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Cards and Words to Live By 01.16.2003 | 10:41 pm I�m not a card playin�, pistol packin� mama, but today we had the most fun playing cards in the nut tree. I was supposed to teach a lesson on the �r� controlled vowels: ar and or. The way the lesson was presented in my manual was just too boring, so I jazzed it up a bit. I had everyone make two cards....one orange card with red lettering on it saying �ar� and a yellow card with blue lettering saying �or�. Then the fun began. They had to listen and show me the card as I pronounced all sorts of words with the two sounds. Each time I said a word, they were to show me the correct sound with their cards. Then I really made it hard. I said word combinations like: port and part, car and core, barn and born. I threw in a few clinkers like smart and smort just to see if they were really listening. Next, I told them a word and they had to tell me how to change it to a different word using the opposite r controlled vowel. We played this game for an entire hour this morning. I had so much fun and Christopher, who doesn�t like to cut, came up and gave me a big hug and said, �You�re the BEST teacher ever!� In the PM we played �King and Queen.� Basically this is a different version of �Around the World.� I am trying to pound math facts into their little squirrel brains without doing serious damage to their self esteem and confidence. One strategy of teaching math facts is to skip count...memorize, learn doubles....memorize, and then to learn doubles plus one....then memorize. Teaching them to think and assimilate the patterns really makes more sense than just plain old memorizing. We are at the point of applying our newly learned math strategies by using games. They love it when I get dramatic. Before I flash a card at the two contestants, I�ll say something like, �OK you guys, and if you don�t say the answer to this problem together...I�ll cry!� Or, �You better know this one so I don�t die!� They laugh and laugh. I also like to give the little kiddos who are struggling, many second chances so they feel successful. We always applaud when one king or queen is retired by an incoming king or queen. The little squirrels have also learned NOT to argue with the umpire (me) on a close call. We had another jolly hour of fun in the afternoon. I left school in a much better mood than that of yesterday. After work, hubby picked me up, He is usually in a pretty good mood, but today he was sad. His sister, Ann, had to have her dog of 13 years put to sleep today. Poor Ann is trying to plan a wedding, her husband is recovering from back surgery, and then today poor Snuffy had to go to puppy heaven. Hubby loves his little sister Ann so much, that it hurts him deeply when she is hurting. For Read Aloud today I read the kids version of �The Martin Luther King� biography. I always have trouble when I try to read his words from the speech, �I have a dream...� Since I have had my own children, I think I can understand more of his emotions. His words have a deeper meaning to me. It is interesting to explain to first graders about unfair laws, prejudice, and hatred. They are so very innocent and truly pure in heart. We filled out a worksheet using words that go with the letters in BROTHERHOOD. Here�s what my little squirrels thought up all by themselves. Good thoughts to live by. catsnapples~ in first grade and at life ___________________________________________
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