Math Common Core

I have been working hard the last few days for a new product for Teachers pay Teachers.  I created math tasks for each standard for the new first grade math common core.


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The Book Whisperer

I have spent some time the last few days while my kids were swimming reading this book.
It was really good.  It is written by a lady who teaches sixth grade and talks about how she teaches reading.  She challenges her students to read forty books a year.  The results seem pretty amazing.  She said that all of her students pass the language arts year end assessment given.  Even those students that start out behind become readers.  Also it encourages children to become life long readers.  I am going to try and incorporate some of her idea's in my classroom this year.  While forty chapter books for a sixth grader would be a lot, forty books for a first grader isn't very many.  I'm thinking that I will challenge my students to read 500 books.  That seems like a lot but I want it to be a challenge.  I can't imagine any student that reads that many books in one year coming away without being a reader.  I will count books that their parents read to them.  Also if my higher readers are reading chapter books I will count a book over fifty pages as two books.  We'll see how it goes!

Summer time seems to be flying by!  I have spent a good portion of the summer working.  I taught summer school for the month of June and spent all of last week at a Math training.   This is the first week I haven't had to work.  My boys have been troopers while I have been busy this summer.  To try and help we made a deal that at least once a week we would go and do something fun.  Mostly we go to the pool or a movie.  We spent a few days in Park City with family and that was a nice change.  The boys have been happy with what we have done so far but I would love to change it up without spending a lot of money.  Anyone have any great ideas?

Getting Started!

I'm not sure what is possessing me to start this blog but here I go anyways!  I know there are a ton of different teaching blogs out there but I hope mine is a little different as I document my life not only as a teacher but a mom and wife.  I get asked all the time how I manage it all and I often respond that one I don't know any different it's what I've done for a long time, and two sometimes (okay a lot of the time) I don't do it all well but I'm always trying new things both at home and at school.  Hopefully as I share things that work and don't work at home, and school maybe it will help some other teacher, mom, and wife out there!