Whoooo's Even? Whoooooo's Odd?

A couple weeks ago, we talked about even and odd numbers in Math...and if you know me, you know I love owls!  So, of course, since I love owls...I was creative and found a project I could FINALLY do with owls!  I've been waiting so long and finally....just finally I came up with the CUTEST idea and it turned out PERFECT!  Ahh, so cute!

We made Even and Odd owls!

Obviously, the even owls were all made the same, following a certain template and all the colors were the same.

Then, the odd owls is where the students' creativity got to come in and they used their imagination to make their ODDEST owl!  They LOVED this activity :)

And who wouldn't put them on a bulletin board?! I mean c'mon, look at those cute things!  And yes, they are still up in my classroom and I really don't want to take them down :(!

Hope you enjoyed our even and odd owls!  Definitely one of my most favorite moments in 2nd grade YET!

Thank you all for checking in and until next time, stay safe! <3

Diving In Deep!!!

Well, now that we are finally wrapping up on our Habitats Unit, let me share with you our Ocean Exploration Adventure that lasted ALOT longer than expected, but we learned alot and got to make alot of fun projects!  Get those googles and snorkels, because we are diving in!!! :)

We opened up the Ocean Unit with doing a KWL chart.  A KWL chart is a three-column chart, with three different areas.

K = What you already know

Some things we knew about the ocean:  The water is salty, there are lots of different sharks, there are coral reefs, and many, many more!

W = What you want to learn

Some things we wanted to learn about the ocean:  Are there different layers like the rainforest?  How many types of sharks are there?  How many types of fish are there?  And many, many more! :)

L = What you learned

Some things we learned....well, keep reading and you will find out!

The first thing I had the students dive in and study was the different layers of the ocean!  Did you know there were layers in the ocean....because I didn't, and I definitely learned the ins and outs of the different layers throughout this ocean unit!   Keep reading to find out the different layers, and to see which animals live in what layers! :)

Ocean Zones: (Starting from the surface)

Sunlit, Twilight, Midnight

And...the student's creations!!! SO CUTE! :)

The second thing I had the students dive in and study was ocean animals and the facts about them.  In groups of three, I had the students research a specific ocean animal on the laptops through a WebQuest that I found on-line.  After researching their animal and taking notes on specific areas that I wanted them to research, they then had to seperate from their group and write their own animal research report.  After writing their rough draft, I conferenced with them to help them correct their writing, spelling, etc.  After making corrections, I then let the students type their writing onto a Microsoft Word document so they could get that exposure to technology as well as create their final draft for their animal research project.  After completing their writing....and because of all their HARD WORK, I had to reward them by letting them make their ocean animal out of construction paper ONLY!  :)  Their ocean animal creations came out absolutely ADORABLE and I was so proud of them! :)  They are so creative!

First Step:  Researching the facts!

Second Step:  Writing those sentences! :)

 Third Step:  Be CREATIVE! :)

The third and final thing I had the students dive in and study was scuba divers and what scuba divers do in the ocean!  We had a short lesson about scuba divers and then we created our OWN scuba divers by using construction paper, a scuba diver mask template, and plastic baggies for their masks! :) The kids LOVED this!  After making their scuba diver, they had to do a quick writing to show what scuba divers might see in their scuba diving adventure and it gave them a way to connect their picture to their writing!

I had to include three of these because they are THAT cute! :) 

Overall, the ocean unit was such a fun unit to teach because there is SO MUCH you could do within the unit.  I absolutely loved teaching this unit and could have taught it for so much longer....but I only have so many days with these kiddos and a whole lot more curriculum to teach!

Well, I hope you enjoyed the Diving Deep adventure, learning new things as well as enjoying my students' creativity that I am blessed to be around everyday!  I truly love my career, even if I do get worn out sometimes (aka: right now!)  :)

Thank you all for listening and until next time, stay safe. <3

A Sunday Well-Spent!

What'd you do today?  Let me guess.

You went to church. You ate a family lunch. You probably laid back and took a lil snooze (even though you got an extra hour of sleep last night!).  You probably then woke up to the sound of football on the tv, and now you're probably a little sad that it is already dark out at 5:00!!! Did I guess right?

Well, my day looked COMPLETELY different! :)

I woke up at 6:15 this morning, wide awake and full of energy!  Got up, made myself a nice breakfast, and then decided it was time to get to work!  Usually I commute to Cedar Falls to go to church on Sunday mornings, but since I was in Cedar Falls yesterday, I didn't want to make the commute two times in one weekend.  Anyways!

I went into my classroom around 9:00 this morning, with a LONG LIST of to-do's.

1st:  

REARRANGE my classroom. (all by myself!)

Since we started school, I just really haven't enjoyed my set up in my classroom.  It didn't seem organized to me, and it didn't seem very kid-friendly.  So, I dedicated my day today to rearranging and hoping that the kiddos will LOVE it tomorrow! :)  Rearranging took me until about 10:30 or so, and then I had to move everything on the walls, which took another hour.

 Standing in the middle of my classroom, this is the back right corner (where my desk used to be). 

It NOW has the computer area and the newly improved Word Work area! :)

My amazing new library! 

I am so in love with my library now! It's colorful, vibrant, but yet it all matches :)! 

I just ordered the foam floor tiles (the orange and purple floor) with my PTO money from the school!  

So happy with this purchase!!! :) :) AHHH!

This is the front left area of the classroom, where the teacher table USED to be.  

It is now the writing area for Daily 5! :)

This is the front right corner of my classroom, where the library USED to be.  

It is now occupied with all of my wonderful teacher stuff. 

I was very tempted to get rid of my desk...but I'll keep it for awhile longer I suppose!

Right when you walk in the door, this is the back left corner of the classroom.  It used to be the writing and computer area, but now the teacher table is there where I can clearly see across the room to each different Daily 5 center, but not have it be loud around me!  This was a change that I was definitely looking for :)!

Hope you enjoyed the new tour of my classroom! Let's move on! :)

2nd: 

Word Work center "kid-friendly" but organized!

Because my mom is AMAZING, she got me this awesome ten-drawer (black cart) on wheels that works perfect for organization.  I took some labels, typed up the different activities I wanted, and laminated them onto some construction paper.  From there, I labeled the drawers and each drawer now has an activity in it.  Word Work is part of Daily 5 (which fosters independent learning).

The new word work area including a shelf of activities, the kids' pencil boxes right in the center, and the AMAZING ten-drawer cart! :) Perfect for organization!

The ten-drawer cart, now labeled with activities for the kids to do during Daily 5 time.

Letter Beads!!! I just purchased these with PTO money...it will help with spelling and sight word spelling!  They will use the beads and string them onto pipe cleaners, and then write the words they spelll! :)  

I KNOW these are going to be a hit! :)

Scrabble Spelling!  Make the word, write the word, then add it up!  

Consonants worth 1, vowels worth 2!  :)

Word Sorts!  Sort the words by vowel sound, and then record.  

I always have them record because it keeps them accountable for their work since 

I am not right next to them during Daily 5 time!

My hardwork last week finally is done...file folder games!  These file folder games are amazing, but they take alot of work to put together...cutting, laminating, cutting again, and then putting the final product together.  I made these file folder games for Short and Long vowel sounds.  This is an example of one! :)

I LOVE that it has SPECIFIC directions!

I was using Word Work before, but I could tell my kids were getting bored with the same activities over and over again...so I pray (really hoping) that this works out better for them and gives them more choices during Daily 5 time! :)  I stayed at school until about 1:00 when my tummy was telling me it was time to go home and feed it! :)

3rd: 

Prepare for this week! :)

No, don't call me a procrastinator because I definitely am not!  Well, maybe sometimes, but that wasn't the case this week/weekend.  I returned to my classroom today around 2:30 and stayed until about 4:45...this time was basically used to complete things for this week as well as write my November newsletter.  I had my lesson plan complete...but I had to make copies, copies, and MORE copies.  I feel like I use SO MUCH paper...but I guess that's just part of education.

Some things we will be learning about this week are:

Reading:

Main Ideas and Supporting Details: I'm going to introduce this topic by relating it to a table.  A table can't stand up with out legs, and a paragraph can't be a paragraph without a main idea and its supporting details!  I found this SUPER cute graphic organizer that I just know the kiddos are going to LOVE!

Math:

Most likely will be our chant for the week! :)

We will be learning about even and odd numbers, making adorable Even Owls (they all look the same) and Odd Owls (the will all look COMPLETELY different) and then we will be hanging them up!  Stay tuned to see the Even & Odd owls!  They are going to be SO CUTE :)! Ahh, I'm really excited about this activity if you can't tell....because I LOVE OWLS! :)

Social Studies:

We will be learning about Earth's natural resources and why we need them.

Science:

We will continue studying our Ocean Habitat, researching ocean animals as well as make scuba diver writings! :)

We will be very busy this week...as you can probably tell...but no worries, we will have fun and I just know my kids will come tomorrow feeling energized because of that extra hour of sleep ;)!

Well, that's all for now!  Thank you all for listening...and until next time, stay safe. <3

Halloween Hoopla!

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a fabulous Halloween weekend/Daylight Savings Day weekend!  I know I had a wonderful weekend, spending some time with friends as well as with my sisters and mom to go wedding dress shopping for Brie!  

Let me update you on our Halloween Party from Thursday! :)

The day was a little crazy, my kiddos were very excited for their Halloween party...needless to say...we didn't get a lot of learning done! Oops :)!  I guess that happens though and every once and awhile, it's okay to have a fun day!  :)

I opened the party day up with a writing prompt about what costume they were going to wear for Halloween and why they chose that costume.  I decided to do this because the kids weren't allowed to wear their costumes to school (I was really disappointed :( ) and so I was anxious to hear what they were all going to be dressed up as and why they chose their costume!  So, we wrote about that for our daily journal writing :)!

We then continued our day on as normal, but we did do a fun riddle/puzzle together that they LOVED!  It even hurt my brain, but it was a fun team-building activity and they did really well with it!

After last recess (around 2:30), the kiddos came in and the party BEGAN!  We had a few students volunteer to bring in treats, drinks, and plates/napkins and then of course, I spoiled them with a treat as well! :)  During our Halloween Party, we watched "Halloween on Grinch Night" on YouTube and enjoyed our treats/drink.  After they were done eating, they had this crazy idea to decorate their paper plates, so being the nice teach I am...I let them :)  

Capri Suns, Lofthouse Sugar Cookies, Witch's hats (made out of fudge-striped shortbread cookies and Hershey's Kisses) and Miss Nederhoff's treat...PUPPY CHOW! :)

And of course, a Halloween pencil!!! :)

Once 3:00 rolled around, we began getting ready to go home and our Halloween Party was over.  The kids were sad...but Miss Nederhoff was kind of happy.  I was worn out!!! Those kiddos have so much energy some days :)  Needless to say, it was a fun-filled, energy-packed day...but we had fun! 

Now...it's on to the next countdown...the countdown til Thanksgiving Break!  Woohoo! :)

23 Days!!!

Thank you all for listening...and until next time, stay safe. <3

Luke? Shadow? Can you say zoo?!

What's an elementary classroom without a few animals...???

Is it a zoo...?

Well, most people who walk in my room are beginning to think so, and no, not because I have 15 crazy, smiling, fun and loving 2nd graders....:) 

...but because of our class pets..that have been with us for about a month now!  Time flies when you're having fun and figuring out how to control these pets in our classroom! :)  

Recently in the Waterloo Courier, there was an article about a Wartburg professor who rents out class pets to different schools in the Cedar Valley area, so I looked into it...and yep, went through with it! 

Read up on the Waterloo Courier article here:  

http://wcfcourier.com/lifestyles/wartburg-professor-bechtel-shares-love-of-exotic-creatures/article_5ac32506-0f31-11e3-9d99-0019bb2963f4.html

About a month ago, we had a leopard gecko join our classroom.  His name was voted on...and the name that was decided on was Luke!  So everyone...meet Luke, our leopard gecko.  No, he is not mine to keep...thank goodness!!! This gecko has been an adjustment to my life style as well as my classroom's life style.  Needless to say, to keep this lovely little guy alive, we have to feed it LIVE food.  Thanks to a few different people, this gecko has been able to stay alive and healthy...no thanks to me!  I have done nothing but replenish the water :)!  I don't do well with bugs! :)

Luke enjoys hiding in his flower pot home!  

He doesn't come out much but we still know he loves 2nd grade :)!

Here is Mr. Luke eating live crickets!! :)

Also, I went garage-saling about a month ago and got a cute little fish tank, so I decided to buy a Beta Fish for our classroom.  I thought the fish would do well in our classroom and I could manage feeding it because 1) It doesn't take live food.... and 2) He stays in his cage and just simply swims :)  We also voted on the fish's name...and his name was decided on Shadow!  Shadow has been an easier adjustment to my classroom and I's lifestyle...as he doesn't take much upkeeping and simply sits where everyone can see him easily!  Now, it is not my job to feed this little guy...but the teacher helper's job!  So each week, we have a teacher helper, and they are in charge of feeding Shadow and keeping him alive :)!

Shadow is a bit more low maintenance compared to Luke.  

Shadow takes after his owner! :)  

Needless to say, it is not a zoo in 2nd grade but it has been a fun experience for my students to have these animals in our room.  Shadow will be staying with us all year; however, the leopard gecko will be leaving us on Friday because it is time for him to return back to his buddies ;) Or that's what I'm telling my kids! :)  

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, the zoo update, but it's time for this girl to get some sleep!  Parent teacher conferences tomorrow until 8:00! Yay me! :)

Thanks all for listening...and until next time..stay safe <3! 

Risin' in the Rainforest

What are the four layers of the rainforest?  Do you know?  Well, you may have just been outsmarted by a 2nd grader!  Yep, that's right...my 2nd graders know the 4 layers of the rainforest and different animals that live in each one of them!  :)

Since school has started, the 2nd grade and I have been studying 4 different habitats.  A habitat is defined as a place where people/animals live.  The four different habitats we are studying are the desert, rainforest, ocean, and forest.  We studied the desert for about a week, and just finished up with the rainforest!  The students LOVED the rainforest and that is why I am deciding to share about the amazing activity we did!

So, we all know that students love computers...right?  Well, at least I know they do...so Miss Nederhoff, being the fun teacher she is...let each group use a computer to RESEARCH the four different levels of the rainforest on an online website called a WebQuest.  A WebQuest is a safe website that teachers create to help students learn about a specific website.

Check out the website at this link: http://mrsgebauer.com/rainforestweb/WebQuest.htm

Anyways...each group of 3 students got a computer/my iPad and got to research the different layers of the rainforest and the different animals that live there.  I provided them with the link to the WebQuest and gave them some quick guidance on how to navigate through the website, and from there...they were on their own!

Working on the computers to help figure out what order the layers 

go in and where the rainforest animals go! :)

I provided them with a white long sheet of paper, the names of the 4 layers, and different rainforest animals.  From there, they had to take their supplies and decide how they were going to design their poster.  They were SO creative!!! :)

Working as a team to color/figure out where everything goes!!! :)

I was truly impressed with how each group did.  They took their time..and I mean, really took their time.  This research project took us 3 days, but I didn't even care because they did so great with it!  They were getting peer interaction, getting exposed to technology, and using their imagination to it's full potential.  I was just amazed...definitely a "proud teacher" moment :)

And....the FINAL PRODUCT!!! :)

Aren't they adorable!?!  I laminated them so they would stay neat and look spiffy :)

I was just so proud of my kiddos and how they did on this project!  :)  Just amazed by the work they can do if you let them take control of their own learning and be independent but also learn how to work as a team!  We are working on team building in 2nd grade because it's important to learn social skills with friends and social skills is a big thing in 2nd grade!  

And to conclude this awesome rainforest post, I received the sweetest note from one of my 2nd graders last Friday...and it truly made my heart melt and reassured me that my students do like me and do LOVE coming to school!

Thank you all for listening...and I hope you learned something new ;)!  Until next time, stay safe <3. 

Happy Fall! :)

Wow!  Can we ask for better weather lately?! Who can't be happy in this beautiful fall weather!?

I know I have been on top of the world the past couple weeks...school has been going great, my students have been amazing, and seeing all the farmers our harvesting just makes a farmer's daughter smile :).  Anyways, enough about this beautiful fall weather...let me show you how my 2nd grade class has decorated our classroom to celebrate Fall and Halloween!!! :) The kiddos KNOW I LOVE fall!  They even tell me now, "We know you love fall, don't you Miss Nederhoff?"  :)

 Enjoy the pictures and Happy Fall!!! :)

Our "Fall Into Reading" Corner!  This bulletin board is set up in the library corner of the classroom, where the students get to put their name and the book they read on a leaf and then hang it on the wall! :)  They LOVE it and I told them if they fill all the white, Miss Nederhoff will bring special treats!  

They have until the 1st day of Winter...December 21st!  :)

Our scarecrow decorations!! I got this idea from Pinterest and just couldn't resist!  Although it wasn't completely related to my curriculum, sometimes you just have to stray away from the curriculum and have a little fun!  And the kids LOVE being artists!! :) They are so creative, 

but I did encourage them to "Think Fall" when they colored...aka: Use fall colors :)!

What kind of pet does a spider make??? This was a creative writing activity that I did with my students!  They didn't turn out quite as well as I wanted them, but hey, you have to try otherwise you never know what could happen!  :)  These spiders are located in the back of my room on the long, skinny bulletin board!  

I never got a picture, oops! :)

Hope you all enjoyed the Fall/Halloween themed pictures and decorations in our classroom!  :) 

Not only am I celebrating Fall in my classroom, but we all know that fall means visiting pumpkin patches...so I got a chance to visit the pumpkin patch with my family (Mom, Brooke, Paul, & Emma and also made a trip with my friend Kelly when she came to good ole Clarksville to visit!)  

Emma & I collecting pumpkins :) She's so stinkin' cute!

One of my gorgeous friends and I getting our pumpkins!  

We had so much fun for the night she came to visit!  

Truly a great friend and such a sweet, sweet girl! :)

Happy Fall everyone!!! Thank you all for reading...and until next time, stay safe <3. 

Happy Homecoming Week!

Happy Homecoming Week from the Clarksville Indians!!! :)

This week was spent celebrating homecoming in Clarksville!  Although we don't do alot for homecoming in Elementary, I did get a few chances to participate during the week!

The senior football Moms came to me last week and asked me to make a senior video of all the football boys, including pictures from when they were babies until now!  I was so honored that they asked me and could absolutely not say NO!  So...I worked very hard to get the video done and got a chance to show it last night at Homecoming Coronation!  It went AWESOME and everyone LOVED the video!  It was so nice for me as a first year teacher to get involved in the school as well as in the community!

As for my students and our classroom, we do get to attend the parade on Friday afternoon!  And holy cow, parades in Clarksville are a BIG DEAL!!! They treat this parade like it's the town parade!  It's so cool to see such a small school and small community support this awesome tradition!  The parade included floats from every grade, every fall sport, and the homecoming candidates!  And...best part...they THREW CANDY!! WOOHOO! My kids were in heaven ;)!!!  Check out some pics from the parade!

Detonate Dunkerton!! :)

The homecoming queen and king :)

Chasing the candy!! :)

3/4 of the ice cream bucket FULL of candy!!! :)

Hope you enjoyed the pictures...as for the rest of my Friday...

It's time to go celebrate my Daddy's birthday!!!

Huge shout out to my Dad --- HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!

(Little does he know, Kevin, Brie, and I are going to see him out at the campground tonight!!!)

Well, thank you all for listening...and until next time, stay safe. <3