The Blogs NEW LOOK

Ok... So I want to make my blog cute like all yalls!  However, I just cant seem to figure it out.  Can someone please tell me how to either use a Leelou blog template or how to make a blog header with my blogs title in it?!  Or better yet, can someone just do it for me!? haha.

Let me know because I would love to make my blog look cuter!!!!

Meet the Teacher!

My bloggy friend is doing a fun Teacher linky!!!  And I'm playing along, too :)

If you want to link up, check out  Cara at The First Grade Parade.

To start off... (sorry no pics the uploader still isnt working :( )

My name is Brooke.

I am a first year first grade teacher in Nebraska.

I went to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and received my bachelors in December 2009. GO BIG RED!

I recently bought a home and move in about 2 weeks... so excited! :)

I am the oldest of three girls.  Im 24- yikes!  My birthday was on January 30th so Im still not used to that number...

My family has 4 dogs- two labs and two tiny yorkies.

Want to know more... Just ask!  Im an open book!

Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t a teacher?                                            

A:  Right now, Id love to be a cheer coach.  I cheered for 7+ years and still love every bit of it!  When I get married and have children... I would love to eventually some day be a stay at home mom!

Q: What are your hobbies?                                                                                   

A:  Ummm…its weird to say that teaching feels like a hobby sometimes!  Working out, going to cheer competitions to watch my sis.  Attending Church and Bible Study.

Q: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?                    

A:  I always said I wanted to be a teacher!  I have dreamed of being a fourth grade teacher... however now- I could never see myself doing so!

  

Q: What are your guilty pleasures?                                                                  

 A: Starbucks, Baby Blue, Red Mango, The Bachelor, Biggest Loser, One Tree Hill, Pretty Little Liars!

Q: What is your biggest fear?!                                                                        

 A: Spiders!  ICK... those things scare the crap out of me.

Q: When you’re on vacation, where do you like to go?                                   

 A: I love to go anywhere warm!  My favorite place however would have to be Atlantis- Nassau, Bahamas! ahhhh paradise on earth.

                                                          

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?                                                 

A:  Let go and Let God!

Q: What do you value most in others?                                                                  

A:  Honesty, Kindness and Loyalty!

Q: If you could have lunch with anyone in the world….living or dead…who would it be?                                                                                                               

A:  Jesus, and my college friends!   And then I’d love to jump into the bloggy friends lunch with Babbling Abby, First Grade Parade and Fabulous in First!

Now tell us one random thing about yourself:

I won first place in the science fair in 8th grade!  I am far from being a sciency person... it is prob my least favorite subject!  haha...


Now it’s time for YOU to join the party!!!!  Here’s what you need to do:  Write a post titled “Meet The Teacher”.  Start with a brief “biography” and then copy & paste the Q&A {using your answers, of course!} 

                                              

R to the RANDOM!

Ok so I havent exactly spent my snow day as planned... I slept in- woohoo!  But I have been quit the lazy girl today!  I've been sitting on the couch for hours today... working on grad school homework.    Now Im getting to some new things for stations.
I guess I hadnt realized till yesterday that I needed to update my stations... and I only realized because one of my sweet boys said "Miss Samson when are we going to get new fun stuff for stations?"  haha!!!

So here are a few things... sorry there are no pictures... the blogger pic is not working!  As the title above says R- to the Random... I am very random on my stations ideas today.   Not feeling real creative!

Todays first NEW addition to stations is for the Word Wall station... Word Wall
This second worksheet is Clap the Word, this is a great one for kiddos struggling or needing extra help with syllables.  Word Work
The third worksheet is a BIG BOOK worksheet- my kids need something to keep them stay focused and to make the station have a purpose, so here is one really good one. Big Book Form!

Maybe Ill gain a creative spark in the next few hours... stay tuned :)

Spelling Idea...

This week we are working on the long a -/ai/ and /ay/ sounds.
My kids LOVED this activity using the train for their spelling words... ENJOY!

Train Spelling!

Snow Day!

Well once again it is snowy and icy here in good old Nebraska...
Soooo what do I choose to first do with my spare time?

WATCH THE BACHELOR!  If you dont watch it, you've got to get plugged in NOW!

I absolutely LOVE Emily- what a sweetheart!

I'll prob post some new fun ideas tmrw... I gotta work on my grad class homework!
Stay tuned!!!

Debbie Diller Plug...

Ok so as I started this year, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into as far as stations go.  I had previously had no experience with literacy or math stations.  Something that REALLY helped me as I started to embark on the stations and small group adventure were these two extremely helpful books.
I am a huge fan of Debbie Diller.  Her literacy stations, small groups and spaces and places books saved my life!
If you don't have a copy, you for sure need it... your life will be changed!

 

Debbie Diller, is coming out with a new Math stations book in February!!!!  I am so excited for this book- I know that it is going to be an awesome addition to my collection! :)

Some fun Guided Reading ideas!!!

So being a first year teacher, Im not the best guided reading teacher in the world.  This my first year to ever do such a thing, so Im learning as I go.  All the ideas I know and come across are wonderful.  If you have any ideas please share! :)
I love to use some new and fun ideas for my guided reading groups.  My kids are always in need of something fun and different...

I recently introduced our new whisper phones!  You would have thought that these kids have never used a phone before, because they are in HEAVEN!!! Its so cute how one little new thing can excite my kiddos.

I also LOVE to use highlighter tape- to highlight our spelling words, AMAZING words or our fish words (high frequency words!)

My last all time favorite idea is using either highlighter bookmarks OR color transparent folders cut into strips.  This really helps my kiddos focus in on the sentence we are currently reading!

My guided reading lesson plan template is also something I love!  I cant take credit for it because my bffe sent me hers. Use it if you like, ditch it if you dont!

Download (16 KB)