October Show and Tell

I'm joining Forever in 5th Grade once again for her monthly show-and-tell post. I missed September, so I'm catching up for 2 months.

To start off, we spent the end of summer, and the first part of fall remodeling both our bathrooms. This was a bigger project than we anticipated! But, after 3 months, we are all but finished. We just have a bit of trim-work to do. Below is a picture of the master vanity.

Halloween is my favorite holiday! I think it's because Halloween is the start of the holiday season. I start decorating for fall on September 1, and continue to the end of December. Yesterday, I attended a craft class and made a few new goodies to add to my collection. Now where, oh where, to store it all?

Hard to tell from this pic, but my boo sign is about 18 inches tall.

I did the spider wall just to terrify my mom :)

Made the wreath at a craft fair last year.

This little guy is is a snowman on the other side.

My daughter's blingy pumpkin

Right now, this is my favorite spot in the house!

Now, on to my classroom. Our district is focusing on science right now to familiarize everyone with the Next Generation Science Standards. I get to be our school's facilitator, though I'm not exactly sure yet what that means. I love teaching science, so here are a few of our latest projects:

 In September we made mold terrariums to study the effects of decomposers on dead tissue.

This week we built a working model circulatory system. The bottles have pipes connected to the hoses with one-way valves. By squeezing the bottles, "blood" flows from the ventricles to the lungs and body and back in a constant circle. Students worked in groups to figure out how to build their model based on what we learned about the circulatory system before I showed them this working model. Great STEM activity!

Finally, our school put on a Parent Pep Rally as part of our Leader in Me process. 5th grade's display showcased the 5th Habit: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood. So we made big-ear boxes and wrote poems to show how being a good listener helps us avoid conflicts.

Link back to the original post by clicking on the Show and Tell button at the top of the page. See you all next month!

October Product Spotlight

Fall has totally gotten away from me! I meant to post this on the first, but life happened :) So here are my products for October...

These first 2 products come from Tied 2 Teaching. Just in time for the election!

This next 2 products are from The Teacher Down the Hall. These look like a lot of fun.

And the last 2 products are mine...Natalie at It's Elementary

Thanks for checking out our October products. If you would like a product promoted, please leave a comment below!

September Product Spotlight

I have some wonderful products to promote for September!

#1 from Natalie at It's Elementary

These back to school survival kits are a terrific way to ease first-day jitters! Just put together in a baggy or paper cup with all the items listed in the poem. There is a copy for kindergarten through 3rd grade in this kit.

#2 from Learning Lane

This is for Math Daily 3 and the Daily 5. There are posters for each station and a rotation timer with a spot for you to write your student names in each section. 

In this packet are...

- Math Daily 3 Rotation Timer and Grouping Display (Part of a Bundle)
- Daily 5 Rotation Timer and Grouping Display (Part of a Bundle)
- Daily 5 and Math Daily 3 Poster Set (Part of Bundle)

#3 from Sarah Griffin

CVC Middle Sounds Task Cards, or SCOOT, builds fluency, segmenting, letter-sound correspondence, and writing letters. 24 Task Cards, a recording sheet, and answer key included. 

Students say and write the middle sound of the picture shown on the task card. 

Great for PreK, Kindergarten, and 1st grade back to school review. Use in centers, guided reading groups, as morning work, an activity for early finishers, in a home-school activity bags, for tutor activities, and/or assessments. 

CONTENTS
Directions
24 CVC Middle Sounds Task Cards. (Full color) 4 on a page. 
1 Title Card for labeling when storing
1 Student Recording Sheet - numbered to correspond with the numbers on the task cards. 
1 Teacher Answer Sheet 

# 4 from Teaching 24-7

Standards for Mathematical Practice flaps for interactive notebooks.

Compatible with enVisionmath2.0 (follows their videos) but can be used with ANY math program/series.

2 versions allow for versatility and differentiation.

#5 from Theresa's Teaching Tidbits

Poems of the week can be a powerful shared reading tool to teach a variety of concepts. These original poems focus on building classroom community, demonstrating good character, and solving common behavior problems. The poems invite discussion and promote a positive classroom environment. As part of a Poem of the Week program, the poems can also be used as the basis for lessons in comprehension, fluency, phonemic awareness, phonics, and vocabulary. 

The following poems and resources are included (topics are noted in parentheses).
Suggestions for implementing a Poem of the Week in your classroom.
A Kind and Caring Classroom (building community; suggestions for use included)
General Directions for Using the Poems
Friends (friendship)
How Would You Feel (teasing/bullying)
I Can Use My Words (using words to solve problems)
Tattle or Tell? (tattling)
Courage Is... (showing courage)
Sticks and Stones (name-calling)
The Garden of Trust (honesty)
Respect (ways to show respect)
What Really Counts (respecting differences)
A Good Citizen (citizenship; includes suggestions for use and WOW! Thanks for being a good citizen! cards)
Oh, No! (responsibility)
My Friend is Doing Wrong (peer pressure)
The New Kid (welcoming a new classmate, empathy)


Thank you for checking out these great products! If you would like to enter a product spotlight for October or November, please comment below with a link to your store.

Classroom Reveal Part 1

I've decided to do something a little different in my room this year. I put up the necessities and my students will do the rest over the next couple of weeks. So, this is where I started...

And this is where I am now...

View from the front door

View from the hallway door

View from the front corner

I used my school colors this year...teal and black with lime green because I love green! I have 25 students (so far), so I put the desks into groups of 8 in order to have more carpet space. I have 3 gathering areas on the floor for mini-lessons. I'm still trying to find a black and lime green rug for the other 2 spaces, but this will be used mainly for reading and writing workshop; the easel is the perfect size for anchor charts.

Carpet area #1

I don't have a table for small groups, so I improvised with my 3 extra desks...

I'll have to get a new president picture for my social studies wall this year! Below, I have my Eureka math board, which won't stay empty for long, and my goal board. We will start on goals a few weeks into the year, so for open house this was my "Meet the Teacher" board.

We are on the second year of being a Leader in Me school, working towards being a Lighthouse School. This is another wall that will evolve as the year moves along. The tree branch is for our Leadership Roles (jobs) which my kiddos will choose during the first week.

I ran out of wall space, so my word wall is a word door with a magnetic dry-erase board. Again, this will fill up throughout the year with student-picked vocabulary words.

I'm trying a new behavior chart this year. Instead of keeping it on the wall (which I have very limited space), each student is in charge of monitoring their own behavior...with my help, of course! Thank goodness for tiny clothespins :)

Finally, a little motivation for my windowsill...hoping to get curtains up soon!

More pics to come as my students finish making this classroom their own...have a wonderful school year!

Sale and Give Away!

Tomorrow only, my store is 28% off. As a bonus, I'm doing a give-away.

First, check out my product line here:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Natalie-At-Its-Elementary

Second, follow the directions on the raffle to enter.

Easy-peasy! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Show and Tell Tuesday: August Edition

I'm participating in another show-and-tell with forever in fifth grade. This month I want to show off some summer fun. When you're finished reading, click on the picture above to go back to the original post.

In June my entire family came to Nevada to celebrate my parents' wedding, my youngest sister's first baby, and 3 birthdays! My favorite part was spending a day at the Lamoille Fair with most of my nieces and nephews. This is me with my daughter, Allison, and my niece, Candace.

In July we went to Montana to visit my husband's family. The weather was perfect (mid-80's the whole time!) for picnics, hiking, horseback riding, and lots of shopping. My kids love to spend time with the horses. This is their best friend, Fabio.

In August we worked a booth for National Night Out. In case you don't know, that's the first Tuesday in August where public safety (firemen, police, emt's, etc.) cook dinner for the community and offer tons of safety information. We worked at the drug awareness booth hosted by the Elk's Club. My son dressed up as Elroy Elk to bring people over to the booth.

Finally, August is also time to put my classroom back together. Here's to another exciting, wonderful year in 5th grade!