We Like to Move It! Move It! (Mrs. Grooms' Room)

Hey y’all!!  I hope everyone is having a great March!  I love this month’s post!! (We have had so many awesome posts lately!)  

I think every teacher in the world knows how important movement in the classroom is for students.  If we don't have recess for more than a day?  Bless.  

  We try to get movement in our day in all kinds of ways. 

In the mornings, when we do our calendar time, we practice our time on the clock.  I love to give my students a minute of exercise. (I tell them that I think it’s important to know what a minute feels like.)  During our minute, we also count by tens when we do jumping jacks, or we do toe touches when we count by twos.  We do a variety of things that I think we may need to work on.  It’s really a great way to practice counting and to GET it in!!! 

One of my favorite ways to include exercise is to play Hop on Odd and Hop on Even!  I use it with odd or even, of course.  I give my students a number and they either jump on one foot for odd numbers since one foot is odd and they jump on two feet for even numbers since two feet are even.  If they say “8” then my students jump all the way to 8 on both feet.  If they say “3” then my students jump to three on one foot.  It is a game they can play together or with a partner. 

Another game that we like to play is In the River, On the Bank.  It’s been around for a while and I wish I could say that I had created it but...I didn't.  Props to the creator...whoever you are!! You rock!

To play, you will need a tape line or a line in the classroom.  We use the plastic strip where the carpet and the tile meet.  One side of the strip or tape is the bank, and the other side is the river.  I like to post these signs to help my kids remember so they know which side is the bank and which side is the river.  

For example...if the river is for true answers and the bank is for false answers, students will answer the question by showing where they hop…on the bank (false) or in the river (true).  You can use it for odd or even, fact or opinion, tens and ones, yes or no, or any answer that has an opposing view.   I just write the answers in the space below the sign.  

I have a free copy for you in my store.  I hope you LOVE it like we do!!  You can also hit this website to read about this game and get specific directions for In the River! On the Bank!

If we have a spare minute in class, we use our fitness dice.  My “coach” for the week picks up our fitness dice and my kids start sweating to the dice! I have had mine forever…the lazy in me thinks they look like possible pillows.  You can find them on Amazon.  If you are interested, just click on the picture above.

We love to GoNoodle everyday as I am sure most teachers do. “Kitty High-Five” is burned in my mind.  (I will always Kitty High-Five!!)  But the videos on GoNoodle that I really love are the yoga and meditation videos.  I think these are very helpful in creating a calm and focused atmosphere in my class.  

An activity that a fellow teacher taught me is called “Zoom!”  Zoom is made to encourage teamwork, listening, and paying attention.  Kids of all ages love to Zoom!  Shoot!  Even I love to Zoom! 

Here’s how you play: Everyone has to sit in a tight circle (criss-cross, and knee to knee).  One person will begin by turning their head to the right, looking into the eyes of the person on their right, and saying Zoom! The person on the right will do the absolute same action.  Everyone will do the same until everyone in the circle has had a turn.  The goal is to Zoom! around the circle until everyone gets a turn and the Zoom! is completed perfectly.  To do that?  You have to pay attention and you have to focus as a team. The kids get so excited when they finally Zoom! perfectly!  And it looks really, really cool...like a chain reaction!  

Later you can create challenges where Zoom! changes directions in the circle.  

Speaking of Zoom....PBS Kids has a great sight for game ideas for kids!

These look like soo much fun!!

What kind of movement do you do in your classroom?  I know it seems daunting but just changing simple activities and adding fun movements can really help students get that extra energy out and learning in!  

Have a wonderful March!! 

Sensational Science with Mrs. Grooms' Room!

Hey everyone!  

Are you ready for summer????  I know I am…this girl is ready for a relaxation vacation!!  But we are still working hard on our unit in science…THE SOLAR SYSTEM!!! It is the very last unit that we do in the year and it is one of my favorites…it is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!  (Pun totally intended!)

Here are some things that we are doing to learn all about our wonderful star.

We made suns with beautiful rays and we wrote facts on them.  They are so easy to make and they truly brighten our day! 

Of course, we also LOVE the song by the Storybots!! Our entire first grade is loving the song,  “I'm so Hot!”  Have you heard it?  I just have to sing and dance along with my students!!!  That is probably not so hot.  Ha!

We have also been learning about the moon and some of its amazing facts!  We learned about its landscape, too. We made a model of a moon. It is simply a paper plate, but the kids learn so much about the moon's landscape.  There are craters, mountains, plains, and cracks on the surface of the moon. The kids love to label and draw the landscape of the moon.  (My favorite part is drawing Neil Armstrong’s footprint!)  

Then of course, since rockets and astronauts have also been on the moon, we make sure we have a rocket and an astronaut.  You can find a newer version of the astronaut and rocket here to download for free!!  

To top it off, we have to play their favorite song by the Storybots, of course, and it’s called “It’s My Time to Shine.”  Seriously, click on it and you will be humming this tune all day!!  

We have been tracking the moon phases diligently each day.  My students “oooh” every time they see the new moon phase. It is waxing right now and they LOVE seeing it get bigger. Pretty soon it will wane and our moon will be just a lonely moon or a New Moon.  (They learned that from the Storybots!  Ha!  Not me!!) We draw it and date it on our record sheet.  

We use the app called, “The Moon” to record the phase of the moon that night.
If you would like to use it, you can find it here.  AND it's FREE!!  You can find this particular moon tracker here! 

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It's so much fun learning about the solar system and the fun hasn't ended yet. It has been a BLAST learning about the universe around us!  What are some of your favorite ideas and activities when you teach the solar system?  

Read Alouds We Love with Mrs. Grooms' Room!

Hey everyone!  

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!   

How is your sweet Valentine's Day going?  I hope you are getting lots of love this month!!  Over here at the Elementary Entourage, we are telling you all about the books we love and  I am so glad that I get to share my favorite books with you!!  

For as long as I remember, Paul Galdone has been one of my favorite authors. (I had to show off my collection.)    :)

Of course, he has also wrote one of my favorite all time folk tales...The Little Red Hen. I have loved this book forever! I can still remember as a little girl BEGGING my mother to read it to me! "PUH-LEASE, MOM!" 

I loved LOVE the pictures and the story was is hysterical.  I can remember thinking...shame on those lazy friends of hers...poor little chicken!!  

Still one of my favorites, I LOVE reading it to my students and I love talking about character traits with them.  You can check out this graphic organizer I made for my students on the character traits of the little red hen. 

And I just had to show you these old puppets I had from when I first started teaching!  LOL!!!  My students who were the cat and dog and mouse would raise them up and shout "NOT I!"  (They loved it but I think I loved it more!)  :)

In this folk tale, the hen and her roommates grow quickly through the lesson of cooperation and sharing the workload. The little hen stands up for herself, the dog and cat and mouse learn how to share responsibilities, and in the end they come to an understanding that they had to work together as a team or no bread for you!  (Haha!) 

Here is another version of the Little Red Hen that I love!!    

This copy is by Doris R. Miller and as you can see it is from 1966 which makes me adore it even more.  I love the vintage look and the illustrations by Pablo Ramirez!!  It is lightly based on the original story...PLUS add a few foxes, a lazy cat and frog and you got a story! If you ever have a chance to read it to your students, please do!  It is adorable and your children will love the spin on the illustrations and the plot. 


What are some of the books that you LOVE and just can't live without?  

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An InLinkz Link-up

New Year...New Classroom Procedures with Mrs. Grooms' Room

Hey y'all!!  How has your New Year been?  I am glad to be back but I think I could have used a couple more weeks...how about you?  : )  So now that we are back into the swing of things, I am just chomping at the bit to make some changes!  

Since my students LOVE to talk to each other...especially in line.  But...I LOVE to assign my students a place in line.  It's an assigned line!  And I line them up them up according to personality. My quieter students stand by my students who talk just a little bit more.  I made an anchor chart for the first few days so they know where to stand in line and I keep a list with me so I don't forget either.  

I also love to give out marshmallows or Skittles when we go to related arts.  It is just one and the effort is worth the marshmallow especially on THOSE days...ummm....like today!!!   You know what I am talking about!  ;) 

I know a lot of teachers have a secret walker or a super walker...how about a Ninja?  Are you a Hallway Ninja?  I love it!!  Ninjas are quiet and stealthy. There is no talking and you never know a Ninja is around.  Of course, we talk about how we still have to keep our hands at our sides...no fierce Ninja moves in line!

With center time, we rotate our centers daily and I LOVE it!!  For us, it helps keeps students rotated and it helps keep centers fair.  No one gets any more time at the iPad than someone else. So far....it's been working great!!  

I have fourteen centers including iPads and listening centers. We change our centers everyday and it takes a second to change.   Everyday, everyone gets clipped down one center and they go to their numbered center during their reading time after they have finished their assignments. (If I need to change centers, I change the content of the center not the container. The iPads and listening centers don't have to be changed.  Yeah! I am always looking for those forever centers!!!)  

The next morning? I clip my students down again. 

I know I have talked about this before but every student in my class has a job. It is usually not a demanding job but an important job nonetheless.  It changes every week at the beginning of the week and they totally understand what is expected of their job as they learn through the year.  (I have never had a system work so well and my kids LOVE it!)  They get paid in PBIS tickets that we use to buy awesome prizes later. 

The New Year 2016 has definitely been a busy one but these are the things that always help the most and make day go a lot smoother.  What are some of your New Year procedures for your classroom?   I WOULD love to know!  Let us know below! 

    

An InLinkz Link-up

Professional Books Worth Reading with Mrs. Grooms' Room

Hey everyone!!  

It's Shana Grooms from Mrs. Grooms' Room.  

Today is our first day of summer vacation!! 
(BIG WOOHOO!) 

I am so excited to be on vacation. Have you ever needed summer vacation in your bones?  Usually, I do summer school during the summer but not this year. 

(a little yippee!)

However, I will be hitting some of the professional development courses that our school district offers. Which isn't sooo bad during the summer!! 

(secret yes!)

Probably one of my all-time favorite professional development workshops that I have taken and one of my favorite professional books is Worksheets Don't Grow Dendrites by Marcia Tate!! Let me tell you...when I came out of that workshop, I came out a refreshed teacher and a teacher full of purpose!! 

This is my copy.  The is the first edition so the second edition looks a little different.  Marcia also signed my book...soo cool!!!!!! I wish I had my picture made with her but I didn't.  Darn.  

There are so many things that I learned from this course....here are a few: 

 This is why we launch lessons, question before, during, and after stories, and check for assessment at the end of a lesson. 

My favorite is number five!  Be purposeful!! If you have a purpose, you will learn.  When we did our project-based learning unit on plants, learning seemed so easy.  We had to know how to take care of our plants and what they needed to grow to grow them.  Learning came naturally.

I love going on field trips and I love having students perform the actual task at hand.  You do, you definitely remember.  I myself am the same way.  

Tell me and I'll forget.  Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand.  -Chinese Proverb

Fellow teachers!!!  THIS IS WHY WE DO THESE THINGS!!  We just don't do them because we have to...we are organizing thoughts, making memories, creating comprehension, and we are growing dendrites!!  

Does your classroom look like this?  I have room for improvement for sure. We will be working on number four and number eight. We will be role playing in our stories and in our lessons, and we will also use puppets in our stories we read. (I love puppets!)  

Starting today!!! I mean August!!!!    :)

How do you grow dendrites in your classroom?

You can check out Marsha Tate's website here! 

Celebrating America with Mrs. Grooms' Room

Hey y'all! 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful May!!  Memorial Day is just a stones throw away.  I am so proud to be a citizen in our wonderful country and I am so proud of the men and women who willingly give up their time, energy, and many times their lives to protect and serve our country. They are amazing!!

I also LOVE every opportunity to practice letter writing!!! Writing a soldier or a Veteran is a great way to squeeze letter-writing in and of course, it is a great for students to express themselves to others. 

To celebrate, Memorial Day or Veteran's Day, we like to write soldiers that are in active duty or Veterans that we know.  We go over the parts of a letter, and how to write a friendly letter, and what we want to say to our soldiers.  

There are tons of soldiers or veterans that I am sure you probably know that you can send your students' sweet letters to.  However, if you would like your own soldier to adopt or write to throughout the year, you can sign up at http://www.adoptaussoldier.org/.  It is a non-profit organization that matches anyone with a soldier.  It doesn't matter if you are a classroom, just one individual or a company. You can sign up!!  Care packages and letters mean the world to these gals and guys and they need all the support and help we can give them. (Loving all of our soldiers out there!!) 

To get you started on your letter-writing journey, here is a freebie just for you! Just click on the picture below!  

How do you celebrate Memorial Day with you students? Tell us below in the comments!  We would love to know!!!   

Hoping you have a great Memorial Day!!  

May Your Students Be Merry and Bright! {Mrs. Grooms' Room}

Hello sweet friends!  

It's Shana Grooms from Mrs. Grooms' Room!!!   How are you these days?  I hope your days at school have been merry and bright!  I know mine have been CUH-RAZY lately!!  

It's always the second week of our holidays at school that seem like ping pong balls my kids are bouncing everywhere.  I try really hard to plan fun activities where students are up and about and learning!!  We play lots of write around the room activities and scoot games, and LOTS of GoNoodle activities.  Did I mention brain breaks?  Oh boy, it keeps the holiday wiggles at bay!! 

One thing that I like to do is keep the incentives gifts coming!  My students are very active in the classroom and they are reward-driven!  I give them about three goals to work on throughout the day.  When I see them achieving these goals,  I give the class a snowman part.  

The number of goals could be more for your students or less. You could also build to a higher number of goals which I will do later as well with possibly a different theme.   

Of course, I like to start with three goals because guess who has three parts?  A SNOWMAN!!  

(You can even add hats, scarves, or gloves to your snowman to give your students more goals.)

Every time my students show me how well they can behave as a class such as walking in line or not talking during work time, I reward them all with a snowman part.  I make an uber-big deal out of it because we all respond to positive reinforcement especially when it is our teacher bragging on us!  

(I am blogging nicely?? Hmmm...why...I am blogging nicely?!!!)   

Once we finally get the third part of the snowman, students get to choose a snowball and on the back of the snowball is a reward!  The reward is not candy (that will not be good...eesh!)  but things they can do like a dance party, drawing, games, centers, GoNoodle time, or crafts.  These rewards can be things you plan on doing anyway for the week or activities that are implemented into your activities and lessons.  That next snowball just might be the activity you planned for your lesson!   

Click here for your own classroom snowman!  

Try it!!  It's a fun way to get through the holidays!!!  And it keeps your students merry and bright!  Ummmm....and less ping-pongy!  :)

Have you wrote Santa yet?  You can try this letter-writing unit called "Dear Santa."  You will love it and the kids will, too!  Just another way to direct that energy!  

Happy Holidays, sweet friends!!