Morning Attendance

Hi y'all! I have lots of comments & emails to respond to so I'll  say hello, ...."Hello!" .... leave you with a little something, and get to it.

I teach 5 classes. However, my homeroom kiddoes are my babies so I tend to play it up with them a lot. How can I not? They are with me for almost 2 hours everyday so I like to make them feel a little more special than my other classes [even though I love them all the same :)].

Since I have a Promethean board and they love to play with, every morning I have an attendance flip chart that has something for them to drag, click, or make disappear to let me know they are here. I have used/adapted a few from prometheanplanet.com and I've made a few of my own. I've been promising them a Halloween one and here it is.

You can click on it to take you to my TPT store....only $1! I did get the graphics from letteringdelights.com. All my students have to do is drag the ticket into the haunted tent [with a few different sounds attached]. The little ghost at the top moves back and forth....kinda cute. All you have to do is ungroup each ticket to change the name then regroup.

I know you and your kids will love it...after all it is SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

Finally....Some Class Pics!

I have to say that this year's classroom is DEFINITELY my FAVORITE of all the classrooms I've had! Look below and I think the pictures will tell you why! Enjoy!

View from our "Entrance"... the Scientifically Specific [vocab] Sci Lab is directly across on those 2 doors, next to my Activboard, and my "desk"...

A fuller view from the door... my W.O.W. [Writing, Only Writing] Sci Lab is in the left hand corner...see Dr. Picklefickle over there? :)

Moving left as you walk in...my I can/homework/agenda board then the "What's Poppin'?" Sci Lab, on the door my is the Junior Scientist light bulbs [minus a couple light bulbs at the time of this pic], and my Sci Lab rotation posters cart to the far right...

Now, looking to the left from the door you can see into the OTHER SIDE! :) In the middle on the left side of Dr. Picklefickle is the SNN [Science News Now] Sci Lab, next to that in front of the windows with the shelf and cart is my Sci Lab [Instant Replay]... in the corner is the display for test points, and to the far left where the curtains are is The Lab Sci Lab...

When walking into the other side from near the Sci Lab poster cart [not from the door shown...that's our "Exit" door!] you will see this file cabinet, good work display, our D8A Quest Sci Lab, reminder board, and big comfy chair in the bottom right corner....

And that seems to be all the pics I have for now that do not have students in them! I promise to post more because this room is DEFINITELY SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

I've been busy! :)

This past week I went to school everyday at around 8am. Worked, worked, worked, & worked yet it still seems I haven't done a thing! Thanks to my student teacher [whom I ABSOLUTELY ADORE] we did get a LOT done. THANKS APRIL! :)

One of the things we accomplished is the curtain that cover my new, massive book shelf system. Here, take a look:

I think it looks very SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!!! :))) I haven't put anything else on the shelves yet...those items will be placed once the rest of the room is complete.

This week I HAVE TO get the rest of it all DONE! School starts for me on the 6th...mettings and all, then the kids on the 8th. So I will try to post many more pics in the coming days!

Check back often! Happy decorating!

WINDOWS...

This time around I have 2 sets of windows to cover...I mean decorate! I love using plastic table skirts that have the sticky tape... 1 fits perfectly across the length of one set of windows. I have used the lime green skirts for the past 5 years...I love the glow it casts across the room! This is what I'm talking about:

Well this year I plan to add a little science fun to it! I will hang a yellow pennant banner like this one:

and use these letters to spell out the science words observe, predict, explore, present, & infer [if you click the picture you can download this]:

Each letter will be placed on one pennant and they will be draped, by word, across the green windows. This will blend so well with the the other yellow "Caution" tape accent decor I will be using.

Now, just to get in there and hang this. Will def post pictures when it's done since it is soooo SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

My BIG Room....Phase 1: The Initial Walk-In

Ok....I am starting a series of posts showcasing my PROGRESS as far as getting my room ready is concerned....FUN STUFF!


Phase 1: The Initial Walk-In


When I walked into my GREAT BIG ROOM I was all giddy like the feelings of both Christmas morning and driving a brand new car off the lot all in one! Boy, am I a kid at heart!!! I felt like Julie Andrews on the hill in Austria twirling around singing, "The room will come alive, with pretty fabric and paper"... LOL!

Well, here is view 1 of my GREAT BIG ROOM {looking into last year's side}....

And here is view 2: {Looking into my NEW side}

Can't you see why I was all giddy and twirling and singing?!?!?! I can just picture all of my Sci Labs and students with all this room learning and growing!!!

If you recall from an earlier post {found below somewhere}, I created a floor plan of exactly how I am setting it up. I CAN NOT WAIT! I am still looking for a few more pieces to fit my plan, but this DIVA always finds what she needs!

Ok....be on the lookout for phase 2....The Hauling-In ....it's sure to be SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

Junior Scientist...

For the past few years I had a "Scientist of the Week" that would really be my glorified helper. But after reading about the traveling scientist used in lower grades, I decided to mature it a little bit for use in my 6th grade class.  Thus was born my Junior Scientist.

I do teach 5 different classes throughout the day so I'll have 5 different Junior Scientists. The title will be held by those randomly-chosen students for the duration of the testing topic....which is roughly 6 days. They will each receive a bag that includes goggles, gloves, a pen, a lab notebook, science experiment books [no more than 2], and a suggested experiment....materials and all. The bag, lab book, and pen that I created and purchased for each are from my favorite site Vistaprint ....they look like this:

They will take these home and on day 6, which is dubbed "Test Review Day", the Junior Scientists will return the bags and contents. They will also have no more than 10 minutes to present their experiment to their class. This in turn will result in an extra grade. I am hoping that this small, quick experiment will encourage family time at home. My fingers are crossed!

Inside the log book cover will be these guidelines:

And this is my version of the letter kzoteacher shared on my favorite teacher site.... it will go home with the Junior Scientists when chosen:

Thank you back2learn, 1956BD, and others from my favorite teacher site for mentioning this and directing me to sites discussing this! This new addition to my classroom is definitely SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!

Binder Covers

After seeing all of the cute binder covers and what not on Pinterest and TPT, I tried my mouse at making some. I have the one I originally made a few years ago using Thistlegirl graphics that I customized for my lesson plans, grade books, and other binders....I do really like it:

I just had to redesign it a bit to keep up with the cute ones I seem to see everywhere. This is one I've come up with so far:

So....off I go to play with Power Point and the cute graphics and backgrounds I have. What a SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED way to spend a Sunday morning!

CLASS WEBSITE...

Finally, at last, I have my new website up and running! For the past few years I had to use the website provided to me by my district. But since they decided to no longer use that server and change to WEBPAMS [sp?] I will no longer have one provided by them....so I am on my own. Years before I had a site through TeacherWeb....it was great! This time around, however, I found a new place to host my site....MOONFRUIT. After playing around with it and learning how to do everything I want to do for now, I learned that I still have a LOT to learn! But none-the-less, I do LOVE my new class site. here is a snapshot....if you click it you will be taken there....

Some of the information I did find years ago on the net.....if I am using some of your stuff, PLEASE LET ME KNOW....I'D LOVE TO GIVE YOU CREDIT!!! :))))

I really considered creating a blog but I needed to make sure it would open at school since my district has a strict STRICT filtering policy! No....I can't get on this one there at school. Kinda nuts! Well....if it's for the safety of our kids, then so be it!

So, I hope you like my class website. I certainly think it's SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED! If you have any comments or suggestions, let me know! I love feedback...ALL KINDS! Ta ta for now!

Scientifically Speaking...

One of my centers [or Sci Labs as I will call them] this year is called "Scientifically Speaking." In the past I used this title for my word wall and in conjunction with it told my students that when they speak in class they need to be as "Scientifically Specific" as possible meaning they had to use as many of the words/phrases found on the wall as possible.

I am hoping to add some fun activities that relate to the CCSS standards in this Sci Lab. One of my first activities will have my 6th graders use the element boxes as found on the periodic table to spell out a word/phrase from the word wall. Kind of like this:

They will then have to write the real definition and then their own definition of the word as if they were explaining it to another student who has no clue as to the meaning of the word/phrase. And quite possibly write a sentence using the word and/or draw a picture. Since I've never had them do anything like this before [centers are VERY NEW to me!] I hope they kinda come out as works of art to hang all over....my school is big on hanging student work EVERYWHERE! I'll definitely be sure to post pictures and a description of how it works after we try it! If you've done something like this, let me know how it went please! 


I'm so excited about this....I just know it will be SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!!! 

A BLOG AWARD!

For little ol' me from Vicky Hunt and her SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED blog Keep Calm & Imagine__Then Get Excited & Make Things! Thank you so much Vicky!

Here are the requirements for accepting this FABULOUS award:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you: THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH VICKY!

2. Include a link to their site.....see above!

3. Include the award image on your blog..... [which I certainly placed right there over to the right -->]:

4. Include 7 random facts about yourself:

*1. I love summer...mainly because I have time to do school work on my own time [weird, I know!].

*2. I am gearing myself up to bring my daughter to Florida for the Fall semester where she will be participating in the Disney College Program....don't know how I will survive 6 months with her being so far away from me!

*3. I live in the heart of Swamp People & Cajun Justice and I no where near sound like the people on those shows or believe half the things they say we all do down here!

*4. I have been walking and eating right for the past 6 months and have lost 60 pounds!

*5. My 13 year old son can stay up all hours of the night and I fall asleep no later than 8:30pm....no joke!

*6. I know how to cook a mean crawfish stew that my wonderful husband loves!

*7. Pinpointing random facts about myself was really hard to do!

 5. Nominate 15 other blogs for the award....[HARD TO FIND!]

Tips & Tricks Teaching

Ms. Jones Junction

LAK Airways
Doyle-ScienceTeach
Peace, Love & Teaching
Addicted to Teaching
CAFFEINATED CONCLUSIONS
***WILL ADD MORE AS I FIND THEM!***

6. When nominating, be sure to include a link to their site! See above...

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.

 I'm leaving a comment on the most recent post on each of the 15 blogs!

CONGRATULATIONS...YOU'RE ALL SCIENCE DIVA CERTIFIED!