Monday Made It - The Best Paint in the World

I promise I didn't fall off the face of the earth.  If you follow me on Instagram (sarahlynnkirby), then you know I'm alive and well.  The end of the school year got the best of me and summer has been full of family time, rejuvenation, and projects.  I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics today to show you a project I just finished!  I HAVE to share it with you because it has made me entirely too giddy and made me want to paint all the things.

So what is it that I just have to share with you?  Just the most amazing paint in the world!  A girl I work with told me about a place in Grove City, Ohio called Zassy's Treasures.  "They have this paint that you can use on anything!  The have the prettiest colors!"  So I checked it out and ordered it.  But let me tell you, deciding on a color was nearly IMPOSSIBLE!  The thing that appealed to me most and made me bite the bullet and get it was that you don't have to sand, prime, or anything!  It's actually a self-priming paint.  It also dries quickly, which makes adding other coats (if you even need to) very fast and easy.  You can paint on virtually any surface.  That had my attention, too, since a lot of stuff in my classroom is either plastic, wood, or sealed with a high-gloss coating.

I ended up choosing Turquoise.

So what did I do with it?  Well, my classroom rocking chair was in DESPERATE need of a makeover.  After about 7 years of wear and tear on my good ole white spray-painted rocking chair, it was time for a facelift.

Using the turquoise paint, I MIGHT have used a quarter of the can.  It went on so thick and smooth.  I just used  basic paintbrush, as seen above.  For the most part it only took one coat.  I touched up a couple areas with another coat, but this was the easiest and most beautiful paint job I've ever done.

I added some close-up pictures for you because I tried to capture how SMOOTH the paint is!

Sorry that this pictures isn't as nice as the others, but it was dark outside and raining...again...(if you're from Ohio, you know how our summer has gone!).  But I found a pretty gray rocking chair cushion from Kohl's.  It's made by Food Network.  My son, Sawyer, always finds it interesting to see what mommy is doing with the camera!  ;)

So what am I doing with ALL my leftover paint?  I'm going to be painting my desk for my classroom this week.  :D  If I have any left after that I might try painting some of my book boxes.  We shall see what happens!  All I know is that I completely LOVE this paint and I can't wait to get these furniture pieces back in my classroom!  I highly recommend this paint and the store I received it from.  You might say, "But Sarah, is it really worth $30 for a quart of paint?"  Yes, yes, and yes.  :)  Go for it!  You won't ever want to use any other kind of paint.

Dum Dum Lollipop Activity

I am so excited to share a fun project with you that I've had the honor of doing with my students a few weeks ago.  I partnered up with the company that makes Dum Dum suckers (did you know they're made in Ohio?  I had no clue!) to bring you The Magic of Spring.  They sent me a box of Dum Dums suckers and some "magic jelly beans" and asked me to use them with my class in some way.  I saw a picture or two from friends that did something like this with their toddlers, so I was thinking how in the world could I do this activity with first graders that would keep them engaged, be educational, and teach them something?

Since Dum Dums and jelly beans are edible and made of sugar, I went with it.  We created an edible treat that involved multi-step directions, predictions, and a little experiment.

Supplies for each student:

1. Ice cream cone
2. Cocoa crispies
3. Sugar packet
4. Popsicle stick
5. Jelly bean

I typed up a quick little packet for the students to fill out.  The first thing they did was write out the list of ingredients.  I passed them out one by one so the students could observe them, write them down, and put them together.

I used ice cream cones with flat bottoms so they could stand up.  These were their "pots".  I gave them each a small cup of cereal and they poured that in as the "soil".

Then the dropped in a "seed" (jelly bean).

Next, they wrote their name on a popsicle stick using a Sharpie so that we could identify each child's cone.

Then they sprinkled on some "water" (sugar).

Finally, they wrote out their steps of what they did.  Then they drew a picture of what it looks like and what they thought it would look like when it grew.  They wrote a prediction of what they thought would grow.  The fun part was that NOBODY predicted that a sucker would grow from a jelly bean!

We put them in paper cups so that they wouldn't fall over and spill.  I took them home over the weekend because I was afraid the ants might find them!

I used my Silhouette machine to cut out some paper flowers to stick the Dum Dums through.  I just used some cute printed scrapbook paper.  When they walked in on Monday morning, they were SO surprised!  We talked about if their predictions were correct and why a sucker could grow from a jelly bean.

SO MUCH FUN!  It just goes to show that you can use just about anything and make a great project from it.  This was a cute spring activity, but it could also be a cute Mother's Day gift!  So if you need a last minute idea for tomorrow, go grab some suckers and jelly beans!  :)

Using March Madness to Cultivate a Love of Literature

I cannot take credit for this idea.  I first saw it on Facebook, linked by a teacher-friend.  The article had a simple picture that caught my attention.  To be honest, I didn't even read the article.  I just saw the picture and my mind started going crazy on how to make this work for 1st graders.

I took a large piece of butcher paper and drew a very large bracket with a big Sharpie.  I hung it in the hallway across from our door so that the kids could see it, as well as the rest of the school.  I can't tell you how many other students, teachers, and parents stopped to look.  I even overheard a few older students talking about which books they thought would win.  It made my heart smile.  :)

One of the main questions I've had is whether or not I let the students choose the first 32 books.  I did not, mainly because it was such a last minute project and I needed to get it going.  I picked 8 books from 4 different genres.  I created categories for Classics, Humor, Mixed-Up Fairy Tales, and General Fiction.  I wanted to expose the students to a variety of genres and open their eyes to some literature that they may not have explored before.  I tried to throw in some books I knew they liked, too.  I Googled images of each book I chose and just copied and pasted the images into a PowerPoint, printed, and laminated!  I put a little masking tape on the back of each image and put them on the bracket.  The pictures of the books made it a little more exciting and colorful.

I had to get this done before Spring Break (which is this week, PTL!), so I read a set of books from each category every. single. day.  

I started off each read aloud by saying that we were going to have another tournament.  Within the Classics category, I gave a little bit of background for each book.  They loved learning how old some of them were!  ;)

After I read the two books, I passed out little paper ballots to each student.  I reminded them each time that they had to vote for they one THEY liked best.  The paper ballots were a good way to do it because they really did want to keep their vote a secret.  If we simply raised our hands, well...you know how that goes, especially with little ones.  ;)  I have a feeling the race wouldn't be as close!

After all the votes were tallied each time, I would announce the winner and CHEERS would ERUPT.  They were so excited every single time!  There were some definite shockers, like The Giving Tree.  I totally didn't expect that one to make it past the first round.  

Another question I've had is if I read the books after reading them once.  YES!  I read them every. single. round.  It got a little annoying by time the finals came around, but I felt it was important for them to hear them each time in order to compare them to the book it was up against.  Surprisingly, they loved it each time and I really think it made a different.  They had such a fresh perspective when it was up against a different text the next time.

After the tournament was over, we went around to a couple of classrooms that took a big interest in our competition and announced the winner.  They ended up reading the book to them as a class because they practically had it memorized.  ;)

So who is the 2015 book winner of Mrs. Kirby's 1st grade class?  I'm so glad you asked.  :)  It was the ONLY unanimous vote during the whole tournament (which provided a great opportunity for a quick vocabulary lesson!).

THE PIGEON FINDS A HOT DOG by Mo Willems!!!!!

I definitely recommend this activity for next year in your classroom!  It was a DEFINITE hit with my students and I don't think they'll ever forget it!

Quick Organization Tip!

Today I'm linking up with my gals from Primary Powers to bring you a little organization for the new year!  There are so many little tidbits and goodies that we're sharing and you don't want to miss any of them!

If you didn't see my last blog post from a couple days ago, see the post below this one!  I talked about how I organize my teaching data.  :)  I go into a lot of detail in the post, so if you want to see the specifics, just scroll down.

I made a quick little freebie for you to help you organize your own data binder!  It's an editable file that allows you to type your name to personalize it AND you can type your own content areas if needed!  I did the cover page in color and the rest are in black and white to save on that colored ink.  ;)  I hope you enjoy!

CLICK HERE or click on the picture!

Hop on over to My Second Sense to see what's next!  :)

Data Collection: The Teacher Side of It

No school today, which means I have a chance to catch my breath and catch up on my blog!

Data collection.  I think it's one of those things that you either love or hate.  I, myself, probably get entirely too giddy about it.  I love seeing those graphs go up and seeing how much my students have grown.  I also love the information it tells me.  If you really use it as it should be used, it will honestly help you drive your instruction to best plan for your students.  It's an insanely helpful tool that we really have a lot to learn from!

I always get a lot of interest and questions about the types of data I collect, what I do with it, and how I keep it organized.  This blog post will hopefully answer those questions for you.  If you think of other questions or want more clarification, leave a comment below and I will answer them the best I can.  :)

What types of data do you collect?

Great question!  There are so many things that you can collect.  Some of it is useful, some of it is not.  My rule of thumb is to keep it as simple as possible and to collect data on things that assess the general knowledge/abilities of your students.  You can always break it down further, but that's more of what your RTI process is for.  In talking about the general classroom, I collect the big things: fluency, math facts, sight words, reading levels, and scores from a 1st grade math test.  I'm never big on tracking a "test", but the one we give is a test with all of the 1st grade standards that they should learn by the end of the year.  We give it the first week of school, in the winter (we will be giving it the first week of February), and at the very end of the year.  It shows me their mastery of 1st grade math skills.  Short and simple!

That seems like a lot of paperwork.  How do you keep it all organized?

Binders are my best friend!  :)  I keep all the info in one binder so that I have allll the data I need right at my finger tips.  I put tabs in it to separate all the different categories so that it makes it easy to find what I need.  I also keep my AIMSWeb reports in here.

How often do you collect data from the students?

It truly depends.  I collect it often enough to see growth and be able to accurately plan for my students, but I don't do it so much that they don't have time to grow between checks.  :)

For math facts, I check them weekly.  We use Gumball Math from Made for 1st Grade.  I have a math fact program in my shop called Camera Club Math Fact Mastery.  Here's the 2nd grade version.  They are more aligned with Common Core.  :)  Use whatever program you're used to using or that which works best for your needs.  I keep little checksheets in my binder in sheet protectors so that I can quickly write down the date they pass each level.

As I mentioned above, we also give a general math test that checks all the standards for 1st grade.  We use My Math, so we just use the end-of-year test.  We give it at the beginning of the year, in the winter, and at the end of the year.

I also keep my AIMSWeb data in my binder as well.  We do beginning of the year, mid-year, and end-of-year checks with those.  I have a student who gets progress monitored weekly, so I will keep his information in here as well (he just started Tier 3, so I don't have his info printed yet.)

For sight words, I use Rainbow Words from Jen Jones.  My students LOVE this program!  :)  I assess their sight words every other week.  Again, I put a checklist in a sheet protector and then write the dates of when they pass each level.

I assess fluency each week as well.  We use Reading Street, so they have fluency passages included for each week.  That's what I use for these and then I use the unit fluency checks at the end of each unit.  I typed up checklists for each unit and placed them in sheet protectors.  

For reading levels, we use Fountas & Pinnell.  This year I bought a subscription to Raz-Kids, so I'm better able to monitor when they pass each level.  We used to check their reading levels at the beginning of the year, mid-year, and end-of-year (and we still do), but now that I have Raz-Kids I check them more frequently.  THEN when it comes time for those big checks 3x a year, it doesn't take as long because I don't have to have the read for a lot of levels!  It really cuts down on the time I spend assessing those weeks.  I just glance at Raz-Kids and when I see a child has passed a level on there, I check them using the books.  This will be different for each student.  For some I might assess them every couple of weeks, for some it will only be 3x a year if they aren't progressing through Raz-Kids.  I keep a big list of the 3x a year and what level they are on, but I also keep a checklist in which I write down the date they pass each level if I assess them more often.

Do the different colors of ink you use mean anything?

Actually, they do!  I'm one of those who loves colored pens.  Hello Flair Pens and Ink Joy!  A teacher's best friend.  :)  I color code EVERYTHING I do.  So in my checklists, I use a specific color for each month so that I can easily glance and see trends or big leaps in a short amount of time.  I love seasons and holidays, so of course my colors coordinate with each month.  ;)

August = orange, September = red, October = orange, November = brown, December = green, January = light blue, February = pink, March = green, April = purple, May = pink

How do you store and organize all of your assessment materials?

Binders, boxes, and folders!

For Gumball Math, I found this cute flip-top box a couple years ago at Target.  I put hanging folders in it and labeled them for each level.  I grab my binder so I know what level they are on and pull the sheets from the box when it's time to pass them out.  I call up all the kids (by name, not level) who are on the same level so that it goes a little quicker.

For Fountas & Pinnell, I have the kit that neatly stores everything.  I also have purple tub where I store a binder with all the master sheets and all of the books.  I just grab the tub and my binder and I have everything I need!

For Rainbow Words, I keep everything in a binder.  I clip the assessment sheets to the front cover so that they are ready and I don't have to spend a ton of time looking at which level they are on, finding the corresponding sheet, writing their name, and filing them.  Once they pass a level I put the sheet in their individual files.  Then I just grab the next one right then and there so that it's ready for next time.  I also keep a plastic pocket in the binder with the certificates to fill out and send home when they pass a level.

I keep my binder front and center!  It's kept near my computer so that I can grab it at any moment, especially if an administrator or parent walks in and wants any info.

Do you display any data for your students?  How do you do it?

Absolutely!  I have a "data dashboard" in my room where I track class averages for the kids to see!  They get so excited and amazed whenever they move up!  These pictures are from a couple weeks ago.  I just updated it last week with all the mid-year data and they were so excited about their gains!

For Gumball Math I also have an individual board.  The kids LOVE it and then they get to take their sheet home with them at the end of the year.

I've had some people ask me, "Well what if a kid doesn't have any stickers on their gumball machine?  Isn't that mean or discouraging for them?  Don't other kids make fun of them?"  In a short answer, it's fine.  :)  There are many ways to address this.  You could lower their goal to ensure success for them so that they can still pass levels.  Nobody else has to know if their goal is different.  I've never had a child make fun of another child, but that's because we really emphasize equal vs. fair.  We build up the community so much in our class that they are such big cheerleaders for each other.  Those who have a limited amount are bummed if they don't pass a level, but boy you should see their faces when they finally do pass!  AND you should hear the cheers from their peers when they pass!  It makes me cry every time, haha.  Like I said, there are many ways you can address this problem.  Every classroom is different and is made up of different students.  You know what works best for you and your students!  And don't be afraid to try something new.  You might be surprised.  :)

I will actually be back on Wednesday with a little freebie to help you keep organized!  ;)  Next weekend I will be blogging about student data binders, so stay tuned!!!  Have a great week!