~Just 8 more…..

….days! I can hardly believe it! I CAN believe it….but CAN’T all at the same time! Where has the year gone? This past week was just a little wonky because I spent the majority of it in training. After having spent the last 2 1/2 days sitting still {the hardest part} in a chair, it felt great to get back to my classroom with my kiddos! I met them on the playground today and almost got knocked to the ground with hugs! My kids are the best!

Now back to the 8 days part! Ready for rest and relaxation…yes.I.am! Freaking out just a little bit about paperwork, packing, meetings, paperwork, and documentation that needs to be completed…..yes.I.am! Thank heaven for a long weekend to get a head start on wrapping things up, so I can concentrate on making great memories over these last few days because one thing is for sure….they will go by at the speed of light!


Since I spent most of the week out of the classroom, here’s a quick “catch up” over a little of what we’ve been up to recently….



We just wrapped up our measurement unit. I love mixing a little literature into our math block as often as possible. With measurement, we read several different versions of Jack and the Beanstalk as an introduction to each lesson. On this day, we used the giant’s boot coming down the beanstalk to explore area. After reading the story, each kiddo illustrated a beanstalk down the middle of their page to divide it in half. We discussed using the boot as their measurement tool for making comparisons….to decide if items covered less area or more area. Students walked around the room and placed items on top of the boot to make comparisons. If the they could still see the boot, it covered less. If the boot disappeared, it covered more. Sweet, simple……and FE, FI, FO, FUN!



Everything grows a little bigger in Texas, even beanstalks….or in the case of Waynetta and the Cornstalk by Helen Ketterman, cornstalks.  Students used area tiles to build their own cornstalk design, then colored to transfer the design to grid paper, and counted the number of squares used to determine the amount of area covered. You can get another glimpse of this little activity by taking a quick look at my Instagram page. Don’t forget to follow!



Math station skills review has been SUPER! Students are reviewing lots of skills to get ready for second grade! You can check out this little activity to generate and determine the value of numbers by clicking HERE.



I couldn’t come back after being gone most of the week without a little fun up my sleeve! Today was letter ‘R’ on our ABC countdown. In honor of all things R, we visited Rainbow Town to meet our friend, Roy G. Biv. I great, big ole {puffy heart} LOVE directed drawings!!! After listening and following directions to draw Mr. Biv, students used crayons and watercolor paints to give him a splash of color….afterall, there’s no wasted space in Rainbow Town. Bright, beautiful color is a MUST! =)



Here’s a closer look. What do you think? 

Enjoy these last few days……and if you’re already out…..(don’t mention it). Ha! =)