Tales of a Caffeinated Teacher

Well it's the middle of January and we finally had our first snow.......which of course is directly related to the firsties inability to focus on anything except the snowflakes falling outside our classroom window. So with that being said we are diving into snow themed activities! Jan Brett's books www.janbrett.com  are a great avenue for teaching inferences, predicting, sequencing, and comparing and contrasting skills. The borders in her artwork give clues for what will happen next! We read The Mitten and The Hat and completed a Venn Diagram. We sequenced The Mitten by putting animal cutouts into real mittens. (that I have collected out of the lost and found over the years) I then had the kids write descriptions for the mitten that they chose using adjectives. It's math time and we are jumping into symmetry with snowflakes. We made super cute tie dyed coffee filter snowflakes. I laminated them to make them more sturdy and hung them up. Here's how: Have your kiddos ...

My name is Mandy Barrett, I have been teaching various lower elementary grades over the last 8 years and have finally set my roots and spread my wings in first grade. I have been toying with the idea of writing a book and/or becoming a teaching consultant, so this blog will be a way for me to throw around thoughts and ideas, and to record and showcase my first attempts, victories, and adventures with my firsties. Everyday is a new adventure with the kiddos. I am constantly surprised and humbled by their insight about the world around them. So with that being said, cheers to a bright and fun new year, filled with first grade adventure and blogging!