Quoting the Kiddies (Chapter: 1)

Good Morning Everyone,

Here is my first entry for Quoting the Kiddies! I have a few funnies written down and thought I'd share them with all of you!

Setting the Scene 

About to play a calming Maximo yoga video from GoNoodle. As many of you already know, Maximo is Spanish. I stand beside the SmartBoard and ask the kiddies if they are ready.

 Count to three... Uno, Dos, Tres... And press play. 

Quoting Jack

Wow, I knew Ms. Nicole was Greek. I didn't know she was half Spanish too!

Yes folks, I am fluent in Spanish. I can count to three and politely ask for a mojito. 

Setting the Scene 

It's a few days before Canadian Thanksgiving. We are talking about the holiday and discussing what we are thankful for. 

Quoting Jenna

On Thanksgiving we celebrate the Queen. We are thankful for the Royal Family. 

That's right everyone. Everyone in Canada takes the day off, gathers with their family, eats turkey, and celebrates the Queen of England.

Setting the Scene 

It's a few days before Canadian Thanksgiving. I am putting up our turkey crafts and decide to make a GIANT turkey for the bulletin board. 

Quoting Ceasar

Woahhhhhhh! How much glue did you need to make THAT ONE!

Actually, I used staples... Didn't have the heart to break it to him though. 

Setting the Scene 

One of my students was adamant about taking a trip to Marine Land 

(that's about 674 km away - 418 miles).

Quoting Sarah

Ms. Nicole, on Tuesday Sarah's mom is taking us to Marine Land. There's still some room in the car. You wanna come too? 

Doesn't everyone take random road trips in the middle of the week with their second grade students and their parents?

Setting the Scene 

The weather began to cool down and we were getting ready for recess. It was one of the first days we needed to wear hats, gloves, scarves, etc... I told the kids I was not ready for this and was going to move to California. Some of them complained that they didn't want another teacher so I told them they could all come with me.

Quoting Steven

That's perfect. They have my shirt size there. 

Apparently Steven has a hard time finding his size here. It's always sold out and he has to order clothes online. 

These kiddies crack me up everyday! Be sure to comment some of the funnies your kiddies say!

Until next time...

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Holiday Word Wall

Good Morning All,

We are getting closer and closer to our holiday break and have been writing up a storm! The theme this month: Christmas! I'm all about providing my students with the right tools to be independent writer's. I have holiday books laid out, we write a class story and display it, I have holiday spelling helpers with my packs, but most importantly, we have a Christmas and Hanukah Word Wall!

Word walls are a must in my classroom! At first, the kiddies don't use them all that much, but I send them there to find words and after a few writing sessions, they use this tool themselves. If we want our students to become better writers we must provide them with the necessary tools to do so.

You can grab a free copy of my Holiday Word Wall HERE!

Here are some of my Christmas packs! We have been having a blast!

Click on the pictures to check them out!

    

Until next time...

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A New Elf in Town

Hello Sweet Friends,

I hope you are all feeling wonderful today! Can I just say, I'm loving blogging about the fun stuff happening in our classroom and I'm also loving the background noise: Looney Tunes... HeHeHe! Am I the only one who enjoys a good cartoon?!?! I mean I appreciate the throwback kinds... Brings me right back to my childhood! 

You will never believe this but we received a package from the North Pole. It was A-W-E-S-O-M-E! Our school secretary informed us that it was dropped off at the office and the box was FRRREEEEEZZZZING cold. Must have just arrived from the North! 

You'll never believe what was inside!!!!

Candy of course! AND a letter from Santa! We couldn't believe it! Santa himself wrote US a letter!

He also sent us an elf!!!! A mischievous elf at that. He keeps making messes and writing funny things all over the SmartBoard. Look what he did to one of our Second Grade Banners (those are editable by the way and you can find them over at Jennifer's shop - FirstGradeBlueSKies)

He's a real pest but we love Cookie!

Santa also sent us these awesome elf profiles. We got to learn all about some of the elves who live in the North Pole. It's all so fascinating!

After reading all about our funny little friends, I decided we just had to make our own elf profiles! 

Check them out!

We had sooooooooo much fun! 

I have seated my two enriched students together because they really work well together and are able to challenge each other in a constructive way. Look what they came up with! Twin elves! 

The kiddies really added personal touches to their elves. It was great fun!

I just CANNOT believe how much fun we are having! 

Christmas in the Classroom is just about the best thing EVER! 

Check out the Elf Profiles Pack HERE!

Happy Holidays!

Until next time...

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Santa on Vacation, Steps to the North Pole, and a little bit of Latke!

Good Morning Friends, 

How are you all feeling on this fine Saturday? It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and I looooove it! I spent last night with my bestie/sister Leslie from First Grade Frenzy. We (I) decorated her Christmas tree! It's a long standing tradition that all began because I'm OCD, and well, that makes for a pretty darn good Christmas Tree Decorator. HeHe! 

I'm here to tell you all about my Friday! I must say, the best teaching moments are the unexpected ones. The opportunities that arise that you just grab and run with. As mentioned above, and in practically every post on this blog, I'm slightly OCD. With that being said, I'm pretty much planned a good month ahead of time. This week, of course, I had planned to use my Santa on Vacation Craftivity for writer's workshop. I love this one. It's so much fun. 

Check out this Craftivity HERE!

Please disregard the poor quality of the photos. Apparently, I had no idea what I was doing a couple years back! Not to say that I'm a professional photographer now, but I've sure improved upon my skills!

So, here I was reading Santa Retires (a pretty cute book in my opinion) and the kiddies were eating it all up. 

We had a blast reading about St Nick's vacation to Mistletoe Island. Then when it cam time to write our class story about Santa's Vacation, we somehow got derailed and started talking about how to actually GET to the North Pole. 

The kiddies had all kinds of different theories and they were realllllllllyyyyyy into it so I scrapped my initial plans and went with it! We wrote a series of steps that would help us get to Santa's Workshop. All I'll disclose is that we began our class text with DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME and it may have involved stealing a jet and pretending to be Rudolph. It was a riot. 

I whipped up a quick little sheet for them during lunch (cause, I mean, what teacher actually takes a lunch) and then they wrote their own. It was so much fun and got some of my reluctant writer's really inspired. 

All this to say, let the kiddies guide your teaching and grab every teachable moment. 

You can grab a free copy of our Steps to the North Pole HERE! 

While you're in blog reading mode, hop on over to Primary Powers to read my post about how we are going to celebrate Hanukah with the kiddies! And, hey, while you're there, grab yourself a little Latke Person Craftivity FREEBIE! You have visit Primary Powers to get the link!

Until next time...

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Cyber Monday Blog Hop Stop # 11

Hi everyone!! Thanks for popping in!
You've landed at stop 11 of our blog hop!
We have teamed up with GoNoodle to share some of the ways you can use GN in YOUR classroom! Of course, we have lots of things to giveaway too!!!!!

If you want to start at the beginning, head on over to sweet Molly's blog by clicking her button!

I use GoNoodle in MANY ways in my classroom,
but here is how I use it to promote physical activity and a happier and healthier lifestyle!

Let's be real for a minute... We now live in a world where computers, video games, and tablets take precedence over playing outside and exercising. Children of this generation are motivated by constant VISUAL change and stimulation. It is often difficult to motivate them to get up and move, despite the fact that they really NEED IT!

GoNoodle is such a great tool to use encourage students to be active. It is the right combination of technology and exercise that has EVERY child in my classroom excited about moving!

GoNoodle shares a multitude of exercise choices. You can get everything from Jumping Hurdles, to Dancing, to Regaining your Center with Yoga Poses.

The site is user friendly and organizes the videos in a way that makes it easy to find EXACTLY what your looking for in seconds!

You can choose from a variety of videos. My students love the dance breaks and they especially love to calm down and relax with yoga.

Sometimes we even aim for the gold with some sports videos.

The variety, the music, the characters, and the constant visual and audio gratification are the perfect combination for our kids today. It is exactly what they look for to stimulate them but instead of sitting in front of a computer, they actually get to MOVE! Can't get any better than that! 

All of these activities help students, and adults alike, become happier and healthier. The benefits of exercise are many, especially in the classroom. Students NEED to move. A short GoNoodle video can lead to an hour of great learning. As they say: A little goes a long way!

So HERE is what I do to teach my students about the importance of physical activity. 

When you create a class in GoNoodle you get to choose a Champ. The champ is a little monster and serves as a class mascot.

Let's face it... Just the Champs will have your kiddies hooked! 

It's totally geared towards this generations likes!

Each time you complete a Brain Break, you earn points. I call them exercise points to reinforce the importance of physical activity. 

When you reach a certain number of points, your Champ goes into a machine called a Transmogrifier and "transforms." It typically grows bigger muscles and gets taller. The kiddies LOVE this! While our Champ "transforms" we stand tall and flex OUR muscles to show how we've also changed a little! 

Your Champ will go through many stages of "transformation" and when it reaches it's final stage, you will be able to print a certificate and then choose another Champ! Oh, the fun! 

I also use this opportunity to promote the importance of exercising by displaying our certificates in class and congratulating my students on all the physical activity they have completed. 

We also talk about how great we feel during and after a "workout!"

So HERE are my Using GoNoodle to Motivate Students to Participate in Physical Activity in POINT FORM!

- Use the Brain Break Videos in your classroom.

- Congratulate your students after each "workout" and remind them that they are earning exercise points

- Celebrate with your Champ when it "transforms." Flex those muscles!

- Print the certificates and display them to encourage your students to keep exercising. 

And, NOW, for some more FUN!

Of course, GoNoodle has got you covered...

Starting on Cyber Monday, GoNoodle is also offering all Primary Powers readers 30% off purchases from the GoNoodle Shop all the way through to December 8! AMAZING, right?!?!
Use the code POWERS30 at checkout to receive the discount PLUS a special gift from GoNoodle and Primary Powers. 
In addition to new t-shirts, tumblers, and other goodies for GoNoodling teachers, you can purchase affordable, pre-wrapped gift packs for students to bring a little GoNoodle love to your classroom this holiday.

I am so excited to tell you that I get to give one lucky reader a classroom supply of GoNoodle pencils!
Yahooo! Can you tell I like pencils... Especially FREE pencils!!!

Please enter the giveaway below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to check out the GoNoodle Facebook Fan Page! 

It's time to keep on hopping! All of my Primary Powers friends have great swag to give away AND amazing ideas to share. Be sure to stop by Primary Powers for a chance to win the grand prize! DRUM ROLL PLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE... A FREE subscription to GoNoodle PLUS!

Click the picture below to head over to Sailing into Second!
You can read all about how Aris uses GoNoodle to motivate her students!

Until next time...

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