We Will... We Will.... ROCK YOU!

It's official we have survived the first few weeks back at the Creek! This year we are really working on learning our routines and procedures. The Jammers are picking up on them splendidly!! We have re adjusted a few things in our plans from the summertime, but are still building our stamina through our crazy busy school day! Here is a little glimpse into a day in the life of a Jammer:

Good Morning Greetings! The Jammers arrive any time between 7:15-7:50 and get started with their day. The very first job for my Jammers when they arrive is to unpack their ROCKS binder. (ROCKS stands for Regular Open Communication is Key to Success.) This is my parent communication tool that is sent home each night full of valuable information for my Jammer parents. Second job is to make their lunch choice. We have a SMART file pulled up on the board every morning. Students drag their birdie to a designated location to represent what they would like for lunch. It also helps me with attendance at a glance because I can quickly scan which birds have not been moved to a lunch choice. See picture below for clarification!

After making our lunch choice, is the most important step of the morning WASHING OUR HANDS! During the first week of school we learned our hand washing song that I love to hear them practicing each morning as they make healthy choices:

(sung to row, row, row your boat)
Wash wash wash your hands;
Scrub the germs away!
Rub and Scrub;
then Scrub and Rub.
Now, rinse the germs away!

Finally, the last step students must complete in the morning time is to work on their "Bell-ringer Books." I found these on TPT from Steph Swanson. They are full of progressive daily literacy and math practice. We work in our Bell-ringer Books everyday except Friday, which is when we have "Fun Morning Centers." If a Jammer finishes their Bell-ringer Book early. They get to read their "good fit books" in their chair pockets. Each student has a collection of 5 books in their chair pocket. three "good fit books" which are usually our class readers distributed by individual reading levels and two "look books" which are fun picture books that I think may spark their interest.

When the bell rings students have a musical cue to clean up their tables and meet me on the carpet when this song is played:

We love this jam.

After the announcements, we work on our calendar time journals. I think their is great value in routinely practiced math skills, and calendar time is a wonderfully fun way to practice those skills. We work through an interactive SMART board calendar. Each day we sing a few songs reminding us of various calendar concepts: seasons, days of the week, months of the year, & counting. We spend a few moments dancing our wiggles out with a short counting finger-play or movement activity before splitting into our Math Small Groups.

Students are divided into 3 groups for a more individualized learning experience. Small groups also allow me to provide differentiated instruction allowing no students to "fall through the cracks." I am a H-U-G-E small group fan. These past few weeks, I've been testing and collecting data to place students in groups that promote individual growth.

Ok! I will post more later, I have a date with my Grandparents and the Walking Dead!!!! :0) Here are a few photos of our classroom!