Your Personal Invitation (Please Read)

If you are reading this and have your own blog, then consider yourself personally invited to join me for a Saturday Sayings or two or three or more in the next however many months starting this coming Saturday.  Last year some wonderful bloggers linked up with me for some Saturday Sayings, and I actually looked forward to waking up on Saturday mornings to read their thoughts and to send others to read them too.  Now I find myself longing for some company like that once again.  It's really rather simple.  Here's all you need to do:

• Leave a comment below if you're interested.  Include the Saturday(s) that you'd like to post.  Sign up for as many as you'd like.  I promise I won't think you're greedy.
• Choose a quote.
• Write a little something about it.
• Borrow my Saturday Sayings graphic.
• Link to me. (I'll link back of course.)
• Post it on the morning of the Saturday you choose.  (I'll be sure to send out a reminder email beforehand.)

(If you don't know what Saturday Sayings are, click on the graphic to find out.)

I'm totally serious about wanting your company.  Even if you've never commented on or read one of my Saturday Sayings, it would completely make my day if you joined me.  I'm looking forward to some inspirational Saturday mornings in 2013!

(I promise not to be offended if you're not interested.)

  

Saturday Sayings: In My Corner

I have a confession to make.  This 41-year old does not possess the gift of ironing.  In fact, I don't even own an ironing board.  (Gasp!)  If something needs ironed, most likely I don't even notice, but I just wear it anyway.  Seriously though when push comes to shove, I can hand over the task to my mother who irons most everything she and my father wear.  I simply don't like to iron.  I don't have the right tools, and I'm not good at it.  Thus, I don't do it.

Every year there are children in my classroom who are in over their heads, yet they don't have the option of opting out like I as an adult do when I'm not good at something.  They are stuck.  I could spend way too much energy pointing fingers at a lack of parental support, a faulty system that requires kids to blossom at the same time, an inconsistent kindergarten schedule, large classroom sizes, etc.  When all is said and done, I'm left with this question.  "How can I ensure these children experience the sweet taste of accomplishment no matter the stage they're at or the pace they're going?"  I don't always have a good answer to this question, but it's one worth contemplating.  If I were forced to iron everything I wore on a daily basis, I'd want someone in my corner as well.

A Little Look at 2012

Here's a little look at 2012 with the help of Christina at Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge.  Click on the link to visit her blog and link up too.

I'm not sure if this is the best of my blog from 2012, but it's what was looked at the most.  See each post and find freebies by clicking on the pictures.

#1: First Grade Common Core At-a-Glance

The Common Core can be hard to manage.  This document makes it a little bit easier to see what's expected of me.   

#2: Handwriting with Purple and Green

I teach handwriting with purple and green crayons.  It sounds crazy, but it actually works pretty well.  

#3: Table-Sized Anchor Charts

I was inspired to turn certain anchor charts into small versions for each table of kids. 

There are some blogs that I'd love to brag about too.  You'll see their links on the right side of my blog as you scroll down a bit.  Pay them a visit and you'll see why I love to brag about them.

I'd especially like to thank Lori from Conversations in Literacy who reads and comments on every single post I make.  She always has something encouraging to say about my thoughts.  In addition, she is the kind of teacher you'd want your own children to have, so you should definitely drop by and tell her I sent you.

Thank you so much for joining me this past year.  I'd love to see more of you in 2013!

 

The 5 Senses in Action

This post makes me wonder, "Now why didn't I think of this before?"  It seems obvious, but somehow for 19 years it hasn't been.  For many years I've taught a quick little unit on the five senses during the first part of the year, so that later in the year when I teach science using my district's kits, the kids have some background into how scientists use their senses.  I thought my little unit was hands-on and meaningful until this year when I figured out that maybe the best way to understand the five senses is to be scientists who use their senses.  Um, duh?   So, I found five simple and inexpensive science experiments.  We made sure to talk about our senses along the way.  (I've included links to the experiments and pictures of various science journal pages.)

This is our first five senses science journal entry.

#1: Pop Rocks and Water

They enjoyed listening to and watching the Pop Rocks in the water, which also resulted in a little taste test as well.

#2: Skittles and Water

The S from the Skittles are supposed to float to the top of the water.  That's not how it worked out, but the kids enjoyed it regardless.

#3: Dancing Raisins

This was one of their favorites.  The raisins really danced.

#4: Walking Water

This one takes a little more time to get to the final result, but it's cool nonetheless.

#5: Pencils in a Bag

This really does work, and the kids thought it was amazing.

The words simple, inexpensive, meaningful, and effective come to mind.  If you're interested in trying any of these experiments, click on the pictures.  They'll take you to the directions.  I'm glad I finally figured out that my scientists can learn about their five senses while actually using them.  

Saturday Sayings: A Legacy

If you read my Saturday Sayings last week, you'll recognize this quote.  (Find it here.)  Reusing quotes for these Saturday posts isn't something I typically do, but in light of recent events I can't seem to get away from this one.

On a daily basis my kids will hear me say, "Listen to your heart.  Would your heart tell you to ______?"  Yesterday one of the mothers of my students sincerely thanked me for this.  She told me that her son talks about this daily too.  After the shooting incident, he said, "That man didn't listen to his heart."  What a special moment that was for me to know that this mantra of mine is making sense to this little one and is becoming his mantra as well.  I can picture him in 30 years repeating Miss McMorrow's words to his own children.  If I can leave a legacy with my students, that's the one I want it to be.

(This hangs on the wall of my classroom.)

With a Sense of Urgency

Regie Routman talks about teaching with a sense of urgency. I suppose that could be interpreted many different ways. One of the ways that belief has found its way into my classroom is in my transitions.  I don't like to waste time during those parts of the day, and if you teach in an elementary classroom, you know there are about a million of them a day.  (Okay, so there might not be a million, but when my students use that word, it basically means "lots," so there you go.)  

In order to make the most of transitions, we sing, count, recite poems, etc.  I purposefully give them something to do, but in order to use the time effectively, I have to be prepared and know what I'm going to expect of them.  Here's how I make that happen.  I have a section in my weekly lesson plans for what I want to do during those times.  (Does everyone already do this?  If not, I'd highly recommend it.)  I do this on a week-by-week basis, because the things I want to do differ depending on the time of the year.  This is a picture of the transitions I was doing during the second week of school.

Whether you understand what all those transitions are or not isn't the point of course.  Staying organized and teaching with a sense of urgency is.  It's sure helps me!

Silence for Sandy Hook