Winter Poetry

This year my kids had so much fun reading, reciting and creating their own poems. Reading poetry is fun, engaging, and challenging. It helps struggling readers with fluency by using repetition and it helps proficient readers with inflection and encourages them to get creative and come up with their own poems.
We studied rhyming patterns, alliteration, haikus, acrostic poems, and limericks.

Haiku Snowflakes and Acrostic Trees

Reindeer Limericks

Alliteration Lights

 Happy Holidays!

Thoughts and Prayers...

I still cannot fathom the devastation in Newtown, Connecticut. It is such a tragedy that hits really close to home. I never thought someone would attack innocent children at an elementary school.

It's incredible how caught up I have been with complaining about all the little things at work. Grades, restless kids, meetings, parent conferences... Honestly, just burned out and ready for a break.

The tragic sequence of events on Friday really put some things in perspective.

I became a teacher because I am passionate about teaching and nurturing young children. There is nothing in the world that I would rather do. I also know that when I became a teacher, I agreed not only to teach curriculum but to also fill the roles that my students need. I am not just a teacher; I am a role model, care giver, confidant, and protector. For some kids I am part of the only stable thing in their life because school is the only place where they feel safe.

The students at Sandy Hook had their safe place taken away on Friday. My heart goes out to the victims and survivors of this tragedy. The staff was so heroic and did their job as I know any teacher would have. It is just so heartbreaking that this happened. I pray for the survivors as they deal with this... I can't even think about how hard it will be for the teachers to go back to work, parents to send their kids to school, and for those kids to be able to function in the school setting again.

I feel very blessed to be at a school where I feel safe and supported. I know that my coworkers and I would do whatever is necessary to protect our children. I cherish this job and care so deeply for my students. I am so thankful that all I have to worry about is grading papers and keeping the kids from driving me crazy before Thursday.

Final thoughts..
Hold your kids close. Pray for those who can't anymore. Don't get caught up in the negativity. Cherish every moment. Be thankful. Offer love and support. Happy holidays.

Happy Whobilation!

This year Ryan and I decided to throw a holiday party with our friends as a way to enjoy the holiday before everyone has to go to all of their family events. I am obsessed with How the Grinch Stole Christmas, especially the movie with Jim Carrey.

From this, the first annual Fickling Whobilation was created. It was so much fun to have everyone from so many different parts of our lives come together to eat, drink and be merry! Thanks to everyone that came out. We love you all very much and it was so wonderful to have all of you over! :)  

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving because it is all about spending time with the ones you love and making memories. The holiday was a much needed break from school and it was nice to spend time with family and friends. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Now to countdown to Christmas break!!! :)

For Thanksgiving in my classroom, we did an adjective lesson and tied in what we are thankful for. We started out with Hairy, Scary, Ordinary:What is an Adjective? by Brian P. Cleary. After an adjective mini-lesson, the kids came up with five things that they were thankful for. For each thing, they had to add three adjectives to describe that noun. Then they wrote them on feathers for these super cute turkey glasses courtesy of my wonderful co-worker and friend, Flo.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Color In Motion 5K

It's about time I did another personal post. Today my 2nd grade teammates and I ran in the Color in Motion 5K to support the Make a Wish Foundation. We woke up early, got messy, were more active than I know I have been in a while, and had an awesome time. :) What a way to spend a Saturday! 

   

So attacking Flo with the green was not a good idea...

Coming up on the final color station... I was totally oblivious of Flo's counter attack plan.

She snuck back to the station and grabbed some ammo while I was instagramming...

I have learned my lesson. NEVER cross Flo and always expect the unexpected. :)

Mission accomplished ladies!

A special thank you to Kristin, for being our awesome new teammate and for getting us to do the 5K.

AND most importantly for posing gangnam style. We are so lucky to be friends with you. :)

We finished off our morning with brunch at Oddfellows in the Bishop Arts District. I've been before for dinner (buffalo mac&cheese) but never for brunch. We were not disappointed. We had mimosas and chicken&waffles. YUMMM!

Happy Saturday!

PS: My friend Florence has a beautiful blog and she also blogged about the event. Her pictures are awesome and you should check it out and follow her! CLICK HERE!

Bucket Fillers!

This fall has been pretty interesting in my classroom. Some of my students have really been having trouble with being respectful and working together. My school has launched the R-time program which I have mentioned in previous posts and it is awesome but it hasn't totally sunk in for all of my kiddos. The program is done once or twice a week for 15 minutes. Students are paired randomly and asked to use manners to have a discussion or work on a short activity together. I have seen improvement overall but there's still more work to do.

Unfortunately, some just can't seem to understand that they need to have good manners and care for each other ALL the time, instead of just when they feel like it. So this week, my high school intern introduced the bucket fillers lesson. My kids are loving it so far so I hope that this adds to our positive classroom community. I really feel like the more we do to help the students build positive relationships and good habits, the better the rest of the year will go. I'll keep you updated on the progress! :)



Election Day

We  had a busy couple of weeks in my second grade classroom on the heels of our red ribbon week. We started out by having a discussion about good leaders and the qualities they should have. Then students got a chance to run or be nominated to run in a 2nd grade primary in my class. Each 2nd grade class elected a president and vice president candidate to run in the 2nd grade election. Then we had a week for the students to campaign and put posters around the school. Finally, we held a 2nd grade election in the library. Each candidate gave a speech and all students got to vote. It was adorable. I don't post photos of my student's faces on here to protect their privacy but here are some highlights from the experience!

Secret Service

Guarding the ballot box 

We chose students to be speakers and secret service. It was so cute and the kids got a chance to have a hands on voting experience. It actually sparked some conversations about our national election the following Tuesday. We read If I Ran for President then I let my kids vote for president so they could practice for when they turn 18. :) I tallied the votes in class and then gave them an electoral vote tracker for the evening's festivities. I hope their interest in the democratic process continues to grow with them so that they rock the vote in 10 years. :)