A Chickadee and a Worm Freebie!

This chickadee is busy building his nest.

Each year I travel with my sisters to try and see as many birds in one location as possible.  We wish we could do a big year together, but because of other responsibilities we just can't do it...Maybe someday! If you don't know what a "Big Year" is I highly recommend the book "The Big Year" by  Mark Obmascik. I returned yesterday from our "Big Weekend" exhausted and sore from hiking and straining my neck to see more birds.  I won't bore you with too many bird pictures, but I will share this picture these pictures that made me think of my friend Laurie at Chickadee Jubilee.

How can you not love these cheerful little guys?

I do have over 200 pictures of my trip and I will be sharing them at my blog devoted to mostly birds.  If you love birds you can check out my other pictures in the coming weeks! I'd Rather Be Birding is the blog where I let my bird geekiness out!  I promised I wouldn't mention any more bird activities this year.  So I won't tell you about the Chickadee and Hawk game we played during our break.  I won't mention how it is a lot like Duck Duck Goose.  I wish I could tell you how "It" is a chickadee and says chicka-dee-dee-dee and on the last dee the person they touch turns into a hawk and tries to catch them. You'll have to wait until next year to find out that the chickadee is safe if it makes it all the way around the circle and sits down in hawk's place.  I bet you can hardly wait until next year to find out how to play this game that teaches kids about predator and prey in the bird world...sigh!

Looking through a compost pile for earthworms.

Isn't it cute?

Do you know how hard it is to measure worms?  I'll be glad to use
ones that aren't quite so squirmy and made out of yarn!

Today we started learning all about worms.  I promise a couple of posts about this.  Here are a couple of pictures to whet your appetite for more wormy ideas...

Finally here is a Fact or Fiction activity that I'll use with my students tomorrow.  We'll be reading Diary of a Worm.  Today we read a non-fiction book called Wonderful Worms. Tomorrow we'll be writing poetry...our first draft and deciding whether statements are fact or fiction...Here's a link for you if you'd like a freebie for studying worms!  

Worms Worm WORMS! Freebie!

Enjoy these wonderful last days of school.  Love the students that are precious in His sight.  I pray they are precious in your sight, too!

Jenny

Verb Birds

I had to extend our bird unit into this week.  I am My students are so into it that we had to keep going.  Yesterday when I saw  Chickadee Jubilee’s post I knew I had to write some bird poetry.  We haven’t done as much poetry this year as I would like and I knew my students would benefit from this activity because we are also learning about verbs.  The poetry frame originally came from WritingFix.  I used paintbrushes instead of marbles because I didn’t have any marbles at school and I forgot mine at home.  We pretended that the brushes were feathers and now I’ve made a mental note to use feathers when  I reapeat this craftivity in the future.

Just like the Chickadees we Owlets read the book Birds by Kevin Henkes again.  This time we listened for and recorded the verbs we heard as we read.  Then we made the verbs  fly across the paper before we painted what we thought the sky would look like if birds left paint behind when they flew. We all hooted with pleasure as we hung our finished projects up for others to admire and learn from.

My owlets have always loved speech bubbles, so today as we finished up another project we used them to reinforce the idea that verbs are what a noun does.  Each child made a bird with a foot and handprint.  They used markers to add the details.  I placed the birds on a blue background.  I added speech bubbles and the owlets told me what their bird could do. 

A whole flock of verbs!

I saw this idea somewhere on Pintrest.  It looked more.....hmm
professional when I saw it!

Don't you love this Hummingbird!

This has been a rough week.  My owlets are getting restless and branching out.  They are ready to fly. Tempers have flared, and arguments have erupted over play-dates and birthday parties.  I found that my patience ran low, too.  Today the sweetness of three students made me smile and remember why I do what I do.  One child, who loves to test me said, “You are so cool!  I love you.”  Another left a note on my desk that said, “Mrs. Reck I love you as a teachur and a purson.” Another student returned to give me hugs during the afternoon because, “I’m going to miss you so much, tomorrow!”  Not too many people have that happen on their jobs.  

Daily Review and Teacher Appreciation!

Me and my Firsties looking for birds on our field trip last week!  What a hoot we had!

What do you think about my new look?  I think it is amazing!  Thanks to my friend Snickety Things and Digital Bakeshop graphics I have a whole new look!  Blogging has given me a great new friend who I wish was my neighbor.  She has helped me over and over.  I hope someday we can meet up for lunch!

I am so excited....I sold a product on TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers!)  I made 15 cents.  Because of my instant wealth I've decided to share my Daily Review with you.  It will be available through my blog all week for Teacher Appreciation Week.  After that I'll ship it over to my TPT store.

When my students come in in the morning they . . . "Put their folder in the hold and get their Daily Review.  It's sitting on my desk waiting for you them!"  Daily Review is just as the word implies...A review of past objectives and a reinforcement of lessons taught.  Each day of the week I have students skip count by a different number, write the date, write the weather, write the number of days we have been in school and well look for yourself!

The handwriting lines are for students to write their own original sentence or to answer the question of the day in a complete sentence.

If you Would like a weeks worth click on the link to get it freeeee all week long. Here is a week of Daily Review just for you! ( I hope this link works...Let me know if it doesn't!)  While they are doing the review, I take lunch count and check folders for any messages or homework.  If there is time left I have students read their fluency passages to me.  They have twenty minutes to try to complete the review.  Early finishers become rug readers...They sit on the rug and read.  They get to choose from books I have put in a basket on the rug. Then we are ready to start our day of growing and learning!
Teachers, I appreciate you and what you do for all the precious children in your care and keeping.  May you be appreciated over and over all week long!!
Jenny

MORE Birds!!

All week the weather man tried to scare me away from taking a field trip today.  Storms, rain, wind...They promised everything necessary to make an outside in the woods hike seem out of the realm of possibility.  What a glorious day we got!  In West Michigan along the shore the weather was PERFECT.  Warm...Check!  Sunny....Check!  Now imagine sitting on a quiet bench enjoying the tranquility of the dunes.  Suddenly, a mob of first graders goes tearing down the dunes and scares every bird and animal away within a five mile range!  But they're happy, so it doesn't bother you one bit!  The funniest part of the whole experience to me was my firsties fear that we might see a fox on our hike!  I soon feared that we wouldn't see even one bird!

Only one horrible moment occurred on the whole outing...Wait, two!  The first one was when I turned on my camera and saw . . . "no memory card"!  You have got to be kidding!  I have no pictures of the Bluebirds, Towhees, Goldfinches, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Black-throated Green Warblers, Chipping Sparrows, or first graders to share with you.  Do I have to tell you about the other?  Well.....The State Park is getting ready for their annual plant sale.  Earlier, I had pointed out some of the plants that they had for sale.  Somehow, a  Prickly Pear Cactus lost a leaf.  Some kids found it and picked it up.  In a wonderful teaching moment I said, "When your done, pass it to the next person!"  Have you ever handled a Prickly Pear?  They are prickly.  Two girls took on most of the damage and I spent half an hour pulling out prickers back at school.  I told the kids that they had to do three things today....Stay safe, have fun, and learn something.  We all learned that Prickly Pears are.....PRICKLY!  What are cactus doing in Michigan, anyway?


I have to share the books that we read today before our trip.  The first book I had never heard of until I read about it on Mrs. Quimby's Readers and Writers.  As soon as I read about it I ordered it from Amazon.  I love Keven Henkes.  I treasure this book written by him and illustrated by his wife, Laura Dronzek.  Birds is perfect for first grade. I had only one student who didn't like it because "it didn't really tell a story."  ( I'm proud of her for not being afraid to state her opinion!)  I thought the illustrations were one of the best things going for the book, but I also enjoyed the simple text and imaginative ideas expressed in the book.  Her is my favorite page(s)!

One of the things I HATE about Amazon is that they give you bad ideas....Okay this one was a good one!  I had to get this book, too.  I am so glad that I did.  The pictures....gorgeous.  The text ... Simple!  About Birds A Guide for Children is beautifully written by another husband wife team.  The pictures are so gorgeous, I had to share one with you.

Gorgeous pictures...Simple text....All of my firsties love this book!  We heard
the Oven Bird today...No chance of seeing it!

Now, are you ready for firsties projects?  On my last blog I posted a link to grab my bird unit. Here is my very own firsties research projects.  You can get this from my blog for free or if you really want to buy it you can visit my TPT store!  I am so proud of my students....

 Have you made it to the very end of this very long post?  I am impressed!  Leave a comment . . . You might win a prize or a new follower!!

I had a very odd experience today.  I typed my blog address into the address bar and was told my blog had "issues" because of my association with shabbyblogs.  Has this ever happened to you?  I did push the panic button and figured I'd never be able to use my blog again.  But I calmed down took a deep breath and said goodbye to my lovely owl background.  I now have to figure out how to get a suitable background in place. Boo HOOOooooo I miss my owls!

Some Thoughts and Birds!

KPM Doodles....Love!

I have noticed that in my class the children who have teachers as parents know exactly how many weeks, days, and hours are left in the school year.  Is it because their parents have a sense of urgency about making sure the students in their care are ready for the next year?  Is it because their parents are dreading the end of the year and saying goodbye to students who have come to be a part of their learning community that supports and encourages each other?  Maybe it is because the parent/teacher can't wait to spend some quality time with their own children.  If might even be the parent/teacher is feeling weary and needs the summer to refresh, restore and relax!  If the parent/teacher happens to be me...It is a combination of all of the above!

Being a parent has helped make me a better teacher.  With the end of each day I ask myself, "Would I have found my own teaching acceptable for my own child."  Most days I can honestly answer, "Yes!"  I have great children.  They encourage, accept and love me!  More than once I have heard all three say, they wish I had been their first grade teacher.  That makes me swell with love and joy.

Being a teacher has made me a better parent!  I have some amazing parents. They encourage, support and reinforce classroom learning in their own homes.  It has made me be a more engaged parent.  I can ask myself, "Would I want my students to have a parent like me?"  I'm working on it...I'm trying to guide without being over bearing and encourage without being pushy.  I pray each day that they will grow to be filled with the joy of knowing God has blessed them in body, mind and spirit.  I love being a mom and a teacher.

Now you probably think I'm going to share something for Mother's Day...Nope!  I want to share my developing bird unit with you.  Did I mention I am a bird....nut?  It's true.  My other blog is all about birds. I'd Rather be Birding is a blog that ends each post with..."I'd rather be birding...."
Click here for Bird Unit! Here!

A couple of pages from my expanding bird unit!

A continuing issue for me is no windows in my classroom.  I came up with a solution today that made the whole class happy.  allaboutbirds.org is a website with lots of great bird resources.  They sponsor a web-cam that streams live video of a Red-tailed Hawk's nest at Cornell University.  My firsties loved watching the young hawks being fed pigeon meat.  I heard lots of awwwwes!  When I project the image onto my whiteboard I have a window with a view!

I'm looking forward to sharing some more bird action with you later this week.

Check this out on allaboutbirds.org.  You'll fall in love with these little fluff-balls!

Jenny-Wren (A fitting nickname given to me by my Dad!)

Socks and a Wedding!

Just like kids, these socks love sugar!

They were caught reading!

These socks were caught red-footed running through the halls at school.

Teaching in a parochial school sometimes means that you have to be a bit creative with your resources.  We don’t have Smart boards, or ipads.  We do have laptops and computer projectors.  I try to utilize these to the best of my abilities.  I like to make Power Points for and with my students.  I love making Power Points with pictures of my students  or the stuff they bring.  They get so excited when I share it with them. at school and send it to their families in an e-mail. 

The most popular PowerPoint I’ve made was one with my student’s socks!  Early this year we had “Bring a Sock to School Day.  We did all kinds of things with socks during the day, but the fun really started for the socks after the students had gone home for the day.  You and your students may enjoy this silly sock story.  Even better, host your own Bring a Sock to School Day and make a PowerPoint for your students to treasure! A Silly Sock Story...(Click on the blue link!)

My nephew and his blushing bride greet the congregation as Mrs. and Mr.!

It’s been a busy and very wonderful weekend. A wedding and a nature hike were the highlights! Last week I promised you pictures of the newlyweds!  They threw a wonderful party and it was so good to spend time with my four sisters and brother and their families.  After seven years of romancing she finally said, “I do”!  I love them both and wish them many years of happiness!

Jenny

Sentimental Journey

Thank you KPM Doodles!

Oh my goodness!  So much to do and so little time!  I have something big planned for the next four weekends.  The best big weekend will be the one coming up when I get to go to a much anticipated wedding!  My nephew Ben is FINALLY marrying his sweetheart, Leah.  They have been together for what seems like forever, but usually separated by the state of Michigan!  They'll finally be together and they'll practically be our neighbors.  I know those newlyweds are going to want to spend TONS of time with their aunt and family!!  Be sure to come back next week and see a picture of this cute couple!

I've been doing lots of blog hopping and getting fresh ideas to help me finish out the year.  Because it is National Poetry Month and because I am feeling very sentimental about my class I've written a poem.  My challenge to you is to write a poem for or about your class this year. Include special memories and treasured thoughts that you have regarding your year.  This year has been particularly special for me as I have been with my class for two years in a row!  They are the first group of firsties I have had since my maternity leave 21 years ago.  I have enjoyed them and loved them so much.  Well, I'll let my poem tell the story...

Thanks for joining me on this sentimental journey!
Jenny

Thank you so much to my new friend, Renonda for helping with my button!  Snickety Things has become a favorite blog of mine.  Now Renonda has started blogging about books...Which I love!
She makes the most beautiful cakes...Yum!