Keeping Up With Kirbys

This time of year is a great time to try new things.  I mean, why not?  The kids are a little (a lot) crazy and schedules are constantly changing for testing, assemblies, visitors, and programs.  So why not try to add something new?!   I absolutely LOVED blogging with my 4th graders last year. The writing was authentic, engaging, and meaningful.  They would write and write and write.  They would respond to their peers appropriately, learn about each other on much more personal level, and they became more careful, thoughtful writers.  I think I became a better teacher to these kids because they opened up about what they loved, feared, and looked forward to and they enjoyed doing it.  Their blogs were little pieces of them that they allowed me and their classmates to be apart of. SAD NEWS: Kidblogs is no longer free.  As wonderful as it was I just cannot afford to pay a monthly fee for it. HAPPY NEWS: I have found a new way...

Well ya'll, I have so many wonderful things going on in the classroom and it's all things techy.  I cannot wait to share a few of them with you.   If you haven't stopped by our class blog then you should.     { Mrs. Kirby's Kid's Blog } These authentic pieces of writing just make me so stinkin' happy.  I constantly check my email throughout the weekend to see if they have written anything.  Not because I told them to but because they want to. (insert happy teacher dance right here)  I took my very first student bloggers to the school board and they told our school board what a blog is and why they think it's important.  I gave each one of the kids that presented a small journal, sticky notes and pens to write their ideas about things they'd like to blog about.  This is what their journals look like 2 days later.... These kids cannot get enough!!  Look at all their THOUGHTS... BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!   Look at...