Five for Friday- LATE as usual

I'd like to think I have a very good reason for not linking up on Friday. I was in NEW MEXICO for a family wedding and didn't bring my laptop. Looking back though...I'm sure savvy bloggers bring their devices everywhere so they can blog anywhere. Ooops! I guess I'm not quite that savvy yet. Ha! Either way...here's my Five for Friday (on a Monday) because we just got into town at 4AM. Obviously, I took a personal day today and stayed home to catch up on sleep! *And I got to take my sweeties to their afternoon Preschool class. BONUS! 

 

I LOVED this center this week...we worked on names, names, names. I have a large oil drip pan for our magnet center...this comes in super handy because it's portable. This week, we laid the pan on the carpet and four friends could set around the rectangle shape. The laminated templates (pictured above) are from Julie Lee's September Intervention pack found here. She also includes one with handwriting lines that we'll use with dry erase markers. Students built their name with magnets, then covered up the letters in their name with small erasers. Once finished, they could grab a classmate's name and bring it to their center to do the same. *I attach my student name plates with Velcro so I can easily change and move them throughout the year. The Velcro allowed the students to grab a name quickly and return it when they were finished.

 

  

This is our writing center, thanks to the talented DeeDee Wills. Find these wonderful monthly resources here! This was only our third week of school, and this was our FIRST time at this center. I controlled it a bit and gave them the paper they were to complete. DeeDee offers a variety of writing pieces for students to work on each month. It's a great way to differentiate and keep this center FUN for all of the students. We started simple and completed a labeling page. Normally, I'll provide all of the writing pages for students to choose from when they're at this center.

I wonder if DeeDee needs brand reps. Haha! I kid, I kid. This is our Listening Center from DeeDee's TPT store. I was looking for a way to make our "center time" a little more manageable each week and stumbled upon her listening centers last year. She correlated the listening center packets with Scholastic's Kindergarten CD Library pack each month. GENIUS! Confession, I own them all. The kids LOVE this station...and so does this teacher! Such an easy go-to center week after week.

 

I have 5 iPods for my classroom and to be honest, this is an area where I struggle in my classroom. How to effectively integrate this type of technology into the classroom is always on my To-Do list. This is a personal goal for my school year so I decided to start simple and do scavenger hunts with our color words. Thursday was our "yellow" day...so students worked in groups of 4 to find and take pictures of something "yellow" in our room. Each student could snap their own picture. Ok...MOST of them know how to use these devices (not surprising). I WAS surprised at the amount of selfies I found when we looked back through our "yellow" finds. Wow. HAHA! After a few friendly reminders, I had to ban a couple of friends from our next scavenger hunt later in the day. (We did one with shapes during our math workshop.)

 

 

I wasn't in school on Friday because my husband's brother was getting married...in NEW MEXICO! We flew out Thursday night and got back in this morning at 4AM. It was a beautiful weekend full of amazing scenery and wonderful memories with family. And the kicker...my school cancelled on Friday due to fog! (Gotta love rural communities) I get my personal day back! Wahoo! 

Have a GREAT week, friends! October is coming!

Five for Friday- Selfie-Free Style!

As promised...this Five for Friday edition will be selfie-free. Sorry about that last week, folks! We had a GREAT week in Kindergarten reading the classic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom books.

Stamping and spinning fun. This was only our second week of Kindergarten so these centers from Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten and Peace, Love, and Learning were perfect for my "first-timer" cuties. I let kiddos use uppercase or lowercase stamps which was a great way to differentiate for every student. And who doesn't love their very own spinner?!

Slow and steady...we began DeeDee and Deanna's Writer's Workshop. In the past 2 weeks, we've only made it 2 days. YIKES! We're still working on time management with Mrs. Murray haha! But I'm so excited that when we haven't done it...the kiddos are asking for it! This sweetheart used our popcorn words for the week "I" and "am"...and stretched out dancing. I helped her with the -ing chunk. Swoon!

This was the PERFECT activity for our popcorn words "I" and "am"this week. Check out Julie Lee's Brown Bear Unit here. We read the familiar story first and then colored our pictures. Then the students highlighted the popcorn words in each sentence. *Highlighters are such a big deal in our classroom. Anyone else agree about the level of excitement they can bring?* I also passed out eye rings to each student and let the reading BEGIN! We made a big deal out of the fact that we could READ these sentences! Yay for you, KINDERS!

Potentially the most random picture for a Five for Friday?! Do you SEE the giant 4 in the sky though? (Hint: It's on its side.) I am loving my morning drives as of late. I haven't been in the habit of slowing down and enjoying the beauty that HE creates in each day. I'm usually rushing around, getting the kiddos ready for preschool, making sure they've eaten breakfast, and remembering their lunches for the day! The sunrise is such a perfect example and reminder to slow down and soak in His creation.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day was a success! We celebrated at school AND at home. My Kindergarten students could not WAIT to share their favorite pirate joke with anyone that even came near our classroom door. Who knew the famous line "What's a pirate's favorite letter?" could be so hilarious. We shared it with our principal and made her laugh until she cried. They couldn't. contain. themselves. Our church group had a giant pirate party, complete with a treasure hunt for the kids and an outdoor movie The Pirate Fairy. It was a BLAST! Here are just a few more pics of our Friday night fun.

 

Have a blessed weekend, friends!

Five for Friday

     I'm linking up for the first time with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday Weekly Linky Party! This was our FIRST week in Kindergarten...and it was a FULL week at that! Normally we phase-in our Kindergarteners with clinic, testing, and parent orientation...but with a late start due to construction that looked a little different this year. We started our first day on Monday and called it quits on Friday! Whew!

Nothing like a good morning selfie on the First Day of School! My sweet kiddos all obliged and held up this sign as I took their pictures. I have 20 sweet face this year!

I don't know if I can ever NOT do The Kissing Hand on the first day of school. I just love our Chester activities! I SHOULD have snapped the pictures of the infamous handprint puzzles where we attached our poem from Mrs. Jump! We stamped a heart in the middle of our palms to go with our Kissing Hand theme. Making Chester from hearts is a super easy project for 1st day babes. Students had the opportunity to fill out the sentence "___________ came to Kindergarten today and felt ________." I put the date at the bottom too. I have all but two kiddos who can write their name (mostly legible) and I scribed the feelings part. This sweetie felt "super good" to be in Kindergarten! 

I promise I won't fill my Five for Fridays with SELFIES! EEK! How embarrassing! We explored our math manipulatives all week and it just melts my heart when they make link creations for the teacher. This particular sweetie even made it maize and blue for my favorite team! Living in Ohio...I'm usually surrounded by a lot of Buckeyes! Oddly enough, I'm a Michigan fan and I am so thankful to have 4 or 5 other kiddos who cheer for the same team as ME! 

MATH WORKSHOP! Friends...have you checked out the Guiding Kinders Math Workshop from DeeDee Wills and Deanna Jump? Amazing. We began using their units in the middle of last school year and I haven't looked back. Trying Math Workshop this week was a little frightening. And we didn't do it all 5 days...but we started it and each day was a little better than the day before. Honestly, after day 1...I was ready to throw in the towel. HA! But Friday, we did the lesson pictured above and it was AWESOME! My favorite thing about Kindergarten is all of the ways five and six-year olds amaze you.

LAST awkward selfie (I promise next week they're won't be a SINGLE one!)...but on FRIDAY...I joined my hubby as a 30-something! When you're out celebrating by yourselves...it's kind of hard to get a good picture. But we like to goof around and I hope that never changes as we work our way through the 30s decade. Between my beautiful Stella & Dot necklace (gift from my hubby) and my sweet cards and pictures from my Kinders...it was a pretty special day to bring in my 30th year of life. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Currently September with Farley- My First!

Ok...I have no idea what I'm doing...BUT this lonely blog needs some FUN! As I was scrolling through my IG feed, I saw others linking up with Farley for her Currently September and thought it was a now or never kind of day! It's September 1st so why not start this month off with a blog post. (and a FUN one at that!) Here's hoping I do this correctly...

Listening: to my kiddos play! They're 21 months apart (almost 5 and a just turned 3-year old) and for the most part...they get along exceptionally well!

Loving: that we haven't started school yet! Due to new school construction...we're slated to start tomorrow! However, since I teach Kindergarten we'll use this week for some phase-in days and KRA testing. So I technically won't get my full class until NEXT Monday! Yikes!

Thinking: about turning 30 this month...11 days to be exact. I'll be honest, the thought of turning 30 is really freaking me out. 

Wanting: to be healthier this year. I don't exercise, but I DO love sports. I coach basketball and used to coach volleyball. But in general, I don't exercise. And I drink copious amounts of caffeinated drinks (namely pop and coffee). I'm also a Celiac girl so gluten-free is the life for me! But that still doesn't get me out of downing a bag of potato chips when I want to indulge. I'd just like to take my health a little more seriously.

Needing: to go into school and to cook dinner. My good friend and I are in charge of our KRA testing this week...and I really need to go in and get some things ready for that tomorrow morning. I should also feed my hard-working hubby who is tiling our master bathroom...oh and the kids! :)

3 trips: Haiti- Hopefully my husband and I will begin the adoption process this Fall for a little one from Haiti...the details have yet to be worked out...but we're passionate about adoption and can't wait to begin our journey! 

New Mexico- My brother-in-law gets married in 4 weeks...so we're off to Santa Fe! I'm excited to see the beautiful landscapes he has talked about and to spend this time with our family as two become one.

Disney- We would love to take our kiddos to Disney in the next year or so. I think they're at the age where it'd be a lot of fun! 

Ok so there's that! Thanks for taking the time to ready my Currently September! I hope each of you has a fantastic school year! Check out the other wonderful Currently September editions at Oh' Boy 4th Grade!

TPT and Freebies

One of my "dreams" that I talked about in February was opening up my own TPT store. I LOVE creating things! Fun fact...I was voted 'Most Artistic' my senior year. I have very fond memories of my Art teacher in High School. Another fun fact....I wanted to major in graphic design and Spanish. I love the Spanish language and took 4 years of it in high school. My grandma used to tease me and tell me I'd be able to sell tacos in Mexico with that double major. Hmmm...I do LOVE tacos! But after a rough freshman year in college, I knew I wasn't in the right major. The business world isn't always an ethical world. Sooooo I switched to Early Childhood Education and immediately knew that was for me! I'm so thankful God's plan can be loud and clear sometimes.

Ok back to my original dream. TPT. I did it! I have a store! And it has 3 freebies! *Insert squeals of excitement* www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Murrays-Kinders

I'm obviously beginning with some very small items, but am so thankful for those teachers that have downloaded my freebies and left me some feedback. I've started to work my way through the very beginning of the year. I typically do the Kissing Hand, an All About Me theme, then move on to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Community Helpers, Apples...you know, the usual beginning of the year themes. Hopefully these themes will bring some more inspiration for some new items. My husband joked with me the other day about my third freebie. "So when are you going to start making money? I feel like you've only spent it so far." He has a great point, but I know TPT isn't a "get rich quick" thing. So I'm hanging on to the positive feedback I've received so far. And besides, it's FUN! What a great creative outlet...I know I've been missing out for all you wonderful teachers out there that have a current TPT store. Thank you for inspiring me! Have a blessed weekend!

How-To Writing

This week we plunged into some "How-To" writing...if you haven't already checked out these units...they are a MUST for your classroom. I have to say that writing has taken a back burner with all these snow days (TODAY is #15)...so I was ECSTATIC -to say the least- about the "writing" that is being produced. *Have I used enough capital letters in this post?* Monday and Tuesday were spent beginning pieces, finishing pieces, and beginning second and third pieces. I have some very confident kiddos who are already authoring "How-To" number FOUR. Then, I have a couple of kiddos who need a lot of support. The ideas are their own and I have been so blessed by the efforts of these students. Here are some that made my day...do you do writer's workshop in Kindergarten? What works for you?

 

I also had a piece that spoke to the topic of tying a ribbon...it went a little something like this: 1. Get some ribbon. 2. Tie it. 3. And there you go. HA! Five-year olds and six-year olds rock! Happy HUMP day!

I joined Instagram...what's next?

*I'm just going to pretend it hasn't been years since I've blogged.* Ok I'm on Instagram! That's a step in the right direction for putting yourself out there, right? ..I mean, I have been on Instagram "personally" for a while...but Mrs. Murray's Kinders (mrsmurrayskinders) is on Instagram as of a few weeks ago! I love the community that Instagram creates between teachers. And I even have a few followers! I'm currently at 37 and am so, so thankful for that little number! EEEK! Excited! 

I have some big, big dreams that I'd love to put into action before this year ends. I know it's only February...but I'm going to need some time! haha I have to say my inspiration comes from all the awesome teachers on Instagram. (You all) have really inspired and encouraged me to follow these dreams. I'm talking big dreams...for me personally and professionally. Whether the dreams manifest into what I imagine...part of the dream is doing something, anything! Let go and let GOD! 

I think I can, I think I can...

Do you ever feel like you need the encouragement of the little engine? I know I totally let the months of August and September pass...oops! It has been a BUSY year so far. At times, I feel like a first year teacher all over again...just trying to keep my head above water.

I started the Daily 5 this year...with a new Writer's Workshop (Deanna Jump and Deedee Wills published some AMAZING units)...with a Reader's Workshop (Kim Adsit and Michele Scannell have made an equally amazing set of units for RW) and basically a new math 'curriculum.' I'm still trying to juggle the newness of these wonderful things...as well as progress monitoring some of my kiddos for the lovely '3rd Grade Guarantee' and other assessments. I'd like to upload some pictures of things we've done so far this year...and my camera is at school- again. I'm fairly positive that I've said I would upload pictures to this lonely blog for over a year. Hmmm...maybe this weekend! We just finished up a unit on Community Helpers last week. I had some super inspiration from Julie Lee and Jamie Mayas and their community helper art! SO CUTE! Currently, we are doing one of my fave units- APPLES!!! Happy Thursday (tomorrow) to all!

Community Engagement

Happy summer! I began a graduate course this summer and have to create a community engagement project. I have to work with a district-wide concept that cuts across all grades. However, I began thinking of some things that could be done at the elementary level (just because!). Since I work at a K-1 building, I'd like to know what are some (K-1) things your building does to involve the community? Anything that you really like and is well-received? Please share!

On a family-related note... my son turns 1 next month and I made his invites similar to Sydney's last Fall...he loves anything that looks like a "ball" so we're running with that as a theme. I've found some great ideas on Pinterest. I'm excited to get started!

I hope to be back blogging with MUCH more regularity this summer...and this school year. Goals, goals, goals...