Fall is Here!

We have had some gorgeous weather around here. I am so glad my kids get to enjoy recess without complaining melting. Today I may have extended our recess for 10 minutes today. Don't tell anyone. 

I am looking forward to celebrating Halloween, having my kids eat tons of candy for one night, and celebrating my 15th wedding anniversary. 

Casey is celebrating the beginning of Fall with a blog hop and I was invited! I couldn't say no. I am easy  sometimes :)

There is only one tiny problem.

I  have... one...You read that right, one... item on sale. Nothing else :) 

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My TPT Store

My first three-week break begins in a week. I think I will be working hard on showing you some things I have been working on lately. 

At the end of the day ...it is all about the fun and the support we show to each other, right? 

It is report card weekend for me. Wish me luck!

How do you show your feelings? (freebie)

This week during Writer's Workshop, we worked on showing our feelings by using specific actions.

I had faces ready for them to use. The kids worked in small groups and began brainstorming one characteristic that could describe how you look, or what you do that matched that facial expression. Each group had the chance to write one word and rotate through the rest of the classroom where the other cards were located.

After each group had the chance to participate I made this:

The next couple of days, we reviewed our chart and talked about expressing our feeling through actions and specific details. They had to write some 'feeling sentences' to practice.

Some of my favorites:

I had a very red face when my sister pinched me.
My mouth was wide open the day I saw my new dog.
In the morning my face was really, really red because my mom woke me up.
My legs were shaking on the first day of school.
When I got a new toy I was jumping up and down.
The day my brother cut up my pompoms, I yelled loudly because I could not use them anymore.
Seeing a big black bear, makes my body shake without control.
I had tears down my eyes, the day my brother went to the beach for a whole week.

Here are the faces....in case you like them :)

So...how do you show your feelings?

Tokens! My behavior Management

I remember reading about this behavior system loooong time ago while student teaching. Once I had my first classroom, I began thinking about behavior management. I did the green, yellow, and red lights my first year without much success. It was not for me.
Once I changed schools that system was not allowed well received by my new principal, so my token system was born... Tokens were it!

I purchased a few bags of color counters. I then used my sharpie and began numbering twenty color counters. 20 ones, 20 two's, 20 three's... and so on. I placed them in a letter box from Lakeshore (used for alphabet cards).

My students have PIN numbers (alphabetical by first name) and they'll do anything for tokens!

In the beginning of the year tokens are given every minute of the day for anything done right: Writing the date on the right side of the paper, being quiet in the hallway, showing manners, using neat handwriting, remembering routines, staying on task, participating during class discussions... anything that highlights making great choices :)

I feel like a crazy token lady!  I see tokens...I dream tokens :)  But I promise you, it works!!

"So and so...go get a token for ________"  Thank you for doing that!

When the kids get tokens they place them in a jewelry bag I purchased at Michael's.

Once they have earned twenty tokens, the kids exchange them for a Token reward: homework pass, computer time, morning greeters, bring stuffed animal to school, sweet treat (purchased by me), wearing a hat to school... and the cycle begins all over again.

On the other hand...they can also loose tokens for making poor choices. I try not to take any tokens away and concentrate on the good.  But rewards and consequences go together, right?

During Open House the best topic is "Tokens!"... and I that, always brings a smile to my face.  Who said anything about learning if you can earn tokens?

Must- Have, Blogging and Turning 36 :)

This is my third week of school and I am still running around like a crazy person.  My to-do list is disappearing s-l-o-w-l-y. Common Core, data collection, lesson plans, behavior issues, conferences, meetings, more data collection... are killing me!

Which brings me to my question:  How do you decide when to post? I get ideas, I take pictures, and then suddenly run out of time! 

I turn 36 today. I was born at midnight, so I am 35 for at least 4 more hours.   I woke up to a nice card with gift cards to Kohl's and Target from my kids and the Mr. My kids in the classroom brought beautiful cards, gift cards (Starbucks and Target), Skippy JonJones books, Skippy blank cards, Laffy taffy, cupcakes, and a beautiful bracelet. I felt spoiled...and loved :)

Happy Monday,

Meet My Class

I have twenty one students this year (so far) and they are so super cute. 13 boys and 8 girls...need to say more? :)

Since I work at a year round school, there is no need to do a lot of get to know activities, because they know each other pretty well.  The kids are grouped in tracks were there are two classrooms per track. Each year the classes change a little bit, but for the most part everyone knows everyone.

You have seen those classroom bingo games, right? The ones were they are to find someone who...  Well, I did just that.  I found someone who loves to eat chicken wings, someone who has freckles, someone who has a pet, etc.

Meet My Class :)

Told you they were cute... I mean adorable!

Last week was our first week of school and we were busy! I finished my first set of assessments (AIMS Web) and this week my goal is to complete some running records. Wish me luck!