Welcome Guest Blogger Leah from Learning4Keeps

With a very inspiring blog post today, I would like to welcome Leah from Learning 4 Keeps.

Have you ever considered how often we are surrounded by music? In an elevator, walking through a grocery store, riding in our cars… these are just a few places we hear rocking tunes or soothing notes. Children are especially accustomed to music. Consider the children’s shows that fill our television screens. How often do you hear music playing of some kind? It could be to accent a character walking, build suspense or encourage excitement!

Music has an incredible way of catching attention and keeping the attention it receives. Toddlers, with their short attention spans, can be transfixed and spellbound by cartoons simply by bright colors and music. There have been many studies on the positive effects of music when placed in stressful situations. This effect can even be seen in a classroom! Many educational professionals have expounded on the great asset music can be when used correctly.

So, what are some ways that we can practically integrate music into our classrooms without ending up with a classroom filled with drumming pencils and bouncing children? This could have its place, of course, but not necessarily during times of concentration. Here are a few ways that I integrated music into my first grade classroom.

Morning Routine!

“Good morning, Good morning to you

Good morning, Good morning to you

I’m happy you’re here, and I hope you are, too!

Good morning, Good morning to you…”

This was a song I made up one morning after our morning routine. As we would sing the song, we would all shake hands and then walk back to our seats. This encouraged student interaction and brought a sense of excitement to the morning.

Important information like math facts or English rules can be added to a simple melody, even a nursery rhyme, and it will increase the student’s ability to retain the knowledge. How did we learn our ABC’s?? We learned with a song! Adults still sing the song to this day should they need a reminder. I learned all of the states of the United States in alphabetical order with a song! I can still sing it today! Many can still remember the old SchoolHouse Rocks songs that would teach everything from verbs to the government system. There is no doubt that music can enable knowledge retention where simple drills can fail. Just consider this: a student may struggle with learning their multiplication facts but they can sing every lyric to the latest CD on the market. Coincidence? Yeah, I don’t think so either.

Some have told me that they can’t carry a tune in a bucket but I say, “Don’t let that stop you!” There are many CD’s available at the library with great songs or raps that teach important information. Many singers and songwriters have made a living creating fun and informative songs. I have seen students from Pre-K to 5^th grade enjoy them and learn in the process without even realizing it!

Times of concentration are also a great time to integrate music. Many might think it is distracting but, if chosen carefully, music can add a sense of peace in the classroom and actually increase concentration! In my classroom, I would use piano music to play during seatwork time or even while students were taking their test. You could sense a quietness in the room while it played and if students had a question, they would speak in a whisper just to maintain the atmosphere. Awesome!

So, don’t be afraid to experiment with music in your classroom! You might be surprised by its power to add excitement, promote retention and promote a calm atmosphere. This makes for a peaceful room which naturally creates a peaceful teacher. J

Do you have a favorite music CD that you can share with everyone? Share with us in the comments to let us know! I hope you are all having a fantastic day!

ABOUT ME

Leah is a public school teacher turned home educator. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies. After working in a first grade classroom for four years, Leah decided to use her passion for education to teach her own children. So began a journey that has entered its fourth year!

When she is not teaching her three girls (11, 8, and 3), you will find her reading a book or creating music. She assists her husband in leading a growing church in Tallahassee and feels passionately about connecting with others.  She also loves creating teacher resources for educators both in the schools and at dining room tables around the world! Thus, she added blogger to her resume.

To sum it up: God and family is life, reading is a love, music is a passion, and coffee is a necessity! :)

Thanks again Leah for being my guest today :)

Guest blogger Heather from Creation Castle

Today, I am happy to introduce my guest blogger Heather from Creation Castle!!

We are honored to be Brooke's guest blogger today! Although it's spring in Australia, autumn is just now kicking into gear over in Texas. We recently got a small cold front and temperatures are finally in the 80's over here.

Since our seasons are a little different, we thought we would share about one of our favorite authors - Margaret Wise Brown. Most are familiar with at least Goodnight Moon or Runaway Bunny, but Ms. Brown wrote over twenty books during her short-lived time as an author.

One of our favorites (especially for the fall) is The Little Scarecrow Boy. This is a tale of a little boy who wants to be just like his father. Each day the little boy watches his father scaring away the crows and longs to join him in the fields. Finally he decides to try it on his own. The boy makes his fieriest faces and finally scares away the crows with some help. This sweet story shows the bond between a father and his son, as well as how knowledge is passed down through generations.

We have some fun activities in our store that can be used with any scarecrow book. The activities included are:

• Roll a Scarecrow
• Writing Prompts/Paper
• Emergent Reader
• Making Words
• Story Map

Come by and check it out! It will be on sale all weekend.

Another Margaret Wise Brown book we enjoy is The Important Book. This fun text encourages students to find the important things in everyday objects. From an apple to the sun, this book will really get your students thinking. The predictable text also makes for a great class book. We've included a free template for you; just click on the picture below! You can change the templates easily to fit any subject you are teaching. We've included one to do with the months of the year.

We hope you enjoyed reading our thoughts on Margaret Wise Brown. We'd love for you to drop by our blog or TpT store anytime!

Thanks again Heather for stopping by :)

Welcome to Latoya from Flying into First Grade

Happy Johnny Appleseed Week!!!!

I am guest blogging for Brooke today and I cannot wait to share with you some of the things we are going to be doing to celebrate Johnny Appleseed and Apples.  First let me tell you more about myself.  I am Latoya Reed and I just became a blogger in July.  I also started my TPT store in July as well.  It has been such an amazing experience so far and I love the ideas and resources that are shared.  I was a Kindergarten teacher for 4 years and now I am in my 2nd year of first grade.  I teach in Tennessee where I live with my hubby.

Since Johnny Appleseed's birthday is on September 26, we are doing a unit on apples and Johnny Appleseed.  I get excited to teach this unit every year.  I know the students enjoy it as well.  I would like to start by sharing some of my favorite apple themed books I like to read to my class.

My favorite Apple Activities

1.  Graphing apples by colors- I get parents to send in apples in red, yellow, and green. The students get to pick their favorite apples color and then we graph them.  Complete the data information below. 

2. Apple Tasting- I cut the apples up and have students try each color.  We fill out our Apple tasting chart.

3. Apple Word Search- You can find this freebie in my TPT store.

4.  Make an Apple Pie- I love to make an apple pie with the kids and let them eat some of it.  This is when I read The Apple Pie Tree.

5.  Read about Johnny Appleseed- We have the PE teacher to dress as Johnny Appleseed and read a story to the students.  We alo watch the Johnny Appleseed video on Brain Pop Jr.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed my post on my favorite Apple activties and books.  You can go to my TPT store to find more freebies and check out my blog anytime.

My TPT Store

Welcome Liz from The Happy Teacher

Hey everyone!  I'm Brooke's guest blogger this week, and I'm so excited to write and share my ideas on Brooke's AWESOME blog!  My name is Liz a.k.a. TheHappyTeacher, and today I'm going to share my ideas on classroom management and reward systems.

Classroom management revolves around routines, procedures, rules, rewards, and consequences.  The most FUN part of classroom management to discuss is the REWARDS!  Now, as a first grade teacher, I think I've tried EVERY kind of reward system out there, including token economy, sticker charts, treasure box, point systems, etc.!  I've tried individual rewards and small group incentives, but the most effective reward system I've tried is a whole group reward system!

Here's the scoop on the BEST and EASIEST classroom reward system out there! :)  

First, you will need a large poster, such as a smiley face.  Cut it into fourths.

Add a small magnet to the back of each piece. 

The reason this reward system works so well is because students are working TOGETHER to earn pieces of the smiley face!  At the beginning of the day, the students have not earned any pieces of the smiley face.  However, the class can earn pieces of the smiley face by following directions, cooperating, and working hard!  Every time the class earns a piece, a child puts it up on the board in a visible spot.  This reward system helps build a sense of community, and students really take ownership for their behavior because it affects the entire class!  Throughout the day, the class works to earn all four pieces of the smiley face!

When the class finally earns all four pieces of the smiley face, everyone earns a reward!  Some of my kiddos' favorite rewards are chewing gum, taking their shoes off, extra recess, a dance party, or a quick game of Heads Up-7Up!

For more reward ideas, check out these Reward Coupons!
You can use another poster, but make sure it's symmetrical so it's easy to create equal parts. :)  

I hope you've enjoyed reading my guest blog entry today!  I'd love it if you'd swing by my blog and TPT store.  I'm having a great GIVEAWAY for a $25 Target Gift card on my blog right now.  For a chance to win, enter here!  Have a great weekend!  -Liz


Thanks Liz for stopping by! Don't forget to enter my flash giveaway!

Guest Blogger Ann

While I am sunning myself on the beautiful Gold Coast in Queensland, Ann will be blogging for me today. Although she doesn't have a blog, she has a TPT store which you should stop by and visit!

Hello,  I am Brooke’s guest blogger for today.  She is on vacation.  I live in Florida in the US. Gosh, I cannot believe vacation is over for me.  Well, it is back to reality. 

As teachers, this is the time that we set up our class community and have such hope for our students’ success.  My principal started off the year reading, Running Shoes by Frederick Lipp and there was not a dry eye in the room.  We know why we are here.  If you have heard of this book, you know what I am talking about.  If you haven’t read it, it’s about a young girl who lives in a poor village in Cambodia .  She desires to go to school.  One man makes that difference in her life by giving her a pair of running shoes so she can get to school.  This one act changes her life forever. 

I know we as teachers, are all determined to make that difference.  Many students around the world live in poverty like the girl from the story. They can have a lack of good positive experiences and depending on their experiences, their vocabulary can be lower which can make their academics harder.  Since vocabulary is so important,  I have been learning new techniques  as well as using my old techniques such as using bingo games.  Students love bingo games.  I use cereal as markers so that every student gets some type of reward.  The winners receive a wild coupon from me to purchase things in my class store.  Playing a simple bingo game can be such a great review for your students.  Bringing in things like this word has a short vowel as one of my clues during science or another subject is a great way to cross the curriculum.  Sometimes, our students get answers wrong in math and science because they could not read the academic language of math and science.

Bringing science to life is so much fun.   I remember when I was in school, we just learned science from the textbook.  So, I learned that blubber was this fat and that it kept some animals in the Arctic warm.  As a teacher, I know that students need to experience it.  So, getting out Crisco and a glove to try out is essential. 

I wish everyone a great year and many “teachable moments”. If you have time to stop by my Teachers Pay Teachers store, I have put up two bingo games.  One is for math vocabulary with the teen words(like nineteen)and the big tens(like fifty), and one is a science bingo, word search, and word scramble  on science tools.  I also have a science game (that crosses math and science) on rocks.  One of the common core standards is to know odd/even numbers.  The  Odd/Even Boo Game is great practice and it is free!  My store is at www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/A-Shep .

Thanks for stopping by my Hippity Hop store.  Special thanks to Brooke for having me guest blog today! 

Ann

Thanks Ann for 'hopping' by lol. 

There is a chrysalis in my classroom....

Well there is! I didnt have my camera on me today (duh!) but our chrysalis 'cage' and live chrysalis arrived yesterday while I wasn't there. We were lucky enough to be in class when the chrysalis opened today and my kids went nuts! I will post some pics tomorrow :) For the Aussie teachers out there, we ordered them through http://www.butterflyadventures.com.au/butterflychrysaliskit.html and there weren't that expensive. once you have bought the kit, the enclosure is yours to keep and you can just keep 'reordering' the chrysalis. Give it a go!

I'm also thinking about inviting YOU to blog here! If this is something you would be interested in, leave me a comment here or send me an email b_beynon@hotmail.com

Guest Blogging and Sale extended!

Hi all 

Are you exhausted from all the BTS shopping! I am pretty sure that I spent wayyyyy too much money! But it is sooo much fun! My store is on sale for ONE MORE DAY for 20% off. Go a grab that bargain with your TPT credit points you have built up. Click HERE to go and have a look.

 I am guest blogging about classroom management over at Second Grade Sugar and Spice today and there is a cute little freebie for you. Thanks so much Christina for letting me crash your super cute blog!

Guest Blogging over at Teachery Tidbits

It's my first guest blog over at 

so go and check it out!


 Its full of tips about how I get my class to write interesting narratives and you can even download a free graphic organiser :)


Thanks Natalie for letting me crash your blog.