More Centers

I realize I haven't blogged in a while. The busy times of school have taken over and when I am not busy, I am sleeping. The cooler weather has moved in and the leaves have changed and are starting to fall off the trees. I wouldn't mind this time of year if I didn't know winter was coming soon! :(

I have continued using centers and am getting used to doing them more. It was rather helpful this past week when I didn't feel well and knew I wasn't able to talk loudly to an entire class. Last week, I did centers with my fifth graders on Summaries. Here is a group reading a story and then doing a summary to follow:

Another group read a story. They wrote the main idea on a tree trunk and the details on leaves.

In fourth grade, we did homophone centers. I found a great game (and I wish I could remember which site I found it on) that used a domino like structure for homophones.

Wake me up when September ends...

Where did the month of September go?!? I blinked and it was gone. It's hard to believe we've been through a month of school. Our first night of conferences is already next week, although we've had a couple so far.

I'm getting more comfortable with my centers. Ive done them for two weeks now. This past week didn't go as well as our first week did but I'm trying to make them work. I asked the kids how they felt about them and they all seem to love doing centers. Even though it is so far out of my comfort zone, I must do what is right for my students. This week, fourth graders are doing centers about homophones and homonyms and the fifth graders are having centers about main ideas and details. Pics will come at the end of the week

Recently, a soldier in our area was killed in Afghanistan. On the day of his procession, our school was given permission to stand along the road and pay our tribunes. I guess I should have a lot more confidence in my students than I do. I was worried of their behavior and their lack of understanding. While they had many questions, they did a super job!

When we came back into the classroom, the students wanted to proudly hang their flags on their cubbies. 

     

This is a very busy week for me. I have meetings or games after school almost every single day! I will be ready for the weekend!!!!