I Am What I Teach: July 2014

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Nutrition Network Summer Conference

UA Nutrition Network Summer Conference

http://www.uanutritionnetwork.org/

This summer conference was FREE for teachers, and was sponsored by the UANN (University of Arizona Nutrition Network). They had TONS of gifts, prizes, and even a session with fruit and vegetable samples.

Welcome Tables: Giveaway bags, USB lanyards, and raffle tickets.

Raffle Tables: 16 different bags full of nutrition giveaways to help support teachers in their classrooms. The bags varied with containers, measuring cups, jump ropes, DVD's, and even a night stay at the host hotel.

Information Tables: Set up around the room to show teaching tools available to borrow and ideas that others have used including the Food Bank.

Lunch Table Decorations :)

Welcome Speaker

Breakout Session 1: Fear Factor Food Tasting

The Garden Kitchen

All of fruits and vegetables you see on the table we got to learn about their health benefit and EAT them! So much fun!!

Breakout Session 2: Building a School Garden
Tucson Food Bank
Tucson Food Bank Gardening Programs

This was a high school teacher explaining how she and her students created a garden at school. They were so successful they sold their produce to the teachers!

The Tucson Community Food Bank supports schools and families in getting their own garden started. They also have great volunteer opportunities in warehouses and working on their farms.

Things you can check out to use at your school.

Yes, those costumes are available to borrow too.

Final Keynote Speaker: A 13 Year Old Girl

This well spoken your lady has been on many committees, met the last 2 presidents, and continues to serve her community. She was inspired by her father who was diagnosed with type II diabetes, and the whole family changed their eating and fitness habits!

Closing remarks and finishing off the raffles...I WON!!

My set of 30 jump ropes will be put to use all year long!

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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Open House - Student Led

I love open house / back to school night now that I have this little trick! I use a scavenger hunt to have my students show their parents important things in our classroom. They have to go to all of the areas on the list and write down the letter posted in order to crack the code. I give prizes to those who crack the code, with or with out help. This is really all about the family getting to know their child's world through this activity and they seem to really like it!

Check it out here: Open House Scavenger Hunt

When you purchase this product it is editable on the map,

and includes the cards to make your own secret code to post around the classroom!

P.S. My secret code spelled out Second Grade ;)

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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Organizing Supplies

Managing supplies for groups with shared items can be tricky and I have tried so many things! This is what I did this year...

Mini Divided Holders - 6 Colors

All items in the holder are either washi taped to match or sharpie labeled with the color.

Teams are responsible for keeping all materials in their holder and putting it in a desk when they switch classes for reading. All items lost or broken must be replaced by purchasing new ones with "tokens" (classroom money earned for participation behavior)

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Another great storage solution...cube shelves! I bought this one at Ikea and had a friend's excellent contractor mount it on the wall with brackets (4 just to be safe).

BEFORE

Messy on the counter with supplies brought in the first day...limited storage.

AFTER

Beautifully attached to the wall for storage inside, under and on top!

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My newest organization trick for all of my centers bins!

Studio 3B™ 6-Tier Fabric Storage Shoe Rack

From this To THIS!

My new classroom was short on storage so we built our own shelves! My mom is an excellent handy-woman :) All of the materials were from the hardware store, and make sure to use a leveler so your shelves are balanced. The best part about this kind of shelving is that I can add more levels or make them longer later on if I need too!

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After 6 years with the same calendar, I finally bought a new one! I was inspired by a sale and noticing pieces were missing...I guess it was time. BUT what I really want to share is how to keep all of those little date pieces in a safe place, so you won't lose them overtime like I did. I got my idea from Pinterest as my ziplocks for each month were just not doing the job.

I laminated all the parts at my local teacher store, thanks Jonathan's for your spectacular services! I've only cut out 6 months so far, and I love how they fit in the box. My year starts in August, so I am putting August in the front and I will rotate it to the back once August is over, so the next month is in the front. Since we don't go to school in June and July I will probably leave them out of the box, but keep them safe in case I teacher summer school in the future :)

To put up my pieces on my calendar I love to use wall putty, maybe because the kids think it's gum, or maybe because it is the easiest and cleanest to put up and take down 10 times! The putty will sit on the top of the box so my students can take little pieces off and put of the dates each morning (it's a classroom job).

To divide the months I used sticky note 3x5 cards and cut them to make them the right size. I will use the extra part as a back to the month so I can see the divisions from both sides.