First Day Jitters

I am beat. I forgot how exhausting the first day of school is because last year I looped. I was late for lunch.. YIKES and didn't get a chance to unload everyone's supplies from their backpack. There's always tomorrow... right?  Here are some pictures from our first day in first grade.

We completed reading stations and math stations and reviewed some letter sounds using Sounds Fun Phonics and Dr Jean songs. I seriously LOVE heidisongs.  I would be lost without her DVDs.

I am loving my necklaces from sweet Terri at Kinder Princess. They made grouping students for Math and Reading stations a BREEZE. I was able to quickly group students by colors. Having the leis allowed me to  easily spot groups by their colored leis. If I needed to switch a student I traded their lei. Each student knew exactly which station to attend. Thank you so much Terri. It's the best thing I've used in a LONG time. I'm HOOKED!

We read the book First Day Jitters and This is the Teacher. We launched Daily 5 and discussed the three ways to read a book. I used Flotsam to model reading pictures. I can't wait to build stamina tomorrow. Maybe we can reach 4 minutes? 

Me bags were a huge hit. I seriously need to watch Duck Dynasty because they had some pictures of Uncle Si. I tried to make a connection but I'm going to look it up now so I can relate.

Click on the link to download these free First Day Posters . 

I have two packets that are free.

Getting ready for my birthday board. Off to develop some photos.

Have a nice night!!!

Snapshots and Giveaways

Wow this week flew by! I'm going to be up in my classroom all weekend because Monday is orientation and then the kids come Tuesday. I have a few pictures to share but also a great giveaway and even better deal for primary grades ( K-2) I'd love for you to come link up today.

 I am so happy to be able to do a giveaway for a year subscription to Samson's Classroom ($80 value).  It's one of my favorite websites for learning sight words, spelling words and reading comprehension.  The giveaway will last until next Saturday. If you aren't the lucky winner then you will be so EXCITED because Samson's Classroom has agreed to provide $70 off.The promo code RMN2 (as in "Run Miss Nelson") will give you $70 off a classroom plan until September 1st.

That's only $10 for a full access account . I would totally pay even the $80 because it's that good.

click on the above image to check out the video that explains this wonderful site.

• We love all of the portions but my favorite portion for my 1st graders is the reading passages.  The reading passages are divided up into different levels.  Students are asked to read a passage and answer comprehension questions about their reading.  If a student answers incorrectly, the program is great about highlighting the area of the passage where the answer can be found.  I like this because it forces students to go back and reread to find the correct answer.  I love that they are actually looking back in the passage to make sure their answers are correct because they want to earn "hammer swings"!  If they miss a question they earn less hammer swings. Hammer Swings are just a fun incentive at the end.  

You should try it out for a free demo lesson.

Click here!
To see the overview click here

This little boy earned a  black belt from Samson's Classroom. He LOVED earning this recognition. Samson's classroom is so wonderful to work with. They sent him a black belt, a certificate and featured him in their newsletter. 

I'm really excited about Samson's Classroom releasing a FREE iPad/Android app this October!!!   It is not an iPad version of the web-based game... it is a stand alone app that will help kids to work on their sight words.  It seems super fun!!  Follow their fb  and tell them I sent you to be entered into the giveaway. You will also get the latest info when the new app releases.

Loved getting my IN A PIKLE bag. Have you signed up for the giveaway?

Still loving these smiles. I have been sending SMILES all across America.

How fun is this place? Parents can hang out while kids bounce.

So excited that my husband built me a storage shelf in my classroom closet. Now I just need to go organize.

I can't wait to find out the buzz on my new students. School officially starts Tuesday. We have orientation Monday. I'll allow the students to use post its whenever they have something they want to let me know about their life.

These are my free photo cards printed as photographs. My friend said it cost her .8 cents. How cheap is that???? 

To enter the Samson's Giveaway visit their fb and "like" them. Tell them Miss Nelson sent you! Leave me a blog comment stating you left them some love and don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you are lucky!

Good Luck. Winner will be announced next Saturday.

Tricks and Tips

 I'm linking up to Teacher Week to share some Tricks and Tips that I use daily.

Silent Speedball- This game is an awesome brain break. The students LOVE it. The way we play is use a soft foam/sponge ball. The object of the game is to throw the ball to one another in no particular pattern. Last one standing wins! When you say go, players begin to toss the ball around the room. They should make eye-contact with the person they intend to throw the ball to. Also, everyone should have a chance to have the ball. 

If you talk, you're out!

If you make an uncatchable throw, you're out!

If you don't catch a good throw, you're out!

If you complain in any way, you're out!

Stay by your chair and speed is a factor!

Setting up a shared folder in Dropbox is a great way to share resources amongst your grade level. You don't need to keep up with a flash drive or multiple email attachments. Everyone can help add to the shared folders. Dropbox is free and if you sign up here you get an extra 500 mb of space added to your free account.

Remind 101 is a great way to communicate with parents and students. The best part -it's FREE! Remind 101 allows you to send text messages to your parents or students without ever revealing your personal contact information. Parents can sign up to receive your messages by text or email. I used this service for the past two years as reminders of important class events. My parents loved Remind 101. 

Here's an overview:

Class Dojo-  Class Dojo is a classroom tool that helps teachers improve behavior in their classrooms quickly and easily. It's a way to generate data on behavior through the use of technology. I like to use the positive aspect of the program.

Scootpad- It is the ultimate way to engage students in mastering skills. Basically, Scootpad is a website where students can go to practice all of the Common Core standards for reading and math. Students can work at their own pace through the standards.   You should check it out too!

Edmodo- It's like Facebook for the classroom but much safer and secure