Global Glitter December Linky

Can I get an Amen for Christmas break?! 

We finished on Thursday and I know I don't have to tell you how much I was loving that lie-in yesterday morning!!!!

I just don't know where this year has gone- time seems to be slipping through my fingers at the moment! I can't believe the next time I link up with Global Glitter Tribe it will be 2016!!! WOW!

And on that note I bring you the December Global Glitter Tribe Linky- yes I know it feels like you've only just read the November one but trust me, that was a whole month ago! 

As you know, along with Myranda from Keep Calm and Teach 5th Grade, I am one of the founders of the Global Glitter Tribe and I couldn't be prouder than I am right now of all of our amazing Glitterati and fellow Blog Editors- please take a moment to visit the 'Meet Us' section of our blog and check out just who is involved in this awesome adventure with us! 

I have to say, I am loving Myranda's graphic for this month's link, is has a festive feel and I have 

loved taking part…

Staple Recipe

Growing up I didn't get to eat much chicken as my mother was scared of birds so refused to cook them. When I did get to have it, it was usually in some preprepared form such as a Kiev so as an adult I have made a whole roast chicken one of my go-to kitchen favourites. I stuff the cavity with a whole lemon (stab it a couple of times first and pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds) and several sprigs of fresh thyme. I then cover the chicken in a mix of olive oil and lard to ensure a crispy skin, crack plenty of sea salt and fresh black pepper over the top and break off thyme leaves and sprinkle them on too. I place the chicken on a trivet of potatoes, onions, parsnips and garlic to stop it from sticking and ensure it cooks all of the way through- the onion and garlic along with the thyme and lemon really flavour the juices and add to the perfect gravy! 

To find out what I do with the left over chicken then read my 

blog post over at Confessions of a Try-hard. 

Holiday Read Aloud Favourites

I know there are lots of classics out there such as 'The Polar Express' but my favourite read aloud at this time of year comes with a slightly sad undertone yet heart warming message- 

You can get your very own copy of 'The Snowchild' by Debi Gliori by clicking on the picture below 

Amazon's synopsis reads…

Poor left-out Katie doesn't know how to play. She has lots of good ideas - but she's always out of step with the other children's games. Then, one winter's morning, Katie wakes up and decides to build a snowman… Debi Gliori's charming story of Katie's Snowchild and the friendship it brings will warm the heart of every young reader.

Integrated Technology 

We are lucky enough to have a set of 25 iPads between 3 classes at my school. As they are often in demand, it is sometimes hard to get 1:1 but it is usually possible to get 1:2. One of my favourite apps to use in this situation or even in 1:1 or small group situations is 'Tag Cloud'- it is a free, user-friendly 'Wordal' type app and it is great for collecting descriptive language and thought showers on. 

Children can alter how the text is presented too- in the example above, each group had a different animal, they had to each type in a descriptive word and then agree on the layout. Based on the word choices and layout, the rest of the class then had to guess which animal the Tag Cloud was for- great lesson on making appropriate choices. My children are 6 and 7 and it is so easy for them to use- I'm sure there are a million and 1 ways to use this app and I feel like I'm only just scratching the surface. 

New Find

Prosecco crisps (or chips to my US friends) are Ah.May.Zing!!!! There are lots of different versions out there but I am loving the Marks and Spencer version the best- they even have cute little gold stars on them! Perfect festive indulgence!

Engaging Books

Egg Drop? The Pea and the Princess? Traction Man? Toys in Space? Biscuit Bear?

No…? Where have you been and what have you been reading to your children? 

All of these Mini Grey books are fabulous and next term I get to explore Biscuit Bear with my children again- it will be the 3rd time I've taught using it and every time I get more and more excited!

 Mini Grey's books are jam-packed with amazing teaching points and fantastic images. If you haven't used one with your class yet then I suggest you get yourself to the nearest bookshop and buy one- they are perfectly suitable for children from 5- 9 and I bet you could still keep the attention of 11 year olds with some of these beautifully written books. 

Snow Day Plans

We don't generally get snow days here where I live but in the days until Christmas Eve, when I am home-alone and relaxing, I love to snuggle up on the sofa with a steaming hot cup of tea in a festive mug and watch the Christmas 24 channel all day! It is fair to say that the likelihood of me still being in my Christmas themed PJs is also high! I get to unwind and feel festive all at the same time- how about you?

Don't forget that you too can link-up by following the link below to the Global Glitter Tribe and simply downloading the graphic- we would love to have you!

December Linky 

'Twas the week before Christmas break….5 teacher tips and treats to see you through! Xx

Worn out? Check! 

 'Comfy' clothes for school? Check! 

Desk a mess? Check! 

'To-do' list a mile long? Check! 

Glitter in unmentionable places? Check! 

In need of a spa day? Check! 

This can only mean 1 thing……it must be the week before Christmas break! 

Teacher-wellness at this time of year is very important so, in order to help you to take a moment for yourself and get into the festive spirit too I've complied a little list of teacher tips and treats...

Monday
School- have all cards, calendars and decorations made ready to be sent home at the end of the day to avoid that last minute panic!
Home- indulge in a minced pie whilst taking 5 minutes to enjoy the twinkling christmas lights on your tree.
Treat- Scholastic Voucher Codes and Discounts for December
Click here


Tuesday
School- double check all assessments are done and get that data handed in (if you haven't already) so you're not sat on Thursday night still compiling it!
Home- take a hot bubble bath to some festive tunes!
Treat- Paperchase- Treat Me


Wednesday
School- colouring in is therapeutic- let the kids doodle away to some festive tunes while you make sure you've got any paper work ready for those who need it and you've got the photocopying done for the first day back in January- I know this seems early but you'll thank me later!
Home- get in the festive mood with a Christmas film and a few chocolates!
Treat- Bodyshop- Voucher Cloud deals for December click here


Thursday
School- take down the festive displays and get the boards backed ready for the first week- there's nothing worse than realising you still have all of your festive stuff up when you just want to go home on the last day!
Home- Prep a tasty meal to have when you get in from work tomorrow- you deserve a feet up end to the Autumn term!
Treat- Dorothy Perkins- Voucher Cloud deals for December click here


Friday
School- let the kids watch a DVD and take some time to file any paper work, tidy your desk and do some general housekeeping- you will not be wanting to do this once the bell has gone- trust me!
Home- Glass of wine? Hot chocolate? You decide- it's officially the holidays!!!!!! Celebrate!
Treat- Photobox- Hot UK Deals codes for December click here


And to help you stop getting snowed under and keep your Christmas cheer I've made a little checklist for you to use-

Have a wonderful last week of school- let's make it a stress-free one!

Global Glitter Tribe November Link-up

By now you should know that I am a loud and proud member of the Global Glitter Tribe! If you don't know what we are all about then click here to visit our fantastic blog full of ideas and inspiration for teaching 'Global Thinking' and developing your children in 'Global Citizens'. 

This month's link-up has made me stop and think which I love! It is so easy to get swept up in the fuss and stress that this time of year brings so taking a moment out to reflect is a delicious treat-

Grateful

I live several hours away from all of my family which is something I hate! I have to embrace the fact that I live in a beautiful place, have an amazing husband and friends and a job I love but I would move home in a flash just to be close to my family who are truly my best friends too! 

Any chance I get to go home and visit I jump at- I feel grounded and totally myself when I am with them. These are the people who helped to shape me into the person I am today and I couldn't love them more. 

My totally BFF and big cousin Ali is extremely talented. Not only is she a great artist and crafts person but she is also a fantastic business woman too. Along with 2 of her friends she puts on an annual festive fair which celebrates and supports local, independent businesses. I had the privilege of attending and supporting her this past weekend- 

Local

As a school we made a conscious decision to structure our curriculum so that children spend time embracing and developing their understanding of their local area before spiralling their learning out to our country and then the wider world. During every spiral of learning the other 2 elements are brought in and applied for example during this term we have found out about where food comes from so visited a local farm and harvested and tasted locally produced food but then also explored the journey of food and where in the world our food comes from as well as looking at Fair Trade.

We work on a 2 year rolling program but here is an overview of how our spiral will look this year-

Autumn Term- Food (local produce and global)

Homes (our local area and castles around the country)

Spring Term- London (the geography and history of our capital city)

Baking- (national favourites and food from around the world)

Summer Term- Africa (culture and wildlife of another countries compared to ours)

Sea Life (Whales around the world)

Organisation 

This is not a new idea and by no means an original of mine but I love my Table Tubs-

To find out more, visit my previous blog post here.

Broad Perspectives 

As a school we are committed to developing our children into citizens who are able to make positive contributions to society. We call ourselves a team and the children in my classroom are not only part of our school team but our classroom team also. 

I encourage my children to recognise that they are all responsible for their choices and how they affect others in our team. We win points for our table teams and prizes are awarded weekly and we also win 'Rainbow Drops' for good class teamwork and rewards are usually earned half termly which results into a whole class celebration. 

Our aim is that our school community and the way our children behave within it mirrors their behaviours in the wider community and that their contributions to both are positive ones. 

Artists

I love teaching art and last half term we did one of my favourite projects ever! 

We look at how food is represented in art and the concept of still life. 

We then look at and discuss the work of Giuseppe Acrimboldo and then recreate it using food (the food has already been used for tasting and will be used for creating prints too) 

Let's Chat

I am one of the co-hosts of the Global Edventures Blab Show and I would love to hear your ideas for future topics so please feel free to comment below with suggestions- after all #2getherwearebetter

To link-up with Global Glitter Tribe yourself then visit us here and download your own graphic

Take a Second to Peek into 2nd

I'm so excited to link up with this bunch of amazing 2nd grade teacher bloggers on the 22nd of every month!

This month's featured teacher is…..

Visit Suzy over at On the go Teacher Mama by clicking here

As well as getting to meet so many awesome teacher bloggers, the best part of this link-up is that we get to bring you a super-duper product each month which is ON SALE…. can you say 'bargain'?!

Suzy is putting her Spooktacular Math Center Bundle on sale from $6 to $5 this whole week!

If you like to theme your Math like I do then this is a MUST buy for this time of year.

Hands up if you also love using QR codes in class?! Me too! This product ticks all of the boxes for me!

It is jam-packed with lots of engaging and fun activities suitable for a range of concepts AND it's CCSS aligned! 

Take a peek…

You can purchase your very own Spooktacular Math Center Bundle by clicking here to visit Suzy's Teachers pay Teachers store.

Don't forget to check back next month to grab more 2nd Grade bargains.

Classroom Reveal 2015

Well… it's finally here… tomorrow is my first day back at school. We have 2 days of training and then the kiddies come in on Monday. I'll be honest, I never feel 100% ready… I'm always more about 85% but thats's ok, right? 

So before the madness and tiredness of back to school hits I'm linking up with the lovely Ashley and Angie for this month's #2getherwearebetter link up and the wonderful girls of Blog hoppin' for the very first time as part of their Teacher Week! 

#realtalk alert

This is really only a part classroom reveal! 

Seeing as I have 2 days of in-school training (INSET) left then I still have things I want to tweak and tidy before my new little friends come in on Monday so I've taken pictures of the areas I am happy with.

Don't worry….I'll be updating my 'Classroom' page over the weekend with my full- on 2015-2016 classroom!

So…

I have a small board right outside of my classroom where the children's lockers are and I like to use it as my welcome board.

I loved last year's board soooo much that I knew it was going to be hard to beat. 

I like to mix up my backing paper and I think splattering it with paint looks so effective. 

I agonised over what text to put on the board and how to arrange it for ages but now that I've got it up I'm pretty happy (even though I can spot where it needs straightening out!) 

I used oversized KG and Hello Literacy fonts to make it pop!(thanks for the idea Ashley!)

The HUGE crayons just add that WOW I so love!

I love all things Glitter Meets Glue and Amie's glitter art supplies set looks amazing with the children's names on around my board. I'm also loving my Tallahassee Sunday pencil- I snagged it in a give away and I couldn't be happier!  

Let's go through the door!!! 

I have 2 parts to my classroom- the small entrance we call The Den has my sink area as well as a large set of shelves and it's where I have my library and small group area. 

When you walk in the first thing you see is my reading display- I decided that I would keep the same one up from last year seeing as it still match everything and it had no work from the children on it- 

To the left of my reading display board I have my library books and CAFE board…

I like to have my kiddos put their peg onto the ribbon to set their targets.

This area has cushions and book buddies so that the little ones can choose a book, curl up and read to themselves, a book buddy or a friend. When the big light is off and the lamps and fairy lights are twinkling away it's magical!

To the left of my CAFE board are the huge set of shelves!!! 

For the past 3 years they have had a curtain across them but this year I finally plucked up the courage to tackle them!!! 

Other than putting some labels onto the big plastic boxes and writing on the little chalkboard tags attached to my book baskets, I'm pretty much done with this area and I couldn't be happier!

Just beneath the big selves is a really cute set of pink cubbies from Ikea which I keep my Phonics resources in. There is also a comfy teacher chair, display board (yet to be backed) and a wall mounted whiteboard so this area is perfect for small group work especially because I can close the door into the classroom and it's nice and quiet! 

Straight opposite the big shelves, to the right of my main door is my sink area-

I have the wonderful Rachel Archer  of Archer's All Stars and her Periscope to thank for the amazing hessian ruffle boarder! I adore it!!! 

This board will have ribbon draped across it and I will peg up artwork during the course of the year but it's blank for now because on the first day back I like to do a 'Recipe for Success' activity from Educating Abroad which I will peg up here for a week or so.

I also kept my 'What's The Crack?' parent's board up from last year as I only changed it in January and I still love it! 

I spent some time yesterday getting this area ready for the first day back-

I'll put the morning activity or any letters to go out to parents onto the clipboard and children can put finished books which need changing into the basket. 

We use Accelerated Reader at our school so the small chalkboard sign will say 'Don't forget your peg' to remind the children who have returned a book to move their peg onto the 'I'm ready to take a quiz' poster. 

So…let's wave goodbye to 'The Den' area and 

step into my classroom! 

This is the area that I'm still tweaking so I've only included a few pictures for you today!

As you come into the room over on the right wall you are greeted by the boards I use the most.

My main boards aren't really boards!!! The paper is stapled straight into the plaster board!! 

I simply didn't have enough useable board space and so I spoke to my head when I first moved into the room 3 years ago and asked if this would be ok seeing as it would be a few small staple marks rather than lots of spots where the sticky tack had pulled paint off and, seeing as this was way cheeper than buying board, she kindly agreed! Yay!!!

 These boards are my Working Walls so their content gets changed almost fortnightly to match our current text type and Numeracy strand. The children have full access to these boards and often stick things on them or respond to questions. 

I snagged the whiteboard in the cute frame from The Range, it's also magnetic and will make a perfect place for me to pose maths problems and have the kiddos work them out. 

The shelving unit you can see the top of houses all of my manipulative, number lines and maths games so that the children can access them easily. 

To the right of my Working Wall is a new area this year. It used to be where my old and tired computers were and the board had our Learning Challenge questions on it. This meant that the board HAD to be changed EVERY half term and had things getting put up on it every week! Lots of work!!! Since I have another board in my role play area which I can use that as my main Learning Challenge board (I'll give you a sneak peak of that next week!) I've decided to make this one my Bucket Fillers board and I adore it!!!! 

I snagged the gorgeous posters for free from the amazing Miss May over at One Fab Teacher!

Seeing as this board will stay the same all year it will totally help me in my bid to work smarter not harder - something I really need to do!

Beneath the board is a set of shelves from Ikea- like the ones in The Den with 4 cubbies but long and thin instead. In each cubbie is a box with construction equipment in it and on top are 4 baskets with the children's work books in them. 

Here are a few small details from my classroom that I'm ready to share with you…

My marking holders currently hold the baseline assessments we need to do when we get back to school  seeing as I have no marking at the minute (whoohoo!) I also need to update my 'It doesn't get much better than this!' frame with a picture of my new class but seeing as they aren't in until next week then I'll just keep looking at my little cuties from last year for now as I hate empty frames!

How adorable are these cork boards from Wilkinson's?! 

We'll pin new vocabulary we find in our text up on them so that we can use it in our own writing.

And finally….I spent sometime yesterday adding these cute ribbons to my working walls! Why? No reason…they just look adorable and I looooove the heart push pins! 

I can't wait to get back to school now and add all of my finishing touches! 

Be sure to head back and check out my 'Classroom' page next week for a full classroom reveal!!! 

Don't forget to hop over to the other wonderful teachers in the #2getherwearebetter and Blog Hoppin' link-ups! 

Have a wonderful back to school guys

All Things Bulletin Boards: The UK Way!

Yay! It's time to link-up with Angie and Ashley! 

I absolutely adore these 2 lovely ladies! Their friendship and journey has truly inspired me- if you haven't caught one of their periscopes yet then I strongly suggest you do! They have take the whole #2getherwearebetter thing to a totally new level let me tell you! 

So….this month we are coming together to talk about one of my most favourite subjects 'bulletin boards' or 'displays' as we would call them in the UK. Now, I know in the UK there are some guidelines regarding workload which suggest that teachers shouldn't do displays but if you're anything like me then displays are THEE main reasons you became a teacher in the first place!!! 

Just kidding…….no seriously! 

So….the bread and butter of a board is the backing and boarder. 

Both are equally important for pulling your classroom theme together and drawing attention to learning opportunities.

The serious stuff- laying a good foundation!
Most board resources here in the UK are a whole school resource so we don't often have a
big say in the colours and patterns available.
Our paper is stored in a central store and it goes very quickly! We mainly have sheets of display paper which is fine with me as they are easier to put up on your own. 

I get anxious if paper isn't straight, I hate when people cut strips to fit rather than arranging the paper correctly, I hate too many staples and I can't stand when people use too many sheets!! Most boards in my classroom take a combination of 2 or 3 landscape pieces on the top and 4 or 5 portrait pieces at the bottom NO MORE, NO LESS!!! This gives the crispest look to the board without waste or cutting pieces- a minimal overlap of about 2cm is more than enough!!!
Rolls of backing paper? I HATE THEM! They are so hard to put up solo and I always, always get a 'sag'- you know what I mean?

See…I'm a serious board backer!!! I think it comes from years of covering boards in my mother's classrooms. She was trained in the 1960's when they actually gave trainee teachers lessons in this stuff and I suppose it's just stuck!

Framing the master piece- Boarders
Again the boarders tend to be a whole school resource here in the UK and in our school, layering the nice ones up isn't really an option as we don't have loads available and have to be mindful of other teachers and their needs.

I love to use corrugated boarders as they handle easily and seem more hardwearing but they don't often come in fancy designs. I love boarders which add something to the display as well as framing it. I've often made a boarder up of the children's artwork for example we collaged cardboard penguins and used them on our Polar Regions display as the boarder. Once I cut long strips of card and got the children to choose shades of green and splat the card with it to frame a display on frogs. 

The 2 types of boards in my room and lots of other UK classrooms

O.K. so… not every board can be cute some just need to be practical. 

We have the more time consuming and appealing 'Display Boards' and the quick and easy 'Working Walls' in our room. Both are absolutely worth while and valuable. 

Here's the difference…

Display Boards- These are used to display the children's work or information which will be up for a while.They should be engaging and encourage the viewer to look closely. We want the children to feel a sense of pride in their work and environment so putting time and effort into the way we display it should reflect this.

Working Walls- These are the boards the children refer to constantly for their learning. They are not just a background wall paper but should be changed and adjusted to reflect the children's learning and the unit/ topic that week/ term. They don't have to be cute as they are meant to be used not just looked at. That doesn't mean to say that pride shouldn't be taken in them but that they should be user friendly. 

 

                                         
Some of my favourite things!
If you have read any of my previous TGIF posts then you will know that I love to use photo frames and wall paper in my classroom. School can be a daunting place for the children and parents alike so I think using 'home' items around the room brings a sense of the familiar and helps them to relax.

This is one of my all-time favourite displays to share information with parents-

Parents even bring me old rolls of wall paper into class now too! Such an easy way to connect!

I love making the backing of a board a little bit different- I know using fabric is big in the US but not so much here in the UK although I have been known to use some burlap to back a board before!

I love how splatting paint on the paper before backing the board can look-

Sure the kids look cute in their spacesuits but its the paper I'm interested in! Using white splats on black made our space display pop and this year I'm using some of Glitter Meets Glue's sparkly clip art on a colourfully splatted lilac backing paper to make my 'We're a Colourful Class' welcome board stand out!

This simple 'Finger Gym' board used for tracking grip development is simply a strip of brown paper- I'm yet to put the lettering on the burlap- oops!

Wrapping paper makes a great backing provided it doesn't distract from the display content. 

I also don't like to keep my displays to just the boards- I don't have many so I branch out wherever possible!

Washing lines and vertical blinds are brilliant places to peg work for display.

My overall goal with bulletin/display boards is to present either work or information in a creative and interesting way but I believe you have to strike a balance. If the backing or boarder is too fussy then the content of the display can become lost. Our little ones find it hard enough to focus and concentrate at the best of times!

The background and boarder should simply frame and present the work not distract from it.
All jazz and no pizzaz makes a very sad board indeed!