Three Things
I survived a FIVE DAY work week! We have had the last two Mondays off for holidays so this was a BIG week and I DID IT!
Hooray!
I actually feel like I got a lot accomplished in the classroom so I’m patting myself on the back, and then I’m going to go eat some french fries as a reward.
And possibly a candy bar.
I have three things to discuss today.
NUMBER ONE:
Seriously! Instagram made me buy this magnetic shelf!!! I’m not kidding.
I saw it EVERYWHERE! All of these Teacher Instagrammers had one on their whiteboard in their classrooms, and I felt left out. So I bought one.
It sat on my whiteboard for a good solid two weeks WITH NOTHING ON IT. I decided I was going to “gift it” to the whiteboard in our staff lounge when I started adding little things to it that had been on the whiteboard tray . . . you know, the silver “chalk tray” . . . and then BAM!
I was keeping it.
My most favorite thing of all is that the whiteboard eraser is OFF THE TRAY which means my kids are no longer sliding it down the tray even though I say STOP SLIDING THE ERASER DOWN THE TRAY, I CAN NEVER FIND IT, YOU ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY, I SAID STOP IT. I mean, they just can’t help themselves. It’s a real thing. They can NOT help it.
So now . . . I’ve alleviated my WHITEBOARD ERASER SLIDING STRESS and it’s been life changing.
Next, I keep my magnet holder off the tray! And the little soup can I use to hold the Bingo Pieces for our Class Bingo Reward situation are off the the tray, too!! And, before you ask, I’ll just tell you that I am almost 100% positive that I dumped the contents of the soup or corn or peas or whatever was inside the can down the kitchen sink, cleaned it, and then wrapped it up in cute scrapbook paper.
As for Bingo, I got my board from Teach Create Motivate. We earn a Bingo Piece every time we ALL freeze, put our hands on our heads, and turn to look at the teacher when I count down from five and/or ring our Class Doorbell.
All of the cards on rings that are hanging on the rod are different things my principal has purchased or found for us to build community, conduct restorative circles, etc. I just made cute covers for the cards because there weren’t any. Ha! I’m on the hunt to find out where my principal found all of the cards and I’ll come back to edit this post when I get more information.
Last, the magnet strip on the back of this shelf is INSANE! IT IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE EVER. EVER. It is so strong! It NEVER moves. It never gets off kilter or crooked or ANYTHING. It’s like it knows I wouldn’t be able to handle it moving and so it doesn’t.
Seriously. I am OBSESSED.
NUMBER TWO:
If you’ve been around this blog for awhile, then you know I’m all about using Reader’s Theater in the classroom! They get my kids super excited about reading (ENGAGEMENT!), build fluency, and are perfect to use for Read to Someone during Daily Five or Literacy Centers.
I have almost all of my sets glued onto different colored construction paper and laminated for durability, and so that the kids can easily find the plays that go together.
But I need more and more Three Character plays because while I have an even number of students (26 as of now), seven of my eight center groups have THREE KIDS.
I’m not a math person at all, but when you have an even number of kids that don’t divide evenly into an even number of eight centers, it’s annoying.
I’m just saying.
#annoying
SO ANYWAYS! I just started using the SAME three prong folders for all the Three Character plays, and I just switch out the printables in the slip sheets!
It’s FREAKING FAST and EASY!
Like why haven’t I been doing this before?!
In the picture above, I only had blue folders so I put sticker dots in the upper corner so my kids could find the plays that go together easily, but I just found some other folder colors in a cabinet and I’m utilizing those, too.
When I take out the old plays, I’m just paper clipping them together and putting them in a file folder until next year.
EASY!!!!
NUMBER THREE:
HOORAY!
I managed to create, record, and add Listen and Learn activities just for March JUST IN TIME!
I am really liking the Language Arts AND Math Review all in one, rather than focusing on a specific learning target. It just switches things up a bit and makes it more fun for me. What can I say? I like consistency but with some variety thrown in here and there. 
As I’ve said before, I’m a party animal.
If you haven’t tried these yet because you don’t have technology in your classroom, or your district blocks EVERYTHING (mine does!), I have an Instagram story that you can watch to see how I use the Power Point slides with Audio instead of the QR codes. Check it out {HERE}.
I try to do a Listen and Learn activity whole class at least once a week because I don’t know about your class, but my class really really really needs to work on LISTENING and FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS.
See above where I talked about the eraser on the whiteboard tray for reference.
And, by the way, when you do a Listen and Learn activity WHOLE CLASS, you get 17-18 minutes to do whatever you need to do, whether that’s working with a student one on one, or a small group, or just sitting back drinking your soda while listening to the sound of crayons coloring and Mrs. Oldham talking and singing and acting like a fool!!
And there you go.
Three Things from This Week!!
Have a happy weekend!
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