Our Rock Project

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

I'm super excite about an idea I got after reading the novel The Truth About Mason Buttle, by Leslie Connor.  This book is a National Book Award Finalist; however, I do not recommend it for third-graders.  While I loved the story, the message and the theme--it is emotionally heavy.  Everyday I had to stop reading after awhile and take a break.  The story is about bullying, tragic death, police investigations, judgement, etc.  It is also filled with kindness, patience, compassion, and acceptance, but it is still to much for third graders, in my opinion.

In the story, the main character, Mason is not only bullied, he is unable to read or write.  So, he visits his special education teacher every day.  One day, Mason finds her painting inspirational words on rocks with glitter.  He does not question her project, but days later, when he is extremely upset, the teacher hands him the rock that says "Loyal."  She explains that he is a loyal friend, and she is giving him the rock to keep in his pocket as a reminder of his loyalty.

After I finished the book, I could not stop thinking about those rocks.  My incoming students know that rock-collecting is a passion of mine.  It has been since I've been 7 years old.  Last year, they would ask me to show them the different rocks I was carrying in my pockets. The lightbulb went on! I decided I, too, would paint leadership words and symbols on rocks.  Then, each week Anne and I will  look for a student who deserves one of the rocks.  The chosen student would need to display that trait all week or show it in a big way.  Then, on Friday we would award the rock to that person.  I cannot decide if the class should decide which trait to work on, or if we should just keep an eye out for someone displaying one of the traits and then reveal it and the recipient on Friday?  I'll let Anne decide.  She's our decision maker.

Here are the rocks I have painted so far.  I sprayed them with a clear gloss, but I think they look foggy.  I will try again, on new rocks, but only do one coat and see if they are clearer.

I cannot wait to use these rocks with the kids.  I'm thinking of reading the book Everybody Needs a Rock by Baird Byer.

Ok, I'm off to school to clean.  Have a great day.

Kim

Great First-Day-Ideas Websites

Friday, August 2, 2019

I CAN. NOT. BELIEVE. IT. IS. AUGUST!!!  I'm excited to go back into my classroom, set it up, and plan lessons.  I'm excited to meet my new students, too.  What rattles my cage is having being on a schedule once August 19th arrives!  I love summer mostly because I can do whatever is on my To-Do list at my own pace.  Believe me, I am going to take full advantage of that these last few days of summer break. :)

So yesterday I decided to revise our lesson plans we use for the first three days of school. I was able to get into that focused, relaxed, motivated mode, and it was invigorating.  I looked back at some of my favorite teacher sites I tagged this summer on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

The first site I reviewed was  Not So Wimpy Third Grade Teacher.  The author of this website is Jamie Sears.  She has a wonderful Facebook group, TpT store, blog, and Instagram site.  Her first day of school ideas are great.  I have incorporated some of her activities to freshen up my own.  We always like to add new ideas to our lesson so we don't get bored.  My favorite idea on this site was reading aloud Words and Your Heart, by Kate Jane Neal.  I bought this book last February to use for Valentine's Day writing, but it fits perfectly here.  To go along with the read aloud, Jamie does the toothpaste activity.  A fifth grade teacher friend of mine used to do this activity.  I love it, but Anne and I have never used it with our class, so this is the year.  It is a great SEL hands-on activity.  Check it out.  Jamie even gives you the templates for the toothpaste responses.

You can find all of this and more on this site.

We are going to again read Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun: Having the Courage to be Who You Are, by Maria Dismondy.  Anne and I have the students make a heart because it symbolizes so many of the messages in that book.  There are repeated phrases in the book that include the word heart.  Great connection between books, themes and symbolism.

Love this book.  We read it for the first time last year.

The next site is The Thinker Builder. The author of this site is Michael Friermood.  He has several first day of school activities that get students up and moving.  His "All About Me" Rollups seem so cool.  I read about this after I had finished our plans, but you better believe I am going to incorporate this during our first three days of school.  If we run out of time, then we will do it the following week.  It's too cool to miss.  He also created a spin on the traditional "People Search" called "Maze of New Friends."  I love his blog and his TpT store.  Check them out!

So excited to try this.  It sounds cool and I think the boys will like it.

Ok, I'm off to look over my plans, revise and add in some new cool ideas from the amazing teachers I just mentioned.  Enjoy the last of your summer break.

Anne comes back from vacation tomorrow.  She will look over our plans and make revisions if she thinks they need some.  Maybe we will post those plans.

Kim