Peek at My Week: Thanksgiving and Centers

Hey Ya'll! 

I realize that I've been a bit out of the loop lately, but I've been creating a TON lately and wrapping up my time with my intern.  It's been a good time, but a busy one.

One of the things that I do to help myself unwind is that I unplug.

I love working on things for school, but sometimes, I can work for really long time and forget what time it is...just because I'm enjoying myself.

Problem is...people who love me...don't get to talk to me. :(  So...I've been working on spending quality time with friends and family away from my phone and computer!  It's been lots of fun! :)

I started my break on Friday.  Friday night, I went and had a girls night with my pals Tiff and Beth! :)  They've been so wonderfully supportive! :)  Love these girls!

Now, I'm off to see my bestie in Nashville! :)

I'm so excited to see her sweet babies! :)

Currently, I'm writing this post in the Charlotte Airport!  The flight from Orlando was so bumpy, I almost lost what was in my tummy.  Luckily, we got up over the rain and here safely! :)

Lunch was super good! :)  I had a lobster bisque and salad! :)  Thanksgiving vacation is starting off well! :)

As always, thanks Dee Dee for hosting this weekly linky!  I wanted to change things up a bit and talk a bit about my small group time! :)

Teacher Talk time is my favorite part of the day.  It's an hour where the children get to meet with me, or work with each other to practice skills that they've been taught.

This is the most important tip I can give you.

Know where you want your kids to be when you're done with a unit of study.

We use a basal for reading.  It goes in six week bands.  The first five weeks are content, the last week is review.  I wrote our team's scope last year and that really helped me understand how I could use the resource I was given to support the Common Core Standards.

Long range planning--even for small groups can be overwhelming.  Just jot down information that you can't live without.

These are my long range plans.  I use this to help me figure out what resources I'll need for my teacher talk time.  Sometimes, I'll make them myself, or other times, I just scope TPT for something! :0)

In my other stations, I model the behavior I'm expecting a lot at the beginning of the year.  The goal is for them to be on auto pilot with what needs to be done so that I can focus on teacher talk time.

Expect your kids to do a great job!

Keep your expectations for proper behavior high...especially at the beginning.

When your kids do a great job...praise them...even for the smallest things! :)  Especially do this for your 'squirly' ones and you'll see a big difference in what they are able to do independently over time.

Here is my small group schedule when it's all done.

Small group is my favorite part of the day! :)

I love working with my students on phonemic awareness and phonics! :0)  It's so foundational for the kids! :) 

If you are interested in either of the sheets I posted, you can download a pdf version of it HERE.