Happy Five for Freezing Friday!
Thank you Kacey for the weekly linky party!
It was a very short week, but it packed a punch!
Our Professional Development all day Tuesday was canceled due to snow - a snow day without students! I was supposed to present on Guided Reading and it's rescheduled for the end of this month. We also had a two hour delay on Wednesday and today school is CLOSED (!!!) due to heating issues and extreme cold.
If you reread the above paragraph, you'll notice that Thursday was one LONG "normal" 7:40-4:30 day for our students. The first full day in over a week! YIKES, it was really tough on them. Lots of growling tummies and a few tantrums thrown in the mix!
Since we had a short week, I felt brave
enough to bring back the spaghetti!
Sadly, I only seem to cook when it involves my students!
You should have seen my students' faces! They loved it!
This picture is tough to see (and upside-down), but it's a little care package I made for our six first grade teachers. We have a Parent Day next week from 12:00-3:00 to celebrate Black History Month!
We are kicking it off with a quick "Close Reading" how-to introduction. There are bookmarks with an attached pipe-cleaner-magnifying-glass, plus a practice passage about Martin Luther King, Jr. The passage will be displayed on a flipchart or
the teacher may pass out hard copies for families.
Next, I used my Ellison Superstar Machine (personal diecut machine I have at home!) and my new "opened book" diecut.
Every parent/student/family will write the title of their favorite read-aloud on the adorable little book shape. We'll be collecting all the filled-out "books" and creating a wall display. We have 160+ first graders....wouldn't it be amazing if everyone participated?
Last, parents will be rotating to each classroom for a different Black History month activity...one classroom will be focused on learning about Rosa Parks, the Harlem Renaissance, etc. Every room should also feature some type of supporting informational text to try out those Close Reading skills.
I can't wait to report how the event goes!
If you're experiencing snow days (or weeks),
here's a FREEBIE designed to keep your students focused:
This freebie has two math and two literacy pages.
If you like them, I also have a packet
with over 90 more additional pages!
I will end this post with a sad note:
We've had a copier crisis all school year and tensions are high. Remember those 160+ first graders? We are in a K-8 building! That's a lot of copies!
It's become very difficult to make any copies because our 5/6 machines are broken and the 6th is on its way out. We don't have textbooks, so copies are a big part of our life. We are moving towards "copy codes" for teachers starting next week, but we haven't been given any guidance about limits.
I'm lucky that I don't have to make copies that often, but when I do...it's a BIG project. My position has me making copies for IEPs (usually 8-10 copies of each to pass out to related services, enrichment teachers, etc.), differentiated homework packets, Power Hour Challenge Packets, and Reading A-Z books.
What do you copy most often and how does your school monitor it? I'm hoping to find a solution - thanks for any suggestions!
Have a fantastic Friday & stay warm!
I am in a smaller school so we don't monitor copier usage at all, thankfully! I can't imagine how stressed I would be if I couldn't make copies!! Your Parent Day sounds amazing!!
ReplyDeleteCrystal
www.funandlearningatbba.blogspot.com
The first year I started in my current building (middle school) we had copy codes. But everyone messed them up so badly that they stopped requiring them (lol). I don't make many copies myself but it seems when I do, there's always a copier problem. Someone needs to invent an indestructible copy machine...instant billionaire! Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteMy school has two copiers and we can all use both of them. We have to input our code # to use the machines and we have a limit of 10,000 per school year. If anyone runs out we know to go to the PE teacher to use his copies!
ReplyDeleteCarol
Teachers Are Terrific!
Our school has done ID's for us too... We are K-5 and have one machine, which breaks a lot. When it breaks, we just get by without copies... We have to use our ID, but we are not given a set limit. It was stressful at first, but I tell myself everything I copy is purposeful and often shared, so I feel like I could support it if I was ever questioned. I am sure you will be okay and know that everyone else is in the same boat with you. Wish you the best.
ReplyDeleteMarie
http://twoteacherperspectives.blogspot.com/
Photocopying is a large cost to many schools' budget here in the U.K. so I think most people want to know that what your photocopying is necessary and purposeful and IEPs are so I don't think you'll have any problems. I like to be able to print out resources and keep them for playing and using in the future and I know other teachers just throw them away and will print out again the next year because they say they can't store them. Also some teachers do teach "death by worksheet" so it's good to try to limit it and think of other ways children can learn and show their learning :-) Special Teaching at Pempi’s Palace
ReplyDeleteLove the packet, too cute!! Hope the copy machine situation is fixed soon!
ReplyDeleteNoelle
Thanks everyone for the comments - I really appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteIt's helpful to learn more about how other schools handle copies. I hope I have some good news to report soon about our situation! Have a great week, Jen