Saturday Snapshots: Getting into the Swing of Things

School has only been back for three weeks but it's already been a whirlwind. I can't believe September is already here. Picture day is around the corner. I know all my students' names and we're starting our first novel and writing pieces! Whoa! Now, if only I could master the art of having multiple versions of myself to read with them so that I can give them all a guided reading level by Tuesday.... yeah, probably not going to happen. But, I'm finally getting into the swing of things and thought I'd link up with Michele at Run Miss Nelson's Got the Camera and share some of my school and "non school" moments so far. 

Reader's Workshop has been going really well this year. My students are really enjoying reading and have already selected some great books from the library! I found these chevron "ottomans" at Kohls on clearance in the dorm/home goods department. They were originally $60 each! Yikes!!!! I was able to buy one for $10 dollars and two more for $15 a piece. Now my library has some seating since I threw all my old floor pillows away last year. They are fifth grader approved and so far I haven't found any surprises in the "hidden" storage.

Iggy's not sure about this whole "grading" business. He was definitely not fond of the fact that I had to spend so much time grading reading logs when he wanted to play with his whale toy. Who could resist that cute little face? I had to do some serious multitasking. Hopefully, I can stick to my resolution and keep grading at school for next week!

This morning, I decided to put off grading and relax with some coffee and slippers. It was just what I needed after the longest short week. Sometimes you just need to put your feet up and stop and smell the coffee.

After coffee, I stopped off at Target. I picked up a few more clearance school items before they're all gone. I found a copy of Peter Pan for my library for .50 cents. I also found a reading comprehension book for .50cents and a pack of stickers for $1.00 on clearance. I also bought some pencil grippers because a few of my students are holding their pencils really strange - thought it might help. The rest of the stuff on the table is a new seating chart I need to create this week and word wall words for our Native American unit I need to laminate for Monday.

In a non school related picture, this summer my mom and I really got into canning along with my cousin and aunt. My mom has most of the supplies so I'd go over a few times during the summer and we'd have canning days and try our luck. My mom proved to be a way better canner than I but I still had a lot of fun! We canned many things from our own gardens and from the local farmer's market. Tonight for dinner I enjoyed some our cucumber, onion, and pepper salad. It's sooo delicious and easy to make! I'm so sad that I only have two jars left. I guess that means that fall really has arrived.

Don't forget to link up with your Saturday Snapshots!

Hope everyone else is snapping away as back to school is in full swing!

Reading Worskhop: Book Club Etiquette

Better late to the party than to not show up at all... With that being said, I'm linking up for Workshop Wednesday on this Thursday evening to share thoughts on how I wrap up my launching unit in Reader's Workshop.

We're getting ready to wrap up our launching unit this week and start our first class read aloud next week! Finally!! As we go into our first novel, we also start our book clubs during Reading Workshop. These books are usually the same genre/theme as our class read aloud and students choose from several (8-10) choices and levels. These books allow my teaching partner and I know to know what's going on during "independent" reading and check in on students as they practice skills we model during our read aloud time...

However, before we start book clubs in Reading Workshop we usually go over some typical etiquette type things. I found this great run-down via Buzz Feed titled the "13 Worst Things that Can Happen While You're Reading" and I thought I would share some of these with my students this year. As we start our workshop and especially book clubs it's important to remind students of some etiquette since they will be reading and working together but often not always in the same "spot" in a novel... You can check out the full version here or check out the "5th grade" short and sweet version I plan on sharing with my fifth graders below.

The Six Worst Things that Could Happen During Reader's Workshop

1. You spill something all over yourself and your book :( Remember, to keep our water bottles and drinks away from our books! Reading Workshop is not the best time for learning to drink with your toes!

2. Your bookmark falls out and you haven't been recording on your reading log! #FAIL

3.You waste valuable reading time by going to the bathroom!

4. Someone tells you a surprise twist ending! Oh, the horror! We never tell each other the endings to our book club novels even if they are in our reading groups! This could ruin a friendship!

5. You left your book somewhere. To participate in book club you need to bring your book to class every single day. If you don't have your book, you're not ready to learn or to read.

 

6. You have to wait for your friends to finish a book so you can FINALLY talk about it! Don't worry, they will finish it eventually. You can start a new book while you wait for your friend to finish their novel.

 

Setting up some "humorous" but strict guidelines really helps create a successful environment for the rest of the year! Last year our book clubs were a HUGE success! I can't wait to start reading Rules by Cynthia Lord next week and start rolling out our realistic fiction book club!

Hope everyone has enjoyed a great "short" week!

Tried It Tuesday: Team Facebook Page

Today, I'm linking up with Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper for her Tried it Tuesday linky! On our team this year we're all about trying new things. One of my favorite new things we've tried is our team Facebook page! It was easy to set up (according to may amazing partner who did the dirty work) and now all the teachers on our team are admins. It's great for quick reminders and updates to parents who already have Facebook accounts. We also had parents sign off on media releases so that we can start photographing students at work and posting "action shots" online as well. So far we've had 35 parents like our page and we haven't even been in school two full weeks!

You can set up the account so that parents are not able to post comments to the wall and are only able to "like" photos and statuses. Facebook also lets you know how people have viewed your status which is one of those "nice to knows." Our district and PTO also just went live on Facebook this year as well so now parents can stay connected in multiple ways. But perhaps most amazing of all, my phone knows when I'm on my team page and automatically switches over so that I'm acting as "Team Infinity" and not my personal account... Smart phones are so smart!

How do you use social media in your classrooms?

September Currently & Shoe Crisis!

I'm so glad Fall is on it's way... the leaves will be changing soon, pumpkin flavoring will dominate the dessert world, and cooler weather means hoodies with no jackets! I absolutely love this time of year! So, of course I had to link up with Farley with my Currently for September!

I'm happy to be back to school and getting back into my routines but my exercise routines have suffered a bit already... I need to set up some gym days and definitely drink MORE water than I already do. It was so much easier during the summer. But I've lost about 10 lbs so far so I'm going to keep going and I'll just have to make the time for myself!

Okay, my feet are in crisis mode! They are hurting something awful! Right now, I really want need some new shoes. Many of my shoes are getting that yucky point that they need to be put to rest and they are no longer supportive. I have picky feet however and I need arch support so the flat shoes that are trendy don't usually cut it. I really want a pair of Sperrys but I'm having some reservations about comfort... Are they comfy to teach in all day? I own several pairs of Clarks and those are usually my go to shoes and they also a boat shoe version so I'm torn as which direction to take. Both are super expensive so price doesn't matter at this point. My feet hurt and I need new shoes!  I know they can always be sent back but I really want to find a pair of comfortable slip on shoes. Suggestions?

Can't wait to see what everyone else is up too for September and hopefully find some new blogs to follow! Happy Labor Day!

Must Read Mentor Text & 100 Followers... Almost!

I'm really thankful for this long weekend! It gives me a chance to catch up with everyone's blog and have some down time after the first two nonstop weeks of school! I just noticed that I'm almost at 100 followers... WOW! I can't believe it! I started this blog to share some ideas at the prompting of a few coworkers and look where its at now?!  I've started planning my 100 follower giveaway. I'm so exited to spread some blogger love! Until then.... I'm sharing the love of books!

Today, I'm linking up with Amanda and Stacia from Collaboration Cuties for another Must Read Mentor Text! This week the theme of the text is Language Arts... I have so many books I absolutely love to read for Language Arts but the book I'm sharing today is a book I purchased just last year after an amazing co-worker and blogging buddy, Amy from the Art of Teaching shared it at a Professional Development last year.  After flipping through the first few pages, I just knew I had to have my own copy of Bedhead by Margie Palatini.

It's picture day and poor Oliver wakes up with the worse case of.... BEDHEAD! Oh no! This book is great for teaching all things literary! It's great for making connections, inferences, and using schema. But, I personally I love using this book to teaching fresh language and figurative language. Margie Palatini has such a rich vocabulary and vibrant writing style. This book is chocked full of powerful verbs and adjectives as well as creative ways to structure a sentence. It's definitely ANYTHING but boring when you're looking to teach creative uses for punctuation or sentence variety. Here's a glance at the first two pages...

I love the line that his hair looked like his cat's "coughed-up fur ball." This book is a quick read that can be used as a mentor text throughout the year. Last year, I typed up a copy and we kept in our writing section and used this text to look at various traits of good writing throughout our school year. I can't wait to pull it out again this year! The illustrations in the book add to the wit and playfulness of the story. I have nothing but glowing remarks for Bedhead! Check it out from the library and see for yourself!

Hope everyone has a wonderful (and well-groomed) Labor Day weekend!