Have you heard of Educents? I hadn't heard of it until
recently, and was so excited when I discovered it!! It's basically like groupon
or living social, but for teachers. I have already made a few purchases for my
classroom and am loving all the great deals that get delivered to my inbox each
day. Check out some of the things I've snagged recently:
Right now, Educents has a great deal going on. Sign up for
educents by August 31st and get a free $5 credit to use toward your first
purchase. Click
HERE to get started :)
So, as you can tell, the first 15 minutes are a blur every.
single. morning. This year we are trying a block schedule, which I thought was
a great idea, until 2nd grade was put in the very first block at 8:45 (and our
tardy bell rings at 8:40... Eek! Talk about a busy morning)... So, I'm still
not sure exactly how the self-start will work in my classroom this year (my
guess be that when we return to the classroom at 9:30, I will have them work on
the self-start, since most mornings we will start somewhere other than our
classroom). But, either way, I still swear by self-starts. The two important
things to remember about a self-start is that it must be both SIMPLE and
CONSISTENT. It is important for kids to internalize this skill. This should be
as natural as waking up in the morning. They should come in the classroom, hang
up their backpack, turn in their homework, and get started on their self-start.
Of course, this is going to take some major training at the beginning of the
year. The more time you put into it at the beginning of the year, the better
off your whole year will be! For the past few years, I have had a self-start
basket with these little half-sheets of paper for the kids to work on.
They knew that after they had hung up their bags and turned in their
homework, they picked up this paper and began working on it while I took
attendance and checked their planners. The only problem with these books is
that they were created before the common core (BCC as I call it)... Some
companies are scrambling to align their products to meet CC standards, and
other companies (such as arithmetic developed daily) have said that they have
no intention of updating their products.
That's what makes today's giveaway so great.... I've rounded up all
sorts of common core aligned goodies to get your mornings off to a great start.
Be sure to scroll down to the rafflecopters at the bottom to enter each
giveaway. Because so many of these are grade specific, there will be a lot of
rafflecopters this week. Enter as many as you want that apply to your grade!!
The other thing I wanted to talk about is homework. The
dreaded word.... Every parent's (and many teachers') worst nightmare. As a
brand new teacher, I never assigned homework, other than when students were
absent. The only homework my little firsties had was to read 20 minutes each
night. I honestly didn't know much about homework and was surprised that so
many parents WANTED homework for their kids... To this day, I have a love/hate
relationship with homework. Aside from the reading homework (which is a
mandatory school-wide requirement as part of our participation in the
"Road to Success" program), we have been told that students should have
10 minutes of homework per grade level they are in (so 1st grade = 10 mins, 2nd
grade = 20 mins, 3rd grade = 30 mins, etc.). Everyone has their own philosophy
on homework, and nobody is right or wrong when it comes to this topic. Now, I
am definitely not an expert, but I'm going to tell you my beliefs about
homework. First off, I agree with the 10 minutes per grade. That is a good rule
of thumb. My students have (on average) 40 minutes or less of homework each
day. The 20 minutes of reading is really non-negotiable. We all know that
reading is the key to becoming a better reader.... Kids should be reading EVERY
DAY at home. The only other homework I assign is spelling (and seriously, it is
nothing glamorous.... I have a paper that another teacher made, and frankly,
that's good enough for me. Ain't nobody got time to deal with making spelling
homework pages every week), fluency (this can be done with 6 minute solution,
decodables, anything that you already have... Don't make it complicated), and
math 3-4 times per week. Math is probably my least favorite homework to assign,
because our new common core math text is a little bit hard, and some of the
homework is confusing even for the parents.
I also give my students math
flash cards and tell them to practice the basic addition facts.
The thing I've learned about homework is that a student's in
class performance will tell me whether or not they are actually DOING their
homework or not (even if their planner is signed each and every day). If they
are not passing off their math facts on rocket math, I know they are not
practicing their flash cards at home. If their DIBELS scores don't increase as
I progress monitor them, I know that they aren't reading at home. If their spelling
test score is low, they are probably not practicing at home each day like they
should be. The more years I've taught, the less I seem to correct from day to
day (I either do a quick check and skim over it, or we correct the paper
together in class.) I have found that a 5 (A) child will usually turn in 5
quality work.... A 4 (B) child will turn in 4 quality work, and so on. It
doesn't seem to matter if I correct 5, 10, or 100 assignments.
Wow, this has become another novel. Sorry everyone! Here's a
quick overview of everything up for grabs this week!! Giveaways close Wednesday
night at midnight mountain standard time! Thanks for entering and good luck!
** please note, the “leave a comment” option is on every rafflecopter… one comment will cover all the “comment” entries :)
Up first is a fabulous Monthly
Learning Journal from Ashleigh’s Education Journey. Read more about it here. I am so excited to use this in my classroom
this year! 3 lucky winners are going to snag this amazing packet!! This is
great for a self-start, fast-finisher, homework, or anytime activity!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Next I have 2 sets of math
prompts from Jennifer at Teaching
With Grace. She has these for both kindergarten
and 1st
grade! One kindergarten teacher and one 1st grade teacher will
win these! This is a year-long resource that is incredible! (make sure to
include your grade in the rafflecopter!)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And last, but certainly not least, is a STELLAR
math homework packet from the super talented Lory Evans. Maybe I’m just a little bit biased since she
is also from Utah, but I swear this woman must have super-human powers to do
all that she does. Lory has
revolutionized math homework as we know it… I am SO excited to try this
out. I don’t know why I bother making anything…
as long as Lory continues to teach 2nd grade, I’m set! I love
everything she makes!!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
**BONUS** Every Winner is also going to win an incredible reading log
from 2nd grade surprise! She
has these created for grades 1 – 5 and they are awesome!! Take a look for yourself:
Today's bright idea is all about homework. Does anyone else
just dread this word as much as I do? I feel like no matter how much or how
little I assign for homework, I can't please everyone. Additionally, homework
is a pain in the rump to keep track of. Although I don't have kids, I know that
sometimes Friday mornings can be hectic and homework doesn't get put in the
folder, planners don't get signed, etc. etc., so I came up with a system that
has been working well in my classroom. Now let me quickly explain one thing -
this homework crate is only used for my spelling and fluency homework, as it's
not really time-sensitive homework. I have yet to find a perfect solution for
math homework, so suggestions are gladly welcomed.
