First Week of School

I made it through the first week and what a time we had!  I have 22 students this year, but 5 of them were out on the first day!  The second day I had 5 students out again, but I had a student come who had been sick the first day, and one was gone for a dental appointment.  The third day I had 5 out again and on Thursday the one who had a dental appointment for two days came back and another student who just got back from vacation showed up!

So by Friday I had 19 students with 3 that are still on vacation!  Our state went to the year round system two years ago and it has not been a good schedule.  We have many families that travel in the summer and don't come back until September!!  So needless to say as I was trying to train all the rest and  had students trickling in not knowing what to do and having to repeat myself many, many times!

But overall it was a great week.  This is a cute lively bunch who seem really happy to be back in school. They laugh at my goofy jokes and give me hugs all day long:)

Things that I loved this week.


My new clip chart!  The kids loved this!! Over half the kids in my class are surfers and they thought this was the greatest thing ever!! It helped me focus on the positive and they all wanted to get to Cowabunga soo bad!!

My dolphin magic wand!!

Dolphin Music Wand

I used this to get attention and we practiced alot!! It's such a soft, nice sound and they were quiet instantly when they heard it! Click on the wand to go to their site:)

My New Rug



What a time saver!! I love how they come sit down in their spot and there is no arguing about where to sit!

My new book bags





I feel so organized and they look so nice with matching numbers where they should hang.

My word wall




We added a few important words and I love that I can just write it on the board.

My new students:)


They really are cute and such pleasers this year:))


Things That Didn't Go So Well

Our new schedule

The whole school is implementing RTI and we have an intervention block the last
half hour of school.  We have also been given a new daily schedule after 7 years of the same one.
I was off the whole week and running late for everything.  Every night I went home exhausted and felt like I hadn't accomplished anything!!

My classroom printer



I am lucky to have a laser printer in my room and have depended on it for two years now.  Well it is not connecting to my laptop and I have not been able to print anything from it, so all my parent letters will be a week late:(

And I still have not found my Bulletin board letters!!!???I just don't know where to look?? I ordered new sets in May with my classroom money, but guess what??  The order was never placed because the money was just released!!! So many of the items I was depending on I do not have:( 

Okay I will stop whining now and end with our fun Friday activity.

I love to have cooking projects in my class.  I call it cooking but we never use heat. I have done this since I began teaching in Kindergarten 20 years ago!! 

Since our first science unit is life cycles of plants and animals I start off the year making fruit salad.


Homework on Thursday night was to bring in a piece of fruit.
I can't believe the spread we had this year!! I have Never gotten a pineapple before, lol!






I have a recipe that we read together, then I call 3 kids back at a time to cut up their fruit and place it in the bowl.  We go over rules of washing hands, not licking the knives, no sneezing on the food and no licking our fingers.  I cut up the apples and core them and they do the rest with a plastic knife.




The rest of the class decorates their recipe page, and then works together on a fruit word search.  I usually do a graph of "What is Your Favorite Fruit", but I just didn't have it together this year!!  I keep their recipe page and we place it into our cookbooks (that I will have a parent make later).

After everyone cuts  up the fruit we mix it up, talk about good manners, serve everyone, and all eat together.



Even the teacher eats some:)



The kids love it and always look forward to the next project:)

Here is the recipe page and the cover I use for our cookbooks.
Just click on the picture to grab it in Google Docs.





41 comments

  1. Love taking a peek into your week. Couple of questions - do you have a resource that has all the recipes you do for the year? I love that idea. And your fruit salad looked wonderful! Where did you get your dolphin wand? I've seen those on a couple of blogs and think I need one. Where in Hawaii do you live? I went to Hawaii for my honeymoon just a month and half ago and fell in love. Surprising, I know.
    Ms. Kerri and her Krazy Kindergarten

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kerri I am working on my recipe book and ideas, but don't have anything that I can share yet, so sorry. I know Christina Bainbridge does something similar. check out her site. Click on the picture of the wand and it will take you right to the site I purchased it from. I live in Haleiwa on Oahu:) Congratulations on being a Newlywed!!

      Delete
  2. I love your clip chart! Such a great idea! I have heard great things about those wands too. Quiet, but effective!

    Sara :)
    Smiling In Second Grade

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am tired just listening to your week! I taught in a year round school many years ago and loved the breaks throughout the year and the fact that the kids didn't loose so much over the summers:)

    I am sure it is hard to establish routines with the late comes though. Hang in there!

    Tammy
    The Resourceful Apple

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know it will get better Tammy, once routines are flowing I know I will not be so tired everyday!!

      Delete
  4. I love your group cooking activity! I'll have to figure out a way to make this work for me this year.
    ~Heather
    The Meek Moose

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Heather. I am working on the organization of it and how to share it with you all. Much of what I have created over the years is not user friendly, except to me!

      Delete
  5. I loved reading how your first week went! :) One question, what did you do during your intervention block? My school does something very similar the first half hour of the day and I'm just curious how your school handled it.

    Sarah
    teachingiscolorful.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarah on certain days kids go out for math and other days they go for reading. So during this time I am doing enrichment with the students who don't need the intervention. I am showing them some math games and I will be teaching them how to take AR tests. This is a great time to do those fun activities that reinforce what they already know:)

      Delete
  6. Your first week looked amazing (and a little crazy, too, with all those kids out!)!! I love your fruit salad project- and I especially love it because it's healthy too! :) Have a GREAT second week!

    Soaring Through Second

    ReplyDelete
  7. Awesome post, Corinna! Your room looks bright and fun and colourful. And that fruit salad looks delicious.
    Our school year can sometimes get off to the same strange start. Some parents take the start of school very seriously and others no so much ~ ha ha.
    Take care!

    ❀Barbara❀
    Grade ONEderful
    Ruby Slippers Blog Designs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know it will get better Barb, these two days off have rejuvenated me!!

      Delete
  8. Congrats on getting through your first week of school! Your successes and classroom are awesome! The challenges sound very challenging! It would be so hard to start school and have so many kids missing!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Anne. It is hard when you spend time prepping and have it all ready and then have to do it again for the ones who come late...ohh well it will be flowing soon:)

      Delete
  9. Wow what an awesome classroom! I really want to go make fruit salad in your class. My brother is in the Navy and is moving to Hawaii for the next 3 years starting this September. I love your new rug! I just got a rug too and think it will make life so much easier when having whole group on the floor. Glad to hear it is working well for you. I used to have my word wall on my whiteboard and loved it! I used my whiteboard for it when I had a smart board but then when I moved I didn't have a smart board so I had to use my whiteboard for other things and switched back to using a bulletin board word wall. Can't wait to see what other cool ideas you have for this school year and good luck with your 2nd week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Jess:) I have lots to share once we get rolling!

      Delete
  10. The book bags look so cute and colourful hanging up ! The kids must love them :) I like the non-cooking idea for fun Fridays. Our government has passed very strict nutrition rules for school and the fruit salad would work !! I hear your pain over kids being out...last year I had the worst class for being away. Some sickness but several families who arrived late EVERY day ( like 15 mins, 30 mins, second block....Then my favourite, pulling kids out for holidays, some 3 weeks long, asking for work, NEVER doing it or returning half finished and a mess. From Jan. to May we only had a handful of days we were all at school, I kid you not. I hope this year is better. Glad you enjoyed your weekend and relaxed. Good luck week 2 !! Did you have a fruity drink ???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diane, that sounds so familiar with kids being late and leaving early for vacations!! I just don't give work anymore, because it never gets done;) I did have my fruit drink and slept late too;)

      Delete
  11. I like your "likes" too - especially the clp chart - I've downloaded it, just need to print it out, even though I don't think any of my Kansas kids are surfers :)
    And sorry about your frustrations - those make it tough, don't they?

    Sara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sara! I think kids anywhere would love the clip chart, just so they can say Cowabunga!!

      Delete
  12. Where did you find the dolphin wand? It is so cute. I love your book bags - I can't decide what I want to do for my containers for Reading to Self. 30 is a lot of bags to make, lol. Have a great 2nd week - my kids come back tomorrow. Where is paradise when I need it????

    Terri
    thefirstgradeprincess.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mahalo Terri! The wand is from musicwands.com. Just click on the picture above and it will take you to their site:) Wow, 30 kids is a lot! Good luck:)

      Delete
  13. Love the bookbags. We have bookbags too, but they are plain, boring, and white:-) Did you make them?

    Laurie
    Chickadee Jubilee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Laurie, I did make them:) I started them early in the summer. I have a post on how I made them if you are interested;)

      Delete
  14. Hi Corina,
    I’m your newest follower! I'm a Corinna, too! I almost never see others with our name, but then I've found a few other bloggers. :) Your classroom looks fantastic! I can't wait until we're allowed in our rooms. We start later than many schools. I am a Newbie Blogger, so I appreciate all of the sharing of advice and ideas. Come on over for a visit sometime. Thanks!
    Corinna :)
    Teaching Fabulous Firsties!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lol, it's kind of funny starting and ending with your own name! It's true there aren't a lot of us, but you are one of the few who spells it just like mine;)

      Delete
  15. Congratulations on finishing your first week of school!! I bet it feels nice to have at least one week behind you!

    Lauren C
    www.kinder-friends.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It does Lauren!! This week is going much smoother:)

      Delete
  16. Corina, I LOVE your clip chart! Our grade level is going to begin this system this year and I love the Surf's Up theme since we end the year with a big Surf's Up unit. Do you sell the pdf for the clip chart? I saw it on another website and she linked to your site here. I couldn't find it on TpT though. I'm interested ASAP since we begin school Aug. 16th!
    Thanks so much...your beautiful classroom is making me feel very behind in getting mine in order! LOL

    Tammy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OH! I found it on Tpt! Thanks for the inspiration! :)

      Delete
    2. So glad you found it Tammy! Have fun with your Surf's Up Theme and good luck with your class;)

      Delete
  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, looks great! Did you make the surfboard labels? I love them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Amy:) Yes I did, but I used KPM Doodles Clip Art for the boards and typed my kids names on top:)

      Delete
    2. Amazing! I didn't know about KPM doodles! Im new to all this. Thanks for sharing. (my credit card may be in trouble)

      Delete
  19. Wow, looks great! Did you make the surfboard labels? I love them!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love the surf/tropical theme throughout your classroom!!! I live in Canada so we don't have much access to tropical resources. But whenever I go on vacation I try to pick up a few items for my classroom as well as home. LOL Can you please provide a link to your teacher store? I'm not sure where to find it. thanks! Newbie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much:) My link to Teacher's Pay Teachers is in the sidebar, it says TpT. I also have a shop at Teacher's Notebook which is also on the sidebar. But here is a direct link:)

      Teacher's Pay Teachers Store

      Teacher's Notebook

      Delete
  21. Good morning :) I was just checking pinterest (when I should be on my way to school) and I saw some cute "All American Red" digital papers. It was linked to this page but I can't find it. Maybe it's just too early and my brain isn't functioning. Would you mind telling me where I could find that? Thanks so much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The link to my TpT store is in the comment above and it is in the sidebar as well:)

      Delete

Mahalo Nui Loa For Commenting!!

Back to Top