A Magical First Week

One week ago, I left my classroom with a heavy sigh and thought "I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I turned off the lights and locked up the school, excited and nervous for another first day to begin the next morning. Even though I knew most of the students already, I was still nervous. 

You see, my theme this year is Harry Potter and I wasn't sure how everyone was going to react. I love Harry Potter for many reasons, but mostly because it captivated me when I was a child and is still something that gets me excited. I just wasn't sure if my students would be as excited as I was for this theme and the activities I had planned. 

Here's what my class looked like before the students arrived:

My Job Board

My table groups are Hogwarts Houses. They have color coded pencil boxes to match their House color. 

 I think it is safe to say that my theme was a success! The students really seemed to enjoy our theme, and our first week flew by faster than the Golden Snitch (ha!).

Last year, I started doing a Time Capsule in the first week of school since I loop with my students. It's something they will open on their last day of school in the sixth grade. Inside is a little questionnaire about their likes and dislikes, a first day of school photo, a piece of string that shows their height, and a letter to themselves. My fifth and sixth graders added to the ones we started last year, and my new fourth graders started theirs.

Time Capsule Envelopes 

To go with my Harry Potter theme and Hogwarts House tables, I gave a sorting quiz after lunch on the first day. The quiz gave each person what percentage they were of each of the Hogwarts Houses. I used these scores to do my seating chart, taking two students from each grade for each table.

Once we had our assigned seats, we went over the different traits that are found in each Hogwarts House and I had each table create a new House Crest. To do this, they first had to figure out which trait they all had in common. This had to be included in their crest. Then, they were given the choice of changing their mascot and they set to work. 

I think this was a really good activity for them to learn about each other, and for them to learn how to collaborate. Once everyone was finished, each table stood up in front of the class and shared their new House Crest. 

Couldn't get a picture without the baby bump. 

I started reading Sorcerer's Stone and after getting a little information about the Wizarding World, we completed these "All About Magical Me" pennants.

No first week of school is complete without self portraits! We made exaggerated portraits with extra long necks. 

This one is me!  

We also started math, social studies, and a our first essays this week! I had other Harry Potter activities planned, but ran out of time so they will have to be saved for another day! 

I think it is going to be another great year! 

DonorsChoose.org

I recently learned about this wonderful nonprofit organization called DonorsChoose that allows people to donate to classrooms and teachers throughout the United States. Donations can be made to teachers, or directed towards classroom projects that need supplies or additional funding.

Last year I had some great ideas for projects and shared many of them here. This year, I have some more ideas and will need help making them a reality. If you would like to donate to my class or current projects of mine that need supplies, you can visit my personal DonorsChoose page here. 

While I would love all donations to go my class, there are some other pretty incredible teachers out there that need your support. DonorsChoose has teamed up with Reddit in order to reach more teachers and classrooms in need. If my classroom project doesn't appeal to you, feel free to look through the hundreds of others out there! I am sure you will find one to support. 

If you know anyone who may want to help any classroom, please spread the word!

Incase the links don't work: 

https://www.donorschoose.org/reddit-gifts-for-the-teachers

www.donorschoose.org/Mrs.Stowers

Getting Ready

The first day of school is almost here and I've been pretty busy this summer planning, aside from teaching swim lessons! I've been looking at this years science and social studies curriculums, along with planning some pretty great first week of school activities.

This year is going to be even more exciting since I am expecting my first child this October! Going out on maternity leave and leaving my students for a short time is making me nervous. All I can do is plan and prepare my sub as much as a I can. I go back into my room on August 15th, so stay tuned for my classroom reveal!