Brown Bagging My Memories

So today my kiddos worked on their Brown Bag Memory Books.  I think they turned out really cute and I hope their parents like them!  I'm posting mine here to show as an example as well as step by step instructions on how to make your own Brown Bag Memory Books.  I love this project because 1)they are super cheap to make  - all you have to buy is a bag of brown lunch sacks from your local grocery store [by the way, they also come in red, blue, and white] and 2)this project can take as long as you want it to: one hour, two, all day - really the length of time devoted to this is entirely up to you.

First my example:
My finished book took a total of 3 bags, while the student version took 2.  You can add more sacks to create more pages - as long as your stapler holds them in!

Unfolded flaps create "secret" flaps that can hide answers to riddles, questions, or anything else!

Glue in extra pages using colored paper and paper "hinges" to create extra memory space!

Create "pockets" by using the open end of the sack!

Use the "secret flap" to uncover answers to trivia questions or to hide your friend's autographs!

Cute huh?

And now for the instructions: (These are REALLY easy)

1. Start off with two (or three or four) lunch sacks.
2. Lay them down on top of one another, alternating their direction. (This is the most important step!)
3. Fold them in half like a hamburger.
4. Staple them in the middle.  
5. Done!
6. Now fill with treasures and memories.  

I made the books for  21 students in about 15 minutes while they were finishing a test.  That's how easy they are.  I had taken pictures all year long of the various projects and lessons that we did.  I put them all in a word document and shrunk them down to about 1'' big.  I then printed out about 5 sets (of 10 pages for each set) and had the kids share the pictures they wanted to glue into their books.  If they all wanted the same picture, I could copy and paste it several times and print out 1 or 2 pages and they could cut and share.  

Before we began we brainstormed the projects we did over the course of this year on the board to help those who said that they couldn't remember anything.  Amazingly, those were the kids who had most of the suggestions to write on the board! It was really neat to hear the kids as they were finding their pictures and several times I overheard them saying things like: 

"I remember when we did that - the pumpkins were really slimy inside!"

"The apple pie was the best thing we made with Mrs. H"

"I tried to draw the graph we made from our pumpkin unit"

"Those marshmallow monsters tasted so yummy!" 

"I still have my bean ruler!"

It's times like these that make me think, that yes, we DID do a lot this year.  They remember the little stuff when we as adults seem to dwell on the big stuff - that kids was mean and tattled on everybody or this kid struggles with capitals, and then those nagging thoughts start to get in the way - thoughts like "Did I do enough for them?  Did I provide enough of those 'authentic learning experiences' that research shows are beneficial?"  "Did I try my best?"  It's when I hear them talking about what we did do, not what we didn't do is when I realize that yes, I did do my best.  I tried my best.  I gave my best.  And really, that's all I can give.  

Until tomorrow, with all my best, 

Shauna

Story Cubes and End of the Year Gifts

First, I want to say thank you to Confessions of a Teaching Junkie who had this fabulous idea for end of the year student gifts. (Go to yesterday's post to find the link to her original post). I tried and look at my results!  Oh my gosh they turned out SOOOOOO GOOOD!  I hope the kiddos love 'em as much as I do!  Just take a look!

How perfect are these?

21 frames later, all stacked up and ready to go!

The longest time was typing up all the words the kids came up with.  I used the website www.tagul.com and they came out really well!  I am really pleased with them, can you tell?

And now...STORY CUBES! 

Has anyone ever seen these before?  There are three sets (that I know of) and each set consists of 9 dice-like cubes.  You can use each set independently OR intertwined.  Here's how they work: a child, student, writer, babysitter, teacher, storyteller, or bored person rolls a number of dice (you chose how many you want to roll.) You are then supposed to use the prompts i.e little pictures on the dice to help you start, join in the middle, or end a story.  They are super fun to use in small groups or in a center.  here are some close ups of the dice/pictures. 

And now for best news ever if you love this game...as in everything else in this world, they now have an app for that!  

Sure, it costs $1.99 but if you have iPads at your school, you can get a 20% discount if you buy 20 or more applications (school-pricing).  

I love these as they do nothing but empower the gift of a person's imagination.  The "eye" cube could be for example: laser eyes, a psychic power, or the power to see through walls or long distances.  I found mine at Barnes' and Noble and Amazon.com for pretty cheap price, about $8 a set.  Not bad when you think about the HOURS of enjoyment and the fabulous stories that come from their use.  So, hats' off to you, Rory and to your cubes as well.  Thanks for the toys, but better yet, thanks for the permission to let our imaginations run wild.  

Always,

Shauna

PS Tomorrow I'll walk you through the students' paper-bag memories book.  They are really cute!

Who Turned On the Oven?

My classroom is hot.  I mean the heater is on.  In. Vegas. Last week, the deep freeze was turned on high, and now it's the heater.  I guess the maintenance department is just making sure that everything's in tip-top shape for fall.  I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

So, want a game that you can make for ANY SUBJECT?  Want a game that kids will play ALL YEAR LONG and STILL love it on Day 180 as they did on Day 1?  Look no further. Well, actually, look down below.

This is a game that goes by many different names and have many different variations (sticks, index cards, river rocks, ext.) Just choose your element of design and you have a game.  All for the low price of whatever your "element".  (A box of large tongue depressors is about $6 at Walmart, index cards are $1 at the Dollar Store.)

Bang!  My students call it Bang! but you can call it whatever you want to - it depends on your catch-phrase that you use.  Ka-Pow, Blooey, or anything else that pops on screen when Batman and the Boy Wonder start to fight the bad guys works as well.

The one below is Money Bang! but I have versions for addition, subtraction, contractions, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and sight words.

This is how the game works: 

Set Up the Game: on a stick (river rock, index card...) write or glue coins of different amounts.  Put them in a tub.  On several sticks, but not too many, write an exciting word that has "swagger" i.e: Shazam! Bang! Pop! Blooey! Zap! Ka-Pow! 

To Play:  One child reaches into the tub and pulls a stick.  In the game pictured above, they must add the coins to find the correct amount.  If they get it right (another child will double-check because the correct amount is on the back), they get to keep the stick and try again. If they get it wrong, it goes back into the tub and the next kids gets their turn.  (They can have up to three tries in row in my room.) After their turn is over the next child gets to go.  If a child pulls out the Bang! stick, they LOSE all their sticks and their turn is over.  The kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to come tell me how many sticks they got before they got the Bang! stick.  This game could go for hours if I'd let it.  Every variation I have, the kids play as if they have NEVER played it before.  They love it, I tell you!  Pure magic for the price of a box of sticks.  

So this weekend between baby food and movies, I stumbled upon a pin on Pintrest and I found myself at this magical blog:   http://confessionsofateachingjunkie.blogspot.com  and her really neat end of the year gifts for students.  Today I had my students work on half of it and the other half I have to do at home (can we say surprise?).  I think they are going to turn out really nice.  Pics to come by the end of the week.  I have to get them done soon because...6 1/2 more days to go!

Tomorrow I will talk about one of my favorite games - Story Cubes!

Always - 

Shauna

Oh Where, Oh Where Does the Weekend Go?

Busy, busy, busy.  That's what Bean keeps me.  Di d you know that it takes me 3x as long to do anything with him around than it did before? Oh my gosh!  Oh well.  That's life with the Bean.

Here's a short list of my weekend so far - Monday's not officially over yet, so who knows what will happen in the next few hours or so.

Friday - Made it to my new school for Staff Development Day.  I felt (and rightfully so I might add) like the new kid in school.  The shiny new toy so to speak.  One of the first activities we had to do was find someone you don't know very well (guess who was called on first by many people) and tell about your name.  Where did it come from, what did it mean, and so forth.  I got my room assignment, and learned that something I already do that the new school is just adapting.  So it could mean one of two things: 1) I can just get it done and not to worry about the training or 2) I will end up telling training everybody else how to do it.  I think I'll take Door Number Two, Drew.  Anywhoo...I think next year is going to be great.  I needed a change and this is it.

Saturday - Graham Cracker came over and the Hubbs and I went to see The Hangover Part III.  It was funny, and BONUS! I didn't see anyone's wiener in this one.  Score! I still have nightmares about the first two.  That and Mike Tyson singing.  Shivers.

Sunday - we went for b-fast at Graham Cracker's house and then the Hubbs and I went to see The Fast and the Furious 6.  Still can't believe that franchise has more sequels than Rocky.  Only 3 more to go and they will catch up to Star Wars.  Hey - maybe Vin Diesel's character Dominic Torreto with say to Paul Walker's character Brian, "Brian...I am your father.  And you wrecked my car, and my insurance went up, and now, well, you're grounded."  This particular scene will play out in Fast and the Furious part 56 coming in the summer of 2017.  Mark my words.

Sunday afternoon - picked up Graham Cracker and the Bean and headed to Henderson to look at tile for the bathroom and to hit up my favorite store.  What possibly could be in the bags?

I had a coupon.  I could not let it go to waste, now could I?

So here's my Memorial Day Loot:

Time and Measurement File Folder Games - excellent for small group work or when a few students are finished early

Addition and Subtraction Instant Learning Center - same reason as above. I plan on getting the whole set, but I'm gonna need more coupons for that!

Can Do! Money canister - for the child that needs either more work on, or earlier work on money.  

Mini-Bowling.  I actually got two of these and I gots plans, baby.  PLANS! Coming soon. (Yes, I know, I said "gots")

Monday - The Hubbs worked on said bathroom by removing the old tile and backer board, and then wrapping the whole thing in plastic wrap.  I made more baby food and cleaned the house.  Really fun.

Well, that's it for my weekend of fun.  What about yours?  Leave a comment below!
Be sure to check back next week - I'll start a new week of Tips, Tricks, and Treats!

Days Left of School:

7 1/2 

(but who's counting?)

Always, 

Shauna

There Are Not Enough Oreos In The World

What a day.  Can I just say I need a tall glass of milk and about a trillion oreos?  Today a student screamed at the top of his lungs "This School Sucks!" as I told him to leave due to disrupting behavior by making and throwing paper airplanes in class.  Good thing that tomorrow is Staff Development Day and they stay home.

Speaking of tomorrow, I officially meet my new co-workers at my new school.  I am terribly excited for this new chapter in my life and I look forward to meeting the challenge.  I'll still be in second grade, just new surroundings and new faces to get to know.  I think it's going to be great.  I'll tell all about it tomorrow.

Today though my thoughts and prayers go out to all the people in Moore, Oklahoma.  Especially those two elementary schools that took a direct hit from a E5 tornado.  Are you like me and wish there was something you could do?  Well, check this out from Teacher's Notebook:

www.teachersnotebook.com/mooreok

for just a donation of $20, $25, $50, or $100 you can access over $2,100.00 (yes, that's right - over $2K worth of products!) So far, the total money raised is over $30,000! I've said it before and I'll say it again - teachers are some of the most kind-hearted and generous people in the world-  and I ma honored to call myself a teacher.   All the money goes to help those in need.  What better way to help - give a little, get a lot!  Click on the link to check it out.  

I got a surprise in the mail yesterday.  My table mascots came!  Aren't they just adorable?  I am a little bummed that they are not "real" potato heads - just licensed products made to look like potato heads, but i think they will do the job nicely.  Spider Spud is the real deal though! (And only $9.98 at Walmart!) I was thinking that each table group has a mascot and they earn "parts" when they get caught doing things right: cleaning up fast, quietly listening, and following directions, etc.  The first table group to fully assemble their mascot wins lunch with the teacher, or extra computer time, or something.  I know the kids will be excited to try to build their mascot quickly.  What do you think?  Leave me comment below!

SuperSpud, BatSpud, and Spidey Spud - fighting crime in a classroom near you!

Until tomorrow folks...I'm off to Teacher's Notebook to check out those products!  See you there!

Shauna

Shots, Dots, and Seeing Spots

Today I joined up on a linky party put together by Flying into First Grade.
Just click the link and it will take you right there.  Flyingintofirst.blogspot.com.

The theme this week is getting to know your fellow bloggers.  My problem is this: I'm so new at this thing that I don't have any blogging friends yet!  Hells bells I only have one follower (Yay Traci B!).  Oh well, I'll adapt and let you get to know me a little better.  How about that?

5 Things You Desperately Need To Know About Me But Didn't Know You Needed To Until Right This Very Minute:

1. I quilt.  I have a quilt started on my design wall in my office that has been there since we moved in 3 years ago.  I'm not sure if it will ever get done. 

2. I went to, and graduated from culinary school.  That job is not as glamorous as Food Network makes it out to be.  Fun, yes.  Tiring, yes.  Creative, yes. Willing to give up all my holidays so others' can take the night off cooking, no.  Sorry.  It just doesn't seem like Christmas Day if you are covered in burgundy-wine sauce and smell of trout.  

3.  I have two tattoos.  I want more.  But as I aspire to be a principal one day, I must curb my innermost desires to paint my flesh with dice, martinis, and mermaids and stick with something demure on my shoulders where they can be hidden.  Which means of course, that they are also hidden from my eyes as well.  What's the point of having them if you can't see them? No, really one is a hummingbird and the other is an eagle and a raven creating a heart.  No dice, martinis, or mermaids to show.  Darn it.

4. I really have no idea what I am doing. It's amazing I've lasted this long without anyone seeing through my rouse. Sometimes I feel like I'm a pet rock.  One day, someone out there will quickly realize that I am just a rock on a string. 

5. I have an unhealthy addiction to craft supplies: Sharpies, Crayola markers and crayons, and glitter glue. (Can you see my table?!?)

This folks, ain't even the tip of the iceberg!

I hate it when students use my scissors, glue, and markers and don't give them back.  I love to be crafty, and when I see my little lambs shove my sharp scissors into their desks or use them like chopsticks to pick up a pencil, it makes me a little mad.  When I see them break a pencil in half in order to test if the spinach they had for lunch is working, I want to tell them they must finish the rest of the day's work in crayon.  When they say they don't have in crayons, I reply it's because you broke all those last week when that spider bit you and you were testing your new-found spidey sense.  And gosh darn it, now you have to do your work in blood.  Gimme your finger. I reach for their hand as I grab those extra-sharp scissors.  They freak out and they promise never to break another pencil again.  So, after extracting the promise and not to mention their first-born (but only if they can guess my first name) I quietly hand them a  new pencil and ask them to finish quickly.

So there you have it.  5 things you now know about me.

Today, Bean got his 6 month shots.  Hardly any tears at all.  He's a strong little boy.  Until he meets some trampy lady, then he's gonna turn to mush.  Then I'm gonna need some shots - of tequila that is. 

Until tomorrow, 

Shauna

Tuesday Tip

I have a follower!  Yay! Thanks Traci B. for being my very first follower.  Check your inbox my friend for a special surprise from Edison and Bean.  We hope you enjoy it!

Here is a tip for your Tuesday:  Zip-Up Pencil pockets from the Dollar Store make GREAT game storage.

I have mine set up on the wall for students who get done early and don't want to sit and read or play with a partner.  These are so handy!  I found the games at serenadetosecondgrade.blogspot.com
and you can find your copies here.  Just click on the hyperlink.  I downloaded them and put everything together for each game inside a pencil pocket.  When the student is ready, they just come and grab the one they want to play and take it to their seat.

This one is actually in my office, because in 10 days I'm moving schools and in my room everything is already down off the walls and packed in big giant plastic tubs.  But you can get the picture of how you could set it up.  I've also got some of the math games from the same site in a basket on the floor as well.   These pencil pockets are very versatile!  Here are a few more ways you can use them in your classroom:

• deck of cards for each group
• counters for math 
• word work storage
• decks of memory that you have made
• tardy slips that go to the office every day
• classroom money storage for students

The list can indeed go on!

Well tomorrow my little Bean get s his 6-month shots.  Dad doesn't do shots, so it's up to me to take him to the doctor.  Poor little fella.  Here's the latest picture of both Edison and Bean.

Tomorrow's Post:  Shots, Dots, and Seeing Spots

Until,
Shauna

Monday Made It!

Since next Monday is Memorial Day, that means I have 1 more Monday left.  Where does the time go?
In oder to celebrate this next-to-last Monday, here is an easy project that you can do.  They are so easy, you can whip out 20 of them for next year during the time it takes you to watch an entire episode of Castle.  DVR'd and skipping the commercials.  That's fast.  Like Fast and the Furious 1 through 6 fast.  Except - does Tokyo Drift count?  That movie was like putting unleaded gasoline in a diesel engine.  Horrible.  I digress.

Monday Made It: Turning pocket folders into pocket envelopes for spelling sorts, center pieces, flash cards, or classroom money.  Here goes.

Materials:

• pocket folders
• velcro dots
• scissors
• pencil
• eraser
• plate or other large circular device (pie pan, cake pan, paper plate)
• a DVR'd episode of Castle (optional) 

1.  Open the folder.  Position the plate as shown.  Trace around the plate.  If you don't like your line, erase and try again.

2.  Cut out on your line.  

3.  Fold down circular portion to create the flap.

5.  Repeat with other side.

6. Add velcro dots to underside of the flap. I placed the rough side on the top then place the fuzzy side on top (as if they were already stuck together).  Then fold the flap over, positioning the fuzzy velcro dot exactly where it needs to be.  Arrows are pointing to the dots.  Repeat with the other side.

7. Finished envelope.  Fill with word sorts, classroom money, or anything else you need to! They are ready to go and you still have 55 minutes of Castle to watch!

I originally saw this idea on Pintrest last summer and made a bunch when the back-to-school sales were happening and picked up a ton of folders for a song.

Well, that's my Monday Made It!  Hope you like it and can make some of these for next year.  (Am I really talking about next year already?)

Tomorrow, I'll spill on how today's lesson in math was Bunco 4 Kids! They loved it and I got some reading assessments done to boot!  Double score!

Keep Calm and Teach On...

Shauna

Space...the Final Frontier

Can I just gush about much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the new Star Trek movie?  To say the least, JJ Abrams can make as many of those as he wants, and I will watch every last one.  His next venture? To make the next installment of Star Wars.  Can I just say that I'm already in line, popcorn in hand?
Wow.  Just Wow.

Anywhooo...apart form wishing that I could join Starfleet, this is how I spent my afternoon.

That's right, making baby food. First a $50 trip to Whole Foods' organic produce section.  The vegetables' flavor is intense, but a little pricey (but then again, the stuff in jars is too)! So buy stuff in jars that have a lot of preservatives that I can't pronounce, or vegetables that only have sunshine, water, and love inside.  Hmmm, not much of a choice for me.  I'm not a baby, but I'd eat this stuff, it's that good.  Then, heading into the kitchen to spend some quality time with my cuisinart.

One Hour Later...

I now have an entire shelf of little containers of peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, applesauce, and pear sauce.  My little sweet pea himself has decided that after two weeks of eating solid food, he longer wants just milk.  He also want to feed himself, but he gets more on himself than in himself, so I put the kibosh on that until later.  He's not happy with that decision, but since no one died and left him in charge, he's got to live with it.

Last Day o'School Official Countdown:

9.5

Tomorrow is Monday Made It - I'll show you step by step how to turn a regular two-pocket folder into a Words Their Way envelope that holds all your word sort pieces for the week so they don't get lost.  All you need is a folder, little velcro fasteners, a pencil, and good pair of scissors!

Until then my crafty friends!

Shauna 

Finally Friday and School's Got Talent

Finally - the BIG TALENT SHOW has arrived.  Some kids are exceptionally talented.  Others, well let's just say that in 5 years they too will be exceptionally talented, just not right now.  However, they got up there and performed in front of everybody which takes GUTS - even for a 5 year old.  (They were really cute by the way! Kindergarteners singing Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star!)

My walls are down in my classroom, and my stuff is getting packed.  My students know that I am leaving for another school next year and they are very excited to help me pack up a box here and there. I can't believe how much "stuff" we accumulate over the years.  Maybe it's a good thing that I am moving on - it just gives me chance to clean out stuff that 1) I haven't used in quite awhile and 2) know exactly what I have to help me plan better for the future.  The bad part is actually packing all this stuff and storing it over the summer in my garage.  Hey if the Hubs can store car stuff in there, why can't I store school stuff too?

Well, my mind is officially beaming aboard the USS Enterprise NC1701-D in excatly 24 hours.  I am going on Sunday morning because 1) I really hate crowds and sitting next to complete strangers text during the movie 2) mile-long popcorn lines, and 3) outrageous ticket prices.  So Sunday it is with smaller crowds, shorter popcorn lines and a ticket price of only $6.  That means I can see it again! ;)

Well, my mind is gone.  It is Friday after all.  I hope everybody has a fantastic weekend!

Boldly going (but going on Sunday),

Shauna

Egg-celent Idea & A Celebration!

Egg-stra, empty plastic eggs "laying" around?  Sorry, I couldn't help myself.  Do you have these and want to put them to good use outside of Easter?  How about this little idea - Brain Breaks!

We've all read the different posts and seen all those awesome brain break ideas that people have written about on blogs and Teachers pay Teachers, but now you too can make them "egg-citing" and maybe just a little "egg-stra" fun.

This is what I've done.  I came up with a bunch of super fast, super easy things to do that take between 3- 5 minutes.  Any longer and I've found that this year's class gets a little too...much.  So here's a partial list of things in my egg jar:

• 10 jumping jacks
• a round of Hangman with our spelling/vocab words
• the Cha-Cha slide dance (I bought it off iTunes and have it on my iPod)
• Gangam Style (same set up as the Cha-Cha Slide - they LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one)
• Yoga in the Class (just a few stretches, nothing fancy)
• a game of Silent Ball (You sit on top of your desk and toss a ball to someone.  If they speak or drop the ball, they're out.   The best part EVERYONE IS SUPER DUPER SILENT for about 5 minutes!)
• Action Math (Write double-digit addition or subtraction problems on the board and form the group into teams.  Each member of the team has to do 1 action to the problem.  The first team to solve the problem, wins a point.)  
• Story in the Round (Each person has to come up with a sentence to add to a story starter I give them.  All oral, so no writing needed - just imagination!
• Emotion Ball (a volleyball with different sentences written on it.  What ever sentence the student's thumb lands on when they catch it, they have to say with emotion out loud.  Sad, laughing, angry, depressed, etc.) 
• Game of Telephone

As you can see, hardly any prep or materials needed to do these.  Hangman, and action math you do on the whiteboard so no paper needed!

When I introduced these for the very first time, I said nothing - just put this jar up on the table when they first came in the door.  They were so intrigued with this strange, yet colorful thing, they deduced that whatever was inside, must, must, must be fun indeed.  Now they constantly ask who gets to pick an egg next.  I usually find the quietest kids that are on task and paying attention or following the rules. That usually gets the others to follow suit so they can get to pick next.  

You can even change it up a little.  During February, I got these: heart-shaped containers that do the same thing.  So out go the eggs, and in come the hearts.  I got mine at the Dollar Tree during the season of Love and they are constantly changing things out with the seasons - so you can find them for Halloween or St. Paddy's Day, or any other holiday they make them for.  

Here are my heart containers.  I love how they are red and pink.  

And now for my Celebration!

My second project was fully funded through Donor's Choose!  Yay!  This project is focusing on phonics.  My last one focused on math and this year my students have had a blast playing all the games we received.  I'm so happy that a second project came through - just when I had just about given up on it.  Thanks Donor's Choose! You made my day!  I'll post later when my students get the materials and show everyone what we are going to do with them.  Now next year is going to start off on just the right foot!

Tomorrow is the Talent Show - ironically after having kids threaten each other to be nice/play by their rules/do what they want OR face eviction from the talent show (which by the way they have to AUDITION for) NONE of my kids made it in.  But that's not going to stop me us from going tomorrow morning.  I look forward to it and it means that I don't have to entertain teach for hour and a half.  I'll tell you all about tomorrow.  In the meantime, leave a comment  below if you have tried the egg thing or have another great idea on doing brain breaks in your classroom!

Shauna