I Remember.

I remember September 11, 2001 like it happened yesterday.

I was student teaching in 4th grade.

I wore a lavender quarter length, v-neck sweater from Express to school that day.

And a long, black skirt.

Our team sat down to plan after we dropped our kids off at specials.

The secretary walked in and told us there was a plane crash at one of the Twin Towers. Someone on that 4th grade team had family in New York or knew someone who worked at the Twin Towers.

We turned on the TV.

5 minutes later, the 2nd plane slammed into the 2nd tower.

We screamed.

And then we froze.

And then we cried as we saw a second screen pop up in the corner of the the TV showing the explosion at the Pentagon.

We were told to go back to our classrooms as if nothing happened so that we wouldn’t cause the kids to panic.

We were terrified.

Parents started coming in by the dozens to take their kids home.

An emergency staff meeting was called after school.

I don’t remember everything that was said, but I remember that NO ONE said a word.

We were told to leave and go be with our families. I had NO family in town and I was so scared. I remember thinking, “What if I never see them again?”

I shook in fear as I drove the 45 minutes back to my apartment.

There was so much uncertainty.

I hugged my roommate when I got home and we cried together.

We couldn’t stand to be alone, so we went over to our best guy friend's apartment.

We ordered pizza, but we couldn’t eat a bite.

We watched the 9/11 coverage all night, went home, and fell asleep with wet eyes and heavy hearts.

I remember going to church the Sunday after 9/11 and it was standing room only. The sanctuary was filled with sad and worried people wondering if this was the beginning of the end and looking for comfort and reassurance.

On September 11th, 2001, life as I knew it changed forever. More so for some than others.

Lives were lost. Heroes were born. Hearts were changed.

It’s 10 years later and I still remember it like it was yesterday.

I will never forget.

And I will FOREVER be grateful for the men and women who so selflessly sacrifice for the freedom that we enjoy and too often take for granted today. Those brave men and women…and their families…are in my prayers today and always. And the families who lost their loved ones 10 years ago continue to be on my heart and in my prayers today as well.

May we never forget.

Our Week in Review

Real quick, I just wanted to say “thank you” to the sweet folks over at Teacher Certification Degrees for including Emilyk Cole on their list of the Top 50 Early Childhood Education Blogs. SO not deserving to be in that category with all the BEYOND amazing blogs they have listed. It should be named the Top 1,000 Early Childhood Education Blogs because every.single. one of y’all are inspiring beyond belief. My Google Reader is FILLED with hundreds of AMAZING early childhood education blogs and I’m forever grateful for the inspiration I’ve gotten from each one of you!

I also want to say “thank you” to the sweet girls who emailed me to let me know I was in their Top 10 blog list. SO not deserving of that either, but thank you for making me smile :) There’s NO way in a million years I could possibly narrow down my blog list to a Top 10. I love all of y’all :) THANK YOU for inspiring me to be a better teacher!!!

Now..onto my little week in review.

This was a SHORT week. Monday was a holiday and Tuesday was a professional development day, so no kids. Wednesday and Thursday were full throttle as usual and I was only at school for a half day Friday because of my not-so-exciting visit to the dentist. Apparently the EXTREME pain I’m experiencing is normal and he prescribed me some steroids to combat the swelling in my roots. UGH. The good news is that I haven’t been able to eat in 2 days, so all this tooth pain is doing wonders for my waistline :) {I kid…sort of.}

We kept on goin’ strong with Daily 5 this week and built up our reading stamina considerably. Not gonna lie though, I’m ready for the “practice” phase to be over. We talked a ton about choosing *Good Fit* books and I introduced our little IPICK chart…

Google Docs isn’t working, so I’m trying something new.

Download the IPICK printables

We also made a few anchor charts for reading… “Why Readers Read” and “What Do Readers Read?” Apparently I got NO pics of the “Why Readers Read” anchor chart, but trust me when I tell you it was nothing to write home about :)

Thank you, Abby, for giving me the idea to hang my anchor charts on my window! LOVE!

We finished up our heart maps and the kids were IN.LOVE!! Jess from Rambling About Reading left a comment saying that she keeps her kids’ heart maps in the front of their notebooks, so we decided to do *almost* the same thing! LOVED the suggestion! We stapled ours to the front of our draft books/writing folders. The kids were SO excited!!

I’m trying to train my kids to use their heart maps when they need writing inspiration, so I keep my heart map by my easel and refer to it during every minilesson prior to writing. I like to pretend…VERY dramatically…that I have NOTHING to write about. The kids are quick to remind me that I can use my heart map for inspiration! They’re all, “DUH, Mrs. Carroll!!!” HA!

We had a great 3 days in math tubs. This year I’m spreading my math tubs out over 5 days, so I have about 4 kids per group. Since we were operating on a 3-day week, I set out 3 math tubs and switched it up to 7 kids per group. Here are some of the fun things we did {still working on number sense}…

We used pattern block cards to create & extend patterns and practice one-to-one correspondence, rote counting, and sorting.

We practiced ordering numbers from least to greatest with this fun little dice activity my kids just loved.

Download Roll, Order, and Write


We also read through riddles and matched them up to their 10’s frame partner and matching number card. They did SO well!!!

Download the Tens Frame Riddle Match

We’re also learning all about being scientists. My kids are LOVING science this year and so am I!! This is a little anchor chart I created BEFORE meeting with the kids. We filled it out together after reading a book called, “Being a Scientist”.

Then we created our own little scientists and talked about what makes US a scientist.

Even though it was a short week, it was a busy one! I’m happy to be relaxing this weekend at my house…my childhood home…with all my family. Mr. Spouse has been looking forward to this weekend since I can remember. He’s cheering on his Boilers today at Rice Stadium here in Houston. That man BLEEDS black & gold!

GO PURDUE!!

Happy Saturday!!! Hope you’re spending the day RELAXING!!!!

Image Stuff Brag Tags

TGI{almost}F, people! It’s a short week for us…the kids didn’t come back ‘til Wednesday!!…but let me tell you that I’m READY for the weekend!! The only thing I have to get through first is ANOTHER trip to the dentist. My teeth hurt worse now than they did before my cavities were filled a few weeks ago. I can only drink through a straw and can’t bite down on the left side of my mouth without sharp pain shooting through my nerve. NOT.fun.

In other news, I got a little surprise package in the mail today and couldn’t wait to share it with y’all because I know you guys will be just as excited as I am!!

I get tons of emails from readers asking me about our school’s Brag Tags. OH how I LOVE Brag Tags…and so do our kids!! It’s crazy how the kids go nuts over getting them & how excited they are to earn the special ones! At the beginning of the year, each grade level starts off with one brag tag representing their theme. Here’s ours…

I know, pretty dang darling!! Matches our space theme PERFECTLY! Image Stuff is the AMAZING company behind these genius little tags. They now carry a new line of Teacher Packs. Y’all…these are TO DIE FOR.

The Motivation Pack is chock full of the cutest tags…perfect for positive reinforcement and an extra little boost of happiness. I LOVE these! I am IN.LOVE with that rockin’ little guitar and I CAN’T wait for February to hand out the Happy Valentine hearts. I’ve already added a couple of Happy Birthday brag tags to a few of the kids’ necklaces, too!! And the best part?!?! They all come with my name!! You can have them personalized for your classroom!!! How cool is that?!

The Attendance Pack is pretty dang amazing, too. As a whole school, we give out brag tags to the kids who have perfect attendance each semester. I’m SO excited to give these out every month now! Check out the “Attendance Ninja” brag tag for January. LOVE IT!!!!

You can also order replinish/add on packs. This “I’m a Buddy, Not a Bully in Mrs. Carroll’s Class” is awesome!!! I’m totally handing these out tomorrow after our Rachel’s Challenge assembly.

If you’re looking for another way to add some positive reinforcement/motivation/incentives to your classroom, I HIGHLY recommend you check out the Teacher Packs {or ANY of the brag tags} at Image Stuff. The packs come in 10 different designs and include chains, too. I seriously can’t say enough about these!! Our school counselor typically places all of the brag tag orders for our school and she raves and raves about Image Stuff…they’re a GREAT company to work with and their turnaround is insanely fast!

You’ll have to let me know if you decide to implement these in your classroom! They’re my absolute FAVORITE!!!

Wandering Wednesday…A New Feature

Happy Hump Day, y’all! Welcome to my newest little weekly feature…

Each Wednesday I’m going to feature a few fabulous teaching blogs. There are SO many out there, and if you’re anything like me, you don’t want to miss out on ANY of them! I mean, there’s no such thing as TOO many ideas, right?! {Don’t ask Mr. Spouse what he thinks about that…he’ll tell you I’ve got LOTS of half finished “ideas” all over our house :) Bless him.}

Let’s get started, shall we?!

First, let’s wander on over to LeAnne’s little corner of the blogosphere. LeAnne is the author of…

Sweet LeAnne is a 2nd grade Kansas teacher. LeAnne also taught both 3rd & 4th grade AND this busy mom of one has an Etsy shop to boot! She’s got some pretty great teaching ideas, too! Here are some of my favorites…

This darling science journal cover {a free download on her blog}

And I LOVE this regrouping game! Wish I had it when I taught 2nd!

She’s pretty new to this wonderful little world of teaching blogs, so stop by, leave her some love, and follow her adventures in teaching.

Next stop, sweet Alicia from The First Grade Factory. Alicia isn’t new to the scene. She’s been whippin’ out great ideas & practical tips for a while now. She’s been teaching first grade for the last 7/8 years and she has some fabulous things to share. She’s sweet as all get out, too! One of my favorite ideas are these great directions icons. You can download them for free on her blog!

I also love these syllable counting activities {another free download}. They’re perfect for this time of year!

Stop by The First Grade Factory, say hello, and subscribe to follow her so you don’t miss out on any fun ideas!

Last stop, Blog Hoppin’. I love the sweet ladies that organized this collaborative blog...and I swear I’m not sayin’ that because I’m an author! HA! These women are some of the sweetest, most sincere teachers! I adore their passion & excitement for teaching and their sweet, giving hearts. Here are some recent ideas that I just love!…

Shelley Gray’s quadramas. I can think of A MILLION different ways my firsties can use these!

Anna Brantley’s classroom community idea. This is pretty dang awesome…totally using this next week!

I also really love “the power of a bandaid” activity from Denise. A great lesson on fairness!

Stop by and browse around, leave a little love, and don’t forget to follow!

If you’re interested in being featured on Wandering Wednesday, send me an email at thefirstgradeparade@gmail.com! Can’t wait to window shop a little more next week!

Lesson Plan Template

Happy Labor Day, y’all!!! The weather here in Texas is nothing short of AMAZING!!! It was sunny, windy, and 74 this morning, so I took my boys to a little “beach” {sand pit, more or less} and we played and drank purple milkshakes in honor of an extra day together!! My oldest, Landon, was all, “Mommy, it’s TOO cold to play outside!!!!” as he shivered and tucked his arms into his shirt. That’s my boy! He’s ALL Texas, for sure!! LOVE IT!!! I have to say, I was pretty dang chilly! I guess after 60+ days of temps over 100, anything less is bound to feel a little cold! HA!

While my boys…all 3 of them…are napping, I thought I’d share with you guys my lesson plan template. Now, let me just tell y’all that I’ve been using this format since my 2nd year teaching. One of the girls on my team, Wendy, created it. It’s an Excel document, so y’all need to know that I had NOTHING to do with this creation! I can’t function in Excel to save my life! I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this format!

I’ve tried TONS of different planning templates. I’ve found SO many in blogland. I just can’t get away from this one. Maybe it’s just familiarity, but it just seems to work the best FOR ME!

I’m a little thorough when I plan, so I like having lots of space to type what I need. It’s clean and simple. The only thing that might be a little confusing is my Math Station column. It looks like I only do one math tub a day, but that’s not the case. They’re rotated all week.

I always like to see how people plan because it helps me to organize, too! Hopefully this is helpful for you :) If you’re interested in having a copy of this template for yourself, just click on the link below. There are some tabs on the bottom of the page. You’ll need to click on sheet 1 & sheet 2. The plans are on two separate sheets. I’ve never uploaded an Excel document before, so I hope this works!!

Download Lesson Plan Template

Hope y’all are enjoying this extra day of FUN!!!!!

The One With Nothing Related To Teaching {Part 2}

Yesterday was supposed to be a normal day. I was supposed to go to school, have a very uneventful day, and then celebrate the happiness that is Friday at a little “pick me up” with my other sweet teacher friends after school. Since I haven’t seen Mr. Spouse ALL week {dang you, football season!!!!}, I snagged a babysitter for Friday night so that we could have a date night {his ONLY free Friday night of the football season}.

Well, I should be very familiar with the fact that NOTHING ever goes according to plans! Mr. Spouse called early in the a.m. to let me know my little bit was running a BIG fever. He had to be at work by noon-thirty and I had to leave school unexpectedly to cover sick duty. I even had to call and cancel the sitter. My team is AMAZING and they took my littles for me. Mr. Spouse took my older one with him to work so I could get some SERIOUS cuddle time in with my sickling…all alone. God definitely had a better plan for my day. Cuddle time with my little bit is SO few and far between these days, so you’d better believe that I soaked up every little fever induced second.

While little bit was sleeping on my chest, I broke down and rented Never Say Never. Hi. My name is Cara. I’m 32 and I have Bieber Fever. And I’m SO not ashamed to admit it! HA!!

Love, love, LOVE this kid!!!! So unbelievably talented and adorable. Seriously ladies, if you haven’t seen it yet, you MUST. It’s SO stinkin’ good!! I’m not gonna lie when I tell you that it genuinely brought tears to my eyes. Gosh dang. It SO reminded me of my first musical crush…New Kids on the Block. I remember my parents getting me tickets to their show for my 13th birthday. It was my first concert EVER and OHMIWORD…the BEST!!! And you’d better believe that I totally went ALL OUT and went back to the concert when NKOTB starting touring again a couple of years ago. I was seriously reliving all of those feelings while I was watching that movie. So dang cute!

In other news, I’m super excited about Kim Adsit’s new blog, Kindergals. If you haven’t visited her yet, GO NOW. Love her and all her darling ideas!!!

I’m also excited about all the new blogs that are popping up in blogland! There are SO many!!! If you’d like for your blog featured, shoot me an email at thefirstgradeparade@gmail.com . I’d love to feature new blogs every Wednesday here at Emilyk Cole.

Hope y’all have a very relaxing, very restful 3-day weekend!! Happy {almost} Labor Day, sweet friends!!!!

No David! I’m a Peacemaker!

A few weeks ago, sweet Julie over at Mrs. Lee’s Kindergarten wrote this great little post about Peacemakers & Peacebreakers. Immediately, I was smitten…absolutely IN.LOVE with her idea. In our Social Studies curriculum for the first few weeks of school, we’re supposed to teach the littles about rules, people who make rules, consequences, etc. Julie’s Peacemaker activity was just TOO perfect not to implement!!!

We read No David!, David Goes to School, and David Gets in Trouble.

Of course, the kids got a giant kick out of the bare bottom picture of David running through the street. They just LOVE David…as naughty as he may be :) I had already read “How to Fill a Bucket” and introduced bucket filling, so my firsties were immediately all, “David is being a BUCKET DIPPER!!!!!!”. LOVE. It was the perfect segue into talking about the differences between Peacemakers and Peacebreakers. We made a couple of anchor charts with their ideas of what each looks like…

After brainstorming a little about Peacemakers/breakers we made little {Julie Lee inspired} Davids with speech bubbles that said, “I’m a Peacemaker when I…” Seriously, this goes along SO well with our bucket fillers! Our campus is about to relaunch Rachel’s Challenge {LOVED this last year} in a couple of weeks, and this goes along great with that initiative, too!!

I just LOVE using this vocabulary in the classroom!!! So fitting and age appropriate!The whole grade level is going to hang these on a huge “We are Peacemakers!” bulletin board out in our hallway!

I made up a cheesy little peacemaker promise/pledge/pact that I had my kids sign. We said it over, and over, and over again and when they signed it, they had to pinky promise they’d *try* their best to be a Peacemaker ALL the time :)

“I will be a Peacemaker today & everyday. With all my actions, in all my thoughts, and in everything I say!”

Keeping the peace in first grade isn’t always easy. Kids say and do things that aren’t always very kind. So, I set up a little “Peacemaker Conflict Corner” in my classroom where the kids will sit and “talk it out” when they’re having problems with each other {I’m hoping this nook isn’t used very often ;)}

I made a little Peacemaker guide to problem solving, too…just incase they forget how to resolve their issues :) You can click on the pic to download a copy if you want :)

Graphics courtesy of Scrappin’ Doodles

If you haven’t checked out Julie’s original post on peacemakers, go now!