St. Patrick's Day 2016!

Happy (2 days after) St. Patrick's Day!

This week was whirlwind!!  We had so much fun packed in to a short amount of time.

Since we had not used any of our 10 built in snow days, our district gave us an extra day off for Spring Break.  So instead of Monday being our first day off, they gave us Friday off too--yay!!

But this meant we packed the 5 days of activities we had planned for the week in to 4 days--crazy but fun!

Here is a peek at our week!


We made a class book:

Their pages turned out so cute, as usual!

She found a pot of 'magic stuff that works' at the end of the rainbow.  :)

We also made plans for catching a leprechaun.  This activity is great for sequencing.  This little girl did such a great job!

'First, I would use a net.  Next, I would sneak up on him.  Then, I would wait.  Last, I would capture him.'

Unfortunately, we did not have time to make actual leprechaun traps.  I really wanted to do this and know the kids would love it--so that is on the list for next year for sure!

My favorite day by far was Thursday.  First, we made these adorable Leprechaun masks!

They were so simple to make and the students absolutely loved them!

But this is not the only reason that day was my favorite.  Some of my favorite teaching moments come when you follow the students' lead, even if it is not on the lesson plan.  They come up with better ideas than me at times, and this St. Patrick's Day was one of those times!

The students came in that day dressed in their green and were so surprised and questioning where the leprechaun was.  They were so sure he was going to come visit.  Knowing I had a little surprise in store for them that afternoon, I simply said, 'Well, maybe he will come visit sometime, who knows.  But I bet if he does come, he will wait until we are out of the room.  He does not want us to catch him.'

This sparked a class discussion of how we could get the leprechaun to come visit and how we could trick him.  One of my students had the idea that we write a letter to the leprechaun.  Another student added to that idea, saying we should 'trick' him by leaving him snacks.  So when we got back from lunch that afternoon, we wrote the letter and set up the 'trick' together:

They thought we should leave him a treat to get him to come to our room.  One of my students had given me that little mini mug that I filled with water, and another student had brought in M&M packets.  So we set both out as a leprechaun snack to see if we could entice him to come!

After this, my students headed to PE and my teammates and I got to work on our surprise!  First, we made a mess of our rooms--and yes this killed my Type A personality to do!!  I just kept repeating to myself, 'it's for the kids, it's for the kids'...  :)

The 'leprechaun' caused all kinds of chaos in our room--he opened cabinets/drawers, moved things around, knocked things over, moved our chairs/seats, sprinkled some gold glitter, etc.  

He ate the snack and left this behind:

When the students got back from PE, they FLIPPED OUT!  They could not believe that naughty leprechaun got away and were determined to catch him! 

We found this note he had left behind:

Along with our first clue!  The leprechaun led us on a hunt through the school, leaving us clues at each place:

Our final clue led us to the cafeteria where we did not find the leprechaun, but we did find the GOLD! 

The leprechaun left a gold chocolate egg, gold cookies (we sprayed them with edible gold spray), green juice, and a special note!

The students had so much fun!  Although they were pretty sad we did not actually catch the leprechaun. ;)

Call me a bad teacher, but there was NO getting them back from this--so we went outside to recess for the last 20 mins of the day.  It was a beautiful day and our last before spring break, so we enjoyed it!

All of these activities (and more) came from my St. Patrick's Day pack.  Click here to check it out!

Thanks for checking out our St. Patrick's Day fun!  I would love to hear what you all did in your classrooms to celebrate!

Now I am off to enjoy my WEEK OFF!  :)

Hump Day Humor! Round 2!

Happy Hump Day!!

I could not be more excited that today is Wednesday---that means tomorrow is Thursday, which is our last day of school before SPRING BREAK!!  Wahoo!!  This teacher needs it!

If you read my first Hump Day Humor post (here), I explained in detail about my new weekly posts.  The point is to spread teacher cheer to all!  :)

Ok, that sounded a little corny...but really though, teaching can be tough.  So instead of curling up in the fetal position under a desk (you know you've done it before), let's choose to laugh our stress away instead.

There are many moments this week that made me smile or laugh out loud (literally).  Here are my Top 5!


We have been learning about St. Patrick's Day, so two of my funny moments have to do with that:

1.      When we were discussing St. Patrick's Day, we talked about things we think of as being associated with St. Patrick's Day (shamrocks, leprechauns, rainbows, green, etc.).

One student (one of my most innocent sweetie pies) raises his hand.

Student:  'I know something else to do with St. Patrick's Day.'
Me:  'What's that?'
Student:  'I always see people on their porches drinking beer.'

Well.....that does go along with St. Patrick's Day festivities I suppose....

2.   I love kid writing.  This was made for our St. Patrick's Day bulletin board:

'I would go to the store and buy a girlfriend.'  

He was very serious about this. 
I'm not sure it's that easy kiddo...

(This activity is part of my St. Patrick's Day Pack.)

3.   Speaking of hallway hangings, we made Cat in the Hats to have up for conferences.  We had the students respond to the prompt at the end of the story where it asks, 'What would you do if your mother asked you?'

The problem is most of mine said they would lie!!!  So I had a bulletin board up for all parents to read that was their kids saying what lies they would make up.

At least they were honest about the fact that they would lie....?

 'The cat broke in that is what I would say.'

My favorite response came from a student in my teaching partner's room though:

'I would tell the truth because so I do not get a whippin.'

Excellent reasoning!

(I made the writing prompt, but the cute Cat in the Hat crafts are from First Grade Blue Skies!)

4.  This literally made me LOL and say Amen at the same time:

I think it is so funny cuz it's true!  Story of my life!

5.  And finally, this is probably tied with #1 for my favorite funny of the week!  This one is also from one of my teaching partner's students.  

We have had caterpillars in our rooms, so we have been observing them and keeping Daily Butterfly Journals.

Here is what this little girl observed on Day 12: 

'I saw a caterpillar poop.'

I cracked up when I saw this!  What an observation.  And the illustration kills me.  Too stinkin funny.

(These journals are part of my Butterfly Unit.)

Well there you have it, my favorite funny stories for the week!  I hope they made you smile!  I would love to hear yours in the comments!

How I Stay Organized For Parent/Teacher Conferences!

Wow!!  So I don't know about you but this was ONE. CRAZY. WEEK.

Amidst many other things, it was Parent-Teacher Conference week at my school.  I love this time, because I get to see and speak to many parents that I don't get to see often....but let's be honest, it's exhausting!!

My school does conference week to where we have full school days Monday-Thursday.  Then on Tuesday and Thursday nights, we have conferences.  Friday we get the day off and it is much needed!

As I was organizing my conferences, I was thinking how much better I am getting at them.  It is pretty much a routine I have down to a science and it helps keep my stress level down.  I go in feeling prepared for the whirlwind that is conferences!

So I thought today I would share with you....

Let me preface by saying nothing in this post is amazingly original, creative, or will blow your mind--they are all very simple tips.  However, as a first/second year teacher, I wish someone had shared these ideas with me.  They are super easy and keep me from forgetting anything important.  It also keeps my stress level down a bit since I know I am organized and ready to go.

The first helpful thing I started doing a couple years back is sending home this paper prior to conferences:

The paper reminds parents that conferences are coming up and asks if there are any particular topics they would like addressed during our conference.  This way, I can be prepared to answer questions/concerns from parents and also have any materials on hand I may need to help.  For example, one student's mom wrote that she wanted to know how she could help him with his letters at home.  So in his conference folder, I put games, activities, and tips for her to help him.  I absolutely love this form--it really lets me know ahead of time of any parent concerns, or vice versa if they have no particular topics they want to cover.


Next, after I get all my testing done, I have a folder for each student (I just use a manila folder).  I stuff them with all of their testing info, copy of the grade card, etc.  Then I attach a cover (bright and colorful of course!):

My secretary is awesome enough that she made us a grid so we can fill in names by the times for each conference.  This way I can see at a glance who is where on my schedule and any openings I have.  My next tip would be DO THIS.  If my secretary didn't have this for us, I would make it--it is simple, but essential to keeping me on schedule for conferences.

Tip #4 is to put all the folders in order of your conference.  That way when each parent walks in, I just grab the folder off the top and that is their student's work.  **This seems like such a simple tip, but I used to have them in order of student numbers, so I was digging through the pile each time to get to the one I needed.  All of a sudden, I was like why am I doing this??  I will just put them in the order I need them.  DUH, Danielle.

Here are my two piles, one for Tuesday night and one for Thursday night.  They are in order of use (first conference on top):

My final tip is not cute or fancy in any way (much of like the other tips), although it has really helped me!  In addition to all of my info I give to parents, they give us SO many extra papers/packets/surveys, etc. to pass out to parents---it never fails, I ALWAYS forget things!  Or there may be something I wanted to ask or speak to a particular parent about and I end up forgetting.....well are you ready for my ultra high-tech, fancy shmancy, uber genius way to help remind myself?? 

Here it is (drumroll please):

Yes, a large Post-it!!  I told you, super genius idea right?  ;)

I started doing this a couple conferences ago, and now I rarely forget anything important.  This conference, I wanted to get as many field trip permission slips signed as possible, and I was also supposed to make sure to discuss and send home summer school info with parents.  So I wrote these on a Post-It and stuck it to my table right next to me.  That way I saw it at every conference.  And yes, I have to write a reminder to have parents sign-in--I don't know why I am so bad at remembering that!!  But this year, I remembered every time thanks to my handy dandy post-it!

So here is my set up when I was all ready for conferences!

With all of these simple things done, I feel so much more relaxed and prepared going into a night of back to back conferences.  And let's face it, the nice and neat little piles just make my Type A heart happy  :)

If you like these ideas, I have put the conference question form and conference folder cover sheets into a little packet for free for you!  Just click here to download.


I hope I have given you at least one idea you can use to keep yourself a little more organized for your next set of conferences!  If you have any other tips, I would love to hear them in the comments!

The First Ever--Hump Day Humor Post!

Hello everyone!

So I don't know about you all, but I LOVE to laugh!  If I meet someone that can make me laugh, we are probably best friends in about 10 seconds flat. 

It is also what makes working with children every day so fun--you truly never know what one of them is going to do or say!

Laughter is honestly what gets me through most days, especially the tough ones.  Some days it seems your only two choices are to either laugh or cry (I can't be the only teacher that has these days right??).  Well, I choose to laugh!  Most days anyway..... we have all had a mental breakdown or two  ;)

I remember my first year of teaching when all these CRAZY things were happening (it was quite the first year--I got broken in quickly!!).  All the veteran teachers at my building were tell me I needed to get a spiral notebook and write all of these hilarious things down.  Some even said I should write a book!  I remember thinking it was a great idea, but with the chaos surrounding me I never got around to it.  I figured I'd remember it all--it was so crazy and hilarious how could I forget right??  Well several years and hundreds of kiddos later, your memory does tend to fade.  I now wish I had started that journal!

Sooooo....along comes this blog!  My first reason for starting this blog was to share ideas and connect with other educators.  My second was to share the daily humor that is teaching (hence the name)!  I want to make people smile, laugh, and most of all remember why we love teaching!

And so each week, I will be doing a Hump Day Humor post where I will be featuring the Top 5 things that made me laugh in the past week!  These could be things that happened to me/my co-workers, things students did/said, funny memes.....I really am not limiting it--whatever made me (and could make you!) smile!

I thought Wednesday would be the perfect day for these posts--I know I personally need a pick me up around Wednesday/Thursday for that little push to make it through the rest of the week.

So without further ado, here are my Top 5 Funnies for this week!

Number 1:

So this was totally me last Friday and my kids definitely noticed (I normally rock that mascara/bronzer in the car on the way to work look--sexy, I know.)  That day I had full makeup, curled hair, and a cute outfit on.  In my defense, it wasn't just for pictures--I was headed straight to the Blake Shelton concert after school that day.  (Which was amazing BTW!!)

The first student that walks in my room that morning looks at me with his head cocked to one side and stares.  After a few seconds:

Student:  'Miss Murphy, you look pretty.'
Me:  'Well, thanks bud, that's nice to hear.'
Student:  'Today.'
Me:  'Oh, so only today?'
Student:  'Yeah.'  *Walks away to go hang up backpack*
Me:  *Sad face*  'Oh.'

If you ever need a confidence boost (or reality check), talk to a 5 year old!

Number 2:

Speaking of picture day, check out this guy's pic day outfit--new glasses, tie, and shoes.

 

2 Words:  Stud.   Muffin.  I could not help but smile every time I looked at this little cutie that day.

Number 3:

As I'm tying this kiddos shoes:

'Miss Murphy, when you tie my shoes you make it really tight.  Then when I get home, my mom can't get them undone so it makes her say bad words.'

I might make just myself a Brag Tag for 'Mad Shoe Tying Skills.'

Number 4:

During our MLK/President's Day studies, I had to touch on what it meant to be 'assassinated' or to 'pass away'.  We talked about what happened to each of the president's we studied, and what was the difference between the two terms.

Apparently this lil guy needs a refresher:

Student:  'Miss Murphy, can I tell you something.  It's kind of sad.'
Me:  'Sure, buddy, what's up?'
Student:  'My dog got assassinated last night.'
Me:  *stunned, trying to hold back laughter*  'Ohhhh, do you mean your dog passed away last night?'

Number 5:

 
And finally, when your caterpillars unexpectedly arrive weeks early--so you have to rearrange lesson plans on the fly and teach the butterfly life cycle in February!  Sorry Dr. Suess, you had to be bumped!

It may still be winter outside, but inside room 6, spring is blooming!  :)

Nothing like scrambling around on a Friday trying to get your butterfly unit ready for Monday!


I hope you got a good laugh or at least a giggle from this post!  I would LOVE to hear your funnies from the week in the comments!

Until next Hump Day!

President's Day Fun in K!

Happy Saturday!!

Wow I have SUCH a to-do list to check off this weekend!  How about you?  Good thing I am up bright and early with my coffee!

I was sitting here prioritizing my list and decided my first task should be to blog since I have been slacking lately.....not on purpose of course.  But still.  I have not been a good blogging friend lately.  So let's fix that now.

I also realized I hadn't yet posted anything about February.  And yes, I know it is now March....but better late than never right??

There is no way I can post everything that happened in this 'short' month--it was a whirlwind of exciting things!  We had Groundhog's Day, our first field trip to see a Mary Poppins play, a pizza party to say goodbye to a student that moved (I am down to only 2 GIRLS now), had our Valentine's Party, got a new student (yep, another BOY!), explored some new math concepts and got our new February Math Review Journals, found some amazing new apps for our classroom (which I will be blogging about)....goodness I am getting exhausted again just thinking about it!  Now you understand why I am behind on this blogging adventure right??

Well, one of the main new things we learned about in February was President's Day.  My kids always love learning about anything non-fiction, whether that be science or social studies related, but this year's class is so fun because they REALLY get into it.  They want to know absolutely anything and everything they can about the topics we discuss so they were ALL ABOUT our presidents!

We only spend a week on President's Day, so we only covered 3 presidents:  George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Barack Obama.

We read books on Washington and Lincoln (I love the 'My First Biography' and 'My Picture' books), but I find it hard to find informational texts on presidents that really lay it out simply for my kindergarten students.  (I couldn't find even one for Obama.)  So I did what I do when I can't find exactly what I need for my students--made it!  I created some little readers on each of the 3 presidents.  We read and discussed them together and then the students could color and take their own book home.  They LOVE to teach their families what they have learned!

This is the is the Obama reader:

There is also a comprehension check to do with each reader.  I am not big on paper/pencil assessments (especially in kindergarten)  but I do love doing these because it is the kindergarten version of 'text based evidence'.  I think it is very important for students to be able to not only answer questions over what we read, but also be able to 'prove it' by finding where the book says it.  It is a skill they will be asked to do in first grade (and beyond) so I like to prepare them as much as I can, while still keeping it developmentally appropriate.   

Here is one student doing his Comprehension Check over the Obama reader:

As you can see, the 2nd question was the 'orange question' so he is now copying it on to his paper.

There are 4 questions on the comprehension checks and each question has a color beside it.  So for example if question 1 is 'What was George Washington's wife's name?' and had a yellow crayon next to it, then we go to page of the book that has the picture of George and his wife on it.  I help them find the specific words 'Martha Custis' and they color over them in yellow.  They can then go back and copy the answer on to their comprehension sheet.

This also helps with other reading skills, such as sequencing or B/M/E.  For instance, if a question asks when the president passed away, then ask ourselves 'Where would that be in the book?'.  The end of course!  So we look at the last couple pages for the answer.

I DO NOT stress them over having these completed/perfect.  To me, it is more about the exposure of finding text based evidence rather than perfecting it.  If they aren't finished copying by the time we need to move on, that is fine--they found and highlighted all of the answers in their reader and to me that is the main thing. 

I also made several other ways to record our learning with can/have/are charts, facts sheets, webs, etc.  Here is one student's Abe Facts sheet:

  As I said, they love showing what they have learned!

These activities and more are in my TpT store.  There are individual units for George, Abe, and Obama, and there is also a President's Day Mega Bundle which includes all 3 units and American Monuments and Symbols--it is a great value!!

And of course we cannot miss a chance for a directed drawings!  I am in LOVE with them and am not sure how I ever taught without them....especially since I am seriously lacking in the artistic department.  Directed drawings are great for so many things:  direction following, shapes, spacial relations, creativity, and they are just plain fun!  Sometimes I think it is ok in a classroom to do some things just plain fun, right??  Shhhh....don't tell anyone I said that....  ;)

Each one turns out so adorable and unique!

Students George and Abe directed drawings:

And mine:

I told you my artistic skills were lacking!!  I give myself major props for Abe, pretty proud of it...but poor George!  I laugh every time I look at it!

These directed drawings are part of a year long set I bought from First Grade Blue Skies.  They were worth every penny!!  I highly recommend them!  She is so talented--the crafty teacher I always wished I could be!

Thanks for taking a peak at a small part of our February!  I hope your was as fun-filled as ours!