Snack Time

In response to Mrs. Bainbridge's Tasty Linky Party here is my classroom procedures during snack time.

Each month on the back of my behavior plan I used a simple grid in Microsoft Word that I turned into a calendar (I added clip art with my classroom theme). It had the date and a name in each box.  If I had lots of snacks in reserve, I would have a "Teacher" day and I would pass out leftovers with the iconic 1st grade motto, "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit."

In the morning of each child's snack day, they simply took the snack from their backpack and placed it on the counter for when we had snack time. This way, I could check the snack and make sure that it didn't contain any peanuts (we have a peanut allergy in the classroom). We would have snack right after P.E. in the last hour of the day. While the children were eating, I would continue my lesson or they would eat and work.

Requirements
Easy to pass out, no mess
Contains no peanuts
No drinks required (Capri-suns or juice boxes OK if desired)
Health snacks preferred

Pros
Parents only had to worry about bringing snack once a month
We did not miss any instruction time
We had a variety of snacks every day
The extras were saved for a day we didn't have snack brought in
Birthdays could be celebrated during snack time (birthday child's snack day & birthday were the same, in case they wanted to bring in something special

Cons
Sometimes parents would forget (especially towards the end of the year or during baseball season)
If many students forgot in one week, we would be out of reserves
Checking for allergies

What I would do to improve it
Send a snack schedule more than just once a month, bi-weekly
Provide a list of acceptable snack, perhaps even budget friendly snacks

At the end of the year, I surveyed the parents and most of them said that they just needed a little more reminding but they did really love the fact that they only had to worry about snack once a month.

Class Pet Peeves Linky Blog Hop

Guess who's hosting a Blog Hop! Check Out The Bubbly Blonde Teacher!

I love my job and it was very difficult thinking about the different things that annoy me. It comes with a little training in the beginning of each year.

1. Hearing my name a million times a day. "Mrs. Luna, Mrs. Luna, Mrs. Luna." Sometimes I say, "Stop Mrs. Lunaing me!"
2. TAPPING! There is nothing more annoying than feeling a little tap tap on your leg, shoulder, arm, back, tummy. (It's usually accompanies "Mrs. Lunaing me")
3. Being coughed on or sneezed on. Gross!

Fill in the Blank Friday

Join Playground Duty for Fill in the Blank Friday!

1. My favorite color is...lime green (sometimes it's hot pink though)

2. My travel destination of choice is...to another country for a new adventure! :)

3. My favorite food is...anything my husband cooks! :)

4. My happy place is...my childhood summer camp, every summer from 3rd grade till 12th.

5. My favorite saying is..."If you sprinkle while you tinkle, be sweet and wipe the seat!" Works with husbands too haha!

6. My dirty little secret is...I lock my door and turn off my classroom light so I can get some work done without any interruptions from co-workers, sorry ya'll!

7. Something friends might say about me is that I...am funny and outgoing.

 

Thanks Silver Lining Teaching!

My New (School) Year's Resolution

My resolutions are...

1. Get to school earlier in the morning
2. Recruit parent involvement & help more than before
3. Create a calm, positive learning environment for all students

Our handwriting song!

This idea isn't mine, but a fabulous idea I adapted from one of my co-workers. It worked so well last year.

At first, I talk to the children about their "1st grade lines" or their "big kid lines" (because big kids write in the lines). I tell them that there's a head line (I put my hands on my head), mid line (hands on my hips), and a base line (hands on down). I tell them that SOME letters  "hang their bottoms down"

I have all the children stand up and we simply sing the ABC song (looking at the lower case letters)except we sing a little song when we get to the ones that dip below the line ...
"a (hands on hips)
b(hands on head)
c(hips)
d (head)
e (hips)
f (head)
g...ggggggggg??? (hands out like we're confused) Hang your bottoms down down, hang your bottoms down, some letters stand real tall (hands on head) some sit on the line (hands on hips) and some hang their bottoms down down (shake ourselves down).
h (head)
i(hips)
j...jjjjjjjjjj???? (hands out like we're confused) Hang your bottoms down down, hang your bottoms down, some letters stand real tall (hands on head) some sit on the line (hands on hips) and some hang their bottoms down down (shake ourselves down)."

and we do that all the way to Z. The kids are exhausted and all smiles by the time we're done with the alphabet, but it teaches them the be mindful of where each letter is and how it's formed.

If you have questions, post below. I hope it was clear enough! :)

Dance & Learn Phonics!

Every classroom is different and every child is different. We learned this in college when we discovered that there are visual, kinesthetic, auditory, and verbal learners (tell me if I left any out). In my classroom, I like to do a lot of motions or songs to help ALL my children learn. I know that some will get it when I'm telling them, others will get it when they tell me or explain it to another child, and some will get it when they see it....but what about the kinesthetic learners!?

Vocabulary, math, phonics...wherever I can, I try to incorporate hand motions or a dance or a song w/ motions.

I've had children in my class who had attention problems and even one special little guy with a hearing problem. This helped me reach them and even out the playing field.

Here's a program I'm purchasing right now. Take a look at the adorable videos and you'll see how ALL the children are engaged and up and moving (we all know that the little ones need to move constantly).

Heidi Songs

Post a comment and let me know what you think. What do you do in your classroom for your diverse learners?

Linking Party!

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