The Reveal of a Theme....

So here it is folks.. my inspirational camping theme for the classroom next year. Please note that I will be posting actual pictures of my classroom as it develops.

You may be asking.. Really? A theme?
and the answer is YES!!

A theme is what keeps teaching fun for teachers. A theme pulls in different lessons for the classroom, and makes student learning first hand and experiential. Most importantly.. a theme is FUN!! And when the teacher has fun, the kids have fun. When the kids have fun they enjoy learning. When they enjoy learning they become life long learners. That is really what it is all about isn't it?

I will guarantee that in 5 years 1% of the students I am currently teaching will remember the specific math lesson I taught on Friday (and without looking back in my planner, neither will I :) ). That knowledge will help them scaffold their learning so that they can understand their future math lessons. Why my kindergarten (yes I am currently teaching Kindergarten for those of you who don't know me) students will remember this year is when the story of the Gingerbread man came alive, and the gingerbreads we made ran away. The student will remember when we built a boat out of cardboard and painted it because we were learning about the ocean, or all the times we went on discovery walks.

As I reflect on my own education, I recall not what I learned in Grade 3, but what I experienced, and the connection I had with my teacher.

Yes I still teach .. of course.. after all it is an EQAO year ;)
But there is so much more to teaching than opening a book, and as I grow as a teacher and a person I realize that I don't want to be a teacher that doesn't have fun. I want to enjoy teaching. I want to come to work everyday with the same excitement as the first day of school.

I think that starts with enjoying your room, and that is why I have chosen to have a theme.

Picking a theme .. now that wasn't easy. What would be fun for me and for kids? What would tie into some of the units I will be teaching next year. How would I actually pull off decorating for this theme?

I honestly don't know how I chose this theme.. It kind of just hit me like a brick.

I want to show you .. the reader.. some ideas for themes that are out there..

This is from Beth Newingham's Site (http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/)

Nautical Theme http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/nautical%20theme.htm
            

Space Theme (http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/Space%20Theme.htm)

         

Sports Theme (http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/Open%20House%202006.htm)



And.. The Rockstar Theme (http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/Rock%20Theme.htm)




********* All these pictures were taken directly from the sites referenced. They are property of Beth Newingham*******************

I mean this woman is just amazing!!!
So my theme next year will be camping. I chose this for many reasons.
1. I like camping
2. it's something most of the kids I teach probably don't do
3. It ties into the themes for next year (Aboriginal life, pioneer life, plants, soils, structures.. OOoooOO I just thought of a structures activity where they can build their own shelter!!)
4. It will be fairly easy to transform my class into a campground effectively.

Here is some inspiration I found on the web... (again... none of this is mine, but it is all referenced)
This was the best website I found for ideas http://www.clutterfreeclassroom.com/campingtheme
She has cute ideas like the Literacy Lake, and sending a postcard to the students showing what the room will look like


some other cute ideas from that same website are:
 using garland as a border
 a tent as a nice reading spot
 and sharing published stories around a campfire

Then I found this site http://www.teachersclubhouse.com/camping.htm
It has really cheap decorations you can buy and print yourself (in lots of different themes)
Some examples of things I bought are..

This page has lots of decoration ideas http://www.countryclipart.com/CabinCampFishSet/cabincampingfishing.html

I didn't purchase anything from them because I decided to buy this: http://www.cricut.com/shop/#0/1/1175/3/Cricut/Cricut Campin' Critters Cartridge


Oh yes!!! A cricut camping cartage!!!!!!

HEAVEN!!!

I was going to post some of my creations, but unfortunately my camera is out of batteries, and I am not nearly finished all my decorations yet :)

I have also planned (and booked) my "camping themed class trips" for next year. They include a trip to Crawford lake (aboriginal village), Pioneer christmas, Snowshoeing and building a snow house, and (best of all) a lesson underneath the stars in the Science Centre or ROM Planetarium.. I havnt decided which one yet, but I think it will be really cool for the kids to get a lesson under the starts, cause, there are no stars in the city :(

To Be Continued.......

Here is some baking.. I thought I would keep it tied to the camping theme. I made this BBQ cake for my dad's birthday a couple years back :) Enjoy! (I know he did!!)

My thoughts are in a binder? Or maybe a T.V. dinner

One of the components of the CAFE book is organizing your student records.. I (the super Keener) have made my student record binder for next year.
It is called a Pensieve, and you Harry Potter Fans might get the reference. This connection was made by a student and explained in the CAFE book. A pensieve is a place where Dumbledore kept all his important thoughts. He would take them out of his brain and put them into a pot. Just like what teachers do with their record book... Keep their thoughts about how a student is reading in a book. Genius!! I wanted to be original.. I really did.. and I used all my creative thoughts and focus to come up with another name... but that connection was too perfect for me to resist.
and so...

the Pensieve

(yes I left out an "e", but we all make mistakes right??- it will be fixed before school starts.. I promise)

Also... note the large amount of books piled behind the binder... I am still leveling and organizing my library.. it's a work in progress

There it is.. isn't it beautiful? But what is in this binder you ask? WELL!!!! Let me tell you!!!
It is organized into some main sections, and then there is a section for all students. The main section has wonderful things like a list of all reading strategies, and cheat sheets explaining how to help children who are reading in a specific way, and a calendar where you can book appointments for students to come for their one on one reading session.
In the individual student section it has a log where you can plunk in the strategies the student is doing well with, and some that the student needs to work on.
But best of all, the CAFE book will give you step by step instructions on how to teach and implement this in your classroom.

I know that these past few posts must feel like I am working for the CAFE book, and plugging the book to gain some profit. But I assure you.. I AM NOT!! I have just never seen a language program outlined in such a comprehensive way. If you are a primary teacher, you know what I am talking about!!

And now for the baking....
(what a great segway!)

Here are some scrumdiddlyumptious T.V. dinner cupcakes I made for friends who had us over for dinner... side note... getting invited for dinner inspires me to make cupcakes!

2 Chicken legs, mashed potatoes with gravy and butter, and peas and carrots
Enjoy!

Apples for teacher?

This long weekend has been a very busy one for me. My poor Cricut mat lost all of it's stickyness and I was unable to Cricut for about a week. I did however make it up last night because I bought a new mat and I was up cricutting until 2am! I just can't stop once I've started! So many ideas!!

I want to discuss something I referred to in my last post... The CAFE book (written by the 2 sisters). This book is a comprehensive literacy program, that gives you explicit strategies to help students become better readers and writers. Their first book THE DAILY 5 talks about their method for doing guided reading. It gives great ideas about how to keep the other students occupied with (meaningful) activities while you are able to take one student  or a group and work on their specific reading skills. The CAFE book is the squeal to this book. I feel it's the book with the most meat and potatoes, because this book outlines how to teach guided reading. It gives you a list of specific strategies to work on with individual students, and gives them something tangebale they can see and complete.
It is literally amazing.

But the best part is, it is specific enough that you can follow word for word, and it is also open-ended enough that you can take from it the strategies you choose. It is really quite amazing.

Today's teaching picture is going to be my CAFE Menu. This is a poster that is used to teach each reading strategy to the entire class. Each time you teach a new strategy you put it's corresponding card up in the correct section.
There is a section for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expand Vocabulary (hence CAFE). In each of the sections there are at least 6 specific strategies that people (not just students) use when they are reading. Students work through these strategies independently until they have mastered them.
As I alluded on last post, my theme this year is camping, and my CAFE Menu is nice and bright, but also full of flowers.. Enjoy!!

speaking of teaching.....

This post I am going to highlight one of the many baking projects I did this weekend...apple cupcakes

They don't taste like apples... actually these were lemon.. but they look like apples :)

They were a big hit!!

Thanks for reading!! 

(please leave a comment below... it's nice to know who is reading)

My current obsession ~ Literacy

I am pretty much obsessed with a few things right now. I literally feel like I can't read these books or visit these websites enough!

Let's break it down.......

The Daily 5 and CAFE: 2 amazing books that break the literacy right down to a science.
http://www.the2sisters.com/index.html

Beth Newingham:
http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/
This is an awesome teacher from the US. Please only go to her website if you are prepared to get completely lost for days.. weeks.. and now I am living proof, you can get lost for months. It has some really creative ideas, and amazing room decor, but the best part is that she GIVES YOU COPIES OF EVERYTHING SHE USES!!!!
Some things from her site that I am already implementing - her library organization.. I am categorizing all of my books and using her bright and colourful bin labels! Here is a picture of the wall in my office to show you a sample of the amazingness she has to offer.

I am also going to be incorporating her economist idea into my classroom routines (although it seems a little overwhelming to start.. I might have to work my way up to the full thing)

One last thing I will talk about (today) is Beth's themes!! I completely lost track of the amazing fun decorating your room can be! My theme for next year is CAMPING! But I think I need to devote a whole other post to that :)


another obsession... my Cricut
Here is your first peek at one of my (many) cricut binders made for next year, and I will throw in a card I made too :)

Some Baking too....
Well I might as well go all out and dump some more pictures... it is my first content post after all.

These are my prized cupcakes.. I made them for a friend's thanksgiving dinner. They are inspired by the Hello Cupcake book, and are made with lots of love...
I present...
the...
TURKEY CUPCAKES!!
yum yum

Thanks for reading!!!!

The Birth of A Blog

And here we are. The Blog. I have always told myself that blogs are not my cup of tea. I am never able to write in them consistently, and I never really expected anyone to read the mundane details of my own life. And here we are. I started this blog because I really enjoy reading them, and I feel that if there is a serious lack of good teaching sites for people living in Toronto. I want to communicate with people living in the GTA about things I like. It is disheartening to find so many amazing teaching resources online and none of them are from Toronto.

About myself..

I have been a teacher for about 5 years. I am currently teaching JK, however next year I am braving one of the EQAO years.. Grade 3. I am very excited about teaching older students, and I am going to use this blog to document my year.
I also (as you may have guessed) love to bake. In all honesty, I love things that are pretty. I really don't discriminate.
I just got a Cricut Imagine for my 30th (because that was a pretty difficult hurdle for me to jump), and I am madly in love with it (my husband is very jealous!).

About the blog...
I am going to be posting some interesting things that I have discovered on my teaching journey this year, and post some pictures of things I have created. If there is anyone out there reading my humble bloggings, I would love to hear from you too.

Creative Toronto teachers unite!!