A Teaching Blog by Jodi Southard
Are you officially done with school? Our students finished up 2 weeks ago, but it is just now feeling like summer break. Without a “true closure” to the school year, it was definitely a weird ending. This week, I will be mailing my students this summer riddle page along with a note, just to touch base.
Click on the picture above to grab this FREE Summer Riddle page.
You may also want to check out this Summer Challenge.
How are you handling this distance learning thing? Now, that it is getting close to the end of the school year, I have to admit, I am getting more and more upset about how this year will be ending. I LOVE the end of the school year, and not only because it will be summer. I miss our ABC countdown, Mothers & Fathers Day celebrations, field day, end of the year party, and so much more. But, it is what it is, and I am trying to make the best of it.
Last weekend, I drove to each of my students’ homes and gave them a little gift. It was so amazing to see all of them, from 6 feet away. Each bag included the book, The Very Impatient Caterpillar, a pencil, bubbles, candy, a poem, and a flat Mrs. Southard.
I wanted to share the end of the year poem and note with you for FREE. I included two different versions of each, just to give you options. Click HERE to download.
And…I’m pretty sure that I probably should have sent home the pajama, messy bun, and slipper version of myself instead, because let’s be honest, that is DEFINITELY more real life right now 😉
I hope that your distance learning is going well.
We all know that it is nearly impossible for 6 and 7 year olds to sit still for too long, but especially during the holiday season. We can have all the procedures and expectations in place, and then…December hits. We have to be able to find ways to keep our students engaged, but still learning. These Reading on the Move passages are a great way to get students up and moving, all while practicing their reading fluency skills.
This Reading on the Move packet includes 3 differentiated levels of passages. This makes it work so easily for the different levels of readers in your classroom.
How does this work?
Students read the passage. Then, they roll the dice and perform the corresponding “Christmas themed” movement. After completing the movement, they color in a Christmas light. Then, they reread the passage, roll, and color for a total of 5 readings. This helps to take away the dread of rereading. (If you need a Winter Theme instead, check out my Winter Reading on the Move packet.)
What are teachers saying about Reading on the Move?
“Oh my! The kids were so excited about reading. It really added to the fun on those days before break. Thanks so much.”
“These are awesome!! The kids practice fluency but they’re having so much fun they don’t even know it!”
“My kids loved these…perfect for all those wiggly little bodies!”
Check these out by clicking on the picture below.
If you’ve been around here for awhile, you’ve probably come across my Bat Cave Day Classroom Transformation. It is one of my absolute favorite days in my classroom. My first graders get so excited and talk about it for the rest of the school year.
One of the questions that I am usually asked is, “What all do you do during your Bat Cave Day?” Well, I am a huge believer in making learning fun, but meaningful. Even though it is a fun day, I still want to jam-pack it with learning. This year, I wanted to add in even more reading, math, and writing based activities into our Bat Cave Day, so I created this Bat Cave Day activity packet.
During our Bat Cave Day, my students bring in flashlights from home, and we work in the dark all day. They love this extra bit of excitement. Throughout the day, they will be completing six bat-themed centers. (Batty Math, Spin & Add, Bat Writing, Batty Vowels, Roll to Color Short Vowels, and Fact or Fiction)
I really based these centers around skills that my first graders are currently working on or need to review. This allows us to continue our academic learning, even though we are adding some extra excitement to our day.
My students will be rotating in groups of 3-4 students to complete each of these centers. Afterwards, we will complete some of the other activities in this packet including ABC order, vocabulary practice, writing, and more.
For the actual classroom transformation, I keep it pretty simple. I purchase black tablecloths from Dollar Tree to place on our tables and in front of our classroom windows. I also have some plastic bats that I purchased years ago from Dollar Tree that I use every year. You can see everything that I use for my transformation in my Amazon store. I promise you that you really do not need to spend a lot of money. The ONLY thing I buy for this each year are the tablecloths, and honestly, if I just purchased cloth ones, I could actually reuse those every year as well.
If you’d like to check out the Bat Cave Day packet, click on the picture below.
Read more about our Bat Cave Classroom Transformation here.
Remember to pin the image below to save for future reference.
Who doesn’t love shoes? Well, let me tell you…people with feet that hurt after being on them all day. That’s who doesn’t love shoes. Now, that isn’t to say that I don’t love comfortable shoes, but I have definitely become picky over the years of which shoes work for me. As I’ve gotten *ahem* older, I am more aware of how my feet just cannot handle being in unsupportive, cheap shoes all day while teaching.
I was guilty for many years of just buying inexpensive and cute shoes and wearing them all season until my feet would be screaming at me to buy a new pair. I have found that if I actually invest in some better quality shoes, they last longer, and I don’t dread wearing them all day. I wish that I was someone that could just put on any pair of shoes and have my feet be fine, but that is definitely not me. I can’t even walk around my house barefoot. I have to wear a pair of hard soled slippers. My feet just don’t like me very much 😉
With that being said…I also want to still buy stylish shoes. Maybe someday, I’ll be fine wearing big clunky orthopedic shoes, but today is not that day. I am always on the hunt for cute shoes that I can actually wear all day, or a least a large part of the day, and be pain free.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of these links, they throw a couple of pennies my way. This helps to support the blog. None of these shoe companies are sponsoring me in any way. I just truly loves these shoes 🙂
Sorel Wedges
A co-worker friend recommended Sorel wedges, and let me tell you, I am so thankful for her. These shoes are my absolute favorite! They are very cute and supportive. My feet do not ache at the end of the day. I have these Sorel After Hours Sandals in Camel pictured above and also the black Sorel Joanie Sandal (pictured below) that I love just as much!
I’m pretty sure that the Ella Slingback sandals from Sorel will be my next purchase to wear this summer.
Vionic Sandals
Another company that makes cute and supportive sandals is Vionic. I ordered these Vionic Kirra Backstrap sandals, and they are a very comfortable flat sandal. The sole of the shoe really supports your foot and are great to wear all day.
I loved them so much that I also ordered the Vionic Tide II Toe Post Sandal in Brown Leopard. These are a little harder to “dress up,” but they are perfect for a less casual outfit. Trust me with this brand. Your feet will thank you!
Toms
These sandals used to be my go-to shoes prior to finding Sorel. I do still love these Toms Majora Cutout sandals though. I have the desert taupe suede and the black leather ones. (The black leather ones are the more comfortable of the two.) I definitely still wear these shoes on a regular basis.
Toms wedge booties are some of my favorite “winter” shoes that I wear frequently, as well as the Leila Bootie that I have in black leather.
Everyone loves Sketchers, right? There are SO many to choose from, too. These are obviously a much more casual shoe than the others on the list, but they are perfect for casual Fridays. I love the slip on Sketchers. They are like clouds for my feet.
Converse
Another casual shoes option are Converse. The soles are definitely flat and don’t seem too supportive, but for some reason, they do not hurt my feet.
Olukai Sandals
I’m actually not even sure where I was when I first walked into a store that sold Olukai shoes, but I remember putting them on my feet after a long day and immediately falling in love. I have the Kulapai Kai sandals and they have held up perfectly for about 3 years now. They barely even look worn, and they are my go to black flip flop in the summer.
I also love the look of these Olukai Upena Gladiator Sandals.
Tieks
While I will say that I do like my one pair that I own, I’m still just not a big enough fan of them to cough up the money for another pair of these flats. (I actually didn’t even pay full price for my first pair. I bought them off of someone that didn’t want theirs anymore.) Maybe eventually I’ll get another pair, but it would have to be in a color that I would wear all of the time. These things are expensive.
Have you tried any of these? Do you have your own favorite teaching shoes that should be added to this list? Share with me in the comments.
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The beginning of the school year is always exciting. New supplies, new students, new opportunities to try something new. However, it’s also stressful. The first couple of weeks always end up being a blur. One of the most important things that I want to accomplish during those first couple weeks of school is a sense of community. I think it is so important to teach students how to work together successfully. We do a lot of group work during the year, so they need to learn early how to cooperate with each other. My classroom challenges provide the perfect opportunity for students to work together to complete academic challenges and earn rewards together.
The Back to School Challenge includes 10 academic based challenges for the students to complete in small groups of 3-5 students. After each group completes one of the challenges, that group earns a Challenge Ticket. The Challenge Ticket includes a coded mystery word that the group must solve using the decoder page. The first group to complete all 10 challenges (or however many you decide to use) is the winning group. You can decide if there will be a prize for each group or not. I usually hand out something little after each group is finished. (pencils, seasonal erasers, candy, stickers, …)
Each challenge has a picture on the top left of the page. This picture matches a picture on the Challenge Ticket. This makes organization of this project very easy. The academic skills that are included in this challenge include:
-Lowercase Letters
-Numbers or Letters
-Missing Numbers
-Rhyming Words
-Counting
-Beginning Letter Sounds
-Number Order
-Fixing Sentences
-Graphing
-Illustrating Sentences
“I bought your 100th day challenge last year and it was a big hit with the kids! I’m excited to introduce this to my new group of kids the first week of school. I think it will be a great way to promote team-building and cooperation skills, while also reviewing things that they should know from kindergarten.” -Beth
If you love this challenge, you may also want to check out my other Classroom Challenges including The Christmas Challenge, Valentine’s Day Challenge, Spring Challenge, and more.
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