Sunday Funday...not really

The last Sunday of the summer!  I worked on some math games today that focus on computation.  At the beginning of the year I am always shocked to find how poor my students are at basic adding and subtracting, let alone multiplication facts!  I found some ideas for a few games and tweaked them so they would be appropriate for 4th graders.  I wanted the materials to be simple, so I stuck with dice.  

Here is a little sneak peak of one of my games...

Visit my TpT store to download all 5 games! Just laminate these games, find some wipe-off markers and some dice, and you are ready to have your students practice math concepts in a fun way! These five games concentrate on computation and problem solving skills.

Game 1 - Pirate treasure - adding, subtracting, problem solving
Game 2 - Race to 500 - multiplication facts, additing
Game 3 - Product Showdown - multiplication facts
Game 4 - Climb to 100 - adding, subtracting, multiplying, division, problem solving skills
Game 5 - Build the Biggest - place value, problem solving

Ready for the New School Year!

My classroom is finished and I am ready to enjoy the final weekend of the summer.  This summer went by fast and was really busy...I taught two weeks of summer school, did a three-week internship for my master's program, took a grad class on creativity, and finished my masters project (100+ page paper) in order to GRADUATE!  It is official - I have a Masters degree in gifted education!  Although I am a regular education teacher, the strategies I learned in my master's program are great for all kids - differentiation, talent development, social-emotional awareness, etc.  During the school year I will be posting about projects and activities that I am doing with my kiddos as well as resources that I find along the way.


Here is a virtual tour of my classroom:
Happy School Year!

Feeling Refreshed...

Back from vacation...ready to get some work done in the next week...but can't help but feeling that I want to go back to the Northwoods!!!

Sneak Peak

Okay so I'm about 90% done with my classroom.  My dad or husband has to come and install the quilt hanger and I have to hang by back to school quilt, I have one bulletin board to finish decorating, and I have a few other little odds and ends that need to be cleaned up (mainly my desk).  But for the most part 4 days (about 30 hours) later my classroom is starting to look ready!  I really love this classroom - there is a ton of wall space and I utilized every inch! 

 

My desk

 Side wall & rolling bulletin board (that hides all my bins)

 

View from my desk

Little magnets with my students' names on them - they move them to the "bathroom", "nurse", or "office" pocket. (Pinterest idea!)

Another view from my desk

 

Rock & Roll Behavior Chart (Pinterest idea!)

Classroom Volume Chart  (Pinterest idea!)

Job Chart - little pockets with name of job & description. (Pinterest idea!)

Classroom library - books have labels with author name, series, or topic.

 View from library to my desk.  I put together new mailboxes (left).
You can also see a little bit of our hermit crab tank.

 Back to school desk

 4th Grade Survival Kit on each kid's desk

  Tracking learning board - each laminated paw has a paperclip on the top.  Kids can slip in an exit slip on their number or stick a post-it. 

A few more hours of organizing and decorating and I'll be all ready for my new kiddos.  

I'm going to take some more pics (including a virtual tour panoramic picture) when my classroom is complete.  Taking the day off tomorrow to relax and refresh! 

First day setting up my classroom...

This is what I saw when I walked in this morning...

 

All of my stuff piled high...I moved classrooms so everything had to be packed and boxed up in May.  I spent the day moving the large items where I wanted them, so I would have some room to work.  I set up my classroom library and I love the way it turned out!  Pics to come...more hard work tomorrow! 

Quilting with Kids

During the summer I do a lot of sewing.  It's a great way to relax and I like to make several quilts so that I can do the hand-sewing of the binding when it is cold outside (or when the hubby spends 10 hours watching football on a Sunday).  Each school year, I make a quilt with my class with the help of my mother-in-law.  She is the one who taught me how to sew and she loves coming to school and working on this project each year.  I thought I'd share some of the quilts I have made with my kids. 

 The first year, the quilt was an end of the year project and each student drew a picture of their favorite memory of 4th grade.  I hang this quilt for back to school so my new class can have a little preview of some fun things we do in 4th grade.

The next year the kids wrote diamond poems on kites.  I hang this quilt during the spring.

The following year they designed pumpkin faces...

Last year they drew hand turkeys around wrote things they were thankful for.

I also made this quilt a few years back when our entire district read "Three Cups of Tea".  Each student in my school signed their name on the block.  Students also made the dolls in the middle which I attached to the quilt. 


This school year I'm so excited because we are making a holiday quilt.  I LOVE Christmas and the holiday season.  One of the fun things we do in 4th grade is learn about how people celebrate the holidays around the world.  Each student is going to decorate an ornament to symbolize their heritage and how they celebrate the holidays. 

Messages to Students to Build a Classroom Community

In addition to name tags on desks this year, I wanted to put something on the students' desks that would help build a classroom community.  I found a few ideas on Pinterest... (of course)

Natalie, author of the Teachery Tidbits blog, offers a Welcome Freebie that is super cute!  Visit her amazing blog to download the sign and for TONS of other ideas!

I also found a cute note on Teachwithme.com that is free to download!

I wanted to also incorporate my name on the desk tag just to make students more comfortable saying and writing my name the first few days of school.  This is what I came up with:

 

This is the FIRST morning this summer that I haven't had to get up to an alarm clock!  Working on some classroom things today and relaxing! :)