Yes you read that right

The week before we left on vacation was filled with activities and tons of Christmasy explorations. You can read all about what I crammed into one week on my blog Klinger Café. If you want to check out my co-teacher’s exciting last day you can find it at First Grade Delight. But if you want to know something we did together read on.

Friday morning we were summoned invited by the school counselor to have her son show our classes how to juggle.  She feels it will be one more thing on our list very beneficial to have our wiggle butts more than average fidgety kids to learn how to juggle. She explained that if their hands are throwing balls at each other busy then they will be focused on who to throw the ball at more attentive.

So being the nice obliging teachers we are we asked if we had to be in the room carved out a nook of time for her son to visit. B. and her kiddos crammed themselves came into my room and the juggling began. Our kiddos ^{were engrossed in the mechanics and the expertise of this boy (by boy I mean around 20). He discussed what he was doing and then let them practice. It was interesting nice.}

^{I could tell by the end he had won them over (the jury’s still out on the two teachers). As he finished up I could see many of them wanted to ask him questions. He said he would take a few. One girl was particularly excited to ask a question (the one that had spent the morning sitting by my desk on the floor because she had slapped another girl in the face for sitting in HER spot, really). So as he finished up I called his attention to C. by asking her if her mom juggles when she swallows her FIRE sticks. Yes, you read that right. Her mother swallows flame for a living. Ok that’s not ALL she does, she is also a welder by day-see the relation fire…welder…welder…fire. C. explained no her mother does not juggle, but when they go to the “parties” there are people there that juggle FIRE among other things! And we wonder why the sadistic sweet little girl SLAPS!}

^{Here are some pictures of our FIRST juggling experience. Look at one of B.’s sweet little girls she did not want to turn loose of that ice bag; she must have been in a lot of pain.}

^{Don’t they look cute in all their Christmas get ups attire?}

^{Have a Holly Jolly Juggling Christmas and Fun Flaming New Year!}

Conferences & Fun Day of Reading

Fall conferences are over and this lady is exhausted!  It was grueling somewhat difficult to schedule conferences for all the parents at the times available.   But after scheduling and then rescheduling numerous times, I was able to meet with most of them.  Yeah!  

Yesterday I totally stole borrowed an idea from the awesome First Grade a la Carte blog.   I absolutely loved the idea of having an “Orange” You Glad You Can Read Day.  It was just too cute to pass up.  So I sent home a letter to my parents and do you know what!!!! my awesome group of parents helped make it a HUGE success!!!   My kiddos spent the ENTIRE day reading and of course snacking on a variety of orange munchies that the parents provided.  

I of course had a few other orange activities planned, but they were so stoked about reading to each other they didn’t even want to do them.  So what’s a teacher to do when your kids wanta read??   Gotta love it! 

Happy weekend!

WOW!

You should see the great GIVEAWAY and Freebie Gladys at Teaching in High Heels is hosting! She and Shelly at Teaching in the Early Years are teaming up and giving away this AMAZING mental math packet Shelly has made up.

NOT ONLY THAT they are GIVING AWAY a FREEBIE starter pack to EVERYONE!

I LOVE this packet. My kiddos are having a hard time with math this year (isn’t it funny how some years are like that) and I can almost hardly wait until fall break is over to try this out!  

Hop on over to Teaching in High Heels to check out all the amazingness of this giveaway and freebie, then skip over to Teaching in the Early Years to see the awesome creator of it all.

You’ll be glad you did! 

Brown Bag Buddies

The other day after a particularly trying day for my student teacher and me, I decided we needed a new plan of action! We had each tried positive reinforcements with the kiddos, taking recess minutes (ick), walking laps, modeling, ignoring and a whole other gamut of kiddo management; but they were not having any of it.

I’m big on positive reinforcements and most of the time all I have to do to get my kiddos on my side is to make a big deal with whom or what is going right. But this year….let’s just say my kiddos are a bit young and many are still somewhat in the “me” stage of development J.

But I digress that night while I was in my grad class I came up with “brown bag buddies” (I know I should have been listening to the professor, and ok maybe I’m a bit like my kiddos…but it is a “leadership and management class” geesh).

The next morning I explained my idea to Lindsay (student teacher) and then to the kids. I explained we will be keeping track all week (in a notebook) of everything they are doing that is outstanding (yes sometimes it is a stretch). At the end of the week we pick two or three kiddos to eat lunch with the teachers in the classroom on Tuesday of the next week (recess duty on Monday).

They were very excited and I have to say it has been going quite well. Below is a picture of our first group of “brown bag buddies.” I thought they were going to stay and talk the whole lunch time-who cares about the playground when you have the teachers all to yourself! If only we could give them all that-all day-every day!

This is what the note says that I glue to a brown paper bag that I send home with the kids who will be eating lunch with us- 

Congratulations!

You have been chosen

For The Brown Bag Buddies Lunch!

Because you had such an AWESOME week this week- Next week on Tuesday you are invited to bring your lunch and eat in the classroom with the teacher!

You bring your lunch and Mrs. T. Klinger will provide the drinks!!!

On a side note don’t forget to hop on over to my other blog Klinger cafe' to make a comment, or become a follower here to have a shot at a 25$ Teacher Pay Teacher gift certificate! 

Blogging World Here We Come

Did you hear that?  Well, that was my awesome blogging partner Tammy yelling whispering in my ear....  “you can do it...you can do it.”    So here I am tip-toeing bursting forth into the blogging world with not a clue where this new adventure is going to take me.   

I am so nervous excited to be sharing this journey with such an amazing friend!   She is so talented...  and to be totally honest, I’m kinda hopeful 

some of her creativity will rub off on me a bit!

When I began my teaching career, I never dreamed that I would be teaching adorable little first graders.   Fortunately for me, Tammy pushed walked me through a door of teaching that I never knew existed.     

Before summer started, I discovered the awesome world of blogging.  Oh My Gosh!!    I’m totally embarrassed to admit how much time I spent stalking first grade blogs.   By the end of the summer, I thought I had discovered them all!!! J  When I finally pulled my head out of the computer, I realized that the new school year was ready to begin!  WOW!!   My head continues to spin from all the wonderful ideas I discovered.

And so...this journey begins.

  

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to our brand new teacher friends FIRST grade blog! I am Tammy Klinger and I have been blogging for a short time. My first blog First Grade and First Posts was my first attempt. I started it because of the two writing teachers and their great blog. I loved their “slice on life” and I wanted to join along, so First Grade and Fence Posts was born.  I Then started noticing all the other really “cute” informative blogs out in cyber land and decided I wanted to do more! So… Klinger Café was created. I spent the summer blog stalking and posting on both blogs as much I could, but still felt something was missing…

Jump ahead to the end of summer, getting back into the swing of the school year, and back in touch with my bestest teaching buddy B. Klinger. The more we talked the more we realized we both had spent the summer stalking all these wonderful blogs. We finally got our stuff together; got in touch with the best blog designer EVER –McKenna at Project Three Designs, and WA-LA here we are “Camping Out in First Grade."

Barbara (better known as B. Klinger to the kiddos in 1^st grade) and I both teach first grade in a small rural school in Oklahoma. And now we are blogging together on a small BLOG in Oklahoma!

My first year teaching B. was teaching 4^th grade. I taught Pre-Kindergarten in the mornings and 4^th grade next to B. in the afternoon. Although our husbands were distant cousins, and we had the same last names, I only knew B. as my son’s 4^th grade teacher two years before. She had left a huge impression on him, and I soon discovered why. We became fast/best friends. She is an inspiration, an amazing teacher and a friend most of us just dream of having.

The next year I moved into my first grade spot and have been there ever since. I loved first grade but missed my teaching buddy. Our schedules were too different to spend too many lunches or recesses chatting. Lucky for me my daughter was soon in 4^th grade and had the best teacher in school. Even to this day when my adult children are asked who their favorite teacher was the answer is swift and sure-Mrs. B. Klinger.

Jump ahead a few years again and alas I have converted B. to primary and we are teaching buddies once again! For the last four years we have been B. and T. Klinger FIRST GRADE TEACHERS!

I have been very blessed to have the nicest, sweetest, most inspiring, faithful, and generous teaching partner.  And now we are BLOGGING partners!

Welcome to Camping Out in First Grade where we hope you will find our posts full of- learning, ideas, thoughts, and fun all wrapped up in a small blog made from friendship in Oklahoma!