Today we wrapped up week number four baby!!! I cannot believe how fast they have went by. I have such a sweet class of kiddos, and I'm truly enjoying them. This year I've started several "new to me" teaching ideas in my room, which is scary, but I'm loving the excitement that each new element is bringing to my classroom:)
The first thing I've added to my bag is multiplication mastery from Laura Candler...seriously my students are L-O-V-I-N-G earning ice cream scoops for each fact family they complete in a minute!!! I'm excited to use the fun division ideas in the book as well.
I also purchased Laura Candler's Power Reading ebook and have started implementing reading workshop into my classroom! I could not be happier with how things are going getting this up and off the ground...my only concern is getting in the required reading grades my district requires...still working on that one, but seriously these two books from Laura Candler Were money well spent!
I have also started a math interactive notebook and a science notebook!
It's always scary and a little unsettling to start something new, but it has been so fun too!
Happy Friday!
LaKeta
Friday, September 7, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
So far So good....
Well we have had three successful days of fourth grade! We usually don't have a four day first week but it's worked out ok;) like I had a choice lol!
This week has really been a blur starting with Sunday morning when I got the phone call that my sister was in labor and then I spent the entire day at the hospital waiting for a precious little baby girl to be born! She made her entrance at 11:14 p.m and I was at the hospital until after 1... Monday was a non-contract day for me but of course I had to go in to do a few last minute things...(like make copies and do a few lesson plans) cause that's how I roll....but then the kiddos and I made a mad dash to the hospital so they could see their new sweet cousin;)
School started Tuesday...I have a class of 21 (I had 27 last year!) 8 boys (17 last year) and 13 girls. So far I think my new little group is quite adorable.... Hope things stay that way;)
I'm excited about all the possibilities this year holds... I am self contained and really wanting to shake my reading instruction up this year. I've read all the books from Debbie Diller to The Sisters to The Book Whisperer....please tell me what works best for your reading instruction....
Have a great Friday!
LaKeta
This week has really been a blur starting with Sunday morning when I got the phone call that my sister was in labor and then I spent the entire day at the hospital waiting for a precious little baby girl to be born! She made her entrance at 11:14 p.m and I was at the hospital until after 1... Monday was a non-contract day for me but of course I had to go in to do a few last minute things...(like make copies and do a few lesson plans) cause that's how I roll....but then the kiddos and I made a mad dash to the hospital so they could see their new sweet cousin;)
School started Tuesday...I have a class of 21 (I had 27 last year!) 8 boys (17 last year) and 13 girls. So far I think my new little group is quite adorable.... Hope things stay that way;)
I'm excited about all the possibilities this year holds... I am self contained and really wanting to shake my reading instruction up this year. I've read all the books from Debbie Diller to The Sisters to The Book Whisperer....please tell me what works best for your reading instruction....
Have a great Friday!
LaKeta
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Behind Before I Even Get To Start
I report back to school August 9th... And I am panicking!!! Why? Because I haven't been able to step foot in my classroom yet! The floors are still not finished... This news caused my stomach to knot up and my insomnia to flare up ( ok maybe I'm being a little dramatic) NOT! You see I'm usually in my room a full two weeks before I see anyone else in my building there and this will not be the case this year...and that frightens me...I am a TALKER, so this means I won't get near enough accomplished when I go back and everyone else is there too!
Is anyone else facing this issue? Lol!
I am behind... When am I not? When is any teacher not just a little behind? It'll be ok...it will get done.
No pictures in this post, but I am making a strong promise to do better about that this year! I am not a very great blogger, but I'd like to be when I'm NOT so behind;)
-Mrs. Ille :)
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Currently...I FINALLY figured it out!!!!
Gee Whiz....I generally think that I am pretty techy...ok semi-techy but this about ate my lunch trying to get this thing done on my MAC....anywho...I did it...Here is my "Currently"
Come join in on the fun
Click HERE
LaKeta
Come join in on the fun
Click HERE
LaKeta
Monday, January 16, 2012
A Day In The Life...
A Day in My Life... I thought this would be a lot of fun to participate in, so here goes!
5:45- Dumb alarm clock goes off... Ugh! I hit the snooze until 6:10...
6:10{ish} I stumble out of bed and turn on my Kuerig {puffy heart Adore this machine!} make a bowl of Quaker oats to go along with my heavenly cup of coffee goodness...
6:20 sit on the couch to eat breakfast, watch the news, and surf Pinterest;)
6:30-6:35 begin getting my self together
6:50-6:55 wake up Chloe and Seth... They beg for 5-10 more minutes... Wonder where they get that from....dumb alarm clock ;)
7:45- scramble out the door... Lucky for me I seriously live about 6-7 blocks from our school... Pre-K -12 is all on one campus.
7:50- walk in the 4th grade building and say a happy "good morning!" to my fellow 4th grade teachers
8:05-8:10 Students arrive
8:15-8:20 pledge of allegiance/ moment of silence observed
8:20-9:00 daily independent reading time
9:00-9:45 Activity
9:45-11:00 Math Time
11:00-11:20 Skills time (focusing on Drops in the Bucket or handwriting)
11:30-12:20 Lunch / Recess. Monday so it's my duty day...the teacher I'm paired with and I rotate so one week it's cafeteria and playground duty and the next week it's just playground:)
12:25-12:30 bathroom breaks and diffusing any embers brought in from recess;)
12:30-1:15 Spelling/language arts
1:20-2:30 Reading Time
2:30-3:00 Science/social studies. I rotate these two subjects... Or at least I try! My school is adamant that we focus more on math and reading than anything else:(
3:00 clean up, pack up, stack up
3:10 students dismissed
3:20-4:30 can't always account for this time... But I try to make good use of it... Cleaning up or maybe just grading papers or prepping for tomorrow.
4:30-5:00 I try to be home most days by this time if not earlier so my personal children don't feel as though they live at school;). Go for a walk...still working out hard as part of my 2012 resolutions!!!
5:30{ish} start making supper Yay!Cale is home right now so he takes Seth to basketball practice...Chloe stays home with me;)
6:30 eats upper with the family... The entire family at the dining room table... I try to have at least 4-5 sit down meals a week... The hubs works in the oil field so he isn't home on any kind of consistent basis.
7:00 clean up,showers, etc. get ready for the next day...
8:00 tv time, Pinterest, blog reading, reading a book time
10:30-11:00 try to be in bed before 11:00 but my night owl habits don't always cooperate;)
LaKeta
5:45- Dumb alarm clock goes off... Ugh! I hit the snooze until 6:10...
6:10{ish} I stumble out of bed and turn on my Kuerig {puffy heart Adore this machine!} make a bowl of Quaker oats to go along with my heavenly cup of coffee goodness...
6:20 sit on the couch to eat breakfast, watch the news, and surf Pinterest;)
6:30-6:35 begin getting my self together
6:50-6:55 wake up Chloe and Seth... They beg for 5-10 more minutes... Wonder where they get that from....dumb alarm clock ;)
7:45- scramble out the door... Lucky for me I seriously live about 6-7 blocks from our school... Pre-K -12 is all on one campus.
7:50- walk in the 4th grade building and say a happy "good morning!" to my fellow 4th grade teachers
8:05-8:10 Students arrive
8:15-8:20 pledge of allegiance/ moment of silence observed
8:20-9:00 daily independent reading time
9:00-9:45 Activity
9:45-11:00 Math Time
11:00-11:20 Skills time (focusing on Drops in the Bucket or handwriting)
11:30-12:20 Lunch / Recess. Monday so it's my duty day...the teacher I'm paired with and I rotate so one week it's cafeteria and playground duty and the next week it's just playground:)
12:25-12:30 bathroom breaks and diffusing any embers brought in from recess;)
12:30-1:15 Spelling/language arts
1:20-2:30 Reading Time
2:30-3:00 Science/social studies. I rotate these two subjects... Or at least I try! My school is adamant that we focus more on math and reading than anything else:(
3:00 clean up, pack up, stack up
3:10 students dismissed
3:20-4:30 can't always account for this time... But I try to make good use of it... Cleaning up or maybe just grading papers or prepping for tomorrow.
4:30-5:00 I try to be home most days by this time if not earlier so my personal children don't feel as though they live at school;). Go for a walk...still working out hard as part of my 2012 resolutions!!!
5:30{ish} start making supper Yay!Cale is home right now so he takes Seth to basketball practice...Chloe stays home with me;)
6:30 eats upper with the family... The entire family at the dining room table... I try to have at least 4-5 sit down meals a week... The hubs works in the oil field so he isn't home on any kind of consistent basis.
7:00 clean up,showers, etc. get ready for the next day...
8:00 tv time, Pinterest, blog reading, reading a book time
10:30-11:00 try to be in bed before 11:00 but my night owl habits don't always cooperate;)
LaKeta
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Da Plan...
So week two of the clutter free classroom decluttering project... This week's assignment was to list the rules/plan for decluttering...
1. I WILL get rid of multiple copies of paper items.
2. Sort through the MASSIVE amounts of professional books I have accumulated in the 8 years I've been teaching...give away the majority...I know that my Most used resource is the Internet. I'm also going to quit buying these books...it's like a sickness!
3. Start small, so I don't get overwhelmed and QUIT;)
4. Put things up when I get them out
5. De-binder some of my books and use the bookbinder to save space...
6. JUST DO IT!!!!
I am also plannning to follow the rules on the cute freebie Jodi posted earli in the week to help me be a successful organizer... I want to be a recovered shover/piler.
I haven't purchased anything to help with removing the clutter, but I stashed a few copy paper boxes and a couple of empty milk crates in my room...I'm really thinking a box of HEFTY trash bags are going to do the most magic in my room;) winks!!!
Happy Weekend!
LaKeta
Come join in on the fun
1. I WILL get rid of multiple copies of paper items.
2. Sort through the MASSIVE amounts of professional books I have accumulated in the 8 years I've been teaching...give away the majority...I know that my Most used resource is the Internet. I'm also going to quit buying these books...it's like a sickness!
3. Start small, so I don't get overwhelmed and QUIT;)
4. Put things up when I get them out
5. De-binder some of my books and use the bookbinder to save space...
6. JUST DO IT!!!!
I am also plannning to follow the rules on the cute freebie Jodi posted earli in the week to help me be a successful organizer... I want to be a recovered shover/piler.
I haven't purchased anything to help with removing the clutter, but I stashed a few copy paper boxes and a couple of empty milk crates in my room...I'm really thinking a box of HEFTY trash bags are going to do the most magic in my room;) winks!!!
Happy Weekend!
LaKeta
Come join in on the fun
Monday, January 9, 2012
Wowzers!!!! I Have My Work Cut Out For Me
So I am "trying" to participate in the Clutter Free Classroom's Organization PROJECT...and I'm already BEHIND!!! EEEEKKKK!!!!
The first part of the challenge was to take pics{Oh Em Gee} of your CLUTTER and MASS CHAOS in your classroom...Welp! I was in no shortage of finding that... I won't apologize for my mess, but I will for the cellphone pics;)
So I definitely have my work cut out for me....not sure when this ORGANIZATION is going to take place....but I certainly need it to happen...maybe the desk fairy will swing by and take care of it for me??? winks!!!
LaKeta
Join me and get clutter free:)
The first part of the challenge was to take pics{Oh Em Gee} of your CLUTTER and MASS CHAOS in your classroom...Welp! I was in no shortage of finding that... I won't apologize for my mess, but I will for the cellphone pics;)
Front Corner : Library Area...OOOPPPS the hanging reindeer my son made when he was in Kindergarten that I hang up each year is STILL up...I did take this down TODAY!
I have 27 students this year, so it feels like desks and chairs are everyWHERE!
The whiteboard I use to teach on...turn in trays and graded paper return system...also board games, extra crayons, glue, scissors, etc.....and more desks and chairs!!!
The back corner...I brought this dresser in to store more JUNK....not really sure I am digging it on this back wall...it does do a nice job of being a catchall though;)
GULP! My extremely messy desk, and shelf area...I AM SUCH A PILER!!!!
And apparently I am a SHOVER too...look inside these drawers...I shove stuff in that I don't want to see anymore...please tell me I am NOT the only person who does this!!!
LaKeta
Join me and get clutter free:)
Monday, January 2, 2012
My Top Three Reasons To Get Organized in Twenty-12
When I saw The Clutter Free Classroom's upcoming project about organizing the chaos of my classroom I was super stoked! I go back to school Wednesday and will be snapping my pics to participate. But tonight I wanted to list my 3 main reasons for getting organized.
1. More FAMILY time
2. Organization eliminates stress
3. To set an example for my students
If you haven't heard about this challenge head over to www.clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com and check it out!
1. More FAMILY time
2. Organization eliminates stress
3. To set an example for my students
If you haven't heard about this challenge head over to www.clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com and check it out!
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