The ABCs of My Classroom

Dum da da dum! 

That's the sound of my heralds announcing my accomplishment. It's the "ABCs of Mrs. Kuhn's Classroom."  I plan on doing a fairy tale and fable theme in my room this year and I'm just getting into character.  I have spent the last week working on my classroom handbook and now it is finished.  

I created one 5 years ago and haven't done one since.  My computer broke, I lost all of my files and I didn't want to retype it all again.  I decided that this was the year I was going to redo it. Parents of third graders seemed more interested in the goings on in my classroom.  This time I will make sure that I save it on a flash drive so I never have to do that again from scratch. 

I toyed with the idea of making it reflect my theme, but I decided to keep it generic because I feel the need to change my theme each year.  Hopefully it contains all that a parent will need to know about how I run my class.  

Michigan Blogger Meet Up

Thanks to Maria Dismondy I have this great picture to show from the
Michigan Blogger Meet Up.
 I am number 4 in the back

If you head over to Kimberly's blog Funky First Grade Fun she has some great pics and the to links to all of the participants blogs.  So many great people with some really awesome blogs.

Homerun Showdown

On a completely unrelated topic, I went to go and see my son's movie it opened over the weekend.  Sounds glamorous right.  Not!  We went through hours of waiting in line at a cattle call audition, 4 callbacks, a promise of greatness, a day of shooting, and then we waited for 2 years for the film to come out.  All for a brief pan shot of my son in the outfield.  You couldn't even recognize his features.  He made some great plays while they were shooting.  They must be on a cutting room floor somewhere.    Oh well that's showbiz.  The movie was pretty good though.  It will be coming to video August 21st.

Good to be Back!

I went to the Michigan Blogger Meet Up yesterday and I had such a great time.  I was really neat to meet in person the very people that I have stalked read online.  I had a total geek moment as we went around the table and introduced ourselves.  I introduce myself the woman sitting next to me introduces herself, and then then woman on the other side of her introduces herself.  Fascinating so far I know, just wait.  She's all like "Hi I'm Christina Bainbridge."  I lean forward and blurt out, "I love you!"  Way to keep my cool.  I pride myself on not being starstruck.  I always complain about those weirdos that are fanatics.  Then I go all "Can I have your autograph?"  Not really, but I did feel a bit dorky after I said it.  I was just so cool to get to sit down with people you respect and share ideas about a mutual hobby and passion .

I have been rejuvenated to begin blogging again.  Once school began I become overwhelmed with teaching a new grade, having a new principal, and navigating my way through a new evaluation system.  Blogging went by the wayside.  I also chair our PBIS committee, sponsor and lead our student council, am on our district technology team and sit on the district elementary curriculum committee.  Shoot me now!  Unfortunately, I have added school webmaster to that for this year.  I need to knock it off.  Blogging is going to be my therapy this year.  It's better for me than large amount of chocolate and alcohol.

Happy Blogging!!!

Valentine Centers with Learning Buddies

This is the third set of parent manned centers that we have done with our first grade learning buddies.  We did Halloween themed centers, Christmas centers, and now Valentine centers.  This is a great time when my third grade students get together with our first grade learning buddies.  We had several game centers, a few craft centers, a couple math centers, a Valentine writing center, and of course a snack center.  It was a great day.

Yummy heart cinnamon rolls.




Everybody loves a good cinnamon roll.



Chopstick steal my heart race



conversation heart graphing

heart animal art



Valentine make a word



Valentine Bingo



Gateway to fun!!!

This was a picture post that was a draft from way back in October.  I have been absent from posting my blog since then.  I have had a busy and productive year in 3rd grade.  Thanks to all of you out here in cyber space.  I feel like I have been able to function in my new grade because of all of your wonderful ideas and freebies that you, my fellow teachers, have kindly blogged about and shared.  I feel like everything I do is a total rip off.  Imitation is the highest form of flattery.  You are all so talented and again I thank you for your unknowing support.

  Such a stressful year, but I hope to be posting again soon!

Thanks to The Teacher's Wife, my kids made a haunted version of Even and Odd Street

Halloween Number Stories

This isn't anything fancy, but I created a Halloween worksheet of number stories.  For those of you not in the habit of Everyday Math jargon, It is a worksheet of Halloween story problems.  I'm not sure why every few years they feel the need to give math stuff new names. Oh well.

Click on the picture of my beautiful daughter and it will take you to the Google Doc.

Enjoy!!!

The Creative Apple is having a great giveaway. 

Hurry on over there and see if you can snag a freebie!

UH-OH OREO!!!

Welcome to our O.R.E.O. Project Fall 2011!
(Our Really Exciting Online Project)

I love this time of year.  Each year my class and our first grade learning buddies stack Oreo cookies and gather data.  This is a online project hosted by Project By Jen.  I have done this project for the last 6 years.  The kids have a blast collecting their data.  They also like eating their results.

These were the guidelines we were required to follow…

You will measure the COUNT of cookies used to stack --
NOT height of stack.

Each participating class needs at least
1 bag of Nabisco's Oreo® Chocolate and
Crème Sandwich Cookies.
(classrooms need to use the REGULAR Oreo cookie --
not double stuf or triple double for their average.)

Students will observe how many Oreos
they are able to stack before the Oreos® tumble.

Students are encouraged to predict
how many Oreos® they think they will be able to stack and then compare actual results.

Students are NOT to use anything to stabilize the cookie and they are NOT able to adjust cookies as they stack. (i.e....once they have placed the cookie and their hand has left the cookie, they may NOT adjust that cookie again.)

Each student will have TWO attempts to stack Oreos® and
will record the highest amount they were able
to stack before tumbling.

Teachers will need to explain to their students that this is a project with schools all over the world and also explain what information this project is attempting to collect. They also need to discuss that at the end of the project, all results will from their classroom will be averaged and posted!

Once the entire class has stacked their Oreos®, they will average all their results to turn in ONE class amount.

Click below to see all of the classrooms across the world who have joined in this project and posted their results online.

map

The link below will show you the results of all of the classrooms that have participated.

results

Enjoy some pics of my kiddos and thier learning buddies.

You Know You Teach Third Grade When . . .

Let me start by saying, I normally teach 5th grade.  This year I am teaching 3rd grade.  As part of our state's curriculum, I have to teach fairy tales and fables, so I started this last week by reading a different fairy tale each day.  On Thursday, I read Puss in Boots.  I would have never been able to read this to my 5th graders and say the main character's name 15 different time without hearing snickers and giggles.  The 3rd graders were enthralled, without so much as a strange look or a giggle.

On Friday, I read Rapunzel.  It talked about how the prince climbed up Rapunzel's hair, they fell in love, and performed their own marriage ceremony.  After a few months Rapunzel's dress began getting tight around the middle and her step-mother became angry with her and cut off her hair and threw her out of the tower.  One little boy looked at me and said,"I don't get why was her step-mother so angry?"  Holy cow! I didn't know that sex-ed was part of Fairy Tales 101.