What a whirlwind week!

What a crazy week! Not only have we been super busy, but the weather has been insane, which means equally insane children! It hasn't only been raining this week, its been hailing and the wind has been strong enough to lift our little ones off the ground.

I am very happy to see the end of this week, I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday, so here goes! 

The Scholastic Book Fair arrived at our school this week. I love, love, LOVE picture books!! and there are so many amazing books this year with gorgeous illustrations. Needless to say I have a very looong wish list. I took the kids in on Wednesday and they were loving looking at all the new titles. The boys were especially excited by the Minecraft manuals. 

The picture books that I put on my wish list are

- There's a Lion in my Cornflakes by Michelle Robinson

-  Gigantosaurus by Johnny Duddle

- Oi Frog by Kes Gray and Jeff Field

- This Moose Belong to Me by Oliver Jeffers

- Nugget and Fang by Tommy Sauer

- The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

This is our schools second year in our move toward personalised learning, and one of the first moves we made toward this change was to have personalised maths groups within each learning centre. In our 1/2 Inquiry Centre we have been learning about fractions this week my maths group has been focusing on quarters. We have looked at fraction symbols, written representations, and quarters of shapes. As a little treat for my group we used M&M's to practice dividing collections into quarters. We also looked at how to divide them into fractions according to colour. 

You wouldn't believe how their little faces lit up when, at the end of the lesson, I told them they could eat them!

On Wednesday we watched a performance called 'Circular Rhythm'. It was about Indigenous music and culture and the kids LOVED it! The presented was amazing, he used a lot of humour when speaking with the kids, so they were in stitches the whole time. This little wonder knows how to play the didgeridoo, and he got the chance to go out the front and show everyone. It was very impressive. 

At the end of the performance, as everyone was leaving, the presenter put on 'Happy' by Pharell, so as the other classes were walking out, my class and I decided we'd stick around for a little bit and have a dance together. 

HOLY MOLY! The weather this week has been absolutely INSANE! 

Now don't be fooled, that's not snow you see in the photo above...its hail! 

It was the loudest 30 seconds I've ever experienced in my classroom...and the louder the hail got..the louder the kids got lol They were loving the weather. It's probably the closest thing to snow we're going to get. 

This Friday (1st August) was Jeans for Genes day. Myself and my good friend and colleague Christine, have started a Student Representative Council (SRC) this year, and as part of that we help the children organise and implement fundraisers. To raise money for Jeans for Genes Day we held a special tuck shop day where we sold nachos. The first photo is of my class all wearing their jeans, and the second one is of the SRC children furiously making nachos. They did such an amazing job! We couldn't be more proud of how much effort they put into making this day a success. 

We raised $735 minus the cost of supplies, so we were very happy. 

Happy weekend everyone!

HOORAY for school holidays!!

What a term! Despite it being 10 weeks long it has gone extremely quick. Having said that, I am still most definitely ready for a break. Now to decide how I'm going to spend my break....Books? Yes! Sleep ins? Yes! Lunch dates? Yes! Shopping? Sadly no :( Saving for a house deposit means no shopping for this little duck. 

What a better way to start off the holidays than with a Doodlebugs linky party!!

 Our profile books are up and running! We dedicate one teacher group session to goal setting every 2 or so weeks depending on how the children are going toward achieving their goals.

I'm looking forward to adding more personal info in our profile books in term 2. 

 As part of our Inquiry unit 'Past and Present Family Life', we made board games based around this topic. The little wonders used the information they have learnt to create challenges and successes for their game. It was great to see them coming up with things like 'Dad built you a wooden rocking horse, move forward two places' and 'Your horse is sick, miss a turn'. They used mini patty pans, clay and paper to create their game pieces. 

I had to show you this one!! It took all I had not to burst out laughing when I saw his flag hehe.

 As all grade 1 and 2 teachers know, losing teeth is a common occurrence in our level, and when a tooth goes missing, we launch a search party! This little guy (who happens to be one of the most animated and happy children I have ever taught) took it upon himself to get some gloves from the office, and search the bin for the apple the other child was eating when he lost his tooth. 

Unfortunately the tooth wasn't retrieved, so the Tooth Fairy was informed by letter, and all was well! 

 Don't you just love monkey bars??

Thank the Lord it wasn't her writing arm!

Thursday was pyjama day at school. It is amazing how calm and relaxed the little wonders are when they are in their pj's. We spend the whole day doing winter themed art and craft, needless to say they absolutely loved it! Now if you work with me you will know that my teaching/blogging/organising inspiration in Maria Manore from Kinder-Craze. She has amazing ideas and beautiful craft activities to brighten up your classroom. 

After getting over my anxiety of using contact paper in the class, I was super excited to have the children do Maria's 'Stained Glass Mitten' craft. I was a little unorganised however, so the little wonders helped me get everything organised. They loved having a part in the set up. 

Here are some of my little wonders cutting up the crepe paper squares for our mittens. How cozy do they look in their onesies! 

I was very relieved when not a single child made a mess of their contact paper.

The mittens look absolutely amazing on our windows and brighten up our winter days. I'm sure you all already follow her but if you don't, do yourself a favour and follow now! 

I hope everyone has a relaxing break!