Primary Chalkboard: January
Showing posts with label January. Show all posts
Showing posts with label January. Show all posts

Some Winter Fun

Hi Guys!
It's Faith from 1st Grade Fantabulous.  I'm not sure that you checked in the last few days, but we have had an awesome giveaway full of Martin Luther King Jr. products.  Well, my friend Latoya picked three winners yesterday.

The winners of our giveaway are:


Now, I don't know about you guys, but I LOVE Pinterest ideas and freebies, but this time of year it is hard to make time to go see what is out there.  Winter seems to leave me a little tired and at times unmotivated.  So, I visited the Primary Chalkboard (PC) blogs and found some of my favorite January activities.  You can click on any of the pictures and it will take you to that PC blog so you can read about what they were doing.


#1 Homemade Snow



#2 Melted Snowman


#3 Snow Globe Writing


#4 Opposite Mittens


#5 Loco for Cocoa


#6 Painted Snowman

Alright friends, I hope you have a great night!  I'll be back next month to share some incredibly cool February ideas from some of my other PC friends.




Winter Restlessness...Classroom Management for the Long, Cold Days

With winter break being a distant thing of the past, we're trying to get in our 2014 groove. Our students are too. It's hard coming off of breaks, but there is definitely something to be said about getting back into the swing of things.

We're not going to let our students freeze up this winter with their behavior. We hold high expectations of our first graders, and each time we do they prove us right! We like that part. :)

Here's a few tried and true classroom management ideas...Polar Vortex style. Well, winter style, but didn't that sound so much cooler? 

When we grew up, we had to walk uphill in the snow both ways being asked to write your name on the classroom board was not a privilege. But, it is in our class! Simply draw a thematic character up on your white board or on a piece of large construction paper or butcher paper. Leave colorful markers nearby. Call students up throughout the day to write their name in the snowman. They love it! We call on them as many times as they are caught. Some end up in the snowman 2-3 times before the day is up.
 
 At the end of the day, we let all the students who were "caught in the snowman" head to our class Sticker Station. It's just a tub that hold stickers. Easy! We throw seasonal stickers in there too each month to keep it fresh and fun! To read more about our Sticker Station Basics click {here}.
 Each of our students keeps a Sticker Board inside of their desks. We made generic ones which you can grab for free {here}.
But, today we've made exclusive Snowy Sticker Boards just for our Primary Chalkboard followers! 
Click {here} to grab your own Snowy Sticker Boards.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzWGsFKciuLANVFQanZEOVE4RE0/edit?usp=sharing
 You've probably heard of a class marble jar...We put a spin on an old classic just by changing the color and calling the contents a different name. It's all in the packaging sometimes...Ha! During winter, our students work together to earn class "icicles". Each time they are working together as a team to follow our class goals, they earn an icicle. When they earn 50, they vote on a class celebration. In December, we celebrated with a class Polar Express Hot Cocoa Party...Basically movie and hot cocoa station. But, other months we keep it simple ~ Extra recess, class free time, you get the idea.
 Getting our class to work quietly can be a consistent challenge in our class. But, not with the help of some stuffed friends. Each month, we have a stash of stuffed animals that float around the classroom, on the hunt for the hardest, quietest workers. Once found, they swing by for a visit while the student works. Amazing how quiet they get just when we pick him up! This month, Snowball the Snowman will be making his rounds in hopes of catching them for stickers or icicles.
Thinking outside the box when it comes to classroom management is one of our favorite things about teaching. We are firm believers that if we can't behave, we can't learn. 
In fact, we feel so strongly about students truly engaging in their learning at a young age, that we've just finished up our latest project to help them become great listeners.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Listen-Up-Common-Core-Auditory-Activities-for-Little-Listeners-1049889
 Listen Up! 
Auditory Activities for Little Listeners
Active listening is essential in today's classroom and world. Yet, even as veteran teachers, we're finding it more and more challenging to really get today's fast paced students to listen attentively. Listen Up! is helping our students move towards independent, active listening skills in meaningful and fun ways.
Visit our blog for more details.  
http://www.flutteringthroughfirstgrade.com/



There's Snow Business like Snow Business!


For me, today is 'Back to School Eve'!  I don't know about you guys, but...this break was so relaxing and fun!  I had a real blast! :)  I really miss my kiddos...but...R&R?  You can NEVER have too much of that, you know?

So...what's a Florida blogger like me know about snow?
Ha ha!
Quite a bit, actually!  I grew up in New Jersey and had plenty of it in the winters! :)
Even though I'm not snow bound during the winters any more...I still like a snowy center or two in the winter! :)

Right before the break, I made some really cute melted snowman ornaments with my kids!

We had a blast making these together. Explicit instructions for this can be found HERE.
Thanks Marie for sharing the idea with me! :)

Before we left on the break, the students and I were working on non-standard measurement.
We used pop-cubes to create a winter scene with snowmen.
I graded them on a rubric. We turned it into a Christmas Dinner Placemat!
Check it out!





I made two different freebies recently for my word work stations.  One for nouns and one for adjectives.





If you'd like this freebie for your class, please click HERE.
If you would like the nouns freebie, that one is on my blog.

You can click HERE for that! :)

Latoya from Flying into First has a brand new winter writing freebie that has TONS of 'snow' words in it! :)
If you'd like to download this for your 'snow-stash'...click HERE!

Hope you have a wonderful first week back with your kids! :)


Fun Freebies

Hey everyone!
I seem to have a thing for posting late.  It's like twelve minutes until New Year's Eve, so I guess I might need to get moving.  Of course, I could pretend I live in California right?

Anyway, I hope y'all have had an incredible break and have gotten lots of rest, watched sappy Hallmark Christmas movies, and eaten a tray or two of Chex Mix.  That to me is the perfect break!  Of course, all breaks come to an end at some point.  Please don't hate me for that statement!  Since I'm sure most breaks are ending in a few days, I thought it may help if you had a few things you can save, print, and laminate.  That way you can relax a few extra minutes (especially if you procrastinate like me).

Here are two of my freebies that I have over on TPT.  One is my New Years freebie and has several language arts centers and a math center.  The other is a winter freebie and it is a true/false math center.  Just click on the pictures and it will take you to my store so you can download them.  Hope you enjoy and when you have a few minutes, stop by 1st Grade Fantabulous for a visit.





Faith :)



FREEBIE - New Year's Printables

Happy "Almost New Year's" to you all! :)
It's Tamara from
I am super excited to share my new printables freebie with you! :)
I needed something quick for my first day back to school and I whipped this up to use with my own learners!
I hope that you like them!





Click HERE to download the pack for your classroom! :)
I'm also doing this quick and easy craft with my kiddlets when we get back as well! :)

Click HERE to go to my TPT store for this craft! :)

Enjoy, friends! :)