An Exceptional, That's Fancy for Good, Fancy Nancy Unit

Where to begin, where to begin........

I, like my friend Jenny at Owl Things First, have had blogger block.  I didn't know this condition existed until I read her blog post.  You can read it here.  So, I'm glad I was able to put a name on the condition I've had since.... probably February. 

First of all.  I LOVE my job right now!  I enjoy that I only teach writing to our firsties.  I feel like they benefit so much from this.  Admittedly, writing did not get the time or attention it deserved in the past, but this year.... I get 90 minutes.  Yes... 90 MINUTES!  Now... we don't write for the entire 90, I get to do exciting read alouds which help to give our firsties much needed experience with the author's craft.  It also helps us to shape our own writing pieces.

Now onto the Fancy........

My exquisite friend Em posted about our Fancy Nancy Tea Party.  :)  This was a culmination of our last four weeks of study.  We started out inspired by What the Teacher Wants post on shades of meaning using Fancy Nancy!  Em and I started chatting and the ideas came a flowin'.  So we came up with all kinds of fancy.  :)  We read SEVERAL Fancy Nancy books (like.... 15, most mine and Em's, but one firstie offered hers to us as well! *adorable*her mom thanked me for breathing life into these books because her daughter is a TOMBOY.  Yes, I used capital letters because she is. So funny that throughout this unit we started to see a little girly come out in her.  I digress.....) and then started working on how to make ourselves fancy/handsome.

First, we took pictures of our kiddos when they were plain.  Next, we made outfits and chose four accessories to jazz us up!  :)  So.much.fun!

We made charts.

After that,  we wrote our How-To Make Myself Fancy/Handsome using those strong adjectives we learned about to describe our accessories.

We practiced reading to each other.

We practiced eating with our pinkies up and saying, "Darling!" after reading Fancy Nancy and The Delectable Cupcakes

And then..... the BIG DAY!  We got all the "fancy" items ready for our "Ooh La La Beauty Spa".  (Based on Nancy's Ooh La La! It's a Beauty Day!)

  Every little girl was dressed up so posh.  That's a fancy word for fancy.  Most of the boys were so handsome, some with slick backed hair.  *LOVE*    Parents were so proud and boy were there SO MANY!  We had NO idea... thank goodness my mom made 150 cookies... well 149 (the "cookie monster" a.k.a. my dad, ate one).  They were delicious, that's fancy for yummy.  I can only speak to the white chocolate chip because I detest, that's fancy for do not like, chocolate. 

We will tweak a few things for next year like moving this unit to before Christmas, covering the fancy picture with the plain picture for a big reveal, and allotting more time at our tea party.  All in all...... we loved EVERY moment!That's fancy for second.  :)

Fancy Nancy Friday

  This week was super long--complete with a child with a stomach bug, 3am wake up to a child that could not breathe, and croupe...ick!  No one wants to hear about all those FUN things.  So...let's just get a little fancy!
Our firsties have been eagerly awaiting their chance to share their Fancy How-to Writing at a "fancy tea party."  And...WOW!  It turned out exceptional...spectacular...extraordinary!  Maria will fill you in with all the details.  But here is a little sneak peek!

1. Ooooh la la, ladies!

2. Ooooh la la, gentlemen!

3. Ooooh la la, table decorations!

4. Ooooh la la, delectable cookies! (thanks to Maria's mom!)

5.  Ooooh la la, teachers!

So lucky to have this amazing team!

Now--centered around all these beauty-fun were some great writing, math, and reading lessons!  But I will let Maria fill you in all that goodness.
Here's to Five for Friday!  Happy weekend everyone!

5 for Spring Break

This was my spring break week.  The first day started off with snow.  This is Ohio, so we accept that.  But what was I going to do with my girls all week long...inside?
Here are my 5 random thoughts about this week.

1. I started getting some birthday party items ready.  My youngest is turning 3.  What!!!  She is having a Pee Wee party.  So we turned some bow ties into hair bows.

2. Maria's girls came over and we had a cupcake decorating party.

3. Fancy Nancy ideas have started to really flow this week.  Maria and I have been texting back and forth all week with ideas.  We have been gathering books.  (Note: there are some Henry and Mudge books we plan to use because they have the same theme and we want to grab the boy's attention, as well).

4. We have also started to gather materials to help the students make a fancy version of themselves.  Once they create their "fancy" or "handsome" portrait, they will use Melissa and Doug frames.

5. Grading in writing has always been a struggle for me.  Finding just the right balance between mechanics, neatness, and content has been a little tricky.  But I think these challenges are what makes our profession fun.  So I started working on the student checklist and rubric for this Fancy Nancy Unit.  Here is what I have come up with.  If you like, just click on the image for your copy.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!
Em