Video as Promised

Okay, I finally got it! Here is the video of some of my students playing a game using the Smoothy Bumper Planet! They love it, as you can hear in the background we were noisy. I didn't mind the noise at all because they were ALL on task and counting!

Smoothy Bumper Planet

Oh my gracious! What a hit Smoothy Bumper Planet was today. I introduced this fun, interactive counting strategy today. I had my students use the chart to count. They took turns saying the numbers-going back and forth. They didn't want to stop, it was so much fun! I'm glad that we have the room next to us, because we were soooo loud, on task, but loud. My kiddos begged me for it again in the afternoon. I am hoping to post a video of them doing it tomorrow! There are many other games to play with Smooth Bumper Planet. I can't wait to introduce them all. They loved it so much!!

First Week=FANTASTIC

Wow! I can't believe the first week went by so quickly! I have 26 (soon to be 28) firsties, with a co-teacher. They are great students, who did a fantastic job this week. As I stated in an earlier post, I wanted to start this year the correct way with Whole Brain Teaching techniques. Well, I did it! I managed to teach "class, yes", "teach, okay", "papers in", "lines", "seats" and I added "table buckets". Each table has a bucket with supplies like crayons, scissors, glue and markers. I say "ohhhhh, it's table bucket time" and my students say, "ohhhhh it's table bucket time" as one student from each table gets their bucket. It has worked out GREAT!!
I was worried about having this many students, however with Whole Brain techniques I can see that it isn't so scary after all because they are sooooo engaged. My co-teacher is getting the hang of it too and she can see the difference it makes. One thing that I've been focusing on is to say, "rule number 2: raise your hand for permission to speak", whenever a student calls out. I've been pretty successful, however I have caught myself returning to the "shhh" moment. My goal next week is for myself and my students to keep focusing on rule number 2. I think it is going to be a great year! I will post pictures of my classroom later this week, I LOVE my room!

Coming Together

My room is coming together nicely this week!! I am so excited to start this year using Whole Brain Teaching. I put up my "Super Improvers Wall" last week and finally finished coloring and laminating the students' guitars. Students have to try to get 10 strings up the neck of the guitar before moving to the next level. I love the colors! I got it from a fabulous teacher on TeacherspayTeachers, however I made and colored the guitars. I know my students are going to love it as well. I plan on implementing the "Super Improvers Wall" in Septemeber, once students have all our procedures down.

    I love my Super               Improvers!! 

I also put up my PowerPix wall!! I am soooo excited about this wall, because I didn't have one last year and really wanted one. I didn't have the space last year, but made space this year. I think it is going to be very beneficial for my students, especially during daily 5 and math centers. They can use it as a reference and they will be learning graphing skills. It's awesome!! I also plan on using the wall as a review at least once a day to keep concepts fresh on students' minds.