Saturday, January 21, 2012

Winter is Here!! And with it comes a long post...

I realize that many people live in areas of warm(ish), sunny weather all year round and I just have to say I am JEALOUS! As a Michigander, we never quite know what to expect, and apparently, well, today is a wintery, cold and snowy day! (Not a fan). I was perfectly happy with the 40's and 50's we were having for the last few weeks, but oh well!


I wanted to highlight a few friends' posts because they are just great! :) 


Mrs. Reynolds at Oh, my Little Classity Class (love the name) posted some great math games! Ever played the card game called Left, Right, Center..? She found some inspiration to turn it into games for spelling practice and math practice! Love it!!
She has two different files on her blog - one for single digit addition and one for double digit addition! Make sure to check her out and leave some love! :) 

Yvonne at Sassy in Second made ice cream with her class!! She included a great recipe - I think we'll do this next week!! Note to self - take pictures! YUM!


Lisa at Stories from Second posted about her homework policies. I am super interested to hear about what YOU do for homework in your classroom! I know this may  never change but as a second year teacher, I just feel like I have SOOOO many ideas and I can't even get my head around them! I want to do so much, but there is too little time! Last year, teaching a split (and being hired in a week before school began) I never quite felt settled enough to make huge overhaul changes to anything! I kind of just kept whatever policies and systems I started with! I'm not too happy with my homework methods, so I'd love to be inspired by your methods!! 

Here's what I am currently doing:
Spelling: 12 - 14 spelling words a week (including bonus words) that I take from Houghton-Mifflin; I have students practice by counting syllables, putting words in ABC order, writing them out to practice handwriting too, and put them into spelling boxes. Here are some files:
                                
Obviously the word list changes from week to week. So I have to alter the documents. 
Reading: Typically, I try to send home a story with before and after reading activities (often Thinking Maps), I will slip in some Grammar pages or other practice pages; I also include a Reading log for the week.
Math: I don't care for the Math Homelinks included in our math curriculum so I have begun to make my own. I send home 3 - 5 pages that will help to practice skills needed for the lessons of the coming week. This has started to get overwhelming (creating all 3-5 documents - most likely on Sunday night...!)

Ok - so what do you do?!

I just had to share some of the inspiration that I found in the bloggy world this week. Gosh, I sure do love seeing everyone's ideas especially when I can use them with my kiddos! 

*Amanda 

6 comments:

  1. My kids have a reading passage that changes each week...parents initial that they've (kids) read it. They also take home a weekly list of spelling challenges on a page (Tic Tac Toe page for Storytown) I don't really assign a lot of homework, but am always willing to send home materials if kids/parents want additional help. =) Jennifer
    First Grade Blue SKies

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  2. Thanks for mentioning my post! :) I really loved the routine I had in third grade, it was consistent and the kids and parents knew exactly what to expect. I switched grades/schools the week before school started and was forced to do what my team did without a lot of thought/input. The nightly homework my team did was getting very boring for me, and them. :) We got a little ice storm here last night, I'm not exactly a huge fan of ice/snow but I do love snow days!
    Lisa
    Stories From Second

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  3. You're so sweet for mentioning my little blog! :)
    Thanks so much!!!

    Homework for my firsties is a math page and a reading book. They have a spelling list also, so they can practice if they choose (most don't, lol).

    Good luck!

    Oh My Little Classity Class

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  4. Thanks for all the good stuff. I sometimes leave open a bunch of pages on my iPhone when I find good stuff on blogs until I can get home and download it all!

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  5. I love all the goodies!

    Im your newest follower! And a fellow Michigander, where are you in MI?

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  6. Hi Amanda,

    Thanks SO much for stopping by my blog. Send me your e-mail and I would love to send you the Constellation Creation as a freebie. :) I'm your newest follower!

    Second Grade Sugar and Spice

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