Zara Murray

Bringing playful teaching ideas into the classroom to inspire and support young learners in an inclusive, child-centered environment so children can succeed.

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

🥔Harvest Day🍓
Dinner and dessert! Harvesting the fruits of our labour and the children loved every minute. What an authentic and meaningful was to teach life cycles!
#inquirybasedlearning

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

Why do snails come out on rainy days🤔 ??
Lots of provocations to get the children wondering in the school garden on a rainy day! #inquirybasedlearning

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

@AideenMaher @Fermoy_ETNS @OwenabueETNS Oh wow!! Sorry just assumed with all the farewells 🙈 well I wish you the very best in your move and hope you’ll continue posting your innovative teaching from the new school!! 🙌🏻

[Aminah Abdelhaq, NBCT @aaabdelhaq]

Learning about provocations with @trev_mackenzie. “Provocations are tied to identity and experiences.” Centering our instruction around who our students are brings meaning to learning. #AZ_BTI @azk12

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

This is learning that will stick & applied to many more concepts yet to be discovered. I provided the environment, documented their learning & the children did the rest!
#inquirybasedlearning

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

🫘 🌱 swipe 👉🏻
Learning doesn’t always happen in one lesson and developing conceptual cycles of inquiry do not always come together in the space of a week or even a month.

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

By being outside yr round, immersed in nature, children learn curriculum objective in abundance through meaningful & worthwhile experiences.

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

@WRCRas2022 Great commentary lads!! It kept up entertained for the whole journey 😂🙌🏻 till next time 👍

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

🧡Mini Maths🧡
Always a favourite end of year maths activity! Mini smarties maths 😋

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

@tremendous_fun @harney2_h @Education_Ire @PDSTLiteracy @genemehigan @MarinoInstitute What we really need is more awareness around phonemic awareness deficit in struggling readers. Now I’m more aware of the importance of PA I can hear it in the struggling readers. I have also seen the benefits of giving extensive time to phonemic A specifically in junior infants.

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

@MariaLe08274982 @trev_mackenzie Absolutely, it takes time to learn to tune into HOW children learn, particularly in early years. When you master it observation/reflection becomes your most powerful tool in creating the best learning environments and in turn the most effective learning experiences.

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

Spending quality time documenting, then reflecting on learning, particularly during play has had the most significant impact on my pedagogy since I started teaching. Together we [children & I] apply what we have observed to plan new learning collaboratively.

[Trevor MacKenzie @trev_mackenzie]

Reflection is a learning superpower.

How much did you grow?

What strengths did you discover? What challenges did you encounter?

What are you most proud of?

What are your next steps?

No grade or mark or percentage can tell a richer story than the responses to these questions.

[Trevor MacKenzie @trev_mackenzie]

Reflection is a learning superpower.

How much did you grow?

What strengths did you discover? What challenges did you encounter?

What are you most proud of?

What are your next steps?

No grade or mark or percentage can tell a richer story than the responses to these questions.

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

Making every effort to #reduceplastic in the classroom!!

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

🧡Mini Maths Lesson🧡
👉🏻 Two dice numbered 1-3
👉🏻 In pairs, roll, add and build Corresponding stack of cubes using one colour.
👉🏻 Take 5 turns in total (recorded by five different colours in tower).
👉🏻 Winner is the tallest after 5 turns.

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

👷Organising Our Tools 🛠
When we keep our things organised it’s easier to find what we need when we need it! A good selection of construction equipment is well worth the investment, they will be used all year around, indoor and out! #inquirybasedlearning

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

Mark-making in the mud, creating colourful flower patterns in water & wondering about the functions of plant parts… everything you need to teach curriculum concepts, skills & knowledge can be found in nature & makes learning much more meaningful & enjoyable for the children.

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

📦 Discovery Workshop 📦
The children were given lots of pieces of cardboard for Discovery Workshop. When peeling back the outer layer of paper on the cardboard the internal parts revealed the perfect honeycomb like pockets, ideal for inserting coloured craft paper inside! #IBL

[Zara Murray @infanteducation]

🐐Red Mountain Open Farm🐔
Have to say Red Mountain never fails to be the BEST school tour for infant classes! Such a stress free day and the kids had such a blast 😁