Monday, November 24, 2014
Classroom Elf on the Shelf
So I'm totally NOT one of those people that find the Elf on the Shelf creepy.
I find it magical, adorable, and way to fun not to have in my classroom!!
This year will be the 4th year that Freddie the Elf comes to visit! :) His time in our classroom is without a doubt the biggest memory my students have from the year. My first group of kids are now in 3rd grade. Each year, they run to my classroom to ask questions about Freddie and if he has returned. I love it. They love it. And that makes me happy.
I've had many questions about Freddie.
"How do you get started?"
"What do the parents think?"
"Do your kids actually believe it?"
"How much work is involved?"
Let's get started answering those...
Elves are Christmas related- how do you get away with that?
First of all, I send an email to my parents in November asking if any of them object to having a "holiday elf" in our classroom--- see what I did there? It's a HOLIDAY elf- not a CHRISTMAS elf. {Calling Freddie a holiday elf is essential as I have many Muslim students in my class.}
In all of my years teaching, I've never had any objections!
How do the parents feel about it?
I then send out a SignUp to my parents using signupgenius.com for parents to secretly sign up for a date to take Freddie home for a one-night sleepover! Y'all, it's absolutely hilarious to see the record timing your signup fills up- the parents LOVE it because their child LOVES it!! I encourage parents to not tell their child when they will be taking Freddie home, I like the students to be surprised when it is their turn.
More on what the students do with Freddie at home a little later....
Then comes the delivery...
Every year, the night before Freddie arrives, I wrap him in a shoe box with bubble wrap and lots of marshmallows- snowballs- and glitter.
I've heard of other teachers wrapping the Elf on the Shelf box instead of a shoe box. The only reason I don't do this is because the book mentions reporting back to Santa, and I try to talk about how Freddie is a Holiday Elf- not Christmas.
I put the box in the freezer and slap on the North Pole delivery label I created.
I've heard of other teachers wrapping the Elf on the Shelf box instead of a shoe box. The only reason I don't do this is because the book mentions reporting back to Santa, and I try to talk about how Freddie is a Holiday Elf- not Christmas.
I put the box in the freezer and slap on the North Pole delivery label I created.
My principal usually takes part in the delivery. He rushes from the office and interrupts our class by busting open the door screaming "SPECIAL DELIVERY!". He dramatically has us feel how cold the box is and how freezing his hands are (after dunking them in ice water)... I, of course, am super dramatic about opening the package, which in turn makes the students FREAK OUT!
Every year, I type up a letter to enclose inside the delivery box, along with some special magic gloves that students must wear if they hold Freddie.
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| If you notice, Freddie wears a green felt vest. I had a sweet room parent make this vest for him his first year in my class. This was to help families not get him confused with other elves they may have at home! :) |
Usually on Day 1, Freddie just hangs out and observes. He may make some mischief with our classroom calendar, or something easy like that.
Day 1 is also when I start the Freddie Sleepovers. After looking at the sign up, I announce who Freddie will be going home with that afternoon. There is usually one or two kids with a super sad face- but I quickly remind them they will have a chance a different day!
At home, the kids are able to play with Freddie (if they are wearing the magic gloves), take him to the grocery store, or have Freddie watch them play at basketball practice. They are also asked to take pictures of Freddie and his adventures, and send the pictures back to class for the students to share with everyone.
For the sleepover, your elf will need a bag of some sort. You can be really cute and creative like my sweet friend, Nicole. She sewed me a sleepover bag for Freddie including a draw string and clear pocket in the front for me to include an "If Found" label...
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| This label, along with the North Pole label, is included in my Classroom Elf Kit in my TPT store! |
Every day, your students will return the elf to class. Place your elf in an area of the room for him to do so some good observing. When your students leave for a long period of time, (specials, lunch, recess etc.) place your elf in a different part of the room and participate in some fun!
Every year, I always have students that want to bring their elves from home to come and hang out with Freddie for the day. Too cute!!
This particular day, another teacher I work with made some "elf donuts" at home for Freddie to deliver to the class!!
Oh. Em. Gee.
Have I said how much fun this is??
One last suggestion I have to share with you...
While having a classroom elf is loads of fun- some days I'm just not feeling the holiday spirit.
When the kids come in screaming "WHERE'S FREDDIE!!???" - it get's real old real fast.
So, to solve this problem, I had Freddie write a letter to the kids saying they were hurting his elf ears with their screaming. Next time they come into class looking for him, they need to come in quietly, and when they spot Freddie- use the secret signal of showing "elf ears".
Y'all- it was magic. No more screaming.
After they spot Freddie in his new hang out spot. I choose a reporter to record the sighting in the Freddie Files binder.
They draw a picture of the sighting, and record what we saw Freddie doing. I change reporters throughout the day and by the end of the holiday season, I have a binder full of Elf Files the students can read in our classroom library!
(Another option would be to have your kids have their own student Elf Files recording journals.)
All in all, having a classroom elf requires some work and sneakiness. BUT, like I said before- it'll be a memory your kids will never forget. Isn't that what we want as teachers??
Now you want a Holiday Elf in your classroom?
PERFECT!
I created a pack to help other teachers get started with this holiday fun in their classrooms- check it out by clicking on the picture below!
What does this pack include?
•Classroom Elf Ideas- stuck on what
to do? See the list of ideas!
•Elf Files Binder cover/pages for
you to create your own classroom documentation of elf sightings
•Optional student Elf Files Mini Journals for each student to document
their elf sightings
•“Name That Elf” Graph to vote on
classroom elf name
•Parent Letter to send home with
your elf when students take him home.
•North Pole Delivery label and “If
Found” badge to attach to the bag or box you send home with your elf
Head on over to my TPT store to grab yourself a copy!!
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
GoNoodle Challenge Success!!
If you read my last GoNoodle post, you would know that our class has taken upon a new challenge!!
My class has GoNoodle in their blood y'all. For real.
My kids were curious if other teachers in the building were doing GoNoodle- or even knew about what it was. We took a survey from each teacher. My kids were mind blown that the majority of the teachers in our school does not have their class participate in these awesome brain breaks.
"What are they thinking???" one student asked. Ha!
They were determined to make a difference.
For 5 weeks, we spent time on Friday mornings to work on this mission:
"How will we as first graders convince other teachers in the school to use GoNoodle"
We had to do a little brainstorming first...
Why do we like GoNoodle?
What are our 3 favorite things?
Then we had to brainstorm ways we would get the word out for how amazing GoNoodle is to our teachers! Our class goal was to have at least a total of 16 teachers in the building to use GoNoodle. ((cross your fingers))
Throughout this process, we were tweeting out our plan of how to achieve our goal, My kids were so excited to see that GoNoodle RETWEETED our tweets and replied back!! #celebstatus
"How can we be a part of their marketing team???"
Later in the week, they sent us some super cool GoNoodle Swag to help us in our effort in spreading the GoNoodle Love!
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| Even our principal got in on the fun! :) |
The next thing on our agenda was to create invitations for teachers to come to our GoNoodle Powered Classroom and see what the hype is all about!
We made sure to list some of the reasons why teachers should use GoNoodle:
-its FREE!
-Your kids will love you
-GoNoodle can help your kids calm down before a test
-It get's their wiggles out!
-It helps kids learn
-Movement is important in all grades
We created videos of the kids doing GoNoodle brain breaks and turned them into QR Codes to put on posters around the school...
Then it was time to create and hang the posters in all of the "hot spots" we could find around the school!
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The next week, we delivered our invitations to all of the teachers. It was the sweetest thing to watch these determined first graders BEG the teachers to come to our class!
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| "What's GoNoodle" ... "Don't worry, we aren't eating noodles- we are USING our noodles! Come and See!" |
A week has passed since we delivered our invites. It took some waiting (and maybe some begging) for teachers to come and check it out.
We are proud to say that so far, 4 different classes have come to see our GoNoodle Powered Classroom with their students!
We danced, We persuaded, and succeeded!!
As of now, we have 14 teachers who have implemented GoNoodle in their classroom! :) We may not have reached our goal of 16 teachers, but we aren't giving up hope!
My kids had the best time with this challenge. I took all of the pictures and videos from the past week and created a video to showcase their hard work. I'm so proud of them!!
Click on the picture below to view it:
Thank you GoNoodle for all you do for kids.
Your biggest fans in Coppell, Texas will continue to spread the love!! :)
Liebster Award!!
Oh my Liebster!!
I'm so happy that I was nominated by the oh so sweet Kari at Teaching With Smiles for the Liebster Award! According to what I've been reading, this award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers in order to recognize their hard work and fun ideas! While doing that, the blogger accumulates more followers and helps them out in this crazy massive blogging world.
I'm so happy that I was nominated by the oh so sweet Kari at Teaching With Smiles for the Liebster Award! According to what I've been reading, this award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers in order to recognize their hard work and fun ideas! While doing that, the blogger accumulates more followers and helps them out in this crazy massive blogging world.
Needless to say, I'm super pumped! Thanks Kari!! :)
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As part of the award, I am asked to share a little more information about myself and this little blog of mine. Afterwards, I am asked to nominate 11 other bloggers that deserve this award!
Let's do this...
1.) Why and how long ago did you start blogging?
I've always admired other blogs- the famous Deanna Jump, Cara Carroll, Reagan Tunstall and Hope King's are just SOME of my favorites. When I went to the I Teach 1st conference in Vegas this summer (read about it here), I felt so inspired to start my own!! In August, "Loopin' Littles"...name help from Molly at Lucky To Be In First...was born :)
2. ) What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why?
I would say passionate. I hope that my passion for teaching is evident in everything I do- and I hope it shows in this little blog of mine!
3.) Is there something you learned late in your blog journey you wished you knew before?
Writing a meaningful post takes much more time than I ever realized. I love it- but life sure does get in the way sometimes.
4.) What is your favorite past time other than blogging?
Other than blogging, I love game nights with friends. Andrew and I love to host and have our friends come over on the weekend. Whether it's a game of fishbowl, cornhole, or Settlers of Catan (anyone?) ...anything to get us all together!
5.) How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?
Eek. Not nearly as much time as I want to. Most days, I can't even find the energy or time to open my computer. Other days, I have so much I want to say but I don't know where to start. Finding the time is without a doubt the hardest part. I would say currently, I spend 2 hours a week :(
#slacker
#slacker
6.) What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most?
Without a doubt, I love getting to see a window into other teacher's classrooms. I love that we all can connect and "get to know each other" through blogging and share our experiences. Reading about new and innovative teaching strategies and classroom management may be my favorite!!
7.) Where does your blog inspiration come from?
I'm Cara Carroll's biggest fan! While I love hopping around to other fabulous blogs, I always find myself getting most of my ideas from The First Grade Parade. Come on y'all, I know I'm not the only one. I pray everyday for God to give me her handwriting :)
8.) Which post that you've written are you most proud of?
I think I'm the most proud of my Classroom Reveal (Although my QR Codes Listening Center post is a close second since it's been my biggest seller in my TPT store!) The Reveal post really shows you the ins and outs of my classroom. I take you through each area and I explain a little bit about having Great Expectations for your students. Check it out!
9.) Is there any post you have been planning to do, but have postponing it for a while now?
I really want to start posting a "Peek at my Week" for everyone to see what we are up to in our classroom!
Also, I have got to think of my products to post in my TPT store!!
10.) What is your favorite aspect of blogging?
I love that teachers from all around the world get to connect and share ideas. It amazes me how we all are helping each other to be the best teachers we can be. It has been way too fun!!
11.) Which recipe, project, or idea on my blog would you most likely to try yourself?
If you haven't seen Kari's Math Word Wall Posters- you have to check them out!! I don't even need to create my own, because hers are fabulous!! :)
Now it's time for me to nominate 11 other well deserving teachers!! Check them out!
2. We Heart 1st
3. Year2tastic
4. Mrs. Murray's Kinders
To those nominated, here are the rules:
1. In your post, link back to the blogger who nominated you as a thank you and "shout out."
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you (the ones I answered above).
3. Nominate 11 blogs of your choice that each have less than 200 followers. Provide them with 11 questions to answer or have them answer the questions above.
4. Let your nominees know that they've been nominated and provide them with a link to your post so that they can accept.
5. Send your nominator a link to your post so that s/he can learn more about you as well! (You can just put your post link in the comments below!)
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Holiday Card Exchange- 2014
**It's the most WONDERFUL time of the year!**
I had a coworker email me this amazing idea!
Jen from "Projects by Jen" organizes a Holiday Card Exchange for teachers!
Have y'all heard of this??
Your class gets paired up with 29 other classes around the nation/world to exchange holiday cards and spread holiday cheer.
More information can be found here!!
Our class just registered and we are so excited! Not only will this help us learn letter writing skills, but the coolest part is that we can track where the cards come from on a world map!... not to mention, how COOL is it that we get to connect with classes around the world?
Click the picture below to see
some examples from the 2013 Holiday Card Exchange:
All letters need to be mailed out by December 8th- so hurry!
Don't waste another minute- sign up and join the fun :)
Sunday, October 26, 2014
The Sunday Scoop!!
This Linky Party from Teaching Trio is too fun!
There is so much this girl HAS to do this week- but let's be honest, I'm not even sure that the 3 things I chose will actually get done!
Does anybody else procrastinate until the very last day to complete student report cards? Thankfully, they are all online for us- but it takes hours! (and of course, this post is more important!)
Laundry- enough said.
{insert Grumpy Cat face}
Friendsgiving is coming up!! Do any of you gather your friends together for a big potluck meal before actual Thanksgiving?? We do! It's one my most favorite memories of the year, and my husband and I love to host! We may be the only couple out of our friends that doesn't currently have a large home to host friends, but our little apartment does the job- it just makes it more cozy, right? :)
We make Friendsgiving as cheesy and elaborate as it can be. It's completed with Thanksgiving decor from Wally World, (tablecloths, turkey centerpieces, and nameplates for everyone) Everybody is required to contribute and bring a delicious dish to add to the mix. As we are eating, we all say what we are thankful for- and I usually end up in tears because I'm thankful for way too much in my life.
I'm LOVING being a TPT Seller!! It has been so fun and everytime I get a notification that somebody has purchased one of MY products- I do a little happy dance.
The problem is, it is NOT easy coming up with these super fantastic products. My QR Code Listening Center is without a doubt my Best Seller, and I'm realizing it's difficult to create more products like that for teachers to use year round. Gotta keep my wheels turnin'...
Y'all! I attended my first Blogger Meet up AS A BLOGGER!!
(The 2014VegasMeetUp was actually my first meetup- but I just stood there in awe of all of the other amazing bloggers I secretly hoped to be one day!)
Yesterday was so much fun to sit and chat with these sweet teachers.
And this time, I was one of the THEM!
Ashley and Amanda from For His Glory did SUCH a fantastic job with all of the details!!
The name tags, the mason jars (complete with a Texas decal sticker, and washi tape) were
AH- DOOR-A- BLE!
....and the door prizes!! Eek!! I was so fortunate to win these BEAUTIFUL handmade earrings from Stephanie (Mrs. D's Corner)
Aren't they gorgeous???
It was a fabulous day!! I'm so blessed to have connections with amazing educators around the nation through social media and the blogging network. But I now can say I have connections right outside my door here in Dallas.
I loved meeting all of these sweet teachers- I just wish we had more time to chat!
Till next time!!
Does any other district do TOY nominations super early in the year?? Not gonna lie... I wish we did our nominations at the end of the year, but I'm sure there are reasons why we submit in October.
I love being able to recognize a fellow teacher that goes above and beyond for her (or his) students! There are so many worthy educators in my school and I really need to spend some time thinking about who is the most deserving this year!
Nominations are due Friday... that's more important than report cards, right?! ;)
Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend and your start for the week is great.
And...
Can I get an Amen??
Now go link up for the Sunday Scoop with Teaching Trio!
Friday, October 17, 2014
Do you GoNoodle??
Do you GoNoodle?? -- I do!! And it has truly changed my classroom environment this school year.
Many of you haven’t heard what this buzz is about GoNoodle- but
I promise you, you won’t regret checking it out! It’s a FREE website for brain
breaks- If you do any brain breaks at all for your students, you should totally
try GoNoodle!
My favorite things about it:
1. It’s FREE!!!
– just sign up as a teacher and set up a class. Our class is the
“RockinRedSockMonkeys” Pick a classroom “champ” and get to brain-breaking!
Because
of the extreme GoNoodle-Love happening in my class, I went ahead and tried the
FREE 15 day trial of GoNoodle PLUS. I’m LOVING it and will now pay 10$ a month
to continue having the PLUS. The 10 bucks is totally worth all of the amazingness!!
2. GoNoodle is not just all fun and games (although that's a huge part of it!) We have math fact review, calming yoga time before our spelling
tests, and energizing wiggle jams to start our mornings. There are ENDLESS choices--and they are all conveniently organized for you into categories!!
Helpful tip for teachers that are afraid of getting too crazy: Use the dancing brain breaks for a classroom
behavior incentive!
3. The classroom
champs- For each 10 brain breaks you do, your class champ (or character) will
“grow stronger”...eventually you will max out your champ- and pick a new one!
This is really the hook for your students.
4. It’s not just
for K-2 students- There are plenty of 3-5 brain breaks that your students will
LOVE. Movement to help learning matters in all grades!!
GoNoodle PLUS is where it's at y'all- Body Spelling, Word Jam, and Mega Math
Marathon.
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| The kids are spelling each letter of one of our spelling words for the week- STAY |
5. It’s not just
for classroom teachers!! It’s perfect for P.E, Music, Art, and Counseling!!
Think about the many times a counselor has to calm a student down, or change their sweet little attitudes
... there's a brain break for that.
What about a mile run in P.E?
...there's a brain break for that.
A wiggle song to get your wiggles out before you start working on your artwork?
...there's a brain break for that too!!
When you have time, I strongly encourage you read these quick
blog posts I found straight from the GoNoodle Blog! I truly believe it will change the environment in
your classroom!!
GoNoodle in the upper grades:
Why
Movement Matters:
Find the PERFECT Brain Breaks for your class!
Cure the Afternoon sluggish mood:
Take GoNoodle Throughout the Building
I didn't even tell you the best part.
My kids are shocked that not every teacher in my school does GoNoodle in their classroom. They challenged themselves to work as hard as they can to convince other teachers in the building to get on board.
Y'all. It's insane and it's making my heart JUMP to see them so determined.
Last week we brainstormed ways we could persuade.
Today, they made invitations to give our to other teachers so they can come check out our GoNoodle powered classroom and see what all the hype is about...
Our goal is to
have 16 teachers to GoNoodle-ize their classroom!
Stay tuned to see how successful the kids are with their challenge!
Follow us on Twitter @MrsSaxonKinder to catch the details :)
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