Classroom Tour 20-21

I never thought I'd be wearing a face mask and shield to teach in... but here I am!

I can't believe it's been 6 months since I last blogged. My school system started off the year with virtual learning and then slowly phased students back into in person learning using a hybrid approach. I have 10 students on Mondays/Tuesdays and 7 students on Thursday/Friday. On Wednesdays, the schools are deep cleaned between cohorts.

Because of social distancing, there are no rotations in my classroom so each child has a Station Basket for the week. I disinfect materials between cohorts. Each basket has the same type of activities just different topics. I took all my math and literacy stations and split them up to create the baskets. 

This is their supply basket. They keep it in the desk on the days they are at school and in their cubbies on days they are not. I created Learning Handbooks of all our VA Standards and they have Math Fact Fluency Folders and Sight Word Folders as well. 

On days my students are at home, I sent home packets that list their computer, packet and guided reading assignments. 

I finally but together my Super Improver Board along with my student's Swag Tags. They are so excited about this!

I've made it through the 1st quarter, 5 weeks of virtual learning and 3 weeks and counting for hybrid instruction. My report cards are finished and my professional goals complete. I'm trying to stay on top of everything so I don't get overwhelmed. How is your year going so far?

Birthday Cookie Cards

I have about 10 birthdays in my class between April and August and I wanted to do something special for my students since I won't see them for the rest of the academic year. 
Cheryl's is my most favorite place to order cookies from, they are by far the best cookies I have ever tasted! They are known for their frosted buttercream sugar cookies however I enjoy the oatmeal raisin and lemon cookies too.
I decided I would send Cheryl's Cookie Cards to my students near their birthdays. So far, one has received theirs and the mom emailed me to tell me that he had been so sad about not having a birthday party this year and the cookie card and message I sent cheered him right up! They are $5 each and well worth the price to bring a smile to my scholar's faces during this time of great uncertainty. 

I even sent a card to my #teamBFF, she loved hers as well! 

Fall Language Arts Stations

The last of the Language Arts Stations are finally finished! Working on these during my Spring Break has given me such a feeling of normalcy and I'm so glad I was able to spend time creating this past week. 

I created 7 low prep stations that are aligned to the Virginia 2nd grade standards but most certainly can be used in Common Core classrooms as well.

Simply print and laminate station directions and task cards, cut task cards apart, run copies of the recording sheet and store together in a drawer cart or even large zipper bag.

Click here to download!

Back to School Language Arts Stations

I have been on a roll this week,  my Back to School Language Arts stations are complete! 

I created 8 low prep stations that are aligned to the Virginia 2nd grade standards but most certainly can be used in Common Core classrooms as well. These are perfect for end of the year (or summer) review for 1st grade or beginning of the school year review for 2nd graders.

Simply print and laminate station directions and task cards, cut task cards apart, run copies of the recording sheet and store together in a drawer cart or even large zipper bag. 

Click Here to download. I'm finishing up some Fall Stations now and hope to have those posted on Monday!

Summer Language Arts Stations

I finished up some summer themed Language Arts Stations. In the event that we are able to have summer school in July and August, I wanted to have some low-prep stations for students. 

I created 10 low prep stations that are aligned to the Virginia 2nd grade standards but most certainly can be used in Common Core classrooms as well. These are perfect for end of the year review for 2nd grade or beginning of the school year review for 3rd graders. 

Simply print and laminate station directions and task cards, cut task cards apart, run copies of the recording sheet and store together in a drawer cart or even large zipper bag. 

Click Here to download. I'm finishing up some Back to School Stations now and hope to have those posted this weekend!

Spring Language Arts Stations

I've spent the early part of my Spring Break creating language stations/centers for my 2nd grade classroom. Even though school has been cancelled for the remainder of the academic year, I'm going to prep these now so I'll have them ready for next spring. 

I created 6 low prep stations that are aligned to the Virginia 2nd grade standards but most certainly can be used in Common Core classrooms as well. 

Simply print and laminate station directions and task cards,  cut task cards apart, run copies of the recording sheet and store together in a drawer cart or even large zipper bag. 

Click Here to download. Wishing you happy and healthy Spring Break!

We Go Together Like... Postcards

On March 23rd, Virginia's Governor announced that all schools would be closed until for the remainder of the academic year. It was such a heartbreaking blow, I know I was hoping to at least return in June, if only for a few days. But now our statewide shelter in place is in effect until June 10th, and you are strongly encouraged to stay home unless visiting the pharmacy or grocery store. 

We've completed 3 weeks of Distance Learning and next week is our Spring Break, then we return to Distance Learning, except now we'll start to introduce new content. 

I wanted to send out another set of postcards, wishing them a happy and healthy Spring Break. 

I've uploaded a PPT template if you'd like to do the same. Download to your computer and add your text. 

I saved mine as a PDF and printed "Actual Size" on "Both Sides" "Flip on the Short Edge" and cut on the light gray line. 

Click here: Postcard Template

Postcards: Keeping in Touch

The last day I say my students was Thursday. They cancelled school on Friday so teachers could work on Distance Learning Lesson Plans, then by the end of the day the Governor had announced that all schools in Virginia were to be closed for at least 2 weeks. 

I thought it'd be a cute idea to send them a post card to let them know I'm thinking about them. 

I've uploaded a PPT template if you'd like to do the same. Download to your computer. Delete my Bitmojis and add your own or any picture will do. You may need to crop to make sure it fits. 

I then saved mine as a PDF and printed "Actual Size" on "Both Sides" "Flip on the Short Edge" and cut on the light gray line. 

Click here: Postcard Template

Super Bowl Weekend Kick Off

I've been having classroom Super Bowl Parties for years now. This year it will fall on a county early release day so I won't be able to do all the activities I'm use to doing. I also won't be making my famous Hawaiian Meatballs, our county is getting very strict about food in the classroom <insert sad face>. 

For Morning Circle we'll go over our Game Plan for the day. Then I think I'm going straight into Tackling Teamwork. I'm reading Game Day and using aspects of this Game Day Unit if I have time. 

After the read aloud, we'll complete our Kick Off. Teacher's Clubhouse has this Sports Jersey Glyph I purchased years ago. They recently revamped their entire unit with tons of great activities, The Big Game. 
We have to break for our quarterly PBIS Awards Assembly but when we come back we'll complete Sportswriter. There is a Teamwork writing in the Game Day Unit as well as Football Writing Prompts in The Big Game Unit that I'll use during this time. 

Since it's an early release day the students will eat lunch in the classroom. Scholastic Bookflix has Miss Nelson Has a Field Day, so we'll watch that while we eat our lunch. 

After Halftime we'll have our Scrimmage. I created a Football Jeopardy Game for students to play in teams. 

I'm using this Super Bowl Prediction Forever Freebie for my students to make their predictions. I shrank it down to four to a page and will use it to make a class graph. My students will also work on this Football Word Search as they snack on a special Super Bowl Trail Mix <a recipe I have yet to come up with>. 
Do you do anything in your classroom to celebrate the Super Bowl?