Whew!! What a start!!

Holy Moly time is flying!! I can't believe we are 6 weeks in already! I have had so much fun so far getting to know all of my students. They are AMAZING and I already feel incredibly blessed to be their teacher! Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to so far!

 Our Door for Fall

 Crazy Classroom!! 

 Crazy Classroom!

 Crazy Classroom!

 Crazy Classroom!

 Our 5th Grade Mission Statement :)

The Lost Colony of Roanoke Project

We have been working hard at getting to know each other and work on a TON of reading basics. These kiddos are super hard workers and I am so proud of the work that they are accomplishing! 

These last days....

I can not believe there are only 5 1/2 days left with my precious 5th graders. I was blessed to have most of this group while they were 3rd graders and was so excited to get to have them again this year. I have gotten to see them grow and change throughout this year. As I pack up my classroom and get ready to shut things down for the year I catch myself looking at their sweet faces ( I still see that baby 3rd grade face on most of them) and wondering who they will grow to be, hoping that I have given them as much as I can before they enter the scary world of Jr. High. I think that this is one of my favorite parts about being a teacher... it is so cool to see kids turn into little adults and start to grow into who they are. We get to watch them begin to form their own opinions and express them (even if we do not always agree with them), we get to see them interact with their peers and see the kindness within them shine through, we get to see them rise up to an opportunity to share what they believe in, we get to see the light bulb moments when something that they have been struggling with clicks. It is AWESOME!! I am always excited at the end of a year to see how far they have come but so sad to see them go. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE summer time but, it is hard not to see my 5th grade kiddos on a daily basis and know that when I see them again they will be in Jr. High! I am so proud of this group and I know that the BEST IS YET TO COME from them!

A STAAR letter to my students

My 5th graders will take the STAAR test this week. Math on Tuesday and Reading on Monday! I wanted to be sure that they knew some things before they tested. Here is the letter I sent home on Monday.

My precious 5^th graders,

Here are some things that I want you to know before you take your STAAR test. I know that we have put a lot of emphasis on the importance of this test (and it is SUPER important) but, there are some other important things you need to know!

1. You are Amazing! Pass or fail you have done AMAZING things this year! Don’t let the test tell you that you are not! It took amazing students to jump into reading the way that you have this year!

2. This one day does not determine how smart you are! Think of all the stuff you have learned this year! Think of all that you have added to your brain! One test on one day is not going to determine how much you have taken away.

3. You have awesome character! Not only has your brain grown this year but so has your heart! There is no way a test could measure the

love, joy, friendship, humor  and 7 habit traits that you have displayed in 5^th grade. I got to see firsthand and you have blown me away with your precious spirits. Not to mention all of the laughing that has occurred!

4. There is only 1 you- it is totally true! You have a heart, talent and future that no one else in this world has! This test can’t define that!

5.  Pass or Fail I am incredibly proud of you! You have worked hard and I am honored to call you my student! I know the amount of work we did with inferencing, summary (BME), authors purpose, main idea, plot, and this list could fill the page, and I also know that you ROCKED it! I have no doubt that you will rock it on STAAR.

I know that you will take something away by taking the STARR test and that there is a value with the test but more importantly there is an incredible value in you! And nothing not even a test can define that!

                                                          Love:                                                               Mrs. Manes

Reading Fair Projects!

This was our first year to do a reading fair and our projects turned out GREAT!! I think this is one of my new favorite projects! The kids had fun doing them and I am having fun grading them! I have uploaded the rubric to my Teachers Pay Teachers store if anyone is interested!

The Lemonade War

By: Jaqueline Davies 

Goosebumps: Stay Out of the Basement

By: R.L. Stine

Time for Andrew

By: Mary Downing Hahn

Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Long Haul

By: Jeff Kinney 

Flora and Ulysses

By: Kate DiCamillo

These students did a FANTASTIC job! I am super proud of their hard work!

State Parade Floats

We have been covering states and capitols in Social Studies and did a states parade! It was so much fun and the students did amazing work!! Each students drew a states name out of a bucket and had a list of criteria that had to be included on their float.

Wisconsin

Illinois

Hawaii, Alabama & Connecticut

 

Nebraska

Georgia

So proud of my kiddos for working so hard!! We have had a great time learning about all of our States and Capitols!