Summer Workshops! + Book Order IN!

I signed up for a few!



One is Thursday at Redlands College hosted by Ag in the Classroom, it should be interesting we get an education on vineyards, goats, horses, other gardening.

One in July: OERB, Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, I have taken a few of these but because I have been in Kindergarten I have not taken the second week of Fossils to fuel. So I will be taking that one.

One in August: Another Ag in the the Classroom, this one is the state conference, I went two years ago and it was wonderful. I want to refocus on my new grade assignment!

I ordered the CAFE book and a hard copy of the D5 book. I am so looking forward to digging in!! I hope to find a few other books that I should like to read that would benefit me as a 3rd grade teacher so if anyone that is out there that might be reading this feel free to recommend some books to me!

A jar doesn't have to be just a jar.....

What I used:

Mod Podge
red food color
paint sponge on a stick
ribbon
glue gun
pretty jewel
old jar

1. I cleaned and dried the jar.
2. I mixed in a small cup Mod Podge and three drops of red food color.
3. I pained it on the outside of the glass jar (2 coats) and left to dry overnight.

Day 2.

1. I glued on the pink ribbon.
2. I glued on the black ribbon.
3. I glued on the jewel.

Total time only about 1 hour excluding drying time. Clean up was a snap!

~Chapter 2~

1 .What goals do you have for your classroom as you work to implement the principles and foundations of the Daily 5 discussed in chapter 2? What support do you need to do this?
Stay out of the way Ms. Gebhart. I have a goal. To treat my 3rd graders like 3rd graders, not kindergartners. I will need support with this I hope to find someone somewhere that can describe to me the difference in these students!!

2. What stands out as the most significant aspects of this chapter?

The foundational principles are so important, as their name suggests they are the foundation for which the rest of the program will rely, especially stamina!

3. How do the foundational principles of the Daily 5 structure (trust, choice, community, sense of urgency, and stamina), align with your beliefs that support your teaching strategies and the decisions that you make about student learning?

Independence! I think I will love the Independence of a third grade student. I sure have enjoyed the Independence of kindergartners about the last nine weeks of school. I am not sure how much Independence I must teach as my experiences are limited to 5/6 year olds. It is always my goal to teach my students self regulation! Choice in centers based on D5 descriptions is still somewhat managed. After all the name itself, daily 5, means we will want the students to work on these important skills daily so while we may let them travel through the activities set before and have a finite set of choices set before them in centers. These choices are still managed, maybe just not micromanaged.

I try to think of my own children in third grade. My children are 18 and 14! Tatum's third grade experience was quite miserable. She spent the whole year not getting called on because, as her teacher said, "her answers are always wrong, so I don't call on her anymore." I don't want to do that to any child..... William had third grade in public school and he had been tested and found to be gifted and his level of intelligence was starting to be respected and that is what stands out to me the most about that year, as the previous year was tears everyday and a teacher that told me (and him in so many ways) that something was wrong with him... So even though I will value Independence of my students from my teacher perspective I know for a fact, in third grade (and any grade), trust will be a big issue for my students and parents so I will also hold it in the highest regard! I hope to instill a reciprocated trust I will give parents and teachers reasons to trust me, so that the students will reciprocate that trust in their behaviors in my classroom.

A sense of community is so important to me as a teacher. I believe our own American culture this attribute is becoming less and less valued, although it is something I value to my core. I remember last school year. My inner city kindergartners couldn't grasp why saying "sorry" was not enough after an incident of purpose or accident. I worked and worked, and yes worked......until it started to click. In the last weeks of school two students, a boy and a girl, had a accidental collision on the playground while running around the big toy. They both fall down. The boy is crying and the girl is getting up unscathed. Next she holds out her hand to this boy and helps him up, she then puts her arm around his shoulder and says "are you ok" he shakes his head yes, "is there anything I can do for you" and he shakes his head yes and says "be more careful." I was fighting back tears. At the beginning of school that accident would have been an all out brawl!  I am curious to see what level of guidance my suburban third graders will need. Will they need the intense effort in guidance I concentrated so heavily on in inner city kindergarten? Only time will tell I guess.

In kindergarten I had a morning board that reviewed important skills in reading and important skills for Dibles testing. I just came right out and told my students we are working on these skills because 1. learning to read is the most important thing you can do for yourself as it is needed in nearly every aspect in life....and 2. These skills match the Dibles test skills. It is important to work on the speed of these skills because your test scores are looked at by people you and I have never even met, they make decisions about you based on these scores. We are going to show them the best in you.... so they will see what I see everyday, remarkable, smart, and capable students! This kind of talk did not scare them, but it did build that sense of urgency needed to help move the students forward. Third grade, I am wavering on the test talk. Do I want them to be scared they will be retained if they don't pass the tests. The new reading law makes that a reality in Oklahoma now. What I think I really need is a talk with the principal and a partner or two. Do these children know this is their reality, are we as adults going to tell them it is so, I do not want to scare them like the book says. Looks like a delicate balancing act...

I expect stamina will be easier to build in third graders right from the start. I love working on this skill as I get to keep my eyes on each student during their independent work unlike when I am actually sitting with my rotation group at guided reading. This time really tells me where a student is emotionally. Those students with high self confidence often find themselves on task right away, not second guessing themselves.  Great way to get to know your students!
*___________________________________________________________________________________________*

******Also I knocked out my Debbie Diller book "Places" today and these questions are from her book. I want to keep these questions in mind as I read D5 with my new 3rd grade glasses on! I may make me a chart to fill in while I finish the D5 book. Those of you in the group that are also changing grade levels might also like to read the book and/or consider these questions:

In regards to setting up your classroom....

What do I want to be sure to include everyday in my teaching?

What spaces will I need to have in my classroom to make this happen?

Where will this instruction take place?
What materials will we need?

Where will I keep them so I (and students) can work more efficiently and effectively?

How can I promote student independence?



*_________________________________________________________________________________*

*_________________________________________________________________________________*

Making a move again, this time not my house but my job!

Hopefully this will be my last move for a while! I am a bundle of emotions over moving from kinder to third grade. I have looked over the Core Knowledge domains for third grade and I am loving what I see. I think about children who already know what is expected of them at school and can sit and listen for longer periods of time and can do a lot of self care. But the truth be told there is one aspect of kindergarten I do not want to let go of. You see when I close my eyes I can see a tribal elder sitting in front of a semicircle of children sitting on blankets. The elder is a storyteller, the kind of stories that children love to hear and learn valuable lessons from. When I open my eyes I see me with modern day students carrying on a long tradition and honoring all the elders of the past. I worry my third graders will not want to sit in the floor and listen to me tell them tales of wisdom. There is some native history in the third grade will it be enough of a trade off to fill the hole that will be left if 3^rd graders are just too old to sit on the carpet and listen to a wonderful story?  I think about the one time I recently spent about 20 minutes in a 3^rd grade classroom. The teacher was reading the story “Because of Winn Dixie” to the class. The lights were low, the students were sitting at their desks, and they were taking turns for trips to the bathroom. Say it isn’t so!!! I have yet to see my new classroom. I am hoping I have enough room for a carpet and children who will sit and enjoy a story or two….

Nature Walk: Learning to Identify Useful Wild Plants

I had an amazing opportunity to get in on a nature walk with a woman who calls herself a "wildcrafter." She knows both the medical and culinary uses for plants that are found in the wild. She is amazingly knowledgeable about plants in the wild and there uses. It was my honor to get to share in the knowledge of a elder of the Cherokee Indian tribe, I have so longed for such interaction with an elder, as we share a similar heritage. I am so thankful to have gone on this walk at all. Usually the wildcrafter is all booked up months in advance but she had three last minute cancellations and we got to go. She took a group of 30 on a walk. I was thankful that Marty and my teacher friend Denise went with me. The guide took us picking wild fruits, berries, and other useful plants. One of the best things about the walk was we walked within 5 miles of my home!

I took pictures and notes on my cell phone on the walk. I would take  a picture of the plant she was talking about open an email to send it and type notes on the pad when we moved onto another plant, I would start all over again.

The walk lasted two hours here are a few of the pictures. I am not sure I should share the notes of the walk because I don't want to encourage people to do something I have not tried myself but I will put them on here so you can "hear" what I heard on the walk. Please do not try anything listed here unless you verify the information with a specialist.

Echinacea good to harvest the root remember to ethically harvest take 5%

Yucca plant shampoo soap pounding of root flowers eatable candied flowers.

Red is good, white is bad, wild Sumac tea must be strained, break off head when ready to harvest when head turns sideways makes good spice should be strained spice good for fish seafood has a lemony taste.

Buffaloberry make good snacks and jellies!

The Chickasaw Plum is great for jellies tart in taste!

Wild soral. Sometimes florals yellow and blue eat raw.

This is a Wild Plum. There are three types of native plum trees in Oklahoma, Wild, Chickasaw, and Sand Plum Trees!

Thisle purple flower when small put ut in crock pot overnight. Good for liver good antixident use for cheese making. The dry head flowers water infusion turns brown makes a brenate for cheese making take the heads before they turn white.

It's true the brown plant you see is Wild Oats!

 Johnson grass heads drought it is toxic good to dry and put it up for goats to eat human too.

Curly Dock seed grainable for breads good on cupcakes use seeds for chicken and goat feeds. Invasive plant. Use in soups cooks it like a green puts it in a blender adds cream and spices can get and eat raw. Put a bundle of roots in 80 proof vodka added can make medicine for iron deficiancy blood loss good for treating shock. Take a pint jar fill ot full of roots then poor vodka in then keep in a cool dark place for two months then take out thr roots two tablesppons a day max.  

Prickly Lettuce prime picking when flowering. Milk as a pain killer milk it put it on a pice of glass to dry and it turns into powder form harvest in full bloom only a pain killer in dry form.

Lambs quarters very nutriciuos can eat raw or. Boiled just like spinage good for persto green drinks survival food highly recomended sometimes found through the winter months the stock doesn't tast good often found in the barn yard gets a frosted white look the frosted part is editable.

Poke the more red the more tokin eat leaves boiled like spinage its a good laxitive nutritional value hide young plants are best from the spring 8 inch high ideal

Plants not pictured Sage, Mugwart and Mint.

Thank you Jackie Dill for this wonderful journey!

Chapter 1 Book Study: The Daily 5

Hello, Teachers! My name is Misty, I have been a teacher for 4 years. I have been working in an inner city school as a kindergarten teacher for all four years. I had a wonderful opportunity to buy acreage and a house for less than the price of my car!!! I did it, but it moved me 48 miles from work. I just sign on with a nearby school district as a 3^rd grade teacher. I am a little nervous as a 3^rd grade suburban class is miles away from an inner city kindergarten. My mother is a very experienced teacher she assures me that my professional life is about to become a lot less complicated with these professional changes. One thing I really like about getting to be a 3^rd grade teacher is The Daily 5. I always felt while the concepts were wonderful additions to my kindergarten class, slightly older children where really a better target group for the model. I love the Daily 5 and am looking forward to using it with my thirds!

 I have been using D5 in my inner city kindergarten classroom for two years. I am nervous about the transition to becoming a suburban 3^rd grade teacher using D5, I know it will look different. I decided to revisit the book trying to put on my 3^rd grade teacher glasses while reading. I am a bit nervous about the transition, I am excited too. I feel like 3^rd grade is a better place to implement all the aspects of D5. Reading has never been more important in an Oklahoma 3^rd grade classroom! The state legislature ended “social promotion” if a child does not pass a third grade reading test they are mandatory retained as many as two times. I want all my children to pass this test the first time! Implementation of D5 in a thoughtful methodical way is important to me!

When I implemented D5 in kindergarten it was midyear. My kids looked forward to the D5 center work, they knew what to do. We had book trading day every week that was the day each kid looked forward to. Prior to the implementation I had more behavioral problems in my standard kindergarten centers, constant interruptions during my guided reading groups, and children who refused to follow the rules. I still had a few interruptions, bathroom and drink related mostly,  but my partner and I implemented American Sign Language, and that was the end of that!

After we started I had children who knew what to do would stay on task enjoyed partner work. I still had two children who just couldn’t handle any freedom and would insist on misbehavior; after all it was the inner city.  After making bad choices during choice time, these two children would sit through all my guided reading groups so I could manage my classroom through D5 model.

What will 3^rd grade D5 look like? I am looking forward to full implantation of D5. I don’t know what it will look like but the framework of CAFÉ will be a new addition to me. I did not use it in kinder. I am hoping that my older suburban children all ready to take on all the D5 tasks I set before them.

D5 Book club: I am so thankful I ran across this last night. I am hoping to see how other 3^rd grade teachers have implemented or plan on implementing D5. The collaboration among other like minded teachers interested in the program is likely to create a few sparks in my brain! Thank you for including me!

Fishing Lake Carl Blackwell and Lake McMurty

I hated Lake Carl Blackwell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I had to pay 5 dollars to get in and I was so disappointed wasted my time and my money.  the only shore line access is to the swimming beaches and where people are camping! The rest of the shorelines are only accessible through private clubs! We had to fish at the marina like babies! That didn't even last 20 minutes we left. Now we don't have a boat so if you have a boat the fishing opportunities change, as you can access the water, however I wonder if they have areas of the lake marked off for these private members only clubs. There is another lake nearby so we went there instead.

Lake McMurty was under 10 miles north and east. I set my GPS and we went. I think there is much better fishing the shoreline opportunities there without a camp sight. There is shore line swimming as well. I like the fact they ban drinking but this lake it's always nice to not have to deal with drunks at the lake but this lake also has some drawbacks. First it is $6.00 to get in. Then when we got there we discovered we also needed a fishing license from the city of Stillwater. The gun range nearby was load and after a while was bothersome. I liked Lake McMurty but I am not willing to travel that far to pay that much extra money for a days worth of fishing. I would rather park my butt at the river closer to home and free! Sorry Stillwater I will never ever ever go to Lake Carl Blackwell again..... and Lake McMurty I would go to again if I am in the mood to be Fee'ed to death!!