A Day in the Life...

I am linking up with Reagan over at Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits to share a peek of my daily schedule with you.  I always love seeing how other teachers manage to get everything all in a packed day, so make sure you link up and share your day as well!

Just in Case You Were Wondering About My Personal Morning Routine  (Because I am nosey about these types of things, and maybe you are too!)

4:30 AM - Wake up Call.  If I am being good, I workout on the treadmill for 30-45 minutes, but if I'm not, I often convince myself that this is a great time to work on a blog post, TpT product, or just cruising Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.  I am working on trying to be healthier, but it is a struggle!

I wake my older two boys at 5:30 and I "officially" start my blog/TpT work hour.  I get ready for my day at 6:30 and wake Luke (my youngest) up as soon as I am ready.  Getting him up and out of bed is always a struggle, and it was even worse when I had to hunt down uniforms that did not get put away or put in his laundry basket.  We finally came up with a system that helps our mornings out a TON!

Each day of the school week has its own drawer (the top two are for extra socks and underwear).  Every Sunday we put a complete set of clothes for each day of the week in each drawer.  So much easier!

7:30 - 8:25 I head to school and prep things for my day.

8:25 I pick the students up at the playground and we walk together to class. They often love telling me stories as we walk.

8:35 - 8: 50 - Morning Meeting.  We start each day with a morning meeting that by this time of the year is mostly student run.  It has taken a lot of constant reminders about talking one at a time and taking turns, but it is so worth it!  Not only does it help them feel more like a family, but it also works those public speaking skills that are required in the Common Core.  Even my most shy students share during Morning Meeting!  You can read more about our Morning Meeting process here.  (Ignore my messy classroom - we are in need of some Spring Cleaning!).

9:00 - 9:15 Daily Math Review We start each math block with a spiral review of skills we have been working on all year.

Often students use this time to finish their breakfast.  Each day they solve 5 problems independently.  We go over each problem together as a class.  On Friday they take a quiz with problems that are similar to the skills we have been working on all week.  If they struggle with a concept, it stays on the review.  You can read more about Daily Math Review here.

9:15 - 9:25  Kicking It Math.  This is by far the students' favorite part of the day.  It is a math fact mastery program that I have developed where the students earn "belts" as they pass certain levels, just like in karate!  You can read about the whole system here.

They like it so much that they often choose it as a practice choice during Math Workshop!

9:25 - 10:15 - Math Workshop.  In our classroom math workshop consists of whole group mini-lessons, math journals, problem solving, games, and small group lessons.  We also complete Accelerated Math Lessons.



10: 15 RECESS

10:15 - 11:00 Math Workshop Continued

11:00 - 11:40 Specials.  We have specials Mon- Thurs. Our specials are Library, Counselor, PE, and Stem.  Two of these days are preps for me and two of these days are collaborations with the other third grade teachers.

11: 40 - 12:25 Lunch

12:25 - 1: 05 Study Island.  We have been using Study Island as our test prep for the SBAC which we are taking in May for the first time.

1:05- 2:15 Reader's/ Writer's Workshop.  We use Lucy Calkins' Units of Study for Writer's Workshop and will start using the Reader's Workshop units next Fall.  For now, my reading is a mix of Daily 5 and Reader's Workshop.  My students read and write independently while I confer with students or work with small groups.

We do a lot of writing about our reading!

2:15 - RECESS - I have duty at this time.

2:15 - 3:00 Cont. Reader's Writer's Workshop

3:00 - 3:15 Pack and Stack, Afternoon Meeting and Dismissal!

I hope you enjoyed learning about our day!  I would love to hear about yours as I am already thinking about next year!  Link up with Reagan and share!