Five for Friday

I am happy to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday post!

1.) This arrived for me in my school mailbox!  In my first years of teaching I was nicknamed "Super Teacher" for being the annoying teacher who made others look bad by being fantabulous  for always going over and above with my students in my classroom.  One of my team mates sent this to me and it made my week!!!!  Thanks Shannon for sending this sweet note and shirt over.

2.)  We went to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC this week.  My Firsties LOVED it!!  We have been studying how animals communicate, so it was awesome to see STEM in action!  Spring has sprung and the animals got the message loud and clear!!    When we walked up on these tortoises one of my innocent sweeties said, "Mrs. Haywood, that big turtle is on top of the the small one!"  My response: LET'S MOVE ON! 

3) April means its time for the annual Egg Hunt!  The girls seem to really understand the concept this year.  It was tricky when they threw in, they could only find 8 eggs.  Telling a 3 year old they can't pick up every egg they see is VERY difficult!!!!

4) The Kindergartners and First Graders are putting on a mini Broadway Musical of A Year with Frog and Toad.  It.Is.Adorable.  We were asked to choose the lucky kiddos who would play Frog and Toad, and hot dog, they are both from my room!!  Watch out Hollywood, these guys are coming for you!

The Birds, Bees and Pond Creatures

 5) My Firstie Friend, Faith, is having an awesome giveaway over at her blog 1st Grade Fantabulous.  She is offering a DVD bundle from The Learning Station.  Head over there and enter to win!  http://1stgradefantabulous.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-learning-station-giveaway.html

That's my week in a nutshell!  One more till Spring Break!  I think I can, I think I can!  Head over and link up!

Giveaway Winners

Yay tomorrow is hump day and its all down here from there!!!  My spring break is in sight and I can't wait to get my toes in the sand!!!!

As promised here are the winners from my 100 follower giveaway.  As many of you know I was finishing up my National Boards last week and sending my blue box on its merry way by this Saturday.  In honor of finishing it up ON TIME, I decided to choose 4 winners!  Each winner can select any 2 items they would like from my TpT or TN store.

Drumroll..............

Tamera at My Heart Belongs in First
Jennifer at Keys4Education
Jen at Lessons Learned
Erika (I don't know you blog, sorry!)

I will email each of these ladies to let them know they are the winners.

In celebration of completing my National Board, did I mention ON TIME!, (this is huge for me, as I'm a procrastinator) I went to the National Whitewater Center with some teachers for a Teacher field trip.

Here we are getting ready to zipline.  I didn't realize how scared of heights I have become as I'm getting old!!!  I was totally freaking out waiting my turn.  It was amazing and I worried for nothing.  

Did you know that Amber, from Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher and I are professional rock climbers?  Oh yea, it's because we're not!  But you can see the 'real' rockwall behind us!

Here we are getting ready to climb the ropes course, while our other friends were climbing other courses, Amber and I were suiting up to climb the baby course, easier course, don't judge!

Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow!

Iceberg Straight Ahead!!!!!!

Big things are on the horizon for our Third Graders.  We are beginning our Social Studies unit studying how people and places change over time.  Sounds super boring fun when you describe it like that, right?!?!?!  Well that is what I have thought for the past 4 years we have had our current book.

I LOVE history and learning about things from the past, but have never seemed to be able to get that across to my students in a way that excited them.  Thanks to the many, many bloggers out there and Pinterest, history is alive in my classroom and my students are learning about the way things used to be by living it, instead of simply reading it in a book.

During this unit, my team decided to focus on 3 time periods.  The first is the Pioneer Era, and Erica, my rockin' teaching partner who shares a brain with me, is planning this one.  (I told you, everyone needs one like her on their team!)  We are looking at the ways children did things during that time period.  We have our local museum  coming in to bringing butter churning, quill pen and ink writing, Civil War practice guns (wooden carved ones for kids), and a 19th Toy Trunk.  Our third graders will spend the entire morning on Monday exploring these different stations.  I can't wait to see their excitement as the learning becomes real to them!  For the next 2 weeks we will be learning about what children's lives were like during that time while comparing that to our lives now.  Boy are they miles apart  differerent!!

I am in charge of planning the Titanic portion of our unit.  I have always been obsessed  loved learning about the Titanic, so I couldn't wait to get busy planning.  I've decided to give each student a name of a passenger and at the end of our learning journey, they will see if their character lived or died.  I kinda stole the idea from the Holocaust Museum, but oh well!  

I got my inspiration from this bulletin board found on Pinterest.  I can't wait to see it up in our hallway.  Does anyone have any awesome Titanic lessons they use?  I would love to hear about them!

Our last focus is on the Biltmore Estate.  We are taking our third graders to visit the estate in March, so we are planning lessons to teach them about this time period and the estate before we go.  I think it is so neat that the largest home in North America is found right here in my state, North Carolina!  

Who wouldn't want to live there?????  I can't wait to see my kiddos face when they see the house.  Most of my kids don't live our town, so to see this will be a real treat!  

What kind of awesome events do you have planned for your class?

Happy Holidays, Victorian Style!

This week has been a little crazy and I will admit that I was a little jealous of those that didn't have to go these 2 little days, but today was an awesome day in my class. We have been studying Christmas Around the World the past week and have visited many different countries. My students made crafts from each country and even learned how to say "Merry Christmas" in various languages. We made cute little suitcases complete with stickers from each country we visited. My students decided they wanted to live in Italy because children there get gifts from 3 different people.

When we began planning field trips at the beginning of the year, my team decided to plan them for weeks that are basically considered "wasted" anyway (I know we're not supposed to "waste" instructional time but you know what I mean!). Today we went on our field trip to a local museum that used to be a historic hotel. The did a program about the holidays during the Victorian era which tied perfectly with our study of Christmas Around the World. It gave my students a look into how Christmas was celebrated back in the 19th century. They looked at toys, decorations, and foods. Each student also got to make an ornament that a child would have made during that time. We finished our visit with a treat of animal crackers and apple juice. I had no idea that animal crackers had been around for so long! Our study of the different countries Christmas customs paid off as well. My students were able to answer where the Christmas tree originated from (Germany) and asked several questions based on what we had been learning in class. Our group was also paid a very high complement. The staff told us that we were the best behaved group they had all holiday season! They were nervous about having a group so close to Christmas break, but told us we were great!

My Third Graders

Making their Victorian Ornament

Finished Ornament

When we got back to school I had more ornaments planned for my students to make. It went along with the Victorian era when children would make their Christmas gifts, rather than buy them. Each student made a little nut bear, a Santa spoon, and the classic Rudolph candy cane. They had the best time working on them. I actually made the nut bear when I was in 2nd grade and mine still hangs on my mom's tree to this day. I have made it with my students each year I have been teaching. I am hoping that my students will look back at their ornaments when they are older and remember their crazy third grade teacher!

Santa Spoons

Candy Cane Rudolphs

Little Nut Bears

It was a busy, but perfect day! I can't wait to see what 2012 holds with these students.