The Bee Attitudes

I saw these cute bee sayings on MamaRocks a looonnnggg time ago and thought that some day I would use them in my room in some way. Well, finally that day has come. Many of you have seen the adorable way Mrs. Cooley displays her rules...the Five Bees Promise (if not, head over to her site and check them out!) So I've typed up the Bee Attitudes and am going to display them on bees like Mrs. Cooley's. Since I teach in a Christian school this display will be my religion board.

The Bee Attitudes

I will post a picture of the completed board later.

In Our Classroom

I saw this saying yesterday on Pinterest. Love it! Naturally had to make it for my room.

In Our Classroom

Btw, I need to get back on a normal (school time) sleeping schedule...which isn't happening easily because of all the wonderful blog ideas you all keep posting about and, of course, Pinterest. I think I need a secretary and a few staff. Ah, wouldn't that be a dream!

Oh, another btw, my great friend Jeannie and I call this "productive procrastination" when we have a multitude of things to do but we'd rather be creating and computering. (new word :) )

King & Queen Bee

Each week I have two helpers who basically get to do anything and everything.  I pick a boy and a girl and call them the King Bee and Queen Bee.  (Surprised aren't you ;) )  I've done the whole everyone gets a job each week thing and I HATED changing what seemed like millions of helper jobs and trying to keep track of it all...ugh...not for me.  This is easy peasy and the kids love it.  This is the sign I use to display my helpers.

King and Queen Bee Sign

This year instead of names, I thought I'd take pictures with the kids wearing a silly crown on their head to post.  Remember the old Burger King crown?  Yeah, that would be fun.

Answer of the Day

Recently (which could be in the last year...the way my brain works!) I saw a question of the day idea at Really Good Stuff. I liked how it promoted creative and critical thinking. Well, it's been simmering in the back of my brain lately so I figured I'd better do something about it before school starts in one week.

I designed and ordered a car door magnet from Vistaprint that I will use to display the day's answer {for FREE}. I made a coordinating bumper sticker {again...for FREE} that I will use to cover a can of some sort where the kids will put their questions.

You know how the brain works...I woke up one night with a song going through my head that goes with the whole thing. It is to the simple tune "Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone".

I will have the kids brainstorm questions in their journal or on scrap paper then pick their best question to put on the recording slip and into the bucket for sharing. Remember Talents Unlimited? (C'mon show your age!) I will stress thinking of the many, varied, and unusual questions we could come up with. Then encourage them to pick the one they think is a "one of a kind" question. (This is where having a safe and secure classroom environment is essential for encouraging risk-taking.) For questions that seem to not fit, be sure to have the student explain their reasoning. Sometimes they surprise us and force us to think outside our box!

These items are now available in my Teacher's Notebook store.

Back to School Game

I created this back to school game using the "I have Who has" model.  However, I wanted it to be a cooperative group game since there will be some kids who can't read as well as others and/or new kids to our school.  So instead of individuals getting a card or two, I will put the kids in small groups (probably 3 depending on class size...that is unknown still.)  You'll notice the cards say "We have" instead of "I have" and each group must read their card in unison.  (Before beginning the game, I will have groups practice reading their card together.)

This game would only be used after I have introduced certain areas and procedures in our classroom and school since some of those things are included.  It also incorporates rule review and the names of specials teachers.

My classes in the past have always liked playing this type of game and enjoy me timing them each time we play to see if they can go even faster than the previous time.

Because this is something you would need to personalize for your class and school, let me know if you are interested and I will email it to you.  The font I used is smiley monster from Kevin & Amanda.  My class rules are from Whole Brain Teaching.

Back to School I Have Who Has