Word work, Halloween, and resources

Hi there! It is 9:30 on a Friday night, and I am EXHAUSTED.  This is usually my "crash early" night but I just had to blog ;) I don't know if in the beginning of the year if I showed you pictures of my Daily 5 and Math Centers charts so I at least have a picture of my Daily 5 chart (and my Jobs that I change every week).. I got the ideas from Tara at K-2 is Splendid, my wonderful friend/co-teacher last year.. the laminating/dry erase system works very well!

 Oh, and on my Daily 5 Chart "CW" means Cursive writing for my third graders :) Sometimes I write in different things, and that is the beauty of using dry erase--I can be creative! I use stars and different shapes for guided reading groups, and the same with conferencing.  The kids like it too.

Here are some examples of the student word work that they enjoy.  I just bought these stamps from Lakeshore.  I have often bought the smaller stamps at Walmart and Michaels for a dollar, but they are so small and hard to find each letter, that the students become disinterested in them.  So I went and spent a little more for the bigger stamps, and my kids love using them!

 

 

My kids also love using the mini scrabble board to make letters.  Anything that can be turned into a game, any child will love.  "Let's see who can make the words" "Let's make all of our spelling words as quick as we can".  I love watching them enjoy learning!

 

 

During Daily 5, one of my lovely students was watching me take pictures and he said, "Can you take a picture of the book I am reading for your blog?" and how could I say no?! He's such a sweetie, and he wanted to share his Babe Ruth book with all of you :)

I love being able to freely celebrate Holidays since I work at a Catholic school.  My kids are very excited about Halloween, and I try to do fun projects with them as often as I can (while making sure they are working hard each day!) These are pictures of their 3-D haunted houses :)

 

Here is me and the second grade teacher I work with at our field trip to a farm.  :) It was raining out, but we still managed to have fun!

I bought these two books to help me with homework and teaching math, and they have been a lifesaver and definitely two must haves for fourth grade.  The Spectrum math book has a range of topics for printables for homework and even class work - it is so nice not to have to create and find my own math sheets all the time... since I have a 3/4 class, I try to make sure that the students are getting the BEST resources and homework on each topic for them individually.   

 

The Common Core book I love because it challenges the students.. it is full of problem solving and definitely thinking outside the box (which is what the Common Core is all about), but the students even know and have said "Wow.. I really had to work hard for this problem" or "My parents didn't even know how to do it"! But I tell my kids they are smarties and learning all they can :) The only negative thing about this Common Core book is that the pages are very thin and often don't copy the best because the pages are almost see through.

My kids are participating in the Paws for Reading program from Scholastic.  It is a wonderful program where the students read for at least 20 minutes a day, log it in and Scholastic will donate a book to a child in need.  Such a wonderful cause! Go Team Dog and Team Cat :)

 

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure you stop by Stellar Students for her amazing giveaway that I am a part of.. she is generously giving away AMAZING prizes along with other teaches (like me) donating their products!! Check it out!! Krista is also giving away her Government Unit which is a wonderful resource to have!!