New Mandate for Me: *Fun*dations

Last fall our grade level starting hearing that we were going to be told to teach phonics using a program called Fundations.  This program was presented to us as a "scripted program".  I don't know about you, but I am not a scripted teacher at all...so this idea of a script started to freak me out a bit.  Like you, I do everything I can to make learning fun in my room...I couldn't help but think, what is fun about a script?  

I've been doing Ginny Dowd's Phonics Dance for years and have seen huge improvements in my children's reading and writing ability.  I've been immersing my children in literature that they read themselves and that I read to them.  Like you, and the teachers in my building, we try to make our classrooms very language rich environments so that our children have access to everything they need to be a successful learner.

So, when this shook down, I had a hard time jumping on the bandwagon.  Our school district is pretty innovative and has always allowed their teachers to experiment with new methods, try new ideas...pretty much do whatever as long as we were following the standards for our state and it was best for our kids.  We were told, "This is the program you'll be using."  My heart broke...if you use Ginny Dowd's Phonics Dance in your room, you know how fun those chants are for kids and how they just stick with them.  You know that the movements and the chants together are great brain based learning opportunities and that it is research-based.

Now, I'm not saying Fundations isn't going to work...by all means, it will work.  It's a whole program based on reading research and the Wilson Reading System.  The teacher's manual states that Fundations is "a highly structured and intensive program for challenged readers in grades 2-12 and beyond." Whenever someone speaks of the impact Fundations has had in their school, it's always positive.  This past spring we were able to travel to an area school district to observe and talk to teachers who had been using Fundations.  They were very helpful.  I was so grateful that our district let us observe those teachers and those teachers took time to answer all of our questions.  

So what's the big deal?  It's just change.  BIG CHANGE for me.  I consider myself to be a pretty open person and I love to think outside the box...but this scripted program makes me feel kind of like I was just squashed inside a box with the lid closed and duct taped shut.  At the same time, I also consider myself to be someone who just sucks it up and makes the best of things.  I am sucking this up and making the best of it because the data proves that the program works.

So here's a look at the materials we received...
The mascots are Echo the Owl and Baby Echo.
 

These posters...are huge.  Like enormous.  I'm trying to figure out where and how I'm going to display them in my room.

These are the books that were provided.

The children receive a magnetic letter board, magnetic pieces, and a 2-sided dry erase board as well as 3 different workbooks.

There are also large magnetic pieces for the teacher and word cards to use during the lessons.

So...what have I been doing?  I've been trying to wrap my head around all of this and figuring out how I'm going to supplement this program...and fit everything else into my 80-90 minute blocks.  (We departmentalize so I teach 3 blocks of Reading/Language Arts.) The daily lessons from Fundations are supposed to take 30 minutes so I'll have the rest of my block for additional instruction.

Here's a few of the things I've been doing to organize myself.  Feel free to download them if you're in the same boat as me or are just curious as to what Fundations is all about.

Kindergarten Trick Words
These are the words that the children learned in Kindergarten, so I'll be sending this home with my parents at Open House so that they can start reviewing them with their child. 

Fundations Scope and Sequence
With this document, I took all of the skills taught in each unit and kind of mapped out my year.  My next step with this is to try to compare this to the Common Core Standards so that I can map out my assessments.  This might end up being a project to complete as I'm teaching it throughout the year...I'm kind of a learn as I go type of girl.  :)

"Trick Words" by the Week
"Word of the Day" Words by the Week
I mapped out the words as they're taught throughout the year.  Again, I needed to see where and how the words were introduced.  I then decided to make up some family notes to send home as the words were introduced.
Family Notes: Trick Words
Family Notes: Word of the Day
In the past, I've sent home new spelling and sight words all at once.  With this program, they're introduced at various times so I wanted something that was ready to send home with families as we learned new words.

Sorry about the long post today but I've kind of been sitting on this for awhile and started to think that maybe there's someone like me out there who's in the same boat and might appreciate some organizational tools as they embark on the Fundations journey too.  Anyone using Fundations in their classrooms this year?  I would love to collaborate with you...and share your blogs with the teachers in my building.  Last year, Kindergarten started using it, this year is our turn, in First Grade, and next year it will be used in Second Grade.

Take care!

P.S.  Do you ever write a post and then sit on it for a week or so and keep going back to reread it and edit it over and over again?  This was one of those posts for me...

"The Day the Crayons Quit" Extension Idea

"The Day the Crayons Quit" by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers is making quite the impact on teachers and children this summer!  I've seen a lot of posts on how teachers plan on using this book in their classrooms this year.  

Click here for my original post.

It's such a fun read aloud!  I read it to my Story Time group a few weeks ago and they loved it!  I'm sure they'll think twice before tearing off the paper on their crayons now that they know that crayons don't like to be naked.  Yep.  Naked crayons...who would have thought!

In my original post about this book, I said I was going to whip up some letters written by other supplies in my classroom.  Here's what I've come up with so far...

Maybe I'll do a few more once I get in my classroom and see how things look.  Our custodians are waxing our floors this week so we've been grounded from working in our classroom this week.  I think I  might let my kiddos help me write some letters too.  What better way to model letter writing and point of view at the same time during the beginning of the year?

Oh...by the way...The Lion King was awesome!  My nieces were glued to it the entire time...every child should experience the theatre and The Lion King is a great one for the whole family!  If it's showing in your area, you should try to get tickets (an aisle seat would be my recommendation) and take someone little with you...so fun!

Hope all is well!

A New Tune for Your Classroom and Helping Friends Celebrate!

Hello Friends,

If you've been following me for awhile, you know I have a mild obsession with music for my classroom.  We listen to just about everything!  Here's a new one for you to check out:

Home of Song by Paul Spring

My nieces and I are loving "Peter Pan" and "Mermaid" right now...we're trying to learn the words to the rest of his songs.  All of his songs have an acoustic feel to them...it's like listening to a live concert.  You can sample his album by searching for it on iTunes or view a cute video by clicking on the "Family Music" tab on his website.  This is Paul Spring's first album for children and you can read more about him on his website:

Click here to view his website.

I think this album will make a great addition to any classroom!  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

I'm helping a few friends celebrate 200 followers on their blog!  I met Maria and Em from Curious Firsties at an Ohio Blogger Meet-up last fall and they were super kind and fun too!  I've loved reading their blog posts!  Hopefully you're following them...but if you're not, you really must!  Click on their button below to visit their blog and give them a follow!

Click here to get the information about their giveaway!

We're heading to Cleveland to see The Lion King tomorrow!  Can't wait! 

Take care!

I Found a New Book for Us!

Hello Friends!

So we haven't had sunshine for a full day in practically a week now!  I actually lost track of the time...it is seriously gloomy outside.  The sun will pop out for like a minute or two and then it's cloudy and raining again!  What gives!?!?!  I think my flowers are actually drowning!

Needless to say, I've been busy organizing things for next year at home and am starting to get the itch to get into my classroom.  It's still a little too early for that though, right?  My classroom is being used next week for Safety Town (a pre-k "safety school" taught by our local police and firemen) and since I don't need everyone seeing my mess, I'm going to avoid the temptation to get in there and start setting things up.

I went to the book store in our mall (which is not my favorite book store...the books are shelved so poorly and I always cringe when I see poor displays of amazing books for kids).  Anyway...surprisingly, I found a new book for us!

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

The story begins...

"One Day in class, Duncan went to take out his crayons and found a stack of letters with his name on them."

Each crayon has written a letter to Duncan explaining why they have "quit".  The red crayon feels overworked because he's used all of the time...even on holidays (Christmas and Valentine's Day). The purple crayon is on the verge of a nervous breakdown because Duncan will sometimes color outside the lines and purple feels that he is just too gorgeous to be put outside the lines.  Beige is sad because he's always a second thought to brown.  The white crayon feels empty because althoughDuncan uses him, without a black outline no one even knows he exists...and the black crayon is tired of being used just for outlines.  

 Each color has a complaint which is written with tone and humor.  The illustrations are great...each letter is written in a handwritten font and has "kid-like" drawings as the illustrations.  

Sorry this isn't bigger for you to see...it got blurrier and blurrier!

I think I'm going to use this book at the beginning of the year when teaching my kiddos that first graders use a lot of details and colors in their work.  I love the letter idea so I'm thinking about having letters posted around the room with other supplies...like maybe the pencils will write a letter like this...

Dear First Graders,

I am very fragile.  I love to be sharpened with your teacher's favorite pencil sharpener, not chewed by humans.  Please don't eat me this year.  I'm not good for human teeth or stomachs.

Sincerely,

Pencil

Or...

Dear First Graders,

I know you love to use me to create things, but please don't use me as lip gloss or a lollipop.  I do my best work with paper and can't wait to help you create some fun art projects this year.

Your friend,

Glue

I paid full price for the book but just found it on Amazon for $11.30...check it out!  I really think it's a winner!  I linked the picture above to Amazon to make it easy for you to add it to your cart!

I'm going to start brainstorming some letters for other supplies and areas of my room...oooh!  I could even do the drinking fountain...

Dear First Grader,

Please don't lick or kiss me, I'll bring the water to you...

(Ha! Ha!  School drinking fountains seriously gross me out!)

I'll be sure to post what I create!

Hope the sun is shining in your neck of the woods!  

If it is, send some of it to Northern Ohio!

I'm Bloglovin'

I made the transition from Google Reader to Bloglovin' this morning and it was pretty simple!

I have to admit, when the word was spreading about the death of Google Reader, I may have had a bit of anxiety over the whole thing...I mean, I've found some great friends through blogging and I thought I was going to lose them!  So I started to "Follow By E-mail" but even that was hard to manage and make sure I wasn't forgetting anybody.  I then heard about Bloglovin', so I made the switch and I don't think I lost any of my blogging friends...whew!

If you haven't made the transition to Bloglovin' go ahead and do it!  It only took a few minutes!  I put their button along the right side of my blog so it should be easy for you follow me again in case you lost me.  :)

I've been busy working on school things...but on my own time...which I love!  I've updated my classroom website so it's ready for my new first graders.  Although there's not a lot on it yet, you can check it out by clicking here if you're interested.  My district is adopting Fundations K-1 this year...so I've been comparing Kindergarten and First grade word lists as well as Dolch and Fry lists to see where everything falls.  Anyone else using Fundations/Wilson Language Basics as their core phonics program?  I'd love to hear how you use it and the changes you've seen in your students' development.

Well...off to get an oil change...I swear it's like a doctor's appointment for my car!

Have a great day!

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Happy Summer!

Finally!  Summer is here!  Well, actually...I'm in my 3rd day of summer vacation!  Our last day of school was May 31 and I have to admit, it was time.  I was exhausted!

This morning is the first morning that I've been able to sit and catch up on all of the blogs I follow.  I've really missed doing this during the school year.  It's amazing how we're from all over the world, yet all kind of in the same boat when it comes to "school stuff."

So I'm having a little fun on Etsy this morning searching for some new clip-art that I can use in products to sell or make into freebies.  I'm capable of reading acceptable use policies, but I still question myself...I would never intentionally use someone's art inappropriately.  If you know of anyone who creates digital art for teachers to use however we see fit, please share them with me.  Although my clip-art file is enormous, I'm always looking for new art and love purchasing directly from the artist.

I'm pretty excited about a little idea that has been in the back of my head for a few years now and the stars have finally aligned to make it happen.  I'm going to be leading a little story time at a local coffee shop this summer.  This coffee shop does poetry readings, music, etc. for adults, but I wanted to do something with kids.  So I got in contact with them and they're cool with it too!  I set it up that I would do story times every Monday morning from 8:30-9:00.  I sent home invitations to the kiddos from my three reading classes with their report cards and have heard some positive comments about it!  Yeah!

I'm hoping to be a better blogging friend this summer than I am during the school year!  Hope everyone is well!

Steven Kellogg Comes to Furry Elementary!

So...apparently I'm a once-a-month type of blogger during the school year!  :)

My school had the most incredible day this past Friday...Steven Kellogg came to visit us!  I saw him speak at Mazza in Findlay, Ohio in November of 2011 to a group of adults and was so amazed and inspired!  I could barely sleep the night before just dying to know how he would be with our children.  It's a good thing I couldn't sleep because I got a late night invitation to eat breakfast with Mr. Kellogg and a few teacher friends!  Ummmm...yeah...I was so stinkin' excited!  A good friend told my friend and I that we were like a couple of kids at a Disney Character meet and greet!  I sat right across from him and his english muffin, fruit, and poached egg with coffee!  It was such an amazing opportunity!  We got to hear about a book that's going to be released this fall that literally made me tear up.  He collaborated with Patricia MacLachlan to write Snowflakes Fall in honor of the families in Newtown, Connecticut.  You can read more about it by clicking here.

Our school was decked out from floor to ceiling with Steven Kellogg inspired artwork and decorations!  You can check them out on the photo page of my website at www.shivermefirsties.com

When it was our turn to go to his presentation, my class was so pumped!  Even my ones who "don't like to read" were glued to him!  It was awesome!

My niece and I with Steven Kellogg!

We gave our families the opportunity to order books prior to Steven's visit so that we could have them autographed for their child.  He signed probably close to 400 books or more when it was all said and done.  He then made this illustration and wanted us to copy it and send it home with all of the children.

It was so great to watch the children look at their autographs (he personalized every single one of them) and their illustrated poster at dismissal!  They were talking to each other about their books and the characters and they were making connections.  It's what I dream a primary school should look and sound like every day!

So...if you're looking to bring an author to your school, Steven Kellogg is definitely worth it! Definitely a memory to last a lifetime!

Hope everyone is doing well and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!  We have 23 days left...full of testing, testing, testing...and getting ready for 2nd grade!

A Quick and Quiet Writing Activity

Hi Friends!
So...I don't know if your cuties have been behaving a little bit like mine lately, but Oh. My. Goodness.  Spring has definitely sprung...for everyone and we're all wound a little tight right now.  (Teachers included...'tis the season for uncertainties and changes for next year...if you know what I mean.)  So we had an afternoon this week where I just needed a few minutes of peace and quiet.  I know...I'm asking for too much in a first grade classroom, but I would have been happy with just 5 minutes.  It was our intervention time and since we're still having a very hard time writing complete sentences (in March...insert frustrated tone), I believe God intervened and put this idea in my head...and actually made it work for us.

Here's what you'll need if you want to give it a try:
Dry Erase Boards
Dry Erase Markers (of course)
Eraser
Kiddos with a buddy or a small group (2 kiddos working together worked better though)

All we did was this...One child wrote a question on their dry erase board and the other had to answer the question in a complete sentence.  Now, if either friend didn't understand what was written, they had to shrug their shoulders, or make a face or some other action that let their partner know that they didn't understand and then some revision would take place.

We couldn't communicate with our voices at all.  Sure...it may sound a little harsh...what 1st grade classroom shouldn't have a constant hum happening inside it, but again, we needed a little peace on this particular day.  I was only expecting this peace to last maybe a moment...but we went a full 20 minutes without a peep and as I walked around the room, everyone was on task and when our time together was done and I asked them if they liked doing it, they said, "Yes!"  So if you're in the mood for a little quiet or need something to fill a bit of time so you can catch your breath, give it a try!

This coming week is our last week before our Spring Break...thank goodness.  We're overdue for a bit of a break I think!  :)

Did I tell you that my first graders are tweeting?  I'm hoping to connect with other first grade classrooms next year to develop some friendships so if your class is tweeting, give us a follow and we'll follow you back!

https://twitter.com/1stGradePirates

Have a great weekend!

A "little" Catch-Up!

Hello Friends!

It's me...I know...it's been awhile...but honestly, it's just been all kinds of crazy and exhausting at the same time and I know I should use this blog to share and express my thoughts and ideas, but I have this horrible habit of keeping everything in and then one little word, thought, or experience can open my mouth and everything comes falling out...

But I won't do that to you...only my inner circle of trust gets to see that fiasco!  :)

Oh...and don't think it's bad news or that something awful is happening on the home front...I'm totally fine...just a lot to think about lately...and possibly the winter blues.

So...here's a real quick catch-up:

Winter Blues...I'm really tired of the cold and snow and not that we've had a lot at all, but enough is enough.  I need some milder temperatures where at least I can get outside for a little run in the early morning before school without thinking my lungs are turning into ice cubes.  Plus, I think I glow in the dark...time for some sun!

Departmentalization...Our math teacher is on maternity leave right now and although we're missing her, her sub is top notch!  We used to have 70 minute blocks, but now we've extended our blocks to 90 minutes for 3 days a week which being the reading/writing teacher, I totally appreciate!  I was getting a bit overwhelmed.  Note for next year...I want...no we need 90 minute blocks right from the start...if we get the okay to departmentalize next year.

Student-Led Conferences...I've been doing these for a few years now, but we decided to do them with our departmentalized classes this year too...so worth it!  Our parents seemed really impressed and it was great to see everyone interacting.  We even started brainstorming ideas for future events.  We need our families to feel more involved in what's happening in our school...we do a good job with newsletters but I think we need to do a better job of informing our families how they can help their child be more successful.  We have a few kiddos who are struggling a bit right now, but if they were just getting a little more reinforcement on the home front, they'd be more successful during the school day.

Last week my partner in crime and I went to Ohio's Educational Technology Conference in Columbus, known more commonly as E-Tech.  I really like going to this conference because it pushes my thinking in a different way rather than just thinking about the academic part of first grade (and feeling like I'm not doing enough).  I feel that my school district is very technologically advanced compared to the other districts in our area so this conference exposes me to new technologies that I can bring back to my classroom and share with my building.  We sat in on some very cool sessions...one of my favorites was an Ohio Blogger...Mindy Newell!

Oh my gosh...if you have iPods or iPads in your classroom, you MUST check her out!  She's actually organizing her apps how they correlate to the Common Core Standards (and more...her blog is incredible)!  And...(I know, never start a sentence with a conjunction) she holds her kiddos accountable for the activities they do on their iPads.  This is a big deal to me, because to be honest, I have only used my iPads to reinforce skills (maybe)...but mostly the kids just play on them.  So, needless to say, I brought home all of my iPads this weekend to set them up so that my kids can email me their work from their iPad!  Sure, this means more e-mails to check, but AMEN!  I'll be able to see what they're doing...and even forward the work to their parents if needed!  I also sorted all of the apps our tech team has put on our iPads into folders based on the content of the app which was a job but I hope it will make things a little easier.  I also saw all of the pictures and videos they were taking of each other in Photo Booth....ummm...expectations are needed in this area of our iPad usage.  :)
This little catch-up post of mine is getting a little long...so hold on for one more thing...
I also sat in on a session for a FREE behavioral management tool called Class Dojo.  I know I've heard about it somewhere...maybe on Pinterest...maybe on someone's blog...but it is going to rock my world!  I'm so excited to start using it tomorrow!  

Click here to visit the website!

If you haven't looked at it yet, give it a peek!  It actually generates reports on the behavior data in your class and you can share it with parents.  My explanation here doesn't do it justice, but I introduced it to my kiddos last week and we're going to start it tomorrow.  It was easy to set up on all of my devices and will be accessible to my parents once I send home their invitation to join.  I'll post more on it as I use it more...I just had to share it with you today!
Oh...and since I had some "free time" without papers to grade or lessons to create, I was finally able to set up my class Twitter account.  It's been something I've wanted to do for a very long time and it's sole purpose is to tweet about what we're up to in our classroom.  If you're interested in following you're more than welcome to find us!  

Here's the link to our feed!

Okay...so thanks for sticking around for my "short catch-up"! Here's what's coming soon...if I don't get swamped and overwhelmed with everything else!

Take Care!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone's first day of 2013 is off to a great start!

We head back to school tomorrow!  I'm anxious to see my little friends again and am kind of surprised that I haven't bumped into anyone over the holidays except for a few little friends at church.  At least it's a gentle start to the year...we start off with a 3 day week this week, a 4 day week, then a full week before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  So although it might be nice to think about these shortened weeks, I'm also a little stressed because January is going to be filled with district assessments.  Let's think about this...so far, the month of September was filled with testing (yeah...let's test the children on their academic abilities after they've had a full summer away from school), the month of January is going to filled with testing (again...they've been away from me for a full week and although I would love to believe that my families really did make time for reading during our Christmas break, I'm not naive either).  (Did you insert a tone of sarcasm when you read that last sentence?)  CRAZY!  There has to be a better way!

Oh well...onto celebrating the New Year with my kids!  Last year I read a post by some amazing blogger, who for the life of me, I can't remember who he or she was!  This teacher planned a little New Year's Party for her kiddos when they returned to school and I thought it looked like fun!  So last year, I went shopping for some fun New Year garb and have been saving it in my garage and praying that I wouldn't forget about it.  I found plenty that didn't have the year on it and it was super cheap because I purchased it after the holiday!  Here's a picture of the garb my kiddos will receive tomorrow!


My teacher friends agreed to starting our switching (we departmentalize) a little later tomorrow so that we can do a countdown and have a New Year breakfast together!  We'll be dining on donuts and juice, do a little celebrating and then get ourselves focused for the New Year!  I even found a safe countdown video on You Tube that we'll watch!

Click Here for the Link!

I decided to join in on Jen's New Year's Linky Party!  Just in the knick of time!

Haven't joined yet?  Click here for Jen's link!

So I'm going to follow her lead and share a personal and blogging resolution for 2013.

Personal Resolution
So 2012 kind of was a new year for me.  I'm a pretty private girl and don't share a lot but my sister and I embarked on a journey to get healthy last year...and despite the cookie coma that we're slowly coming out of currently we did make significant changes in our lives.  Between the two of us we've lost about 50+ pounds and started running 3 miles three to four days a week.  (Except when it's cold, wet, or snowing.)  I pretty much went from a size 18 to a 12 and my sister got back to her pre-baby weight.  So for 2013, I need to make a full recovery from my cookie coma and I'd like to do a few 5Ks with her....maybe even the Half-Marathon at Disney World next year!  (We're definitely going to attempt to do the 5K @ Disney in January 2014...but we'll be taking an unpaid personal day for a 35 minute race??  Thinking we should suck it up and attempt the half-marathon...we'll see!)

Blogging Resolution
So...it's no secret...I need to become a more consistent blogger.  I love sharing the cool things we're doing in our school and classroom but I just don't make the time to share it with other bloggers...some who have even become friends.  This year, I'll do a better job...promise!

So, there you go!  :)
Bring on 2013!

Thanks for the kind words about my dad.  We're still in the hospital so we'll see what today brings us.  Thinking I might go into school to drop off some stuff and get organized so I'm not dragging everything in tomorrow morning.

Wishing everyone a blessed New Year!

Resolution Activity and a Freebie

Hi Friends!
Hope everyone is ready to bring in 2013!

If you're looking for a fun and festive resolution activity to do with your kiddos when you return I wanted to remind you of this little diddy...

Last year we made 2012 Resolution flip books to help us bring in the new year!  This week (we go back on Wednesday) I'll be making our 2013 Resolution flip books with all three of my reading classes.  I found a writing activity by Ginny Dowd, aka The Phonics Dance Lady where she had the kids write a resolution for school, home, self...and I forget the other...but there was another!  Side note...I'm at the hospital with my family this week as my dad was admitted this past Saturday.  He is diabetic and his numbers got all out of whack which brought on some other issues...so we're going to be here for a bit until everything gets back to normal...if there's a normal for this kind of thing.  I packed a bag full of school stuff to keep me busy in the waiting room as I don't do well in hospitals...talk about anxiety...geesh!  Anyway...the paper I have the kids use to write their resolutions is at home or school but when I find it, I'll share it...or you can just have your kids write any kind of resolution too!  :)

I also received a few positive comments about my Contraction Action at the North Pole worksheets I created this past December.  Since my children are still having a difficult time, I decided to make some with a wintery theme...

I've posted them for free in my TPT shop so you can just click above and the link should take you right where you need to be.  Apologies to all of my friends who don't get to experience a winter full of freezing temperatures and snow...but I'd love to be in your flip-flops...except on a snow day!  :)

Wishing you all the best for a Healthy, Safe, and Happy 2013!