Organizing the Class Library

I've struggled with keeping my classroom library organized for years.

 

The kids are in such a hurry when they put books away, the tubs often look like this:

 

If you look closely, you'll see that not only are the books a mess, but hardly any of them go with the topic Information Books About Sports! Hopefully, the reason they're in such a hurry is because they're excited about the other books! (One can hope!)

What do I do?

I have the kids re-organize the books!

Yep, about once a month, I take about a half hour of my reading time to have the children re-organize the books. 

Yes, as you guessed, at first it's chaos. But once I get them going, it's amazing!

The Benefits:

1. The children learn to organize books.

2. The children have ownership of the book tubs.

3. The children learn the find the author of the books on the cover and on the title page.

4. The children usually find interesting books they didn't realize were in the classroom library!

Plus, the tubs now look like this:

Help! Teaching is Stressful!

Let's face it. Teaching is stressful. In so many ways! In fact, teaching brings on the worse kind of stress: chronic stress!

 

 

Taking care of a whole classroom of little ones (or big ones) who all need attention and help is pretty draining!

Not to mention testing.

Not to mention all the other things that we are required to do that has absolutely NOTHING to do with children and teaching!

OK, venting is over. 

But seriously, here are some of the dangers of chronic stress.

Dangers of Chronic Stress:

1. Chronic stress can cause cravings for sweet foods.

2. Chronic stress leads to excessive fat in the abdominal region.

3. Chronic stress has been linked to back pain. 

4. Chronic stress can make a person more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke.

5. Chronic stress can cause hair loss.

6. Chronic stress can cause an imbalance of microorganisms in the gut, leading to digestive problems.

7. Chronic stress can interfere with sexual function.

8. Chronic stress affects hormone production, causing fatigue and inability to handle stress. 

9. Chronic stress weakens immunity.

10. Chronic stress causes premature aging. 

Sounds scary doesn't it? All is not lost. There are plenty of things you can do about all that stress!

 

Strategies for Coping with Stress

1. Identify your stressors.

2. Meditate!

3. Spend time with friends!

4. Exercise!

5. Color! (I'm sure you've seen coloring books for adults!)

6. Hug! (Seriously, Science proves this helps!)

7. Experience Nature!

8. Religious rituals!

9. Acupuncture!

10. Aromatherapy!

11. Sing!

12. Dance!

13. Kiss!(See THIS post.)

14. Listen to music!

15.Enjoy a hobby!

16. Chew Gum!

17. Laugh more!(See THIS post.)

18.  Take a break!

19. Get extra sleep!

20. Express your gratitude!

Good luck taking control of your stress!

Illustrating Homographs to Internalize Learning

 Brain Research tells us that when children illustrate as part of the learning process, it deepens the learning. In fact, integrating any of the arts has this affect on learning!

 

 

My students did this activity on homographs this week: 

My kids were so excited about the double meanings of words, they had a blast!  Plus, they created some awesome illustrations to prove their understanding!  Here are some of them:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change can mean the money that you get back. Or Change can mean if you get your clothes dirty, you could change them!

 

 

 

 

Tip can mean a tip of a pencil or the tip at a restaurant.

Foot can mean football or foot can mean a foot.

Broke can mean I broke up or broke can mean no money.

Bat can mean a baseball bat or a bat who flies.

Key can mean a house key or key can mean a computer key.

Rose can mean a flower or Rose can mean a girl's name.

Well can mean a wishing well or well can mean getting better when you're sick.

March can mean they are marching or March can mean the month of March.

Aren't their drawings amazing? 

They actually thought of meanings of these words that I hadn't come up with! I love when they think of things I don't, in fact, I always love when the kiddos are thinking!

This is a perfect activity to keep in the "sub tub". It requires little preparation (just run off the papers), the kids enjoy it, and it's easy to leave directions for another teacher! 

Plus, these kiddos really know their homographs!

Shh... We Had Fun!

I have a confession to make. 

I strayed. 

On purpose.

Two days in a row!

 

 

Yes, folks, rather than sticking to my assigned programs, I strayed and did activities that I knew the children would enjoy.

Did they still learn? Yes! Honestly, there was more learning going on than the typical textbook learning.

Tuesday was Groundhog Day. I had to change my schedule because of another teacher being absent, so I ran with it!

First, I pulled out these Groundhog information stories and questions from my Science and Social Studies for February set.

I always try to have some comprehension question that can be answered directly from the text, at least one "word work" question, and one or two "beyond the text" questions. (These are my favorite!)

 

Since this reading was challenging for some, we first read as a group. After a discussion, I broke the children into pairs, and they re-read, then answered the questions. I love to have them work in pairs, since they have valuable conversations, especially on the "beyond the text" questions!

 

I told them I'd pay particular attention to question #4. (How would you keep a groundhog from eating things in your garden?) This reflects a problem I had as a gardener: 

The hungry groundhog actually learned to climb the fence I put up!

Their answers were delightful! Although they weren't all realistic, they showed an understanding of the problem, and creativity in their solution! (Plus, almost all kids solved the problem in a non-violent way!)

 

Once they learned about groundhogs, I had them make groundhog puppets and settings, and they created their own skits for Groundhog Day.

 

This guy put a couple of things to frighten the groundhog: the shadow AND a fox! 

 

The kiddos were so clever when creating their burrows! Some even designed the inside of the burrow on the other side! (In their reading, they learned a lot about the design of the burrows!)

 

 

As they performed their skits, they showed creativity, a sense of humor, AND knowledge of groundhogs! You can't get this on a computer test!

The next day was Day 100. 

I've had a little tradition going on that I started about 20 years ago. We go from classroom to classroom singing Day 100 songs!

We have 4 songs we sing. Here's one of them:

100 Days Smarter!

Sorry, the other 3 aren't mine to give you! 

 They kept them in their book boxes and practiced them during reading time. (It was hard to keep them SILENT during independent reading!)

It was loads of fun going from class to class. They rarely get to go into the other classrooms, and they got to go into almost ALL the classrooms! They saw younger siblings, older siblings, former teachers, neighborhood friends, and loads of other people they know. The teachers, students, and staff were amazing audiences! They welcomed us into their classrooms, listened to the lyrics, and applauded for the children. 

My favorite part is seeing the smiles on the faces of my former students as they remember Day 100 caroling in past years!

Later that day, we played a couple of games and activities, including Mental Math 100. Up until now the children had only worked with 2 digit numbers, but I had them adding and subtracting 3 digit numbers, and with this game, they were even dealing with 4 digit numbers! And, of course, they were successful!

It was a huge boost on their mathematics self esteem, and a whole lot of fun!

It's not actually what the manual told me to do, but it was truly a great learning day. 

Hopefully, I can sneak in a few more of these!

February Books, Resources, and Deals!

Can you believe February is upon us? 

I've got a bunch of ideas to help you get ready!

Groundhog Day is February second. Will that groundhog see his shadow? Well, here's a groundhog that can predict the weather! (Amazon affiliate.)

• Groundhog Weather School: Fun Facts about Groundhogs and Weather.

Here's a collection of Groundhog learning activities the kiddos will love:

Groundhog Mini-bundle

The image will bring you to the bundle, but you can also grab individual resources if you prefer.

Have you had Day 100? Ours will be this Wednesday. Here's a great Day 100 book! (Amazon affiliate.)

• 100th Day Worries

This is a game that challenges my second graders, and they love it! 

Mental Math 100: Adding and Subtracting Hundreds

This is a great activity if you're going to be out: easy directions, and the kiddos LOVE it! And it's great for developing their number sense.  Here's another Day 100 activity for "older" kiddos to practice sets of 100 Count to 1,000 Booklet.

And a Day 100 Dollar Deal for active kids...just see the image! Beanie Toss to 100

Guess what else is coming soon... Mardi Gras! These worksheets, games, and activities will keep them busy AND learning! Mardi Gras No Prep Activities: Literacy and Math

Valentine's Day is the same week! Here's my VERY favorite book to read on Valentine's Day! This one will warm your heart and the kid's hearts as well! (Amazon affiliate.)

• Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch!

And a Valentine's Day Dollar Deal!

Two Valentine's Day Mini-Books

Here are a few fun books for Presidents Day! (Amazon affiliates.)

• Arthur Meets the President
• Who Was Abraham Lincoln?
• Who Was George Washington?

          

Here's a game to help your kids remember which American holiday is which! Which Patriotic Holiday?

Here are plenty of activities for the kids with an American President theme! President's Day Games and Activities

Want to make life a whole lot easier and grab a big bargain?  Here's a bundle with several different activities

February Bundle!

Hope these items help you get through February!