"Paws" & Think

 In staying with my purple theme, I also found these cool paws.  I tried a lot of jobs last year which was way too much trouble, so at the end of the year- I finally came up with two jobs that my students really loved.  I have a Super Line-Up Leader who is in charge of leading the line and picking the line-up song.     I also have a Teacher's Pet who holds the door, passes out soap at lunch, takes the lunch count, and is actually the Teacher's Pet all day long.  They get to do everything!  I just have the boys' names on one ring, and the girls' names on the other.  I switch them once everyone has had a turn.  It is so EASY!  This year, I also added the necklaces that are shown below.  They love wearing their own tags each day, and honestly, they are even keeping them really clean.  They hang them back on the wall before going outside.  They are very responsible with them!

 I have also carried my "Paws" theme into our vocabulary words for the week.  The kids look for Paws (Pause) words everywhere all week long.  They get so excited when they find them, and they say, "We have to Pause- I found a Paws word!"  We are only eight days into the year, and this idea took off pretty well.  I love these purple paws!

Read with Me...

 Along with my princess crown (which reminds my little Firsties to stay at their own station while I am teaching my "Royal Subjects"), I found some other cool things that I love to use with my students during my Read with Me station.  I love these cool Before Guided Reading spinners to get my children actively involved with thinking about what we are about to read together.

And I LOVE, love, love these purple reading chips that let them choose the questions to ask after we have read our story in our group.  They love having something to hold onto while they get to be the teacher during our small group time.

Hula Hoops & Helpers!

 I just have to say thank you to my sweet daughter and wonderful Best Friend/Husband for helping me with my room this summer.  I just don't know what I would do without my helpers!  I set up a new little area for my Bean Bag/Reading Station this year.  So far, my students are really loving the little nook.

 We are getting started with our "Time 4 Writing" early this year.  I started with my Hula Hoop Venn Diagram on the first day of school.  It was a great activity that the students really enjoyed.  We moved on to learning about Web Diagrams this week.  I am amazed by what my little Firsties are able to do!  I have also added some whole brain gestures to my writing process which has proved to make writing a thousand times more fun!

Best Bathroom Pass Ever!

I found this idea on Pinterest, of course.  So, I made some labels and put it into place the first day of school.  This is by far the best Bathroom Passes I have ever used.  The girls and the boys love it!  It is simple and so easy to use.  I just made a label sheet of Girl's passes and a sheet of Boy's passes that are stuck in my folder.  When we run out of Germ-X, then I can stick another sticker on a new bottle.  Awesome!

I Love Pop!

My Firsties absolutely loved Pop for Sight Words last year.  So, this year, I bought the other two Pop games at The SchoolBox.  Apparently, they are just so much fun!  I would definitely recommend these to anyone who needs something fun for their station time.   I use these on Fun Fridays.  I can't wait to use them this Friday and see how much my new Firsties enjoy them.

It's All Good in 1st...with labels!

 I saw something similar to this on Pinterest!  My Goodness- I had to copy it!  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Pete the Cat!  So, I thought I would also talk about something else that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.....Labels!

 As a teacher, one of my favorite things is putting little labels all over my classroom.  It allows me to make my space welcoming to my new little Firsties posting their names all over my room.  I just could not survive without labels!

Only one more day until my little Firsties come...and I am ready to begin a brand-new year!

Ping Pong Spelling

I worked on some new stations this summer, and I found so many amazing ideas on Pinterest.  I ordered a zillion ping pong balls from Amazon.com this summer, then I tried out some ideas on my daughter who will be a First Grader this year.  I am going to use her so much this year to try out new things!  We used ping pong balls for a Spelling Station (pictured above).  She had the best time bouncing the ball to me, then I would say the word, and she would spell/write it.  We switched places every two turns.  She loved it!  It was such an active station, and she stayed completely involved.  She has even asked to play again and again.
  I have also made a math station with these ping pong balls.  What is about balls and kids!  They just love them!  So, I am definitely going to think of some other things I can do with bouncing balls this year!