Thursday, August 29, 2019

They listen...

They actually listen....
Sometimes being a teacher I feel like I say one direction multiple times, and it feels like herding cats... but kids listen when we least expect it.

I have a jar of cashews on my desk, its a pretty big jar- Cost-Co size, and I had a student ask me why I had such a big jar. I responded that I always forget to eat breakfast and I always get the reminder in the most inopportune time, so it really easy to grab a handful of cashews to fulfill my hunger. 

The next day, another student, not the one who asked me the question, brought me in a mixture of Fruity Pebbles and Cheerios. When I asked her why she brought me the unique concoction, she told me that she wanted me to have breakfast so we could have a good day of learning!


What a thoughtful gift
What an act of service
What an act of compassion
She overheard a conversation and thought of me the next morning when she was eating breakfast, and she thought, "hey, I should make Ms G some breakfast". 

I try to instill compassion, gratitude and kindness into my kids...
and I am also learning one day at a time! :) 

-Sunshine


Morning Routine

It is so important to start our mornings on the right foot. In my 10 years of teaching, this is my 11th, I have always had the kids start their day off with telling me things they are grateful for- verbally, or in a grateful notebook! This year I told my students to find a notebook that they love. It can be one that they decorate with things they love, or it can be a notebook with an inspirational quote, or an animal that they like! 
With my dyslexic students, I have my teachers assistant sit down and help they write 3 things they are grateful for and they can explain to her why, for my other students, this is a part of their handwriting time- 3rd grade is when they learn cursive! 
Each day we watched a Kid President video to get us amped up for the day! I was able to stumble across this book of his- 100 ways to be awesome! This is so perfect to learn how to be awesome 1 day at a time! We will do one a day and write them down in our grateful journal- in the back- the “How to be Awesome” Journal! It’s really fun to talk to the kids about the advice kid president gives, for example, the first and second way to be awesome is to...
1. Put your phone down and 
2. Take brain pictures
This is a conversation we had to have about times when we should use our phone and times when our phone should be put down!

After watching the Kid Presidents Video- Pep Talk- we brainstormed ways we could be awesome! This is another paper that we used post-its on because I would like to use this again! 


I never know what kind of morning that the kids had before they came to me. I am not sure if they woke up late and rushed all morning to get to school on time. I am not sure if their sibling ate the last bowl of their favorite cereal that they were so looking forward to eating, I am not sure if they had a rough night the night before or got in trouble or yelled at. I am not sure if anyone had a kind word for them that morning.
I want my classroom to be a place they can come too, a place where they can find comfort, a place that is safe. So, every morning, with every class I have had, Houston, Guatemala, Bennington, Goddard, and here, I will greet them with a hand shake, a smile, eye contact, and I will say their name  and that is it so wonderful to see them, because I may be the first person to do this. We will go over things we are grateful for and talk about ways we can be awesome, and I hope then, if I have brought a smile to their face, that I can turn their day around and start it on the right track, show them that I care that they are there.
 I want to teach the whole child. 

-Sunshine

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

First Day of School!

I love to bake! I made cake balls for the staff for the first day of staff meetings on August 19th, and I made my Grandmas amazing coffee cake! It was my first time using her recipie and I couldn’t help but be nostalgic while making it! Grandma would always have a coffee cake made every time we came up to the farm! I can’t wait to make it more often and practice and perfect it! Bringing this to school was so special to me to share with my new staff! 


The first day of school was a rainy overcast day! Love the welcoming sign they had to welcome the kids to the new school year!


It’s important to have the kids involved in their learning and be a citizen of the classroom! I made all of these posters for the kids to fill out, my plan was to do 1-2 per day as a break from our rules and routines.





The kids will shake my hand before entering my classroom, so today we practiced and talked about what a good handshake is!


This is another poster we did this year, and after about 2 weeks of being in my classroom and we know each other a bit better we may do this again! (Which is why we will use post-its!) 


The kids get dropped off in front of the school and have to walk up to the house on the land, I stand outside the house to greet them in the mornings! Even in rain! 


This letter board was on my #clearthelist and I am so happy someone bought it for my class! This first time it was used was to take photos for the first day of school!


My beautiful teachers assistant! 

First day is under our belts and we survived! Most these kids were in the multi-age group last year so they all knew each other, which meant the kids were not as timid as they usually are on the first day! Here goes the first 4 day week of the school year!
-Sunshine

Monday, August 26, 2019

Classroom Transformation!

IT’S READY!
Here is the classroom!
I love flexible seating and this school encourages it! I am hoping to buy more yoga balls through a grant! I have a side table that I put 2 mushroom chairs at, a bean bag chair, and I was able to find carpet at my new house under the stairs to make the classroom feel alittle bit more “homey”. 


I make curtains to help add more color and half way take out the afternoon sun.


I also have a mini futon for the kids to sit at while at stations.


Ready for the first day of school! Ready to mold the minds of the 2019-2020 school year!
(Do you see outside my big windows?? I have 2 picnic tables and and a amphitheater to the right with lots of bench seating and a stage for all our morning meetings!)

-Sunshine 

Monday, August 19, 2019

New School

Welcome back to ALittleNebraskaSunshine! It feels good to be blogging again!

This year I wanted to try new innovative ideas, and share them with friends and family, so you can see what I am up too, or maybe gain some inspiration!

We spent a short year in Kansas before moving back to Nebraska. I had heard about this school in North West Omaha call Legacy that focused on small group or one on one learning, project based learning, and teaching was encouraged to be outside! I get plenty of plan periods in one day and I have a teachers assistant; she is also a certified teacher! In almost every subject I teach I am able to do station work and have teachers at 2 of the stations! 
I am so excited for this school year and all that it has to bring! For right now you can see below, this is my school, and my classroom is on the very end, not completed yet!

This will be my new classroom come October!!
But, for right now I am on the house that is on the 11 acre campus. The house that came with the purchase of the land is originally where the kids take science! The science teacher is currently in the garage- with an air conditioner-  no worries, and I am in the living room and the kitchen! The kids “lockers” (chairs) are in the bedroom off of the living room! It’s quite the experience right now! 
My teaching idle growing up was Laura Ingels Wilder, so I feel like I am in a 1 room school house teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade! :) 


Here below is the living room of the house! I am exited to start decorating and make it feel like a classroom! 


Since I am in the science room, I not only have 16 kids, but 2 bearded dragons, 3 tree frogs, a leopard gheko, 2 coneflower snakes, and 2 turtles.




And how can I forget about all the goats and chickens! This is Emma! Do not let her blue eyes fool you... she always tried to eat my dresses! 



This is Xena- she is very curious! I can’t wait to learn how to hold her! 


This is Marge, she is very curious also, she will watch me work! I have held her a lot and she will hang out on my shoulder! 


From left to right, Emma Ozzy, and Harriet


Juniper- also Junie 


For now, see you soon! I will post updates on the classroom and animals and all these ideas stored in my head that make it so difficult to sleep at night! :) 

-Sunshine