Welcome to the 2015-2016 School Year!

Happy August!  We have completed our second full week of school and we are off to a great start!  We have a few changes for this year.  I am working with third, fourth, and fifth grade this year and Mrs. Bagby will work with Kindergarten, first, and second grade.

My fourth grade counselor lessons have really been fun.  We are focusing on getting to know you activities and how we can be 'AWESOME' this year.

As you probably know, Kid President's videos are powerful, fun, and meaningful.  I began my lesson by showing Kid President's Pep Talk.

He begins by telling us that we all need a pep talk and proceeds to tell us how to be 'AWESOME!'  After this short video, we did an activity that I adapted from Stephen Wolfe on Teachers Pay Teachers.  You can access it here.  

While the students were working on answering these questions, I asked them to complete my parking lot. 

I love their answers!  Of course, some of their suggestions, like 'Have longer lunch,' 'Give us money,' and 'Serve us cake,' were silly.  Most of their responses, however, were serious.  Students asked us to listen to them, help them with math, help them with their problems, teach more reading and writing, and add an extra library so that they can have more books.  I hung these signs in the staff lounge so that our staff members can see the wonderful ideas that our students have.  I also feel that most of their answers affirm what we already know...Kids needs us and they love learning.  Have a great week!

I'll see you in August!

Field Trip to Nelson-Atkins Musem

I had SO MUCH FUN during the field trip with fifth grade to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Thank you to our hosts for our tours, individual classes, and opportunities to learn more about art.

We all Make Mistakes! And it's OK!

As the school year continues and the students continue getting to know each other, it's important to remember that NOBODY IS PERFECT!  We all make mistakes, we all goof up, and IT'S OK!

I began my last lesson by showing the students a video from Kid President (The kids LOVE Kid President!).  He talks about wanting to be an inventor and failing during his attempts.  One of his best lines is:  "It's ok to make mistakes, but it's not ok to stop trying."

I then give them the following paper and ask them to 'fix my mistake.'

As you can see, the kids were very clever with their creations.

Have a great week!  And remember...Nobody is perfect and we have NO right to point out flaws and mistakes when we see them in others.

Your friend,
Mrs. Muller

Happy 2015!

Happy 2015!  Well...technically, I'm a month late with that greeting; however, 2015 is off to a wonderful start at Gracemor Elementary!  Even though it's already February, we are still working on our goal setting/New Year's resolutions during our counselor lessons.

I found a wonderful resource by Zanah McCauley on Teachers Pay Teachers (click here).  This fabulous freebie is a twelve page booklet of activities to use with students.  I chose six pages to use as a booklet for my lessons.

Of course, the favorite part of this activity for the students was the coloring.

The students were first asked to take a look back at 2014 and reflect on a few important things...their favorite moment, their favorite book, a new friend made, and the best lesson learned.

The next page consisted of their telling all about themselves in 2015.  They enjoyed this part of the activity SO MUCH!

Finally, we focused on goals and resolutions for the New Year.  This student said that she's going to work on: changing her attitude, improving her reading level, making new friends, and becoming good at fractions.

They also completed this page where they were asked to identify two new skills to learn, 'zero in' on one thing they'd like to change, state one wish, and list five things to be thankful for.

Finally, they put it all together and do a short writing piece on their resolutions.  I told them that goal setting is important both at school and at home.

Our fourth and fifth grade students worked so hard on this packet and I am very proud of their work!   I love this resource and I'm so glad that Zanah has it as a freebie on Teachers pay Teachers!
Have a great week!

Mrs. Muller

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun

I discovered another wonderful new book this year, Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy.

The illustrations in this book are beautiful and lay the foundation for the loving story.  

This book tells the story of Lucy and Ralph.  Lucy is a unique little girl who likes different foods, like toast smeared with ketchup and spaghetti in a hot dog bun.  As a result, Ralph singles her out and teases her.  Lucy's Papa Gino reminds her that everyone has a heart with feelings, but Lucy isn't so sure.  The bullying continues until Ralph has trouble at recess one day.  Will Lucy help him?  Grab this beautifully illustrated book to find out!

The author, Maria Dismondy, has a wonderful Website that has numerous activities which can be used for lessons and enrichment. 

I used two of her activities during my counselor lessons.

For this activity, students are asked to write about a time that they showed courage.  Since writing is an academic focus, it is important for students to practice this skill whenever possible.  

Students were also given the attached bookmark to color.  Since counselor lesson is right after library check-out, these bookmarks can be immediately used.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Muller

Play 60!

Look who came to Gracemor yesterday!  That's right...KC Wolf, mascot of the Kansas City Chiefs!!

Mr. Hummel worked so hard arranging for our school to be a 'Play 60' school.  Remember...try to play for SIXTY minutes every day, and I don't mean video games!  You should aim for at least sixty minutes of physical activity everyday!  More information can be found on the NFL Play 60 Website.

Have a great week!  Happy 2015!

Mrs. Muller