Flies Can Be Fun ... Who Knew?

Yesterday was my second day ever,  of substitute teaching!!  I have to be honest and say that it was beyond a disaster, with one class member having a total meltdown in the afternoon session, resulting in me having to call the Principal for help.  But, whilst I found (and am still finding) this quite distressing, there were lots of positive and fun moments from throughout the day.

I had written up a whole day plan based on the fabulous and funny book 'Diary of a Fly' by Doreen Cronin.  I used the free online version from TUMBLEBOOKS, which I found HERE.

At the end of the day, we did a really fun visual arts / science activity.  We talked about push / pull and friction, and found some classroom objects to illustrate these concepts with lots of hands-on pushing and pulling.  Then the students coloured in their choice of fun fly pictures, and  we made CLIMBING FLIES, following this fabulous tutorial from ALMOST UNSCHOOLERS.  The students were so excited when they made their flies crawl up the string.  The students that had finished making their flies,  organised themselves to hang their flies on their bag hooks and they had a 'whole class mega fly race' before the hometime bell :)  Lots of fun!!

Happy weekend everyone!

Build A Robot - classroom management activity.

I thought I would share one of my favourite strategies for classroom management, which I will be using as a substitute teacher.  I call it 'BUILD A ROBOT'.  It relies on the class to work as a team, kind of like Teamwork Bingo I guess!  I find that if you engage the class as active decision makers, you are going to be rewarded yourself, with a much easier day ... gotta love that!!

It is as easy as 4 simple steps:

1.  EXPECTATIONS:  At the very start of the day, sit with the class and get them to tell you their classroom rules.  Write these on a board or on a large piece of paper to display (You can say it is for your benefit, but it is amazing how much difference having visible rules can make!).  Add your own rules and expectations, explaining these clearly to the class.

2.  EXPLANATION:  Teamwork - tell the class they will be working as a team throughout the day to 'Build A Robot' on the board.  Get the class to come up with a list of parts for the robot e.g:  head, body, arms, legs, springs etc... keep this list on the board as a checklist during the day.  I suggest a minimum of 5 robot parts is needed  (2 for the morning session, 2 for the midday session and 1 for the afternoon session).
If they are working quietly and cooperatively, someone  will be chosen to add a piece to the class robot.  Once the robot is complete, the class will get a reward.   Also let them know that you will take a class photo with the robot for them to display, at the end of the day (only of course if you have access to a computer and printer, otherwise omit that step!).

3. BUILD THE ROBOT:  Throughout the day continue to remind them, encourage them, and draw their attention to the emerging ROBOT on the board.

4. ENJOY:  Once the robot is completed, either you decide what the class reward will be, or you can offer choices to the class and they can vote.  I love to give them the opportunity to have 10 minutes play on the playground equipment or to listen to / sing songs whilst finishing off the afternoon's work...the reward is totally up to you!

I find that BUILD A ROBOT works fabulously for Grades K - 2.  You of course could build just about anything...just tailor it to your class's needs and interests.  Grades 3 - 6 may enjoy 'BUILD A TEACHER TRAP' or 'BUILD A SPY GADGET'.  This activity really is as limitless as your imagination.  HAVE FUN!

I hope that if you give this activity a try, you will be rewarded with fewer classroom management issues and enjoy the day with your class:)

Shaving Cream Marbling Art Lesson

Wow...I can't believe it has been weeks since I have had the time to even look at Blogger!!  It is going to take me forever to catch up on all that I have missed over the past month or so!  I would like to take this opportunity, though, to say a very HUGE thank you to the lovely Dana from 3rd Grade Gridiron, for listing me as one of her Top Ten Blogs!  I was so thrilled to receive her award, especially as my blog is such a new one...so THANK YOU SO MUCH, DANA ~ xx

Now for some more exciting news...I have now completed my final teaching practical placement and had the most wonderful and amazing experience!!  I feel so lucky to have been able to learn so much from my inspirational supervising teacher and such a wonderful class!   I have received my interim casual (substitute) teaching number now, which means I am officially a substitute teacher...and I hope to find a full-time teaching position in the future!  I just can't wait to have my own class!!

I have been busy over the past week, putting together a Substitute Teaching Resource folder.  I found that I had lots of literacy and numeracy lessons and resources, but was somewhat lacking in the visual arts area!  Thanks to Pinterest, I had been wanting to try Shaving Cream Marbling, so yesterday Miss Lottie, Miss Olivia and I gave it a go!  It was soooo much fun, cheap to do, and super easy!

I have typed up a lesson outline (which I have aimed at KINDERGARTEN...however using appropriate syllabus outcomes, you could change it for any grade) which I have uploaded into Google Docs.  As I use outcomes from my specific state's syllabus, I have uploaded the lesson outline as both a PDF version and a Word version, this way, you can change any of the details to suit your own requirements.  Click on the links below to download the lesson outline:

SHAVING CREAM MARBLING LESSON OUTLINE - PDF VERSION

SHAVING CREAM MARBLING LESSON OUTLINE - WORD DOC VERSION

I hope you find this lesson outline useful and that you have as much fun creating fabulous artworks, as we did!!  ENJOY:)

Here We Go...For The Very Last Time....

Hi everyone,

If you would like to know what I will be up to for the next 4 weeks...pop on over to my other blog RUBIES PLACE!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.

DIY Stickers!

Hi everyone!  Well I start my final 4 week teaching practical placement on Monday, and I just can't wait!!  I have been placed with a Grade 3 class at a local girls' private school, so I consider myself very lucky that I have managed to avoid having to travel away from our town and my family!

I have been trying to get some things prepared before I start on Monday.  I am a huge sticker fan, but unfortunately there is a distinct lack of any lovely stickers in our small town....so today I decided to make my own.  I was looking at purchasing blank pre-made sticker sheets, but they were really expensive and the ones I was looking at didn't come with a template for word processing.  My lovely husband suggested I just use address labels...so I did!

I purchased a pack of Avery brand Address Labels (J8160) and found that my Open Office word processing program actually already had the template for these labels installed...Yahoo!!!  I used lots of different clip art (mostly my favourites from ThistleGirl Designs) and lots of fun fonts.  Just a little bit of cutting with my rotary cutter, and they are all packed into my sticker box, ready for Monday!  I think they turned out so well, what do you think?

Being the frugal girl that I am...I managed to get two stickers onto each label....so that is 1050 stickers in total!!!  The best thing is, they are custom made and so much cuter than anything I could find in the stores:)

I don't think I will ever buy stickers again!! (oh, OK...maybe DIY scratch 'n Sniff stickers may be a bit out of my league)!  These were so easy to make, why not give them a go?

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend ahead!

'Times Tables' Card Games Freebie - Update...

Hi everyone.  Just an update on my last post.  Over the weekend I found a glitch with the way the cards were set out for the 10 times table card game, I posted on Friday, so you may wish to upload the new version instead?

After many, many hours spent over this weekend, checking and re-checking...I now have my complete set of  Sock Monkey themed 1 - 10 Times Table card games as a freebie.  Just click HERE if you would like to download the entire set in PDF form,  from Google Docs (the download is about 7MB).  If you download them, I would love it if you left a comment below, thanks so much:)

If anyone would like the games posted individually, just leave a comment requesting this and I will post them individually.

Hope you enjoy using these if you decide to use them with your class / children.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead.

10 Times Tables Card Game Freebie! - Sock Monkey Theme.

I am just preparing for my final four week teaching practical placement, with a Grade 3 class.  I know that they are all trying to learn their multiplication number facts up to 10 x 10, so I decided to make some fun Times Tables 'I have..., Who has....?' card games for them to play.   I have started with a Sock Monkey theme (clip art by Cupcake Cutiees)  for the 10 times tables (aren't sock monkeys just the cutest!!).

I have added this freebie file to Google Docs.  Just click HERE to download the file.
I have removed the link to this download as there was a glitch with the game cards....for the CORRECT version, please see my latest post for the freebie download link for the entire set of 1 - 10  times tables.  Thanks !!

I hope you enjoy using this with your class.  I will be creating the same game for the other times tables...but I think I really need to do some housework first!!

Happy weekend everyone,

Tina :)

Facebook Mixer Party Over at Kinder Fun...

Michelle from Kinder Fun is having a Facebook-Mixer Linky party! 

Pop on over to KINDER FUN and either link up your Teaching Blog's Facebook page, or just check out some other fabulous blogs that also have FB pages!!

Happy Monday to everyone!
Tina

My Monster - A Kindergarten Number Activity Freebie

This is a wonderful little number activity that is great for Kindergarten to reinforce numbers and number recognition.   It is easy and the children love that they get to create their own monsters.

Even though this is a numeracy activity, it can be extended to every key learning area:  Below is just a tiny example of how you can use the monsters your students' create:

• LITERACY - the children can write and illustrate a sentence or a small story about their monster, using interactive, guided or independent writing.  They could write a simple procedure describing how they created the monster.  They could come up with adjectives to describe their monster etc...
• HSIE - They could compare monsters and discuss the similarities and differences between their monsters.
• VISUAL ARTS - they can make a 3-D  papier mache model of their monsters.

You get the idea... the possibilities really are endless!!

Just click on the title below to download the free activity instructions and template from Google DOCS.

MY MONSTER

I hope you find this activity useful and fun, if you decide to try it !

Wishing everyone a wonderful week,
Tina

Handwriting Fairy / Dragon Notes Freebie...

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone has had a great week?  It has been a busy one for me, my last week of mid semester break!  Uni starts again on Monday, and I am lacking the energy, I must be honest!  The one unit I have left, seems so incredibly boring!  However, a little bright spark on my Uni radar this week, was that I went and met my supervising teacher and class for my final teaching prac!  I will be teaching a Yr 3 class at a local private girls' school.  There are only 14 girls in the class, they are all just lovely and my supervising teacher told me they still believe in fairies and have wonderful imaginations...how fabulous!  One of the things that they are currently working on in class, is learning cursive writing.  So in anticipation of actually teaching these little blossoms in 4 weeks time, I have designed some handwriting notes, signed but none other than the Handwriting Fairy herself!! 

I found the idea through a post by Rachelle at What The Teacher Wants blog.  Rachelle had designed a Neat Treat card and bag from the 'Handwriting Fairy'.  I love the idea and think it is another sweet way of rewarding children for trying their best.  I think this would be great for all ages, just not Year 3. 

I have made a girly design, as well as a more boyish design, using the 'Handwriting Dragon'.  Again, I have uploaded my versions as free printable PDFs onto Google DOCS.  Just click on the titles go to Google DOCS and download them if you would like...

HANDWRITING FAIRY

HANDWRITING DRAGON

I plan on cutting these out and then mounting them on pieces of coloured cardboard with scalloped edges.  Just as Rachelle did in her post, these would be great with a little reward bag full of erasers and pens etc... and maybe a special little sprinkling of fairy dust on the desk...just for good measure!!

Happy weekend everyone,

Tina

Note:  Fairy and Dragon graphics by JD Digi Designs / JWIllustrations.

BOOKMARK FREEBIE...

 Hi everyone!  I firstly want to say a big hello and a HUGE thank you to my newest friends here, I really appreciate your encouragement and support, and I hope you find some fun and useful things amongst my ramblings:)

Well, it seems my printer has died... so instead of printing and laminating these bookmarks I made this morning, I thought I would add them to my freebies list.

I don't think teachers can ever have enough positive rewards for encouraging children to read...so I just came up with some little bookmarks, to add to my teacher's stash of goodies!  One thing that always makes me smile, is that children, no matter what age they are, all want to know if they can take things that you give them in class, home with them!!  What is with that?  Anyhow, these little bookmarks are perfect as a positive reward and source of encouragement for children to read...and YES they can take them home!!  Here is the link:

BOOKMARKS

I am in no way a graphic designer, just someone that likes to make her own resources!!  I just created a few different fun designs today.  If there is any design or combination of designs that you like best ... just let me know and I will do up a class set for you and add them to Google Docs.

I am also making up some more educational bookmarks at the moment, that will remind students to think about the Who / What / Where / When  / How etc... of what they are reading.  I will post those soon, too.

Tina

Monster Choir - Sound Patterns...

I wanted to share one of my favourite sites with everyone.  You may already have seen and used this... but in case you haven't, here is the link

 MONSTER CHOIR

This is a really fun sound pattern game that is fabulous to use on an Interactive White Board, and perfect for including when teaching Kindergarten kiddies about patterns.  I was introduced to this site by my Supervising Teacher on my last teaching prac.  We used it quite a bit and it was so engaging, as well as being a great classroom management tool (everyone wanted to have a turn...and it was amazing to see how quiet even the liveliest little person was, just so they could have a turn)!!

It really is a fun and effective activity to include in your resource list for teaching Kindergarten children about patterns.  My Australian teaching friends can also access this from the secured section of the DET curriculum support website via the DET Intranet, if you have access.

I hope you find this useful.

Tina

Letter - Sound Recognition Record Chart...

This afternoon I made a little letter - sound recognition checklist chart to record the letters and sounds that Miss Lottie knows, so that we can introduce and practice with the letters and sounds that she is not quite recognising yet.  I am sure that this little checklist sheet would be quite handy even in an ES1 classroom, you just tick the corresponding letter and / or sound recognition space for each letter. 

I know that there are spreadsheets and all kinds of electronic ways of recording the vast amount of information for each student, that we will be required to record...but I am an old style pen and paper girl!  I think this is a good way of keeping a record of the letter - sound recognition of younger students.  You can keep the chart and use it to fill in other types of record keeping methods, and it is also a lovely visible and personal way of presenting information to parents, if they have any questions about their child's letter - sound recognition.  I am sure students would love to be able to see their little chart filling up with ticks...you could even supply a little reward or prize for students when they have learned all their letters and sounds:)

To download the free PDF version that uses a sweet little owl graphic, click on the link below:

OWL VERSION

To download the free PDF version that uses cute little monster graphics, click on the link below.

MONSTER VERSION

Again, I hope you may find this useful.  There seems to be a line missing at the bottom of the Monster version, I will work on the formatting some more and re-post the updated PDF to Google Docs.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

Tina

Casual / Substitute Teacher Report Form...

Hi everyone!  After my experiences observing casual / substitute teachers during my teaching pracs, I was surprised by many things I saw...but one of the things I noticed was that many (not all) of the casual / substitute teachers either wrote a little note to the class teacher on a scrappy piece of paper, or they did not bother to leave a note for the class teacher at all.

In all reality, I will most likely be casual teaching for quite a while, and I really want to be an effective and thorough casual teacher.  So this afternoon, I put together this little Casual Teacher Report in PDF form that I can take with me when I am casual teaching.  It is easy to fill out and I think it covers most of what I would like to convey to the classroom teacher.  You can download it for free from Google DOCS following this link:

CASUAL TEACHER REPORT FORM.

I also made a version with the title Substitute Teacher Report form, in case anyone would prefer that term.  You can download this version free from Google DOC, following this link:

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER FORM

I have only started using Google DOCS, so if anyone is having difficulties downloading my documents, please let me know...thank you!

I hope you find this form useful.  Have a fabulous weekend.

Tina

Fabulous Animation Site For All Grades...

Have you already seen the Zimmer Twins animation website?  I hadn't until this week, and WOW!  This site has so much potential for using in any classroom!  The potential really is endless...

• Perfect for the teacher to create movies to teach and reinforce all subject matter from any and all key learning areas.
• Fabulous and very engaging for using on an IWB.
• Great to use as a whole class lesson.
• Amazingly engaging and perfect for cooperative learning lessons with pairs, or small groups.

The site has some fabulous animation examples that have been made by teachers and children alike. This one made by Jen from Runde's Room blog is how I found the Zimmer Twins site.

I also really like the fact that only a 'nickname' is used to identify the creator of each animation on the site, so teachers can create an account with their email address, choosing a nickname to identify the account as creator of the animations, and then the children can use this account in the classroom, with their real identities remaining private.

Our Miss Olivia has had a lot of fun trying it out for me!  TIP:  Make sure you are logged in before you make your movie, or you won't be able to save it....yes we learned this lesson the hard way, a few times!   If you haven't seen the site before, I hope you enjoy it and find it useful as a resource.  If you have used it before, I would love to know how you have used it.

Tina

Frogs On A Lily Pad Game...

 I have finally had a little bit of spare time to set out the cards and instructions for a fabulous little game that I used with my Kindergarten prac classes.  It is probably most suitable to Kindergarteners, but is also flexible enough to use with older students, if necessary.

I was introduced to a form of this game, by a fabulous casual teacher at our school, who has been such an inspiration to me.

During both my teaching pracs, I found this little game to be fabulous for reinforcing all kinds of basic literacy and numeracy skills, and we played it as a class everyday.  I love this game because it engages the children so well, you can use the cards and your requests to differentiate for all students within a class and to tailor for the particular skills you are trying to reinforce or teach, and I was also able to use the game as a formative assessment, because students were so engaged with the game, as opposed to being asked to verbally demonstrate their knowledge of sounds etc...  

The children in my last prac class, even went so far as to form their own group during an independent section of their morning literacy session, and played this game together as a group (without a teacher) so cute! 

Here is my version, in PDF format (also using NSW Foundation font), that you are all welcome to download free from Google Docs, following the link below.  You will need to cut out the individual cards and laminate them.

FROGS ON A LILY PAD GAME

The contents of the game PDF.

I hope that you find this little game useful, and enjoy using it with your students.

Tina

Starting Fresh...

Hi everyone & welcome to my 'new look' teaching blog 'Good Morning, Mrs Rubie!'.

After not touching this blog for the past year, I decided to give it a new look and a new start.  I deleted all 5 posts that I posted over a year ago and am really looking forward to sharing my journey as I finish my studies and hopefully begin my new career as a teacher.

I hope to share experiences, ideas, links to amazing teachers, and resources here, all in the one place.  I have started a Facebook page for this blog...more to learn how to do it really.  Hopefully I will have something interesting to post soon.  Until then, please bear with me while I finish the final fiddly bits here on my blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tina