Back to School Books-Linky Party

     Oooh, another linky party- I am uber excited!!  Mrs. Randall of Mrs. Randall's Learning Library is asking what our favorite beginning of the year books are.  Hmm...that's a toughie, because there are sooooo many that I LOVE.  I am a bit of a book addict (hey, it's better than other options I explain to my hubby) and I often have trouble choose just a few, but if I were forced to I would pick:

     1.  Just about ANYTHING by Helen Lester.  We did a BIG author study on her last year and we learned she used to be a second grade teacher and often turned former students into her characters most would see in a  classroom (I thought some of them looked familiar).  My favorites by her are:

                                                  

I know this is quite a few, but I could not help myself- they are all so WONDERFUL.  "The Wizard, The Fairy and the Magic Chicken" is about team work and cooperation.  "A Porcupine Named Fluffy" is about accepting your name.  "Me First" is about a little piggy not wanting to wait turns (SO CUTE!!), and "Hooway for Wodney Wat" is about a little wodent (rodent) believing in himself.

     2.  Another beginning of the year MUST is "Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon"

                  

This is the cutest book about a little girl who may look or sound a bit funny, but she knows she is perfect just the way she is.  I love to use this to talk about believing in yourself and not always listening to what others say.

     3.  One I enjoy (and the kids as well) using to teach choosing a just right book is "Goldilocks and the three Libearians.  They love this book because they know the premise behind it and I love it because this one is tied to making sure you have the perfect book.

     4.  One more I love, love, love is "Ruby the Copycat."  This is another great book for being your own person because no one can do it as well as you.

I shared earlier that I am a bit of a book addict (Amazon is a FREQUENT guest at our home) and I only chose a few that popped into my mind quickly that others had not shared yet.  I could truly go on about this for...days probably :).  I hope you have enjoyed some of these amazing books, and if not check them out on Amazon- he we have to support the economy, right friends?

PS- I am trying to make all of the books links, but it is not working out so well for me- I don't understand. I am clicking on link but it seems to go to an automatic link sometimes and other times it will do nothing- any ideas what I am doing wrong??  Thanks!

The Challenges of Early Finishers

Hi Friends!

You know those little darlings in your class that seem to finish their work in 6.2 seconds flat, no matter what?  Well, I ran across a BRILLIANT idea for those sweeties- Brain Bubbles.  Have you heard of this little ball of genius?  If you have, you may already have ordered your vending machine capsules.  If not, you may think I am slightly crazy right now, and you may be right, but you MUST check out one of my favorite sights Proteacher.  Besides amazing ideas, support, resources (hey, it sounds like the blogging community-right?) they have a great vat of knowledge including all things brain bubbles.  Check it out and let me know what you think!  

                                              

Daily Schedule Linky Party

Simply 2nd Resources is having a daily schedule linky party and I'm all for a good party! This is my first EVER linky party, and I am a party girl at heart, so I am super excited!  My daily schedule is pretty consistent, unless it's Wednesday.  On Wednesday we have an "early release" day and we lovingly refer to it as "Wacky Wednesday" (and believe me when I say it can get all kinds of wacky!).  This is my schedule from last year and I am hoping to stick to it this year, but we have not officially received our specials and lunch times yet, so it's all a work in progress (as it usually is ).

     8:25-8:55-     Un-pack/prepare for the day/free read (I do Tier 2 & 3 of RTI at this time)
     8:55-9:10-     Morning Meeting/Shared Writing (Morning Message)
     9:10-10:30-   Reading Workshop (shared reading, stations, small group, conferences)
     10:30-10:50- Word Study (Making words, word sorts, word games)
     10:50-11:30-  Specials 1 (PE time)
     11:35-12:15-  Writing Workshop
     12:20-12:45-  Lunch (we eat with our students since we have 2 planning times-one is for lunch)
     12:50-1:30-    Math Workshop (small group, math stations)
     1:30-2:10-      Specials 2 (art, music, computers, media, math lab)
     2:10-2:30-      Math Wrap-up (we do our assignment at one time so I can be available to help everyone)
     2:30-3:00-     Centers (library, math games, art, computer,science, words) while I work with RTI students
    3:05-                Dismissal


You are probably thinking "where is the science and social studies?" No worries my friends, I have found that in a time of so much to do with so little time creativity is the key to everything.  Here is my Wednesday schedule:


     8:25-8:55      Un-pack/prepare for the day/free read (I do Tier 2 & 3 of RTI at this time)
     8:55-9:15-     Morning Meeting/Shared Writing (Morning Message)
     9:15-10:15-   Book Buddies
     10:15-10:45- Specials
     10:45-12:15- Science/Social Studies time
     12:20-12:45- Lunch
     12:45-1:05-  Science/Social Studies Wrap-up
     1:05- 1:20-   Team Building/Class Building Activity
     1:20              Dismissal


There are many days I wish we could go to one special just so I could have more time in the classroom, there never seems to be enough time.  This schedule worked fairly well for us this year so hopefully it will stay the same next year-it's grown on me.


Thanks for letting me be part of the party-it was tons of fun and I can't wait for the next one!!