Back to School...After Labor Day!

Today was our first day back after a 4 day break! Whew! The best part of today was when I taught my class how to play my Multiplication game, BUMP! (for sale in my TpT store!). It was kind of a crazy day getting back into the swing of things, but during the time they played this game, things were perfect! I just walked around smiling at them all, because they were interacting positively with each other, practicing multiplication, and having fun!! It was such a great 30 minutes. And now they know how to play and can pick it up whenever they have extra time. Love it.

Tomorrow I have my first sub ever and I'm freaking out a little! My sub plans are VERY detailed. But it's only for a half day, and I will literally be in the hallway the entire time. Haha, I'm sure I'm overreacting, but I can't help it! I want my class to do a great job like I know they can, and still have plenty of learning opportunities. I feel like that will happen if most of the little routine things are the same as always, even if I'm not there.
I'll be in the hallway finishing up all of the reading and literacy assessments! I've leveled almost all of my class, but I still have other assessments that need to be done. I'm looking forward to having a big block of uninterrupted progress!

I'll finish up by showing a few fun things we've done since school started:

Here's what's on a cabinet right outside my door. 

My students traced their arms on a long piece of construction paper. Then they wrote a goal for the school year on each finger. I asked them to write two academic goals, one behavior goal, one personal goal, and one goal from the category of their choice. 

I think they turned out so great! I think it's important for 5th graders to be responsible for themselves and for their own success in school and life. Setting a goal is the first step! 

This is the first thing they see coming in every morning (besides my smiling face!) and I hope they get just a little reminder of what they decided they wanted to accomplish. 

Here are some adorable sunflower glyphs my class made! I made templates for them to trace, but they did the rest of the work!

Brown center: no pets

Black center: has pets

Number of petals: how old they are

Number of leaves: number of siblings

(You can't see them, but there are sunflower seeds glued in the center of each flower)

Seeds: represent the month they were born

Pretty straightforward, but it was a fun activity to do the first week because it gave them a chance to chat with people at their tables while they worked. Plus they turned it so cute!

Here's an update on my birthday ribbons! I put their pictures in order on the ribbons. Lots of July birthdays, huh? I used Glue Dots to adhere the pictures, and I'm a little worried because I tried to move one and it kind of messed up the ribbon...I guess I can't use the same ribbons next year! Oh well, cute for now. 

Welllllll it's definitely past my bedtime. I have to get to school extra early tomorrow to clip everything together and set everything up for the sub! And the kids come at 7:35, so early for me is for real EARLY! 

-Lydia