Five for Friday

 

 

 

I  am so excited for my second five for Friday with doodle bugs teaching!  I have been working with this linky in mind all week!  This is been a crazy busy week but so many things have happened! 

 

I am having a giveaway!!  I have been trying to create readership for my blog and I thought I would throw a giveaway! Its been kind of slow goings.  I am trying not to compare my beginning to someone elses middle, but I love blogging so.... I hope you will follow my blog and my teacher store and have a chance to win a great giveaway!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

 

  

 

I have been having a hard time with my class understanding the importance of listening during Instruction.  They like to socialize ALOT and I guess it doesn't help that I sit them in table groups of six, but group learning/cooperative learning is my philosophy as is the 21st century learner initiative.  So as rudimentary as this picture is going to look, I had to do something.  Fern Smith had posted on her blog about an incentive to get her groups to behave and do the work of being students.  She offered them a small secret gift. I took this idea and ran with it.  

 

  

The bag is where I keep the gift hidden.  I am going this weekend to find a much cuter gift bag.  This was all I could find in my desperation to find something to squelch these behaviors. 

 I have done this everyday this week and my kids have worked really hard for this gift and have

 tried to keep their talking in check.  The prizes I have given away have  been small...a couple sheets of stickers, an apple pen and today was a crayon eraser.  Friday's mystery prize is always supposed to be a little bigger, so that gift will be a bag of suckers or a coloring book and crayons or something like that.  I have been trying not to do so many food/treat based rewards.  BUT when that is a motivator,  you gotta go with what works!!

Click here to link up to Fern's blog post for me information and to see her cutey cute owl bags!

 

 

 

 

So, one of our former fourth graders had a double lung transplant twelve days ago and SHE IS HOME!!!  She is oxygen free and I have never seen this smile. 

 I have known here since she was a kindergartner and was able to come to school.  Last year was really hard for Nicole and she seemed to have more difficult days then good days.  The Make-a-wish foundation stepped in and sent Nicole and her family to Disney World.  When I heard this year she was having a double lung transplant, I was so hopeful for them.  I never expected her to bounce back like this!  God bless the family who lost their child, but praise God for his blessing for Nicole and her family!!

 

 

 

 So my students are studying the plant kingdom and I shot this video of them performing their "dance"  I cracked up because this is the first time ALL of my students embraced my crazy assessment method.  They totally got it AND were able to write about it the next day!  I was one proud teacher yesterday!!!

 

 

 

 

And number five is the fact the weekend is here and I will be spending my weekend with the stars...Josh Gates of Destination Truth is going to be at the Scarefest Convention in Lexington Kentucky and my hubs, mom and I are volunteers for them.  My

  mom and I are taking care of Josh Gates this weekend and hubs is taking care of Chandler from Walking Dead on Saturday!  Should be a really fun time.  Malcolm McDowell with be there!  Chip Coffey from Paranormal State and Psychic Kids will be there and I will get to spend a little time with all of them.  I am not much into the blood and guts horror movies of today but I sure do enjoy a good scare, a mystery and a good ghost story!!!!