The Human Number Line

Today, we started talking about the number line. I asked, "What is a number line?" We talked about it and I was so excited by the responses. Then, I asked, "Why is the number line important?" The best response was "So our numbers go in order and when we get to 100 we know we didn't miss any numbers and that we got them all right." Pretty good, huh?

My favorite part of the lesson came at the end. I handed out numbers to my students and we created a "HUMAN NUMBER LINE". Here is a picture of the end of the number line.

It was so revealing on which students truly understood the idea of number line, who knew their teens (because all my fellow primary teachers know how hard it is for kids between thirteen and thirty, fourteen and forty, etc.), and how well they work together. We did it a few times today and tomorrow we are going to time ourselves to see if we can beat our time. Something as simple as getting out of our seats and making a human number line was so fun. The kids were asking if they could do it again at the end of the day. It is right up there with a snowball fight. Ok, I lied, the snowball fight is loved much more but this was a close second. *I will post about a snowball fight soon - it is must-do activity!

I hope everyone is having a great week. One more day or how I like to call it "Happy Friday Eve"!

Whew - a litte patience is always a bonus...

Last year we used the book, "Teach Like a Champion" as a school-wide book study for the teachers. We implemented so many parts of it. We use STARS (Sit up tall, Track your speaker, be ready to Ask and Answer questions, Respect speakers, Smile) school-wide to get attention and explain it to the kids right away. Last year, my class had it down the first week. This year, what am I doing wrong? My kiddos just don't seem to be grasping it. Ok, let me clarify, some... a few... the talkative ones... ok a few boys seem to act like they don't even hear it. We have worked on it as a class. We have worked on it as a small group. I have praised them when they do it correctly. I point out when they could do better. It seems like no matter how I present it, this small handful does not seem to get it. AUGH! I feel so helpless. I love my kids but I want to be able to present them to the school as following rules. The specials teachers (Ok, for those that do not get specials, please do not be mad but we get specials for one hour every day!) even use STARS. What am I going to do?

I have the answer... scream into a pillow...give up...let someone else deal with it... PATIENCE! I joke with my own kiddos that my favorite word is patience. Deep breaths and consistency is going to be the hardest part but it has to help right? Please shake your head that this is going to work. It has to work. STARS! Did you do it? Try it? Think about it? Ok, tomorrow is a new day and I know they can do it. I think I am going to set up an individual plan for these boys. Something tangible they can hold. Yes, that is it! Maybe I will create something that is for individual behavior and/or working.  They are going to get it. I know it. Patience is the key. They CAN do it! I would love some teaching positive vibes sent my way. Any help any way I can get it.

Have a great night. Happy Wednesday!

Yes, we are going to make it!

We now have a solid two weeks under our belts and we have started week three. The kids are figuring out the rules, the schedule and I am getting to know the personalities. I absolutely adore my class. The kids are all different and bring so much to a discussion. We are getting tested this week for DIBELS and then will finally start reading groups next week. YAY! Actual reading groups. It has been fun having my kids all day, but going to reading is such an experience. I love it. I love the focus, the switch, the groups, etc. Yay for groups. How long does it take to get your students ready for reading groups? Do you ability group or stay in homeroom?

So, I made a new product this week. I always get inspired by what I am teaching. I figure out what I would like to have when I am teaching a product and that becomes what I create! I actually do use what I create. Here is my latest:

It is called "It's Tally Time" and includes different activities to learn, practice, and master tally marks. I always enjoy having poems and motions to help with songs and this one is no exception. I think the quick poems are my favorite. Oh yes, I love it!

Open House on Monday

I can't believe that our Open House is Monday!


Let me wear my mommy hat first... Both of my kiddos will be at my school this year. That's right! No more getting to school way early to put my little man on the bus to go to the pre-k/kinder school! Do you hear me cheering from way over here??? WOOHOO! That also means that I miss both of my kiddos Open House tours this year because I will be giving mine at the same time. Yup, my hubby will get to go to both kiddos all on his own. Luckily, my son is directly across the hall (he's in first grade in my dear co-teachers class!) and my daughter is in the far wing (I don't like how far away she is) of the building with MY favorite teacher (besides my mom) of all time. So, I am blessed this year with the teachers my kids have. BLESSED!

Now to the teacher hat...AUGH! I am not ready. Are we ever ready in time? I feel like my room is in a state of chaos, I don't have my handouts ready, and my students/parents are going to have way too many questions that I don't know all the answers to. OK, in all honesty, I know I will be ready (with extra time in the classroom this weekend) and the rest will be FINE, but those feelings never disappear until Open House is done. Then, I come home so excited for the next day aka the First Day of School.

So, I was looking at my Firstie's pictures today on Infinite Campus and I just smiled the entire time. They are so darn cute. I can't wait to meet them all on Monday and start teaching on Tuesday.

First Day Back for Teachers

Summer is officially over for me. I had to report to school today for the new year. We have so many first graders this year that we added another teacher. We now have five teachers for first grade in our building. Holy moly! Can you believe it? Last year we were hoping to get to keep our fourth teacher and this year we add another teacher. I am so grateful because this means I now have 17 kids in my class instead of 22... Yes! As a parent (my son is a first grader), I am even more excited that he will have a smaller class size.

As for the first day back, I think I made more of a mess than getting ready. Does anyone else have this problem To get ready, I have to pull tons out and then my room looks out of control. I am still in the process of getting everything up and put away. My theme is ladybugs and the door is done, the signs are up, and the centers are ready. That is good.

I still have to get my essential learning targets (elt's) printed off, my lesson plan book ready, my standards put into a notebook and my attendance roster ready to go. In one week, we have our open house. I will be ready!

Outdoor Divas 2013

Ok, this is a post that has more to do with the end of summer instead of my classroom. Yesterday, I was able to complete my end-of-summer goal - the Outdoor Divas Triathlon! It is a sprint tri where you swim 1/2 mile, ride your bike for 12.4 miles, and run a 5k. It was  fabulous day! Ok, I won't lie, I was so nervous even though this was my second triathlon (I did my first last year) but knew I could do it one part at a time. By the time I was running across the finish line, I was on cloud nine. Plus, my daughter jumped in with me and ran across the finish line with me. Yay! So, summer is almost over ( I have to go back tomorrow) and I couldn't think of a better way to end my summer vacation. Great friends, phenomenal family support, and proving to myself I can push myself outside my comfort zone and do something I didn't think I could a few years ago. Will I do it again? Yep! I will be nervous again and want to sleep in when the early alarm clock goes off, but it is worth it.

This picture is of my training partners/friends and I after we had all finished. I am #975. I hope all of you had or will have a great end to your summer as well. Have a great day.

What is your big accomplishment for the summer?

Like Mother Like Daughter

This was originally written on 6/27/13 but I forgot to post it! So, here you go...

My mom was a teacher. I remember growing up playing teacher. We would go to her classroom on the weekends and after school and I would create leassons, projects, worksheets... you name it, I did it. I wanted to be  teacher my entire life. Well, my daughter now does the same thing. This past year she would come into my classroom and head straight to the front table. She would get out the individual dry erase boards and markers for her "students" and teach a lesson. Well, tonight she started making her OWN TpT project. It is so fun. Of course we are really doing it together. She titled it "Monsterific Math" and I am letting her do all the creations. She is loving it. I promised her all the proceeds from her products. I can't wait to share it with you all. She has done the title page, the table of contents, the first actual page and the final credit page is in the works. It is pretty fun sitting next to her and helping her create. I see third-generation teacher all the way... unless she chooses to do something else. I just want her to be happy!

Lemonade for Sale

Where did the summer go? I know! It is G... O... N... E - GONE! The book club was so fun this summer. I loved having the kids over every week to talk about the books. Today, we culminated the end of book club with a lemonade stand of our own. It was awesome. We sold lemonade for two hours and had a profit. The kids decided to donate the money to the American Cancer Society which is just amazing to me. I love those kids.

So, to say summer is gone is an understatement. I go back to work on Tuesday. TUESDAY! Not just a "I need to go work in my room" day... a real, honest to goodness, work day. AUGH! It blows my mind how fast this summer went. We went on vacation, went camping, lounged at the pool, played baseball, had dance, rode bikes, ... Yup, it was a full summer. This weekend is my sprint triathlon. I did my first one last year and we signed up again for year two. It is what motivates me to get off the couch and stay healthy. I love it. It is nice to have a something to work for.

Well, the next time I post I will actually be talking about school stuff! Class size, organizations, common core, trainings, and more! Here we go - let 2013 - 2014 begin!

Kids Book Club

Eleven kids in my little house reading, making bookmarks, coloring, writing, whew! I have eight kids  in the chapter book, The Lemonade Wars, and three younger kiddos in Stuck. The time went so fast! I had so much fun. This week we are going to decide if our books are fiction or non- fiction and I am pretty sure this will bring a good discussion for the bigger group. The Lemonade group will also summarize each chapter after we discuss it! The little group is going to do some illustrations. All will do vocabulary as well! I love the freedom this book club gives me! Have a great day!

More Ladybugs

I have always loved ladybugs and I never sat down to make a true classroom theme....UNTIL NOW! I am so excited that my theme for the first week of school is ready. Woohoo! Yes! Check that one off the list. Go check it out at my TpT store if you would like.

Class Theme Ladybugs - Look Who's Spotted in ___ Grade!

VBS - Always Teaching!

So it is Vacation Bible School at church. I am in charge of the preschool and kindergarten part at our church and I adore these kiddos. In fact, it was VBS that made me realize about three years ago that I was ready to teach younger children.

I started teaching in 2000 - 2001. I taught math at the local middle school. I loved math but the age was not the right fit for me. I LOVED THE KIDS but I am just made to work with younger kiddos. Well, a position opened up where I student taught with my favorite teacher and I jumped on it. I became a fifth and sixth grade looping teacher (I taught the kiddos for fifth grade and kept them through sixth grade) for the next ten years. I had a great time teaching that age, but just felt the tug to teach the young kiddos. Three years ago I was blessed to get to transfer to an elementary school just a few blocks away from my house to teach first grade. I am loving first grade. My teaching career so far has been a blessing and I am grateful for everything I have been given.

Now back to VBS...

Our theme is "Everywhere fun fair" and the kids learn about the bible with a circus theme! They also have different locations everyday. Yesterday they learned about Japan. Today was Zimbabwe. I love the music, the crafts, the games, the crafts, the stories, the crafts, and THE CRAFTS! My own two kiddos woke up so excited for VBS today and I love it. It is the reason why I work throughout the year to get VBS organized...my own kids love it and I love seeing the excitement through their eyes.

I hope everyone else is having a great day. I will post an activity soon!

Friday Fun

We have almost made it through another week. Has anyone else noticed that summer months are just as busy (if not busier) than the school year months? Like I posted earlier this week, this has been "dance" week. Yesterday was the first day of recitals and today is the second day. My kiddos did amazing! It was so fun.

Now, on to school stuff. I am going to post one of my freebie activities. I absolutely LOVE math (and when I say LOVE picture me singing it as a Broadway singer) and my goal is to always make my students enjoy it as well. I have taught math from first grade up to the college level. My activity today is just a simple subtraction game. Please check out Racing Back from 100 and enjoy the freebie!

So, now that summer is upon us, what is your biggest goal?

Book Club for Summer and Gardening at School

Once a teacher, always a teacher. I decided that I wanted my kiddos to have fun reading this summer but also have a purpose. So, I made a book club with their friends that I know also enjoy to read! I feel kind of selfish because then my kiddos get a play date, I get to share my love of reading, and I get to try new ideas for kids that just love to read and have fun! Win-win situation. So, I decided on the books today. I will post soon when I get them and see if anyone has any reviews, ideas, etc! Wish me luck... 6-7 second and third graders for one book and 4 first graders doing another book. It will be fun, right? I am not crazy, right? Oh please send me good vibes! I am just so optimistic that it will be successful. Look for my weekly reviews of the kid book club starting on June 20th and every Thursday after that. I am sure there will be giggles and struggles!

Right after this, my kiddos and I are heading over to our school to work on the school garden. We are going to help paint a sign today for the garden. I am hoping to post some pictures after. I love that the teacher keeps this project going all summer for the kids. YAY! I am so appreciative of how other teachers go above and beyond to make school fun and successful for my own children. SO THANKFUL! Here my two amazing kiddos:

Freebie and Dance Week begins...

Let's start with the fun stuff. I posted a new freebie in my TpT Store! Yay! Don't we all love freebies? I know I do. This one is quick and easy. It is a writing activity for your students to do at the end of the year. Basically, they are telling next year's students about the teacher, the rules, fun stuff... I should clarify that this assignment is just as fun to read as the teacher as it is for the students to write. I always get a little giggle when I read the responses. Here is your chance to grab the freebie: What You Need to Know... FREEBIE

Now on to the other fun for the week! It is dance week in our household. My little man only does boys hip hop (which he loves because he gets to be with the "big boys"), however, my daughter is in competition dance. So, she has her four competition dances and four more recital numbers. Include the costume for the opening number and that means that she has nine costumes! Nine! And she is eight-years-old! I am crazy... crazy... crazy.... However, she loves loves loves dance. So, when your child loves something, you do it. I honestly have fun at all the stuff. I talk to the other moms. My sister-in-law is the "big boss", she runs and owns the dance studio, so family is around and that makes it even more fun. Today was pictures, tomorrow is competition dress rehearsal, Wednesday is dress rehearsal for recital numbers, then Thursday and Friday are the recitals. Whew... I am tired already! It will be so fun, but we are going to need a break after it!

So, we are off this afternoon since pictures are done. I think this calls for some family time! Enjoy your day and go grab my freebie!

Paint Card Synonym activity

One goal I have this summer is to create more activities and resources my students can use in the classroom. The first one I made is using painting sample cards from the store. I grabbed a bunch of different colors and then wrote down words that my students use too often at the top of each card. Under the common words, I wrote synonyms that would be better word choices. I pinned it to Pinterest but wanted it to be here as well.

This is a quick, easy way for the students to have lists of more word choices. Plus, anything with color catches their attention. For a challenge, why not give the students their own paint sample with the common word at the top and let the students come up with the new word choices! YAY!

I hope you keep coming back to read the blog. VERY soon I will be having my first TpT Giveaway to a follower. Will it be you? Leave a comment!

We made it! Summer Vacation! The cheers...the hoorays... the tears as I lost my class. Oh what a great year. I loved this class. They were so sweet, kind, and just plain LOVED learning. They would get excited over the simplest activities.

Now, onto summer projects for school. This blog is the first one. I want to consistently update it. I want to get ideas out there and have teachers/friends share ideas with me!

Secondly, I want to work on my TpT Store ( http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Amy-Padgett-150 )! I want at least 75 products by the end of the summer, more if I can, and would LOVE to increase my followers. If anyone that reads this has ideas on how to increase followers, my ears are open!

Well, I hope you are all having a fantastic night. I am! My family is watching a movie together and I need to join them so I am off. I will log in again soon.

And we are back in full swing...

Wow! Sorry for the long pause in my posts. Coming back to school (my first graders) and coaching (I co-coach the high school cheer squad) has been more than time consuming. Whew!

So far my students and I have been doing penguin units and a cowboy mini-unit. So fun. We are also blessed to have a phenomenal student teacher in our classroom this semester. We have finished two weeks in the classroom and ready to start our third.

I promise it won't be as long for the next post! If you would like to see some of my new products on TpT please do! Here are some examples:
Colossal Dinosaur Thematic Unit and Valentine's Day Practice