Lucky Charms !!

So as many of you know I am in grad school and I am almost finish. For our class this semester we had to keep track of our activities and thoughts in a blog. I wasn't trying to manage two different blogs so I'm adding some "course work" to this one :) 

Our first assignment was the following Lucky Charms problem: 

Setting. Lucky Charms® has a "Toy Story" promotion. Inside each box is one of five figures from the movie "Toy Story": Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex, Hamm, or Green Army Man. You want to collect all five of these toys for your child, who loves "Toy Story."

Problem. How many boxes of Lucky Charms® will you have to buy?

Conducting a Simulation. Since we do not want to buy the boxes of Lucky Charms®, we will use a simulation. However, the set-up for the simulation is up to you. Will you use a die, a random number generator, a spinner, draws from a hat, etc. to conduct your simulation? How many times should you run the simulation, given that you could imagine one person buying many fewer boxes than another person in an attempt to collect all five prizes. In the space below, create a system for simulating the prizes coming from a box of cereal. Be sure to note any assumptions made.

How many times do you plan to run the simulation?

I ran the simulation 10 different times using a random number generator. 

What assumptions did you make in setting up the simulation?

I assumed that one number would occur more often than others. 

How many boxes of cereal should someone buy to have a good chance of getting all five prizes? How did you arrive at this number?

A person should have to buy around 11 boxes of cereal to have a good change of getting all the prizes. I ran the simulation 10 times and each time recorded the amount of "buys" it took to get all 5 prizes. I then took an average of the 10 simulations and arrived at 11. 

Do you believe you have enough data to make a sound conclusion? What if you compiled results from everyone in class? 

I do not feel like my 10 simulations are enough to make a sound conclusion. However, if we complied results from everyone in the class and took the average we would have a better idea of an "ideal number" of boxes to purchase. 

Assessments Already ?!?

That's right, we are starting the second week of school tomorrow and on Tuesday my county starts our benchmark testing, mClass Reading 3D. Now if any of you teach first grade, you know that having those babies sit and work independently at the beginning of the year is a stretch and this is where the problem arises! I completely forgot how needy first graders are at the beginning of the year., this is only my second year in first grade as it is!  I went into this year thinking about how much last years babies could do, that was a HUGE mistake! 

I have been stressing out ALL weekend about what my firsties can do independently while I being testing all 21 of them! Now don't get me wrong, I will be glad to have the testing out of the way and to get all that wonderful data for those lovelies, BUT ... WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I SUPPOSE TO DO WITH THEM ?!?! 

I need advice, help, answers, resources, reassurance, anything that you think may be beneficial!!! 

Better Late Than Never - Classroom Reveal

I can't believe it's time to get back into the daily grind of the school year! I feel like Summer just started! I guess that could be since I spent the first half of vacation at school! Open House went well on Wednesday night and my room is all ready for those bright smiling faces tomorrow morning! We had to make a last minute change, my teammate will now be doing a combo class, again, and I gained three more kiddos!!! I'm trying to stay positive and make the best of it though :) 

I never got around to posting pictures of my classroom before Open House, so here are a few before the days of learning take over and it doesn't look so new and clean anymore. 

**I just realized/remembered I'm going to have to have another table, more chairs, and another bookshelf! Not to mention, I'm not sure if that carpet will hold 21 firsties! 

 Super Improvers Wall as you walk in the door. 

 View from the doorway- The back of the bookcase is chalk and normally has a welcome message for my students. 

 Classroom view from the door. 

 Looking left from the door. Student cubbies and tables

 Front of the room from a side angle

 Front/Side area- behind the chair is our calendar and Letterland area. 

 View from the front of the classroom. 

WARNING! This next image has nothing to do with this blog post :) 

This weekend, the hubby and I, went to the NASCAR race in Bristol, TN. While there I made a new friend with this Praying Mantis! He sat on my boot for 30-45 minutes just looking around! The people sitting around us thought it was the coolest thing! 

If you are already back in school, I hope your first week went well! If you are starting back tomorrow with me, I'll be thinking about you :) 

Five For Friday

It seems I am always a day late when it comes time for Five for Friday! I just can't even get it done on time! Late is better than never though right? 

I spent all week at a Reading Foundations training and I learned so much! It was an amazing week filled with lots of new knowledge and ideas about teaching reading. We discussed how all the parts [phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension] all fit together to made a solid reader. We also discussed ways that we can help our students be successful in al those areas, plus ways to identify areas a student may be struggling. Parts of the training were reassurance that we were already doing the right things in our classrooms! 

Before training each morning, I went to school to work in my classroom! We received our calendar for the teacher workdays next week and everyone went into panic mode. Not only do we have 9,000,000 meetings, they also moved Open House to a Wednesday instead of Thursday. Losing that whole day makes HUGE difference on my stress load! 

After working on my room for about an hour each morning this week, I also went to school today to work from 8:00 - 3:00. I accomplished so much today and am feeling a little bit better about my classroom. 

 Word Wall is up! Just have to add the Kindergarten words for the beginning of the year! 

Calendar and Letterland is up and ready to go :) 

Just tonight, I submitted a Donors Choose project for MP3 players in my classroom. Currently, I only have 1 old tape player. It only sometimes works, and my students struggle to get the tapes in. I'm hoping that having 10 MP3 players will give my students wonderful opportunities to sit back and enjoy listening to a good book. 

This year, I am incorporating Whole Brain Teaching into my classroom and I am SO excited about it! Here is my Super Improvers Wall, just waiting for a title :) 

What did YOU do this week? 

August Currently... A few days late

Good Morning to all you wonderful people reading this little blog of mine! I'm linkin' up with Farley, at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for the August Currently! 

Right now I am listening to the sweet sound of NOTHING. The TV is off, the Hubby is sleeping, the pups are curled up sleeping. It's just me and the blog this morning :) 

I am loving these last few days I have to curl up on the couch with a good book and the pups. Next week is a Reading Foundations training, followed by teachers workdays the next week. 

I CANNOT believe I finally sold a product on TpT! I am so excited!! Its crazy to think someone actually wants my stuff!! 

With that being said, I want my creative strike to hit again so I can make even more things! Maybe this afternoon ;)

I just came back from a 10 day vacation with my grandma! (more on that later) and I really need to do laundry. Lucky for me, I get to spend the morning at the eye doctor, so that will have to wait also! 

B2S RAK: I'm planning to make notes of encouragement to all the teachers at my school and leave them with little candies in their boxes. I am always the first person to get to school, other than the janitor of course, so I should have no problem keeping it a secret! 

If you haven't already, go link up with Farley now! For those of you already starting back, I hope your first few days are wonderful! If you're like me, enjoy the last few days of summer!