Category Archives: Play

Jokes of the Day–Week of February 17-20, 2015

This week is another short one, but started out with a funny joke nonetheless!  I even have an extra one that was featured on our schoolwide news broadcast today.  I don’t know who to credit it to besides the super cute 5th graders who present the news–feel free to share if you know the source!

Tuesday

1st grade joke: Why is Peter Pan always flying? He Neverlands!

KROB news joke: Knock, knock. Who’s there? Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln who? What?? You don’t know who who Abraham Lincoln is?

Wednesday

Which state serves the smallest drinks?

Mini-soda! (Get it? Minnesota?)

Thursday

How do you make an egg laugh?

Tell it a yolk!

Friday

Why did Saturn go to the jewelry store?

To buy a new ring!

(This joke came to me via Jacob, who got it from a Magic School Bus book he was reading yesterday.  It was a hit! Thanks for sharing, kiddo!)

Happy Valentines’ Day!

This special day brought another special reason to celebrate in Rm. 202!  Thanks to Ms. Ross (Millie’s mom) for coordinating and for the others who came to help us have so much fun!  We even got to meet Evan’s grandparents!  Check out some pictures from our party!

Looks like fun, huh?

I saved a couple more to highlight on their own….

Ms. Ross came prepared with some Valentine stories to share at the end while we were waiting for dismissal. Amelia Bedelia is a great choice for Valentines' Day!

Ms. Ross came prepared with some Valentine stories to share at the end while we were waiting for dismissal. Amelia Bedelia is a great choice for Valentines’ Day!

Ok, technically these pics have nothing to do with Rm. 202, but they were cute and fun to share.  Plus I kinda like the kid in the Heartbreaker shirt….

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Jokes of the Day–Week of February 9-13, 2015

Ok, so this may not end up being a weekly thing like math warm-ups, and it might not be anything that people even want to read, but for those that do–here you go! Last week I FINALLY got to participate in #1stchat on Twitter.  I have wanted to “attend” all year, but the timing had proven to be a really hard one for me to be at my computer (it’s 7 CT on Sunday nights–bedtime!!).  For whatever reason, it worked out for me and boy was I SUPER excited to have been able to learn and grow with my #1stchat friends!  The topics were many, but one theme that came up was Morning Meeting and how we use this tool to set the stage for a positive learning day.  One thing I shared was the in our class we do a joke of the day.  It is just a part of the morning welcome screen I have up on the ActivBoard when my firsties come in, and has easily become part of the routine.

Screen Shot 2015-02-10 at 4.33.47 PM(the punchline is under that rectangle and so I just move it when we’re ready to see the answer!)

I started this earlier this fall after reading much about how important laughter and joy are in the classroom.  I was working on my school improvement project to complete my Masters’ program; the theme was encouraging grit, perseverance and engagement in the classroom.  We’ve found that starting with a good laugh (and then continuing that on throughout the day) is good medicine for all!  So…since many seemed interested in the idea, I figured I’d share what we’re doing in Rm. 202, hoping it would help someone else!  Whether you start this in your classroom–or your house, for that matter!–or not, I appreciate your reading my journey. 🙂

Before I even start, I feel like I should say that most of these jokes are not new, nor or they necessarily funny (I teach 1st graders, remember–their humor is different than most!).  I get most of my jokes from jokesbykids.com, which is a huge database of kid-friendly riddles, knock-knock jokes and other funny things, but also so from my own kids (who are 4 and 7), or from books we’re reading (and since I started writing this post, I’ve gotten a tip to try out Ellen’s classic jokes–thanks for the recommendation, @amerced!).  I am not, nor will I ever be, funny enough to write any of my own. I’ll leave that job to someone more qualified than I!

Monday

What does a teddy bear eat?

Nothing! It’s already stuffed! 

(this one is courtesy of my daughter, Allison–she learned it at school and thinks it’s SUPER funny!!)

Tuesday

What goes up when the rain comes down?

Umbrellas!

(I have seen this one on jokesbykids, but also from Allie’s school.  Just for the record, my friends DID NOT think this was funny!  Their answers were much better, like FLOODS and RAINBOWS!  So, buyer beware–might not be 1st grade worthy material. LOL)

Wednesday

What’s brown, hairy and wears sunglasses?

A coconut on vacation!

(had to try out the Ellen tip–that’s a pretty good one for kids, I’d say!  Well, except that half of them said, “That’s not funny…”  Tough crowd.  We had a conversation about opinions and how jokes are subjective.)

Thursday

What’s a frog’s favorite soda?

Croak-a-Cola!

(ok…so I had to explain this one, too!  Man, I guess I need to get better at my joke choices.)

Do you have a funny joke to share with my students?  Perhaps if I used more that were FROM kids, the kids in Rm. 202 would think there were funnier (because apparently the adults who write jokes have no senses of humor)….I’ll keep trying either way. 🙂

We were out of school for a PD day on Friday, so this week there were only 4 jokes.  I’m really loving the ones from Ellen.  There are about 250 of them on there, so it looks like I have at least 2 school years’ worth to work through!  Happy joke telling! 🙂

Global School Play Day 2015

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a tweet about Global School Play Day.  Being one who truly believes in play as an important learning tool for kids (and adults!), and being one who likes to jump in with both feet when I see something that looks like fun (like I did with World Read Aloud Day, for instance), I knew that this was something I wanted to try.  And honestly, we have choice time and recess every day anyway, so it wasn’t that far out of our norm.

Screen Shot 2015-02-09 at 8.11.07 PMBefore the special day, I told kids to bring something they could play with during our time, but the rules were it couldn’t be electronic or have batteries.  There were a couple of “whys?” but really it wasn’t any big deal to them.  I wish I had taken a picture of all of their toys in the bucket when they brought them in, but what I thought was funny was that most everyone brought something stuffed–My Little Ponies, dogs, cats, and all other sorts of animals.  There were some cars, a couple of American Girls and 2 Barbies who attended our GSPD as well. 🙂

We reserved the afternoon for our official time, as we had some exciting and necessary work to do in the morning with our current studies in reading and math.  Before we got started with our fun, we had a little chat about why we were even doing it.  They had great ideas, like for them to learn to take care of their things, as well as how to solve problems and how to play together.  All were right, and I had some additional ideas of my own:

1. Negotiation: By participating in free play, children get to learn how and practice what it is like to initiate play with someone else, as well as negotiate with that playmate about what to do, where to do it and how to do it.  They get to learn give-and-take, as well as how to work with others in a positive way (because unfortunately, if you choose NOT to do it positively, your friend may not want to play with you anymore!).

2. Problem Solving: Much like negotiation with friends, kiddos learn and practice problem solving in many ways when they play.  From what to do when the Legos don’t go together they way you want or you don’t have enough big blocks to build your castle, or even where to put the pieces of the puzzle you’re working on, problem solving is a crucial part of play.  Even choosing what to play at any given moment is a kind of problem solving in itself.  Letting kids figure these things out for themselves helps build and encourage grit and perseverance.

3. Winning (and losing!) Graciously: Child-directed play (including playing games) allows kiddos to learn how to win–and also to lose–graciously.  We all know an adult who didn’t get the chance to learn this when they were younger, and now has such a hard time knowing what to do when things don’t go their way.  That same adult might have a really hard time not being overly proud or boastful when things do.  Allowing (or even planning for) situations where students DON’T win are crucial!  Life is not fair, things don’t always go as planned and sometimes someone else does better than you.  How great that kiddos have a chance to learn to deal with these disappointments when the stakes are low, so that when they are higher, they’ll know the appropriate choices to make.  And yes, winning is a good thing that can happen occasionally, too (and how great that kids can learn how to deal with their happiness without sacrificing the feelings of others).

4. Creativity: A big pile of paper, blocks, Legos, cars or any other open-ended toys allows for such a great development of creativity in kids!  Being able to figure out what that pile of “stuff” can become is a great practice in trial-and-error, trying new things or even working with a friend to put two great ideas together to make an even better one.  This practice of creativity in free play can easily be transferred to learning, then, when a kiddo is given open-ended opportunities for both gaining information and showing what they’ve learned.  When they’ve had a chance to try out new things and take risks in a safe, play environment, many students will be more willing to take the same creative risks with their learning.

5. Beating Boredom: I guess this one is another idea that’s related to some others on this list, but being given free time to play is a great way to figure out how to entertain yourself (either alone or with a friend) and keep a kiddo from being “bored.”  Knowing what to do when there’s [seemingly] nothing to do is a life skill, really.

6. Respect, kindness and including others: Play is a great opportunity for kiddos to practice skills they’re learning about showing others respect, using kind words and helping make sure everyone is included.  Helping kids pay attention to who doesn’t have a playmate is a lesson in empathy and is definitely a bucket-filler for a friend who longs to be involved but is perhaps unable to initiate themselves.  Knowing how to speak to others kindly is a skill that can never be mastered and can always be improved upon.

7. Fun!: Um, how have I not mentioned that playing is TOTALLY FUN!?  Yep.  Should have mentioned that one first. 🙂

8. Organization and Care: Emily was the first to mention it, and I hadn’t really thought of it until she said it, but yes, I think that kiddos can learn about and practice putting things away, organizing and caring for property (theirs and others’) when they’re playing.  Great idea, kiddo!

Ok, so enough of my rambling…I know what you really came to see were the pictures of Rm. 202 kiddos PLAYING!!  Here you go!!

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Sweet Words

I had to be out on Friday with a sick little girl, and so let my kiddos in the able hands of a really great sub.  We’ve had her before and I remember that she had them write me a note about their day to leave for me. I hadn’t forgotten about it, though, until I walked in this morning and saw this on the easel:

CAM01549This note would be super special anyway because it came from my awesome class, it was super duper special because it meant they had an AWESOME day even though I wasn’t there, AND it has a hashtag.  We had noticed it last week and added to our punctuation study chart, and Lauren suggested they put one on the letter.  That’s amazing.  And it’s an awesome hashtag, too, isn’t it?

Way to go, Rm. 202 friends–you are awesome!!

100th Day Questions

I have returned to 1st grade this year after about 10 years with 4th-5th graders.  Many things have been the same since my return, and of course there are some things I’ve had to readjust to, or that are entirely new, as is the nature of education.  One thing, though, that was definitely not a “thing” the last time I was in primary is the 100th Day of School.  No, I said that wrong–we definitely HAD the 100th day of school, we just didn’t officially celebrate the 100th day as a holiday.  This is new to me, and as I am coming up on that day (it’s next Wednesday, the 28th), I’ve been thinking A LOT about what I will do with that day in my classroom.  (Before I go on, I feel like should ask that you presume positive intent in my questions here–my focus is on really understanding the why, not judging what others may choose (or not choose) to do in their own classrooms on any given day.  I want to learn here!) 🙂

It seems that other people are also thinking about it, and having similar questions to me.  I found a blog post by Aviva Dunsiger (@avivaloca) the other day, after she posted this tweet:

I found myself nodding as I read her post, as she was asking the same thing I have been struggling with:  Why do we “celebrate” the 100th day of school?  What is the purpose and how can we use this day to continue to help our kiddos think and grow and problem solve?  Why is this day any different than every other day? I’ve read many opinions about how it’s a rite of passage and a fun day to celebrate the milestone of getting so far into the year together, and I’ve heard others say it’s about helping students understand the “bigness” and importance of the number 100.  Believe me, I’m all for having a great day, and I LOVE the idea of kids understanding numbers and being flexible in their use of them.  So the part I’m grappling with is how I can “do” the 100th day in a way that is still high quality and rigorous, while fun and enjoyable–and not just full of things that are “cute” or that we’re doing “just because” they have to do with the number 100 (and let’s be honest–this is really our goal for every day, isn’t it?).

After thinking about this for a couple of weeks, as well as reading about what others are doing, I think I’ve settled on a few things.  Most of them are incorporated into our normal routine, but are focused on the idea (that Aviva mentioned in her post) of the learning we’ve done in the last 100 days.  I plan on there being a focus on how long those 100 days have been and how much learning we’ve already done!  I hope to highlight the “grittiness” we’ve displayed and the fun we’ve had together and how much more fun we’ll have in the rest of the school year.   Here’s what I’m thinking:

1. 100 Book Reading Challenge–with my “big” kids, we have done a 40 Book Challenge the last few years, after reading about it in The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller.  I would love to give my firsties a similar, one-day challenge for our class together to read 100 books.  It averages out to 5 books a piece or so, which is TOTALLY doable, and would be a great motivation to reach a goal and work on being better readers.  That’s how it happens, right?  By reading!  I figure we’ll make a chart or list somewhere in the room so we can record the titles as we go.

2. 100 Word writing challenge–I’m not entirely sure how to frame this one, maybe around writing word wall words correctly or creating words from them (like word families), or if we’ll write stories that include 100 words or what…..somehow we’ll write.  Like we do everyday. 🙂

3. What Have We Learned in the Last 100 Days?–Taking inspiration from Aviva’s post, I thought it would be great to document all of the things we’ve learned and done in the last 100 days (which I am sure is WAY more than just a 100) with pictures and words.  Since I’m a regular blogger, I am also a regular picture-taker.  That means I probably have at least one picture from each of our 100 days together.  I’m thinking about having kiddos reflect on each day (probably in pairs) and writing something to go along with each picture.  These could be put into a book (either paper or digital) and we could add to it as we finish up the year.  Again, what a great way to visually see all of the many things they know now that they didn’t know on our 1st Day together!

4. Legos? Blocks? Maker Space?–We are definitely builders in Rm. 202, and incorporate this kind of representation into many things we do on a regular basis.  I have seen ideas for “what would you do with 100 Legos?” which could be interesting, as they could answer the question about what they’ve learned or what they are most proud of.  We did something similar when we returned from Winter Break where they created and then wrote about their favorite thing/event/present from Christmas.  I’d love to give them the same question and have them build something with big blocks or just “stuff” and then have them video their thinking as they explain what they made and why.  The video part would be pretty basic, as we’re just getting into documenting our learning digitally.  Those videos would be great to share on our blogs–which we’re going live with this week, too!

5. 100s game in Math–this will be an easy extension of what we’re already doing!  The unit we’re currently working on is about kids become flexible and efficient with adding numbers within 100.  We’re already playing games, solving problems and having great conversations about place value with bigger numbers.

6. Read Aloud–I know that Read Aloud has been a focus around here lately, so maybe we’ll read 100 pages in our book on Wednesday, too, as a way to celebrate a great story together!

I guess we’ll see what I end up going with (as it will happen in just 3 days from now!).  I’d love to hear your thoughts on how YOU will be spending the 100th Day of School.  What questions did you consider in your planning?  Please come back later this week to see the update on what actually happened in Rm. 202, and/or follow us @jbeardensclass to enjoy the day along with us!

Have a great week! 🙂

Into the Woods

We have the most AMAZING woods behind our school, and it’s such an adventure when we get to go out and play (and learn, of course!) out there!  We have gone several times this year, and just the other day we got to explore with our 5th grade learning buddies.  They had a job (which was given by Mrs. Sisul, our principal, and unknown to me!), but I think it has to do with reasons why the woods are such a great place to learn.  We’re working on vamping up our outdoor spaces, and this is a great example of how important they are to the kids of Robinson School.  The “big” kids used their iPads to take pictures and then create a Keynote of slides that capture the essence of what happened on their adventure in just one image.  Check out what they did!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE what goes on with our students! They truly never cease to amazing me with their creativity. 🙂

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Do You See Letters in Pretzels?

Thursday was an important day in our room.  It was Charlie’s 1/2-Birthday.  And yes, I am regretting now that I don’t have pictures of everyone’s birthdays that we’ve celebrated so far.  SORRY FRIENDS!  And honestly, the reason I have pictures of this celebration is because of what happened.

Long story short is that we were given YUMMY soft pretzels from a local shop near our school.  In true 1st grade fashion, letters started appearing everywhere.

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Look, an A!

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Mine’s an O!

Then kids started seeing all sorts of other amazing things, too!

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I’m pretty sure that Evan’s lifting weights here. 🙂

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Say cheese!

Makayla saw a candy cane!
So did Lauren!
Thomas found another one!
Then Charlie showed us that 7 1/2 really means he's an old man now, and he needed a cane to help him walk! Silly!

Then Charlie showed us that 7 1/2 really means he’s an old man now, and he needed a cane to help him walk! Silly!

What a fun afternoon!  This is another one of the millions of reasons why I LOVE spending my days with first graders!  You just never know what’s gonna happen. 🙂