Monday, October 17, 2011

Say Goodbye To Boring Calendar Time...Hello Mimio / Calendar Notebooks!

This year I said goodbye to boring calendar time in my room.  I trashed my wall calendar and said goodbye to the days of students gathered around me during traditional calendar time wiggling and struggling to pay attention.



Now my calendar time is fun, interactive, full of songs/movement and is technology based!  I created an interactive mimio/smartboard file for each calendar month and students use their own calendar folders (which change throughout the year as skills progress) to follow along, sing, and help ME with calendar time.  All students are engaged and eager to participate!  No more wiggles!  I LOVE IT!

The calendar notebook is a folder with brads that holds clear page protectors.  I fill the page protectors with pages that match each mimio page.  So whatever the students see in their calendar folder is projected up on my whiteboard!  One of my students thinks we are playing a video game each day... :)  Each mimio page is interactive and as I write on the mimio,  students use whiteboard markers to write on their own calendar pages.  The whiteboard marker can then be erased from the student pages and are used again each day!  We sing songs, play games, practice letter sounds, sight words, counting, number recognition, number formation, practice labeling sets, tens frame activities, patterning, recording data, coin names, addition, graphing...and so much more.  What a great way to start the day!  It's amazing!  Calendar folder pages and matching monthly mimio files will be posted soon! :)

Ok, so here it is...a sample of a calendar folder page along with song suggestions/activities to use in your classroom.


8 comments:

  1. I'm excited to find out what your calendar time consists of! I'm seriously thinking of ditching my old tradtional routine and modernizing it on my Promethean

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  2. Thanks! More to come soon! The kids seem to really love calendar time now and I can see a major improvement in student achievement this year with the use of calendar notebooks compared to years past. That makes for a happy teacher... :)

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  3. I love the idea of having a calendar time have the folders in them. Have you ever seen Move Over Here Comes Math Wall from Kim Jordano. It has lots of great resources you may like for that. I personally have a hectic few weeks.. but I may just add this in a month or so!


    Empowering Little Learners!

    Simply Centers

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  4. This is an awesome idea. I really hope to have a smartboard or promethian board. Is there a way to purchase this in a zaner-bloser type font?

    Thanks,

    Donna

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  5. Does the Mimio Calendar come in a power point presentation?

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  6. I have never had a math wall because of space. I now have a mimio board, so I am excited to try this. Thank you!!!

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  7. I am so excited to try this! Thanks a million!

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  8. I am so excited to try this! Thanks a million!

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