Meet Marsha from A Differentiated Kindergarten

Ok, so I’m kind of feeling like it’s the first day of school.  I’m a little nervous, a bit apprehensive that I might screw up, but over-all excited to have the chance to introduce myself to all of the wonderful readers that take the time to follow all of us here on Freebielicious.

My name is Marsha M. Moffit McGuire  (I often joke with Annie that she's my long lost Moffit/Moffatt sister).  and I am the fingers behind  A Differentiated Kindergarten.  I’ve been blogging now for a little over a year and a half. Wow!  What a whirlwind adventure.   I can honestly admit that I didn’t have a clue what I was doing when I started out.   All I knew was that I was passionate about getting my classroom on the road to differentiated instruction, and I figured, if I put it out there to the public, maybe there would be others as interested in it as I was. 

Little did I know that along the way I would develop amazing friendships with other teachers I have never even met in person.  It truly is amazing how small the world has become thanks to the Internet and the blogging world.  Some of the best people I've met has been right here at Freebielicious.  

My inspiration, my desire to be a better teacher, a better mom and a better wife is  my family.    We are a family of M's.  (I always thought that it was weird when people named their kids all with the same first initial and now I'm one of those weird moms too.)  There is MacKale, McCoy, MaGill, Mike and me . . . Marsha.   

I am truly blessed beyond measure by these wonderful men that share their lives with me.  We live in the woods of Northern Michigan (not to be confused with the Upper Peninsula) where we can enjoy the outdoors, swimming, golfing, skiing (although I hate the snow), hiking and exploring.

I kind of think of having three boys as just a lot of noise with some dirt and stink mixed in for good measure.  They keep me hopping and on my toes.  I am traveling from one sport to another to another . . . but they are also my best source of inspiration.

They are the poster children for differentiation.  They are completely different from each other, different strengths, different interests and different learning styles.  I look at them and know  . . . 'this is why I differentiate my instruction.' 

And it's also why I love sharing products and ideas with you that will help you differentiate your instruction.  So for your pleasure, here are a couple of items to get you through the holidays.

This is an easy way to differentiate for your students who are still working on letters as well as those that are ready to tackle sight words.  Roll, Say, Keep Gingie is a class favorite for sure.

And because I LOVE all things that have to do with sensory tables . . . here's a little thing to use with (or without) your holiday sensory table.  

I like to put pine boughs or shredded colored paper in during the holidays.  This activity will have your students sorting for medial CVC sounds.  

It sure was great to get to know you all.  Please make sure you stop my blog to say hello.  

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Run Run Run!

Just stopping by and wanted to say run, run, run and get your freebie today!

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Sensory Table Fun and a Freebie

Lidia one of very own, Freebielicious Authors, from Kinder Alphabet is also a great clip artist.  So when she whipped up some cute little CVC pictures, I knew I needed to have them for a fun freebie to use in my sensory table this month.

I don't know about you, but my kinders are still struggling with those tough medial sounds.  This activity will have your students searching for and sorting gingerbread boys with CVC pictures.  I like to put these cards in my sensory table to make it more engaging and interesting.  When students find a picture, they sort it into its medial sound 'house.'  I found some cute little boxes and have them hanging off the side of my table for ease of sorting but you can really use any bucket, box or basket you have available. To make it self-correcting, I placed the answers to each house on the bottom of the box.

If you want to extend and differentiate the activity, you can also have some students, based on thier readiness levels, record what they find.  If you'd like a copy, just click on the picture above to get yours.

And drop me a line to let me know what you think.

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Gingerbread Freebie

After Thanksgiving, I'll be starting my gingerbread unit. One of my students' favorite activities is to sample a gingerbread cookie, brainstorm describing words, and map out how we bit into the cookie. Then, we write about it. If you are interested in doing this activity, too, just click on the image below for your freebie!

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