Management Monday {Transitions}

I remember that in the classroom, transition time was the hardest to keep the kiddos focused and on task.  Times such as moving from the carpet to their seats, lining up at the door, and cleaning up centers was the time I had most of my behavior problems.  So, to ease transition time, there are lots of fun things you can try.


Last week, our Queen Bee wrote about timers.  That's one awesome way to help kids move smoothly between activities.  If you need some ideas for cute ones, This Next has some great options.

Another transition tool you can try is wind chimes.  I kept some metal ones with butterflies in my classroom used them often to signal the end of activities.  They were too high for my little ones to reach, so I was the only one that could ring them.  I found some great ones to show you if you want some for your room!

a classic wind chime from Bela Donna etsy shop (you get to choose the color)

cute schoolhouse wind chime from Teacher Gifts

beautiful shell chimes from Celery Street (perfect for an ocean-themed classroom)

My all-time favorite transition tool to use in the classroom is music!  My class name was always Mrs. Jackson's Jitterbugs.  So, I created a playlist on my ipod called, "Jitterbuggin'."  Then, I chose one of those songs to play as the kids went back to their seats, or any other transition time.  For example, I would play the song from "Pirates of the Carribean," and ask the kids to act like pirates as they walked back to their seats.  They LOVED it and it significantly cut down on behavior problems!  So, I put together a playlist for you today.  For each of these songs, you could do these movements for transitions or brain breaks...

1. "Car Wash": pretend to wash cars  
2. "Move It Like This": free dance
3. "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me)": act like pirates
4. "Cupid Shuffle": line dance 
5. "Fly to Your Heart": pretend to be fairies and fly
6. "Life is a Highway": pretend to drive cars

Try out these songs with your students and see what happens!  The possibilities are endless for song choices!  So, I hope you've enjoyed these ideas for transitions today.  What do you do for transitions in your classroom...please share!  

Shout Out Saturday {Freebies & A Winner}

Happy Saturday, ya'll!  The first thing we want to do today is announce the winner of our Honey Bunny Studio Giveaway!  Our winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to spend on whatever she wishes!  Without further adieu...

Ok, moving on...the thing I LOVE about fellow teachers is their willingness to share their creativity with others!  Just look at what these awesome teachers are sharing today!

Author Labels from Lessons Learned

an Earth Day lesson from 1st Grade with Miss Snowden

A Fraction Memory Game from Rowdy in First Grade

A free Teacher Toolkit from Fabulous in First via Teaching Blog Addict 

I have something to share with you today as well!  As an Easter gift to all our fabulous readers, I want to offer my "Vintage Easter" collection FREE!  I know that many of you will be having Easter parties and egg hunts with your kiddos at school next week.  The printables in this collection will be perfect for helping you dress up your Easter goodies!  


The collection includes...

• 2" Circle Tags
• Napkin Rings
• Tent Food Labels
• Fill-In Invitation
• Water Bottle Labels
• Treat Bag Toppers

Here's a closer look at each file you will receive...

If you are interested in a custom invitation with your child's photo, it is available in my shop for $8 HERE.

If you would like to have this "Vintage Easter" collection, all you have to do is send me and email and I will send the 10-page collection right to your inbox within 24 hours!  Click on the button below to send me an email.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Spring Fever

This is a picture of our dogwood trees that we made a couple of weeks ago. We colored in trees that were drawn by my fabulous artistic assistant and then glued on popcorn to resemble dogwood trees. The kids really like doing this activity and especially eating the left over popcorn! :)

Here is an activity that we did with our Dr. Seuss theme back in March. We like math---especially anything that we can eat later! Ha!

Here is a picture from our Kite Day that I planned and will probably NEVER do again. Ugh! Wow....this was the first time I did this and it was one of the most craziest days ever! Putting each kite together was the worst! The cheap kites broke....the kids got tangled up together....kids that broke their kites cried.......it just was not a good experience. IF I do this again in the future, I will ask for a parent for every child to be there.

As I'm planning for the week ahead I wanted to share with you a few ideas that I have done this spring so far. I'm having a hard time coming up with some good Easter crafts for my firsties to do this upcoming week so I'm hoping some of you can share your ideas with me!

What I LOVE Wednesday!

I recently got a new gadget for my classroom that I cannot put down!  I got a Ladybug Document Camera, and it is awesome!  It is small and therefore does not require a lot of room. It has an adjustable neck which allows me to do just about anything I want!   It plugs into my laptop with a USB cord.  The USB cord is super long and allows me to take the camera just about anywhere in the room.  I love to put it on my students tables and use their work on the active board.  The students also love to make funny faces in the document camera, so I can use that as an award for making good choices.  A cool feature is the picture timer.  I can set the camera to take picture ever so often throughout the day and night.  This is super cool for experiments!  We can see what happened over the weekend or at night.  I am having a blast using my document camera!  If you already have one, I bet you are in LOVE too!  If you do not have one, check them out!  There are a variety of different document cameras.  The Ladybugs are pretty inexpensive, but I know there are even cheaper ones out there!  Definitely something to look into!

My Ladybug

Checkout Ladybug document cameras at http://www.bitec.com/document_cameras_lumens.html 

Tattle Tuesdays {Teacher + Mom}

{image courtesy of My Cute Graphics}

My husband is always telling me that my "teacher voice" comes out quite often (and I'm not even teaching right now)!  I guess it never really goes away.  Last week, on Noah's birthday, I took him out to eat lunch where there was a play area.  I usually don't let him play in them because I am a MAJOR germ-a-phobe!   But, since it was his birthday, I gave in.  


We went with our neighbors and two of their children, so Noah had someone to play with.  My friend and I both stayed in the play area because our kids are still so little.  Anyway, my neighbor's oldest (almost 6), came down the slide and said this kid was hitting Noah.  I called out to Noah and asked if he was ok.  He said, "No," and seconds later, this other child pushed him down the slide that he was too scared to go down.  There was a look of terror on Noah's face and he said, "He hit me in the head and it HURT!" Then, he burst into tears!


This was the first time anyone was ever being mean to my child!  All of a sudden, I felt my blood pressure HIT THE ROOF!  We all know how it feels when a student's behavior disappoints you (or should I say, makes you VERY UPSET)!  Well, take that feeling plus the feeling of a mama bear needing to protect her bear cub times 3,000 and that's how I felt.  

After I consoled my child and made sure he was ok, I turned to this other kid.  He was older and bigger than Noah.  I said to him, "Did you hit him?"  He said, "Uh, uh...I just kind of smacked him in the head."  I pointed my finger in his face and said in my best Teacher Voice, "WE DON'T PLAY THAT WAY!!!!!"  

He left moments after the incident, but in retrospect, I should have spoken to his mother or whoever the adult was that was with him.  All day long, Noah kept saying, "I just can't believe that kid hit me!"  I felt so bad for him because it was his birthday, after all!  


So, is there any Mommy out there who has had a similar experience?  This was my first, and I hope we don't have too many more...my heart can't take it!  So, to all of you teachers out there who aren't moms yet, don't be taken off guard like I was when this happens to you.  Remember...Teacher + Mom = Grizzly Bear  :) 


Remember, friends...only two more days to enter our Honey Bunny Studio Giveaway!  

Management Mondays

This is me today and probably the rest of the week!

Do Mondays ever seem to be the longest days ever?? Well, today is just dragging on FOREVER and guess what? Our school system has not yet taken spring break! AHHH!! On another note, I am excited to share with you some things that I have been doing around my classroom to make it a little "less hectic" around here during the school year. I did not come up with any of these ideas, and cannot remember where I found them, but they work for me and my kids!! 

Our fish nets (remember I have the ocean theme) are used for both unfinished work and daily homework. This way we do not forget anything inside our desks. The "tiddy turtle" checks these everyday before we go home to ensure that all homework is taken home. 

These are SUPER EASY to make--first I bought the top file jackets from walmart, then laminated and I placed a large strip of magnetic tape of the back. WALLAH!  

Another tool that we use almost everyday is our "fish hooks". I'm pretty sure I found this tip in the book called The Organized Teacher.

These are also simple to make. I went to walmart, purchased the magnetic buttons in the craft section and there ya have it! :) Simple I know. We use these for work  that either needs to be added to something later or work that we have glued and it needs to dry before taking it home. 

These past few weeks have been absolutely horrendous because of how late our spring break is this year. Even my GOOD kids are getting in trouble. Ugh!! So, I went searching last week on blog land and found the greatest solution to my problem! 

I found this idea at What the Teacher Wants and I could not have found it at a better time. What you do is take the number of kids you have in your class and double it. (Example-I have 15 therefore I bought 30 eggs). In one basket I put 15 eggs with the students names inside. In the other basket I put 15 eggs with "prizes" inside. They are silly things like sit with a friend for 15 minutes, free pencil sharpener time, extra 5 minutes of recess, free ice cream (you get the point). You can even go print the prizes for free at her blog! 

This has been super effective. When my students see me walking toward the basket--they freeze and make sure they are doing what they are supposed to in hopes of picking the "prize egg!"

Shout Out Saturday {Honey Bunny Studio} With a Giveaway

I want to introduce you to the CUTEST etsy shop, Honey Bunny Studio.  The shop's owner, Nell, is a Mom to a sweet baby girl and a very talented graphic designer.  She sells the most adorable wall prints and party printables!  I am so excited to announce that Nell is offering ONE LUCKY FBU READER a $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE to use on anything in her shop!  

Take a peek at what's inside her lovely shop!

{HERE'S HOW TO ENTER}:

(1) Add a link to Honey Bunny Studio on facebook or twitter letting your friends know about this giveaway.  Come back here and provide us with that link.

(2) Head on over to Honey Bunny Studio, come back here, and leave us a comment telling us your favorite item in the shop.

(3) Become a follower of Honey Bunny Studio.   Come back here & leave a comment letting us know that you did!

(4) Become a follower and facebook fan of Frogs, Bees, & Under the Seas, or tell me that you already are!

***The more times you comment, the more chances you have to win!

The giveaway will be open until Thursday, April 14 at 9:00 pm (EST).  The winner will be announced first thing Friday morning (April 15).  Open to US residents only. 

Good luck, everyone!!! :)