Keeping Up With Kirbys

I'm sure you can picture my cabinets at the house and I'm positive that I would drive some of you crazy but my sweet family has learned to LOVE it....I think.  Josh doesn't even ask me anymore if I want him to save....this or that, he just washes the container and puts it away for me.  He's pretty great.  If you read my last post then you know that I bought WHITE enamel paint on accident. Well, I decided to use it on some of my jars in the cabinet. I needed another (yes another) place to keep writing utensils.  I'm a teacher....we love all the writing things. ;-) This paint was perfect for the jars.  I love how the color turned out.  I cut up some old fabric for the ribbon around the top. A circular sponge made the just right polka dots and I taped off one of the jars and used chalkboard spray paint to cover the bottom. Yes, that's glitter on my workbench.  Every girl needs glitter all over her workbench, right?! The writing is v...

Kids LOVE to tell you stories but sometimes they get stuck when it 's time to write them .  I've created a writing display full of ideas and a variety of reasons to write. Not only do my students BLOG , which I believe is an important form of communication and a unique way of writing BUT they also WRITE with pencil(or FUN pens) and paper .  They publish stories, write letters to pen pals, make lists, and add entries to their journals. There are a variety of reasons why we write.  I created the writing display board to help my kiddos establish a purpose when writing and then give them ideas for the p urpose they choose. We formally go through the writing process in our classroom and this can be tracked on the writing process chart with clothespins lab eled with each students name or number .   If you need ideas or want to make a writing display board you can get it { HERE }.  Tomorrow I will attend a writing workshop so I'm sure(hope) that I w...

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...

After reading the story Henry and Mudge this week the kids came up with reasons why they would deserve a pet and made a Mudge craft to go with it.   Not really the best picture but they turned out cute.......trust me.  I loved reading why they felt like they deserved a new pet AND their creativity with their dogs.   You can stop by my TPT store and pick up the template for free.  This week we will read My Family, and discuss differences and similarities between the family in the story and our own family.  I plan to upload that craft this week.  Be on the look out.  :)) Well, my weekend has come to an end and BOY!! has it been busy.  I LOVED  every minute of it, though.  We spent time at the park, played 2 on 2 football in the front yard, and then our ENTIRE family (all 4 of us plus Boomer, our dog) ran the 9/11 5K.  The last time I ran was before school started and I oooonly ever run a mile, and both of my little sweets...

I love to write with my kids but I always get nervous and question myself......... am I doing it right.?!  I think the most important thing in any new adventure, young or old, is praise! encouragement!! and more praise!!!  Writing is definitely an adventure for our kiddos (and us).  So I just want to say "You are doing a fantastic job!!"  Just wanted to share the way I organize my writing folders.  I have always had helpful parents that have volunteered to put these together at the beginning of each year. First, attach 2 three brad folders together.  This will allow the kids to have 4 pockets in their folder for the different processes of writing and their very own word wall in the middle.  Next, add your labels and word wall  templates.  Again, you can have a parent volunteer do this for you or you can allow the kids to cut and paste.  We make a big deal about our writing folders and the kids really feel like these are ve...