FIVE FOR FRIDAY + A COOL COLUMBUS IDEA

Can you say, "October Break?"  Yup, it's okay to absolutely hate me for a minute . . . I won't mind . . . I am off for a whole week and nuffin' could get me down right now.  This is by far my favorite off all the vacations.  It happens just in time every single year . . . at that moment where you've reached your wit's end and just need a little breaky-poo to refuel and check yo-self.  When the Mister asked, where would you like to go, I politely replied, "Oh sweetie, I'm not going anywhere!"  I have grand plans to drink two FULL cups of coffee every day, stay in my jammers until well after noon, nest a bit, and create.  SIGH. Life is good :)  

With this said, I am going to roll on into Five For Friday "Slacker Style" . . . calm and rested after 10 hours of sleep :)  Whut-Whut???? 

UNO

The babes and I had a stellar week at school.  They were so stinkin' cute. Group time was especially cool.  A few extra special things always slip in the week before a vacation.  Case in point . . . A sweet mommy helper asked to prep and run her own spooky craft.  UH, YES PLEASE!!  She made the cutest little ghosts with them.  The smiles were absolutely priceless and they begged to bring them home that day . . . the cuties "Whooooo-whoooooooed" all the way to the busses.  They also worked über hard on their Little Book of Punctuation and writing the three kinds of sentences.  They are getting it!!!!

DUE

I noticed that many in my sweet crew are having a difficult time retaining the spelling patters that I am feeding them during small group time (we spell on the table every day after guided reading).  In years past, the kids quickly pick up when I say, "the chunk that has three ways,"  "a in the middle," or "o as in boat."  Well, this just isn't happening for a handful this year.  They just need a "little more" to help it stick.  With this said, I brought back whole group phonics. We barely have time for it, but I am managing to slam it in the mix as these babes are really needing a "different" and meaningful way to help those spelling combos stick.  So . . . we found ourselves in short e land this week (I always start easy in short vowels, move to digraphs, and then transition into vowel teams).  We brainstormed word families, acted them out, and completed a little craftivity to go with.  The kids loved short e necklace making.  

First, they were given four index cards (cut in half).
They were to write a short e word on each and to illustrate.
Before they colored, I checked spelling ;) 

Then they picked two pieces of yarn to twist together . . . we were "braiding!"
The ends were knotted and taped to the desk.
Everyone was so tuned in!!

The teamwork was overwhelming.
Anyone who needed help had no trouble finding a classmate to jump in and assist.
{Check out the two girls huddled behind this cute dude!!}
When they finished, they ALL put them on immediately and read them to each other.
This idea is part of my Short E Pack. 

TRE

Mid-week the UPS man paid me a visit.  I was absolutely beside myself to see him drive up.  I knew exactly what he had for me . . . 

So stoked to try out Kim Sutton's {Creative Mathematics}
10 Block System for Fact Fluency.
I know it's going to be such a meaningful way to target automaticity :)

QUATTRO

The Halloween books came out and the kids were all over them.  I had a HUGE computer meltdown this week that our loving tech department actually caused in my little classroom {I'll spare you the details, but it involved my head spinning around exorcist-style and me splitting the lining of my brand new JCrew pants as I tried to move 5 old-as-all-get-out iMac monitors that were LEFT TO ROT IN MY DOORWAY}.  Needless to say, the BOOKS came in so handy.  Lexia or silent reading became a reading group station choice on more than one occasion this week.  So many of my cuties were more engaged in the books that the electronic reading program . . . there is hope in this world :)

Favorite picture of the week!!

CINQUE

Happy Columbus Day!!!  We celebrated it up riz-ite in our room.  The kids learned all about maps, directions, and Columbus' voyage this week.  We also studied the parts of a ship.  Then, on Friday, we asked brave parents to come in and help us turn huge produce boxes into Columbus' three large ships.  

It was a magical day filled with giggles, smiles, and delight.   

We started out the day making hats and spyglasses.
We were sailors after all :) 

Classic kid moment . . . My Little Pony Spyglass!

After folder catch-up and recess, we began working on our amazing ships.  The transformation is so cool to watch.  It is controlled chaos at it's best and the classroom gets thrashed.  The parents jumped in with the BIG details and the kiddos assisted.  The teamwork was in full force and the good vibes were contagious.  No one cried.  No one fought.  No one whined.  Everyone played safe.  I was in teacher heaven!!!

We don't just stop at boats . . . we dress up, make swords, craft cannon balls and treasure.  Okay . . . so it turns into more of a Pirate Day, but Columbus didn't really DISCOVER America . . . so I don't feel too bad :)

Finally, we don't go to all that work for nothing.  If I've learned anything over the years it's that our babes need time to PLAY!  So, the kids get to dink around in their boats for about 10-15 minutes before we clean up and exit for the fall break.  I let the kids bomb each other with cannons and it gets crazy.  We go until I can "feel" the worm turning from excitement and fun to chaos and out of control :)  We only got about 8 minutes this year . . . hehehehehe!

Alright friends . . . that's it for me today.  My coffee is cold and I need to freshin' it up!  I am off to work on a Prediction/Inference Pack.  I can't wait to see how this one turns out.  Merry weekend!!!