Back to School Night!

Back-to-School Night was actually on Wednesday night--my apologies for not posting then, but I was pooped!  I came home yesterday night and fell right asleep!  So, here come some things from the last two days :)

Back-to-School Night
. . . was a success!  I had the unique opportunity to spend my very first back-to-school night with my grade level team; we held a meeting for parents and families in first grade in the library.  This was awesome because we were able to cover everything as a group, and every first grade parent left with the same information.  It was great to see some of my students there with their parents, and it was also good to see the parents that I had met right before the school year started at our Open House.  Honestly, the only down-side that I could think of about doing our Back-to-School Night meeting as a grade level was that I didn't get to brag on how great our class is doing.  (I hope you all know by now that I enjoy bragging about these guys quite a bit . . . )
Like how we are doing things like this:

We finally have classroom jobs!  (My personal favorite is the "woodchuck"--as in "how much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"  This is our pencil sharpener of the day :) )

Some jobs only need one kiddo to do them, but for some, two students get the job for the day!

And this:

We're learning lots of new words--I can't wait to watch this word board fill up quickly as we keep adding new words to it!

And even this!

When we start something new, I explain what we are going to be learning, and then the class gets to put it in their own words.  I like to think I've got a pretty smart class!  (Science is blank because we switch back and forth between learning science and social studies.)

I guess the bragging about the kiddos will have to wait until November parent/teacher conferences :)


Apparently I look young for my age?
Today we were learning about the fourth and final "important American symbol" that we talk about in 1st grade: the Washington Monument.  (We covered the American flag, Statue of Liberty, and bald eagle earlier this week.)  As I pulled up some pictures on the SMARTBoard and read some of the facts from the websites we were looking at, one piece of information I read was that construction began on the Washington Monument in 1848, but the building wasn't finished and open to the public until 1888.  As I read the second date, one of my students raised their hands and asked me, completely seriously, "Ms. W, is that when you were born?"  Clearly, I have aged well for a 123-year-old.  Young at heart, right??  ;)


Tender reading moment
Today, we continued to work on our Daily 5--literacy centers--and one option students had for a time period was "read to someone," or buddy-reading.  There is a certain way we do this; we sit criss-cross-applesauce with one person's left knee touching the other person's right, we listen carefully while our partners read, and we either have the choice of sharing a book and taking turns reading or each choosing our own books out of our book baskets and taking turns reading an entire book to each other.

This morning, I watched two girls in my class pair up to read; an unlikely pair with very different academic levels.  As I wondered if them reading together would actually work, I watched the stronger reader open the book, and point to each word as she read it, making sure the not-as-strong reader could follow along with the sounds.  I had so wrongly assumed that because they were on two ends of the first grade reading spectrum, they could not read together, but boy, did they prove me wrong.  Y'all, I was so proud.  I think this just shows the innocence and kind-heartedness that resides in a six-year-old.  I cannot take any credit for what I witnessed, but I was in awe, and my heart smiled the rest of the morning because of it.


Forgotten flash drives
Up until today, I have been so good at remembering to keep my flash drive on my ID badge, bringing it home with me and back to school--and vice versa--every day.  Well, tonight marks a first, as I forgot it in the USB port in my classroom computer :(  Even though I didn't have that much that I was planning on getting done at home tonight, this gave me a reason to enjoy another night of relaxation!  Though my to-do list is always full and always growing, everyone needs a break . . . even if forgetting a flash drive is what makes you sit back and not do work for an evening!


Tomorrow is Friday--WOOHOOOOO!!!!!  Love those kiddos, but whew!  I would love to get some sleep for a couple of nights!  I hope you all have had a wonderful week,  and that you make the most of what's left of this week before the weekend begins!

Love from Room 106,
Allie