Are You a Pirate?

Ahhhhh, learning, how I love thee. I got to spend the last 2 days at a big conference our district puts on each year. I love to learn new things, so even though I had already gotten more than my required inservice hours for this year, I decided to go. Boy, am I glad I did. Yesterday wasn't too exciting. I learned some cool,new Math games, got to see Rick Morris again (mostly the same topic I heard last week) but nothing that blew me away. I do love some Rick Morris though! Today was the blow me away day! I had read a little about "Teach Like a Pirate" on some other blogs I follow, but didn't know much about it other that that it was a great new teaching book. Then I happened to see the book at the exhibit yesterday, and the cover alone intrigued me, but again just sort of passed by. 

Then today, I went to my first class. It was by a presenter that didn't really excite me yesterday. I sat down, sort of dreading the class. Then I started freezing. WHY do they keep these things like ice boxes??? So to take my mind off of the coldness, I started glancing at the schedule for the day to see what else was going on. My eye immediately fell on "Teach Like a Pirate" with Dave Burgess. In my mind I said, "Ahhhh, I wish I could go to that". Then I looked at my watch and realized I still had 15minutes before the first session started! I gathered my stuff, felt bad for a split second that I was leaving, and then walked out of that class and found my way to Dave. Boy, did I find my way. I might be a little bit in love. ;) I already told my husband that, so it's ok. 

Before the class even started, I was intrigued. He was dressed in a pirate outfit. Of course, who wouldn't be dressed like a pirate at a teaching conference?! He was playing cool music. There were silly things written on the board, fun props on the table, etc. Then I got passed a note passed to me from him. That sort of dampened my spirit a bit. He picked the wrong girl for that job! Haha! I'm not going to tell you what my "job" was, just in case you get to sit in on one of his sessions, which you MUST do if you ever get the chance, but it was definitely not me and not in my comfort zone. Oh well, I lived. It was worth it to be in there. 

Anyway, student engagement was the main focus. It was all about making learning fun and active. Ummm, right up my alley! I wanted to get right up there with him and shout from the rooftops that he was exactly right! If only everyone could see that! Learning CAN and SHOULD be fun and interactive! The class was constantly laughing, everyone was involved, it was magic! Again, exactly what the class was about! Pirates are unconventional, and that's what we can be in the classroom. Do crazy things,be crazy  things.Getcreative! People always tell meI'm creative, but no, I just take several different ideas and meld them into one to create the best ideas.  That's exactly what he was saying. Creativity is not something you are just born with or some bolt of lightning that its you from the sky. It is work! It's not really magic.It just looks like it!

Anyway, it was so awesome. I loved every minute of it. Get the book. Go see him! At lunch, I told my tablemates all about it. I decided to change my schedule and go to all the rest of his sessions for the rest of the day! That's how amazing he was! Well, I convinced some others to come with me. We went in, got a seat, and guess what?! The room was overflowing. In fact, it was so overflowing they had to come in and tell us to leave if we weren't signed up for his class! MAJOR disappointment! News had traveled fast and everyone wanted to get in on his sessions! 

So I went to my regularly scheduled class. Um, can I say bummer! This guy was pretty much the exact opposite of Dave! In fact, his big thing was that you had to cause anxiety in students to get them to achieve. Um, no. He needs to go sit in on "Teach Like a Pirate" that's for sure! Anxiety does not belong in my classroom, but fun and engagement sure do! I pretty much tuned out at that point. Hmmm, which way might be the better teaching style? ;/ 

Thankfully, after that class, I was signed up for Dave again and didn't even know it! Woohoo! This one was about teaching outside the box. It wasn't quite as good as the first one, but it was only and hour and 15 minutes long, so not enough time and too much info to fit in,but it was still great! 

So if you didn't get my message, let me just tell yon again that Dave Burgess is awesome andI definitely teach like a pirate. I hope you do too! Don't be scared! Anyone can do it! Go grab the book and change your classroom into an environment that kids want to be in. He asked us to write down 5words that  you would want your students to say about your class at the end of the year. What do you want your 5 words to be?

Be fun and fabulous!

~Mrs. Sweeney

Communication Binders

Happy Sunday! I bet some of you start school tomorrow, so maybe not so happy? ;) We start next week, and while I'm excited, I know I'm going to dread not being able to sleep all night, getting up early, etc. I worked in my classroom ALL DAY LONG yesterday. I don't even know what I did. Haha! If you look at my classroom, it looks completely finished, but every time I go, I leave with a bigger list than what I came with. All those little things add up!

So I finished my Take Home Binders yesterday. I don't know why I didn't take pictures. Grr. I'll come back and add them tomorrow. I did, however, make a new Take Home Binder packet for you!

Click on the picture above to take you to the item on Tpt.

Jungle themed, of course! It's super cute, I think. I also made those ziplock baggies reinforced with duct tape to hold my Word Club cards, but again, no pictures.

I have a thousand other things to make, so this will be short and sweet, but I wanted to give one of you the chance to get this new packet for free! Be the first one to leave a comment and like my Facebook page and the new Jungle Take Home Binder Pack is all yours! :)

This is the cover for your take home binder.

Here are the labels for the pockets. 

This is the label of the behavior system to add on to the front of the agenda, so the parents will always have what each color/code means.

There are labels for your behavior system. Labels for your word or math cards. 2 homework pages. THe front and back page for the outside of the binder, and the labels for the inside and back pocket. Pretty much everything you need to get your binders started.  Love it and hope you do to!

Be fun and fabulous!

~Mrs. Sweeney

Parent Helpers- FREEBIE!

Coooommmmeeee and Get It! :) New freebie for you!

I must say I haven't always liked parents in the classroom. For a while it freaked me out to have someone in there "watching" me. Then I really needed the help, so I let it happen. Then I realized, that was exactly how I learned and figured out that I wanted to be a teacher. I started as a mom in the classroom helping my son's teachers. I loved what I was seeing, I got lots of ideas, and I loved being able to help someone who did so much for my child. So, I want to repay that favor that my own children's teachers gave to me. So I'm happy to let parents in my room. I've noticed that parent help isn't as utilized or wanted her at my new school, but I hope to change that. Soooo much help and good can come from allowing helpers in the classroom. Just think about all that cutting out and stapling that gets done, and it doesn't have to be by you! Score!

I hate tons of forms and I know parents do too, so I made a one stop shop for a Parent Helper Sign up. Everyone signs up on one page, rather than trying to get one back from each person. Easy peasy for me, and all they have to do is sign their name. It's a win, win.

If you like helpers and love simple and concise, then grab this freebie for yourself. Share it with your friends, and come back and see me. :) Click the picture below to download or you can get it on TpT, whichever you prefer.

Be fun and fabulous!

~Mrs. Sweeney

Calendar Countdown

I spent today listening to Rick Morris speak at a training! He's awesome, and I have 2 more days to get great ideas. Yippee! I love learning! Whew! It sure is hard to get my body back into getting up early mode! I tried so hard to go to bed at a decent time last night, but it took me 2 and a half hours to go to sleep, and then I had to get up soooo early. Yuck! I have the next 3 days of early mornings, then 2 more days next week, so hopefully, I will be back in the groove by school starting. I am definitely tired today though! Get used to it, body. There's no turning back now. Do you train your body to get back in school mode after summer?

Now, on to my fun, new packet! I "relaxed" tonight by making a new product for TpT! :) I don't know about your kiddos, but mine LOVE to count down to special things. I have to admit, I do too. :) We do this during Calendar time and it really helps their Math and Time skills. Plus, they don't have to ask me every day how much longer until.... Soooo, I made some Calendar Countdown cards. I know my kiddos will love them, and I bet yours will too!

All the holidays and special events I could think of are included in the packet! There are 32 different special days, at least one a month, so they will always have something to look forward to and count down. All you do is print either on white or colored paper/card stock, laminate, then cut out the middle. Stick a set of numbers (I use calendar numbers) on a ring, stick a hook magnet in the hole, and you've got an easy way to count down to all the fun, special days in your classroom. Click the picture above to find this product in my TpT store.

Make calendar a bit more fun and they are learning math without even realizing!

~Be fun and fabulous!

Mrs. Sweeney

Celebrations

I was "chosen" to be on the Celebration Committee at my school. Basically, we are the party planners for everything. Fun, fun! Sort of... ;)

We have to do some kind of team building, fun activity to get everybody mingling once a month! Yowzers. We'll really get to know each other. It's all good though, because I NEVER see the teachers on the opposite side of the building. Now I will. We have about 1000 students, so there are a lot of us.

So, my question to you is, what does your school do to welcome teachers back to school? I am thinking a Family picnic at a park or something along those lines. I'm open to ideas though, so feel free to tell me what fun things you like at your school, or wish they would do. Remember, I have 10 months of activities to plan. :)

I worked in my classroom pretty much all day today. I did all the little odds and ends like putting my calendar up, getting my behavior chart and clips ready, putting the kids names on the door, etc. Nothing new to really show you, so no pictures today. We also lost our Assistant Principal today. She's leaving to be the Principal of another school in the county. Good luck to her, but she will be missed. I feel bad for both her and my principal. It's 2 weeks until school starts, they are gone the rest of this week for a conference, and then have to come back to crazy chaos with the big change. It will be interesting, that's for sure!

Time to go work on more stuff so I can pretty much finish up my classroom tomorrow. I have training the rest of the week and then a conference the week after that, so I need to be as done as I can be.

Be Fun and Fabulous!

~Mrs. Sweeney

Welcome to Fun Fabulous First!

Hello!

I just want to welcome everyone who is visiting from The Hands on Teacher in First! Thanks, Marie for featuring me today! I love visitors!  I hope you can find some ideas or items to help you on your teaching journey. I just started blogging this summer, but am loving it, and hope to help someone, just as other blogs have helped me. Anything to make life easier, right?!

As promised, my Spelling Sparklers Freebie is ready to download! Click here for the original post about how this idea formed. Click the picture below to get this for free in my TpT store.

I had another idea that I sort of like even better! That goes right along with Spelling Sparklers/Skywriting.

You know these little finger flashlights

Wellllll, I have a couple and tried them out and they are perfect to use as Spelling Sparklers. The kids just stick them on their finger and can write in the air with them and it actually looks like a sparkler. They would LOVE to use these in spelling, especially if you turn the lights off. :) You can get them from Amazon for cheap at this link. Finger Flashlights I'm totally getting some. 

So there you have it. Several ideas for making spelling fun and exciting. 

Follow me on Bloglovin' and Facebook! Let's help each other out!

Be fun and Fabulous!

~Mrs. Sweeney

Classroom Jobs

It's past bedtime, so this will be quick. :) I made my classroom jobs labels today, and thought I would share them with you. I'm just going to slap the label on these bad boys and be done.

Here's the freebie for you! It's just simple, but it might give you some ideas, and it's easy to just print and be done. The font I used was Hello Chalk Talk. Just click on the picture below. 

Be fun and fabulous even late at night!

~Mrs. Sweeney