Love Notes

As a 5th grade teacher, I personally feel like Valentine's day cards are overrated, and mean nothing. Also, they are annoying because they are all about candy - which our district is trying to avoid. Thankfully, I have a friend (same friend who helped design the crossfit for kids - she is awesome) who taught me her wonderful way of "love notes."

The first thing I do is create envelopes with my students names on them. They are decorated nicely, and I hang them up before they kids get to school, about a month before (usually after MLK Jr holiday).

Then I explain my feelings about Valentine's Cards, and the point of Valentine's day (to actually show someone you care). So, I tell them that we are going to do something different. We are going to write love notes to each other. I usually get gasps, and ooohs. Then I explain the different types of love, and how we can love someone even if they are just our friends.

Then, I explain what love notes look like. They are compliments to each other. I also tell them that they are going to choose two people at random (I put everyones name twice into a hat). I love when people get someone they just don't like very much, and are forced to find something nice about them. Once they have written to their two people, they can write to whomever they want to. It's fun to see the kids who want to write to everyone.

Then on Valentine's day they get to open their notes - in silence. I make sure they absorb how their classmates view them. Then we discuss how they feel, and which notes made them feel really good. It really is fun to see how the students see their classmates in a new light.

School Adapted Crossfit for Kids

Just so we are clear, I am not a crossfit for kids instructor, but I have been doing crossfit for 2+ years. I am a certified gymnastics coach, and have taught PE for years. Before the beginning of the year, my friend (who also crossfits) that I taught with previously sat down and thought, how can we get our 5th grades in the best shape ever before their physical fitness test. It was a short conversation - Crossfit! Duh! She has been crossfitting for the last year, and together we sat down and made a crossfit program for our 5th graders. Below is the program we created:

Week 1:

Warm-up: 1 lap, 10 Jumping Jacks, Stretch

Skill: Push up with Hand release

WOD:

5 min AMRAP

5 push up with hand release

5 Jumping Jacks

Week 1 Challenge:

100 Jumping Jacks unbroken

Week 2:

Warm up: Skipping, High Skip, High Knees, Butt kickers, High kick, Lunge

Skill: Toes to Bar, Pull ups*

WOD:

1 mile for time

*if the whole 5^th grade is here: one class runs the mile the other does the skill, and we switch

Week 2 Challenge:

50 Toes to bar in one session

Week 3:

Warm-up: 1 lap warm-up, Stretch

Skill: Squats

WOD:

10 min AMRAP

10 squats

Sprint across bball court

10 hand release push-ups

Week 3 Challenge:

100 Squats

Week 4:

Warm up: 1 lap warm up, stretch

Skill: bear crawl, broad jump, lunges, and sprint

WOD:            

Team of 4 “The Box”

Start at each corner, first person bear crawls to broad jumper. BrJu to L, L to Sp. Has to go straight to bear crawl

Challenge Week 4:

Run a mile during recess

Week 5:

Team Warm up: 100 meter run, Squats, Push ups, Sit ups, 10 minutes

Skill: Plank hold, Burpees

WOD:

Every minute on the minute Burpees, Plank hold during rest

Week 5 Challenge:

2-minute plank hold

Week 6:

Warm up: Skipping, High Skip, High Knees, Butt kickers, High kick, Lunge

Skill: Handstands

WOD: Mile Run for time

Week 6 Challenge:

100 push-ups

Week 7:

Warm up: 1 lap, stretch

Skill: Wall Ball

Partner WOD:

20-30-40

Push ups, sit ups, wall ball

Week 7 Challenge:

50 Burpees

Week 8:

Warm up: 1 lap, stretch

Skill: Yarn Overhead Squats

WOD:

2 Min. AMRAP 1 min. rest between sets

Overhead squats

Push-ups

Sit-ups

“Box” jumps

Week 8 Challenge:

100 Sit-ups

Week 9:

Warm up: Wall ball, plank, “box” jumps, 200 meter run, 10 minutes

Skill: Review push-ups and sit-ups

WOD:

1 minute AMRAP with partner

Sit-ups, Push-ups

Week 9 Challenge:

3X 1 mile

Week 10:

Warm up: Skipping, High Skip, High Knees, Butt kickers, High kick, Lunge

Skill: Pull ups, Toes to bar testing
WOD:

1 mile run for time

Week 10 Challenge:

5 pull-ups unbroken

Week 11 Challenge:

50 box jumps

Week 12 Challenge:

50 inclined push ups (feet up)

Week 13 Challenge:

100 single jump ropes unbroken

or

20 double under jump ropes unbroken

Week 14 Challenge:

50 wall balls

Week 15 Challenge:

Skip around the entire field without stopping

Now you are probably wondering (if you crossfit) what are these challenges? Well, our schools only have so much time to teach PE, and we wanted our students to get out and work out on their own. So, we created a challenge for the week. The students would do this challenge on their own, and either two friends would witness at recess, or their parents could witness at home. This way they are getting an extra day of working out! Pretty smart huh?! After 5 challenges are completed, I give them a reward. 

Now, if you don't crossfit, you are probably wondering what all the acronyms, and half these work outs are. This is my answer - YOUTUBE! Most crossfitters have posted how to do the workouts on you tube. 

What I learned:

After doing the 15 weeks, these are the things I learned: kids HATE AMRAPS, they want to stop and just give up (at least the first couple of weeks until they get what this crossfit thing is). After about week 4, they get it and like AMRAPs a bit better.

Also, it is a lot easier to put running in between movements, for some reason they like that. So if the work out says: (like week 2) 10 squats, 10 hand release push ups. I found that putting running between the squats and push ups broke it up for the kids, and they liked the workout better. Not sure why, but they did. 

 They are HORRIBLE at squats!!! I found that putting them up against a wall - nose facing the wall, helped them a bit. Or if you have a handball court, have them practice the wall sit, and have them sit to the wall sit, then stand up. 

Now that my kids know what they are doing, they really love the program. They have become much stronger! It really is awesome!!

Arts and Comprehension

This year our district has a new leader, and he is amazing. After only a few months of being here, he organized an entire district run buy back day, where every teacher and classified staff met together and were able to "Celebrate each other." Different staff members volunteered and presented on their topic of choice. I was able to attend 3 different presentations, and was able to bring back one idea right away.

This year I am working at a Visual and Performing Arts school, so I decided to go to a presentation based on using the arts to increase comprehension. The basic idea was that we focus on an artist each month, and use different sentence frames that focus on comprehension strategies. I think it helps the students understand comprehension strategies on a level that is easy to talk about. Everyone can discuss a picture.
I am so thankful our district did this!! WAVE!

Fun and Free!

I am so thankful I am teacher. It gives me days off, so I can have quality time with Natalie. My husband and I have been trying to save some money, so that we can hopefully visit my sister who is soon-to-be moving to Italy. So, lately I have been trying to find some fun and free things to do with Natalie. Here are the list of things we have done so far, and hope to do soon.

1) Go to the Library.

     Most libraries have free baby story times, toddler story times, teenage activities, etc. It is fun to hang out at the library!

2) Go to the beach.

     Of course, this only works if you live near a beach, and luckily we do.

3) Pool time!

     We have a pool in our HOA, I cannot wait for it to get warm, so we can have pool time.

4) Play at the Park

     Though Natalie is small, we still swing on the swings. 

5) Go for a walk.

     We have trails near our house, and walking around those trails are fun!

6) Check out your local recreation center.

     I found out recently that our Rec Center lets you take our kid to their gymnastics center and lets them play for only $1!! I mean it's not free by $1 for gymnastics is CHEAP.

7) Check out a Farmer's Market.

8) Enjoy time with your baby, whether it is free or paid for!! Time flies when you have fun!!

The Periodic Table

Understanding atoms, and the amount of electrons, protons, neutrons, and how they are organized on the periodic table can daunt a 5th grader. My first year teaching fifth grade my co-teacher Niah gave this idea to us that she had learned about at a science convention.

I give the men to the students, and tell them that they are meant to be in a specific order, but that is all I tell them. They have to figure out the order.

If they struggle extremely with the order, I then give them the outline of the first 18 elements, but don't give them the order. This at least aides in their picture of understanding.

The order: Arms represent the amount of orbitals. The fingers represent the amount of electrons on each orbital. The size of the belly helps the students see that they weigh more as they get larger across the table, and the pattern represents the column, so the students can see that they have something in common going up and down. Also, what you can't see very well in the picture is that each man has a smiley, frowny, or straight face. The faces represent how the atom feels (unstable ones have frowny faces - they only have 1 electron on their valence shell, and stable ones have very happy faces - they have 8 electrons on their valence shell).

Once the students have a picture with the men, it is a lot easier to understand how to draw electrons, and how electrons interact to create molecules. It truly does help my fifth graders understanding atoms and molecules. I feel like this would have helped me in high school science as well!