Cara Carroll

Goodbye Poems

My kids have fallen in love with our goodbye poems. The kids have actually taken charge now and request to have a “leader” recite them every day as they all repeat! Depending on the day, I’ll ask the kids to give me a set of rhyming words before they can leave to go home. I still have some sweet friends who are having trouble understanding the concept, so it’s great reinforcement for those babies and fun for the whole group! I wanted to hang these in a pocket chart, but the space around my door is limited, so I stapled these to the wall. They’re the perfect size. I created them to fit in a scheduling pocket chart, but the chart was still too ... Read More

Have You Filled A Bucket?

I started bucket filling in my class last year and my kids loved it!  It was such a success that I decided to keep at it this year and it goes PERFECTLY with the schoolwide kindness initiative that’s being put into effect this year…Rachel’s Challenge.  The first thing we do is read the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud.   If you haven’t read this book, it’s a story that encourages positive behavior and it illustrates how rewarding it is to show kindness, appreciation, and love toward others.  The story talks about how we each carry around an invisible bucket and when we use kind words and actions, we ... Read More

Estimation Station

My kids visit the estimation station once a week. For the first 6-8 weeks, I fill the jar with various objects. Once we start our “Celebrity of the Week” {star student}, I let the kids bring in their own items to add to the estimation jar. I’ll send the estimation jar home with my Celebrity of the Week with instructions to fill the estimation jar with their choice of items WITHOUT counting what they put inside. The jar stays in the estimation station for the week and each day a different set of kids visits it to make their guesses. When they visit the estimation station, they write their name on a post it note along with the number of ... Read More

Chrysanthemum…Not Just A “Name” Book

When I taught Kindergarten, we usually used Chrysanthemum to introduce names.  Of course, it’s a great book to discuss what it means to be unique and special, too.  There are SO many different ways you can use this book!  During the first week of school, we used Chrysanthemum to discuss the impact unkind words have on our hearts.  I cut out a giant heart using red butcher paper.  Before I started reading the story, I handed the heart to one of my kids and gave them instructions to crumple the heart every time they heard something unkind, and then pass it to the next person.  By the time I had finished the book, ... Read More

Schedule Cards

I love, love, LOVE our First Grade schedule!  There are just the perfect amount of breaks in between subjects that seem to make the days just FLY by!  Sometimes that’s not such a great thing…especially when I’m trying to fit too much into one day!  But after 9 years of teaching, this is, by far, my favorite schedule I’ve had yet!  I created these little schedule cards as a visual for my kids.  That way they aren’t coming up to me every 5 minutes saying, “Is it time for recess yet?”, or “When can we eat lunch!?”, or {my favorite}, “Is it almost time to go home?!”.  Feel free to download a set for yourself, too! ... Read More

Decorating The Walls

Have I mentioned how much I love my school?!  Because I really, REALLY do!  I just can’t imagine being anywhere else!  I love our staff, our sweet kids, and our AMAZING parents!   Before the start of the school year, each grade level commissions a group of moms to come up and decorate the hallways.  The parents are pretty much amazing because they take a theme and just run with it!!!  The theme for First Grade this year is “Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon”.  I LOVE that book!    A few of the teachers on my team already had an idea set in mind and our new moms came up and put the plan into ... Read More

Reader’s Response

Every kid in our classroom has a Reading Response Journal.  Depending on the entry, we’ll usually work our Reader’s Response into the writing station OR we’ll etch out a little time during  Writer’s Workshop to add to our journals. I usually complete an entry under my ELMO so that they can watch the process.  I talk my way through it as well.  This is a great opportunity to reinforce various writing/reading skills…neat handwriting, use of capital letters at the beginning of every word in the title, underlining the title, author/illustrator, two-finger spaces, punctuation, etc.  This is an awesome way to document their ... Read More

A Little Tour

One of the best things about my school is the ability we have to go "ALL OUT" on our classrooms. I've had the same "theme" in my room for several years now...jungle. Now, while I think that's a precious theme, a new year in a new grade level SCREAMED new theme....so that's just what I did! I walked into my brand new classroom with a pretty blank canvas. After LOTS and LOTS of thought and planning, I finally came up with something I truly LOVE. A "Sassy Hollywood Glam" theme! Sure...it's a little girly...but my kids LOVE it!! It's so bright and cheerful! At least, I think so :) I know there's a lot going on, but it works! I'm sure ... Read More

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