First Week Fun!

We survived our first week in 2nd grade! 

The first three days were a whirlwind, to say the least, but we had a great time! 

 

Meet the Teacher

 On Tuesday, I got to gather supplies and meet most of my kiddos for the first time!  It was wonderful to see all their smiling faces and gear up for the new year. 

I gave them these yummy welcome treats. 

 

Click here to grab these treat toppers. 

 

I also gave them their first homework assignment! 

 

I attached this note to a white paper bag.  They brought their bags back on the first day and we shared them throughout the week.  It was so fun to see and hear all about them.  I noticed we have quite a few baseball, hunting, fishing, and gymnastics fans!  :)

 

Day 1

On the first day of 2nd grade, I had them write their numbers to 200 (or as high as they could go) and draw their self portraits while I gathered supplies and paperwork.  

 

Our grade level aide took their first day pictures for their scrapbooks. 

 

 

Then we went on our traditional scavenger hunt and school tour.  In the past I've always done a Gingerbread Hunt Tour, to go along with the Gingerbread Man and gingersnap cookies.  But, with the new healthy foods guidelines, we had to change it up this year.  Our school theme this year is The Pink Panther.  I started to read one of our back to school books.  When I opened the book, a pink paw fell out.  It had a rhyme on the back introducing him and inviting us to find him.  Each clue led to important places and people around the school.  The last clue led back to our classroom.  Unfortunately, we didn't spot the pink panther, but he will show up another day! 

 

 

 

For our math lesson we graphed how we get home from school, and discussed the data. 

 

And we ended the day with my FAVORITE activity - Jitter Juice!  We almost had to skip this one this year, due to that stinkin' healthy foods policy.  But of course, we found a way to make it work!  Instead of the recipe Abby uses in her pack, we used sparkling apple cider.  It was a big, bubbly hit!!

 

 

Day 2

On the second day of 2nd grade I introduced them to Class Dojo.  

I'll do another post about how we use Class Dojo in our classroom another day.   

 

We made our All About Me Snapshots. 

 

 

The kiddos went on a scavenger hunt around the room answering questions about me!

 

 

For math, we made and explored rekenreks. 

To make these rekenreks, I laminated poster board, cut it apart, and punched two holes on each side.  Then I put two black pipe cleaners through the holes and taped one side down.  I had my kiddos count out 5 red and 5 white beads for the top and the same for the bottom.  Once they put their beads on, I taped the other side down.  Then, they chose a sticker and put it on the "starting position" side.  When the rekenreks were all made, I explained how to use them and then introduced the game "Fast Flash".  One person moves some beads over.  The partner has to guess the number as fast as they can.  It was a fun, quick game to become more familiar with the rekenreks.  We'll use these more next week to practice subitizing, adding, and subtracting.   

 

 

Since it was the 2nd Day of 2nd Grade, I made this fun activity for us to do. 

 

 

Day 3

To start out the third day of 2nd grade, I had them write about their favorite thing about 2nd grade so far. 

 

Then, we talked about what will make 2nd grade so special and made a "This Year Will Be Sweet" craft.

 

 

 

In the morning, we FINALLY spotted the Pink Panther!  He snuck into our classroom, waved, danced, and went on his way!  Moments later, our Principal came in, dressed in her detective gear, trying to find him.  Apparently, he snuck into school without signing in at the office.  Our Principal spent the whole day looking for him.   She didn't find him until the assembly at the end of the day.  It was great!  (Sadly, I was too slow to get any pictures of the Pink Panther or our Principal.)

 

Three days down, only 177 to go!!!  ;)

 

I used these amazing resources to get through our first week!

 

 

 

 

 

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First Week Fun!

We survived the first week!  Here's a peek into our first week's activities. 

We spent most of the first day doing activities and games to help reinforce our rules and get to know each other.  My favorites are Simon Says, to help remember "Follow directions quickly" and  Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar, to help learn names.  We always have fun with those! 

We went on our gingerbread hunt/school tour.
I printed each clue on brown construction paper, laminated them, and then hung them around the school for the children to find.   

Gingerbread Hunt Clues

We started reviewing our numbers.  For each number we practice on the smartboard, sing the song, and practice on a paper. 

Number Writing Song

Number Pages

We ended the first day with Abby's Jitter Juice!  This is by far my new favorite first day of school activity! 

We read the poem and highlighted rhyming words.

 Then we made up our own Jitter Juice recipe.

And finally we made the REAL Jitter Juice!  It was D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!

I bought these mini, lined whiteboards from the Target Dollar spot.  Four double-sided boards for only $1!  :) 
A brilliant teacher at my school said she uses them with her Kindergarten class to practice names.  I loved that idea, so I wrote each child's first and last name on the board with a yellow sharpie.  Now the children practice tracing their names and writing them neatly in the lines in the morning and when they have extra time after finishing their work. 

We drew our self-portraits.

We made Abby's First Week of First Grade Book. 

We ended the week with a much needed Sesame Street video about going to school.  Educational, but relaxing.  It was a fun week, but I was very glad for a long weekend to recover.  :) 

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First Day

We made it through our first day of First Grade! As far as I know nobody was lost or hurt. I would say that is a great first day! The school doors opened at 8:15, and I was so glad to see so many parents come with their child's supplies. Our school day doesn't officially start until 8:45, so we were able to get a lot of supplies put away.

I like to be an organizational wizard. Take a look at some of our supplies.

I just love the way everything looks when it is in its place, with a beautiful label on it!

The play dough activity was successful, although it didn't last as long as I had hoped. There were still a couple children with supplies I put away later on in the day, in order to keep the attention of the rest of the class. For the activity, I gave each child a number and their name to make with the play dough. Then I had them make something to represent their favorite summer activity. One boy made a frog, because he found one in his yard this summer. I thought it went perfectly with our frog theme!

We learned our classroom rules. I learned about "Whole Brain Teaching" this summer, and really like their techniques. They incorporate a lot of actions and active participation. When we learned and discussed the rules, we also learned actions to them. Ask your child to show you them!

*Names were erased*

I use the stoplight to handle behaviors. Everyone starts on green. They move to yellow after a couple warnings. Then to red for a time out. We have a time out desk by my teacher desk. If a child gets there, they write a saying I have there about how following the rules is important. This helps keep them occupied and in a place with few distractions. As soon as I am able, I talk with them about the problem and discuss possible solutions. They are also able to move their pins back down, if they are really well-behaved for the rest of the day. This seems to work for most children. A few may need a modified behavior plan.

We played a short game to practice following directions (similar to Simon Says, but just saying what to do). We are still working on rule number 3! But we are definitely making progress! We learned a few of our classroom procedures. There are simply too many to teach in one day! We use a lot of sign language in our classroom, so I taught them our main signs for yes, no, bathroom, and drink. I find this cuts down on the interruptions in the classroom.

We read The Gingerbread Man and I brought ginger snaps as a morning snack. As I went to get the cookies, I discovered the Gingerbread Man had stolen them! He left a clue to help us find them. We went all around the school as we followed his tricky clues! Luckily, when we got back to our classroom, we found those delicious cookies!

In the afternoon, we learned all the songs and activities we do with the calendar. Then we practiced the number 1. A few lucky children even got to write their numbers on our brand new Smart Board!

We drew our self-portraits.

Can you find your child's?
(There are still a few who need to finish their pictures.)

We played "Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?" to learn the names of the children in our classroom. One child got to choose someone to hide a cookie picture behind. Then we kept singing the song until we found who had it. This game was so much fun!

Our last activity of the day was the "School is Cool!" hat and necklace. The children strung fruit loops onto their necklaces. I took a picture of each one of them with their hat and necklace on to put in their first grade scrapbook. They looked so cute!

At the end of each day, we sing our goodbye song. It goes to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". We use sign language for this song, as well.

Take a bus or take a plane.
Take a boat or take a train.
Take a taxi. Take a car.
Maybe near or maybe far.
Take a rocket to the moon.
But be sure to come back soon!

All in all, it was a great day! I'm looking forward to tomorrow, but I am also looking forward to a good night's sleep!

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