Wow!! How time has flown by!

I can't believe my last post was in August! Half of the school year is gone already! I guess that's what happens when you're busy. So much has happened this year. I've witnessed kids come in reading at a level E (guided reading level) who just tested at level H only half-way through the year! Yay!! Our second grade team made a goal to have 95% of our students at or above second grade level in phonics before the December break. That's 136 out of 143 kids. We were able to meet and even exceed that goal through working together during our daily intervention time. So proud!!

Before the break, we read lots of gingerbread man stories and made text-to-text connections. On the last day, the kids decorated their own gingerbread people. So much fun! And I kick myself for not having my camera that day! There was icing everywhere! We made the cutest glass ball ornaments with "floating" snowmen inside. The kids said they looked like snowglobes. I've so got to get better at taking pictures. I wish I could hire a permanent photographer to follow us around on special days!

Over the break, I was able to finish the one project I've been waiting forever to work on. My reading bathtub! It's been a dream of mine since I've been a teacher. My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Hartsfield (if you're out there-- I love you, Mrs. Hartsfield!!), had a reading bathtub. It was filled with comfy pillows, and we took turns sitting in it to read books. Recently, my mom purchased a home that had one sitting unused in the garage. She was able to include it in the contract and so I now have a reading bathtub. I refiinished it over the break (painting the outside red to match my classroom decor of course!!). My husband waxed the inside to make it look new and shiny. I made cute pillows for it and we brought it to my classroom the day before school began. The kids were so excited!! The first words of the day-- "A BATHTUB IN THE CLASSROOM??? WITH PILLOWS???" I just love kids!!! They get so excited over the simplest things!! I'll post pictures soon! Again, I forgot my camera...

We are Bucket Fillers!

I've used the Bucket Fillers idea in my classroom for a couple of years now. This year I decided to give it a facelift. I invested in a shoe holder and made "buckets" from styrofoam cups, ribbon, and labels. After going back and forth about whether or not to create my own sign to match my colors/theme, I decided to use Christina Bainbridge's sign and colors instead. It's so cute and goes right along with the book! We also made an anchor chart on which the kids listed ideas for ways they can be bucket fillers this year. Can't wait to see it in action this year!

My first Pinterest creation!!

I'm new to the Pinterest scene-- just got my own Pinterest account recently. But I've been checking out others' boards for a while now. I just loved this twist on the "class list" from K.I.S.S. {Keep it Simple, Sister}:

I used Wordle to create my own class list:

Love it!!!

Word Study Center Activity-- FREEBIE!!

I made this Secret Decoder Activity for my students to do at the Word Study Center. I will print the key page (page 1) on cardstock, laminate, and post by center. I'll print the pieces (page 2) on a magnet sheet, cut apart, and place in container at the center with a couple of magnetic boards. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, students will complete several activities to practice their high-frequency words of the week. This will be one of the choices. They will use the magnets to code each of their words and their partner will decode the words using the key. Enjoy!

Dual-Duty Crayon Buckets

Most of the supplies my students bring to school are labeled and used by them throughout the year. One of the few exceptions is crayons. I use gallon size buckets (in the past I've used ice cream pails), put 4-5 boxes of crayons in them at a time, and place them in the middle of each group of desks. It's just easier that way. No digging in desks for the perfect color crayon and no spilling them all over the floor repeatedly. When I ask the kids to grab a crayon and meet me at the carpet for an activity-- it's quick and easy. And I love that the buckets have a handle-- when we have to clear our desks for science experiments, the kids just grab the handle and sit it on the floor.
The ice cream pails I've used in the past finally got past the point of repair. They were cracked, two had missing/broken handles, and they were just plain dingy. So, I went on the hunt for new buckets. They had to be the right kind, though-- not too tall, not too wide, a handle was a must. I found these 5 qt. paint buckets at Lowe's and they were perfect!



A little Mod Podge and scrapbooking paper later, and this is what we have:



I'm so excited because not only can we keep our crayons in these buckets, but they also serve as a group numbering system. Yay!!!

Assessment Binders

Two years ago, the district I work for decided to change the K-2 report card to a standards-based report card. The students are scored on a scale of 1 (nonmastery) through 4 (above grade level) on many of our state standards. It took us a while to learn how to assign these types of grades and our main focus this year is to get more consistent from teacher to teacher. We've never really focused on what pieces we will use for assessments-- each teacher made that call on their own.

So, we decided to create assessments that are aligned with the standards represented on the report card. We're creating three assessments per standard and that is where we intend to get our grades (thanks, Cressa!!!). It's a lot of work on the front end, but will really help us be more consistent across the entire grade level.

We also decided to have our kids store their assessments in Assessment Binders this year. They will make goals for themselves after the first and second assessments so that they take more ownership of their grades. Periodically, we will send the binders home for parents to review and sign. At the end of the year, they will have an "assessment scrapbook" from their 2nd grade year.

I bought the cheap poly binders from Wal-Mart to use-- the binders will not be stored in the kids' desks, so I figured they will hold up. Since I bought 20 binders, the cashier let me keep the display box they came in. It's pretty sturdy so I decided to give it a makeover and use it to store the binders throughout the year. It's amazing what a little Mod Podge and scrapbooking paper will do...

BEFORE (I took this picture of a box on the shelf at Wal-Mart since I forgot to take a "before" picture of mine):


And AFTER:

Organizational Binders

I am such an organizational freak! Totally type A... So, when I saw Suzy's binders over at The Sweet Life of a Second Grade Teacher, I had to make some. I got a little carried away and made 14 of them!!! Here's some pics of how they turned out...

I also made a Team/PLC Meetings binder and a "Substitute" binder. Forgot to take pics of those two...