Tis the Season...

Tis' the Season to be AWESOME...

at reading grid coordinates.  #myteacherfriendsareawesome!!!!

-masking tape on floor in 10 X 10 grid....check
-pictures of teachers from our school...check
-number coordinates...check
-fun had by all...checkity, check!

at making gingerbread houses

at completing gingerbread science experiments

at cooking pumpkin bread in a crock pot!  #whodoesthat   #wedo

(I was so worried this wouldn't work...we did it as a science experiment!)

IT WORKED!  Nailed IT!

at being just plain...

AWESOME!!!!!

Camera Dump 101

Hey there Nation fans!  Sorry this girl has been incommunicado for a while.  Too much going on in the Capitol!  To much to describe, so let the pictures speak my words.

Sci Friday
Science Experiment
Question:  What will happen when we mix shaving cream (#toomuchfunwecan'thandleit) with corn starch?
Hypothesis:  "It will explode."  (they think everything will explode!)
"It will turn blue."
"It will feel like liquid."
Observation: The two substance will mix to form a "snowball."
Conclusion:  The foam and the powder mixed to  make a soft substance.  We loved every minute.  (Plus the room smelled like my dad!)

Sci Friday

Science Experiment

We used different science tools to see how they would perform on the same science experiment.

The favorite: baking soda, vinegar and food coloring.  Three different science tools.

                                                

Service Project 2015

Baby Boutique

Play Doh Shape Math

All Things Spooky

Hi there great citizens of the FirstieNation...
Here is a peek at what the great senate has been up to this month...

Candy Corn Bandit  (Inspired Apple)

Crazy little thief!  Stole our Candy Corn!  We used his clues to predict where the little bugger may have run off to with our goods!  We went on a crazy candy search!  His clues led us to the lunchroom, gym, recess yard,  

library and back to the capital!  (Woofta!  FAR!!!)

When we got back to the capital the bandit escaped, but he did leave us some fresh new treats!  

Yum-o!

Oh my gosh!  Did you know they make body Cheetos?  This was super, fantastic cute!  Not my idea, my sweet little neighbor girl let me in on the coolness.  (#mrsmagnuson)

SPIDERS

This absolutely is the HARDEST thing for me to teach my senate.  

Spiders give me the freak outs!

I read many books, much to my dismay, even tearing up a bit...#ihatethem

 Spider Egg Sacs

(A Day In First Grade Inspired)

 SO COOL!

  I could handle the glitter spider webs!  

SO MUCH FUN!

Don't Forget to be...

AWESOME!

Mystery Reader

Every year the Firstie Nation opens its doors to the Senate's families and friends for a little mystery reading.  It is a ton of fun.

  This year I am honored to have one of my BFF teacher friend's little baby in my class.  So, little miss' mom volunteered to come to the Nation and read a story.

Clues:

I work with kids.

I LOVE warm weather.

I have two children.

My favorite holiday is the 4th of July.

I have a daughter in your class.

Mrs. Isaacs

And because Coach Isaac's is a teacher...she not only read an AWESOME story, but she brought a cool little activity to go along with it,

The mystery story was "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs."  After the story, the senate was split into groups, to build a house with sticks, bricks (Lego) and straws.  After they built their houses, the wolf came to blow  (or sneeze) their houses down.

They had so much fun!   We had MEA last week so they didn't have a mystery read last Friday.  Let's see who's next...

stay tuned...

Sci. Fi Friday!

Oh.my.word!
The beginning of Sci. Fi Friday commences!  Here we go!  Here we go!
This was our first "official" experiment, where we discussed the steps of being a scientist.

Our science experiment on Friday was a super cool one of Steve Spanglers.  His Color Changing Milk was out of this world C.O.O.L!  The Nation has experimented with this particular coolness before, but we mixed it up and brought in three kinds of milk instead of just whole milk.

1%
buttermilk
whole
food coloring
q-tips dipped in soap

Prediction:  the milk will blow-up.

It's funny how every experiment I have ever done in the Nation is supposedly going to blow up!  I'm not sure if I have  a rep or what?

 We are set.

 and dip

Rows  of milk: back-1, middle: butter milk, front: whole

Conclusion: We discussed the difference between bowls of milk.

We discussed the what we use each type of milk for.  Drinking, babies, and cooking.  We also discussed the fat molecules and how the color grabs a hold...thus changing the bowls of milk in different ways.

BE AWESOME.  TODAY. TOMORROW.  ALWAYS

Dr. Awesome and the PLC

Paging Dr. Awesome to the Firstie Nation!  We have a code AWESOME!  That sounds really dorky, but I can't help myself.  This year my PLC team has changed a little bit.  I get to be with our sweet little Kinder team, along with my girls from Team 1.  Every other week our kiddos get to check out early, so the teacher people can sit down and plan for the kiddo people.  This is a pretty cool time for us.  We are working like mad on formative assessments, scales, and using the information we gain to guide our instruction.  This year we are working on scales more aggressively, which honestly scares me a bit.  I am fortunate though, I have my team of six to walk me through and help me make the best choices for my senate members.

The outfit?  Oh ya...about that.  Instead of yet another $15 t-shirt that will have to be replaced in two years, when we change groups, I thought it would be fun to wear scrubs!  I am Dr. Awesome and I specialize in diagnosing the awesomeness in my patients! (students)  I listen to heartbeats to check for AWESOMENESS!  Guess what?  They've got in spades!


I totally want to give my nurse friends a HUGE hug and high 5!  You are super fantastic people with hearts of gold!  I think you sparkle with AWESOME!  When I grow up, I want to be you!

Happiness of a Mommy Teacher

happy

Slap a Sticky on Me and Label Me a Teacher

Every year, training my senate members to get their "write" on can be somewhat of a battle.  Some of my babies want to write and create ten page books, while others are writing single letters for words.  No matter where they are, we work together to stretch our writing stamina.  Many lessons, author mentor texts, crazy teacher stories... etc. etc...

One of the class favorites: label your teacher day.  Purpose: adding more details to pictures and stories.
Big laughs!  Student photographer by the way!  (This little cutie activity is a shout out to cute little Cara at First Grade Parade.)

Little Scavenger Hunt with Chester the Raccoon

Not sure where this little gem came from, but it is a winner!  Shout out to the creative guy or girl who wasn't me!

Look how cute they are with their heads put together!

#sigh

Hugs and Kisses at the end of our hunt!

WOW!  With our new build, boy did we have a jaunt!  It took 30 minutes and I am not even kidding!

#sosweet

#showmethecandy

President Varpness and the Senate

Say My Name, Say My Name...

Hey Firstie Nation fanatics!  Week 1-2 is behind us...already.  The  nation has two new beautiful senate members!  They come to us from across the pond.  No, not really, just across the prairie a bit. 20 miles or so.  Anyway...back to my purpose.  These little ladies and 14 other little sweetie senate members needed a chance to learn each others names and how to recognize their bff's names.

So we made a sweet little class book with our faces and name-os!

 Here is a twist on an old favorite.  Predictable charts are things of the past in the nation. (Well, maybe they will just come in a smaller, more awesome form.)  For a few reasons: they take up way...to much room on the walls and this is just way more fun!  My senate kiddos love to write their own pages for our class books.  I put these gems in the nation library.  Everyone can read!  Yea us!

Have an awesome week Firstie Nation!
Don't Forget to be AWESOME!
President Varpness and the Senate