Holidays Around the World - India

Today we went around the world to celebrate holidays! I was super excited to teach about India and Nepal. We traveled all the way across the globe to visit India and to celebrate Diwali! We learned how to say Happy Diwali, looked at the script writing, and got our passports stamped! I was very happy to get to wear my traditional outfit from Nepal that my host family got me last summer.

One student just could not help but photo bomb the picture!

The kiddos got to decorate their own Diwali lamps that turned out just as bright and gorgeous as India itself.

My favorite thing we learned was how to do some dance moves. Here is a clip of the kiddos dancing to some Indian music! Priceless!

Before they took off to visit some more countries everyone wished each other a Happy Diwali and said goodbye!

Google Docs 8-A-1

Google docs can be a very useful tool for students and teachers alike. How? With the use of Google Docs students can communicate and work together to build a project. Teachers can plan a curriculum and share information all through one document.

There are many benefits to Google Docs for students. Many students learn through visual learning. With the use of google docs students can log on and work on building a project all at the same time. You are able to see the words and plan together. Instead of sitting and just chatting about what their project might look like they can actually show it. If I were teaching an older group of students I would use it in a situation where students learned best from a visual aspect.

Not only would this help the visual learner because they can see and work on their project but also because they can do it anyone. Google docs allows students to work on the same project from the same classroom, different classrooms, at home, or half way across the world.

With the use of sharing students can even share documents. These documents could be anything but as a teacher I could share things such as graphs or visual aspects that would continue to help my visual learners.

Because google docs has such a wide variety of tools it can help many different learners!

Paraguay Skype! 6-C-2

Hi Everyone,

As you may already know I love to travel. Every summer I jet off to another region to travel and learn about the people and volunteer in schools. Everyday I try to incorporate some of the ideas I have learned abroad in the classroom. The world is a massive place with countless things to learn. However, with the use of technology we are now able to make connections throughout the world with a few simple clicks. Over the past few weeks our class as have been learning about the internet and blogs and how we are able to safely share information as a class with others.

Now we get to take it one step further! In the coming weeks we will begin to learn more about the world. We will cover information about the earth, continents, countries, and holidays. Before Christmas the entire Kindergarten will even embark on a journey around the world learning about holidays as they go. And with the thanks of Skype our class will get the opportunity to talk with another Kindergarten class in Paraguay, South America!!!

Yes you heard me! We will be making a Skype video call with student in South America. Although we can not jump on a plane and travel out of our town we are able to connect with others around the world. The idea that the world is huge with other cultures is a lot to take on at such a small age. But actually people able to communicate with someone that far away can help them understand the larger picture of the world. Students will discuss what will be going on in the weeks leading up to this event. Each student will be able to construct a question that they will get to ask the class and the teacher in Paraguay. The idea is that the students will be able to make connections with these students even though they are miles and miles away!!!

Animal Inside

This year my classroom has taken on a Safari Theme. We have been exploring a jungle of learning.

Have you ever wondered what animal you are most related to? Or what animal or would want to be?

Look through a stack of animal pictures. Think about which ones stand out to you the most and why. We can find many traits about ourselves in animals. Maybe you think you are strong and bold like a bear or maybe a very small and quiet like a mouse. Art and design may be a strong part of your personality so maybe you are mesmerized by a zebra's stripes.

By yourself or with your child take a look through some animal pictures found here on Flickr. Flickr is a website that hosts and shares pictures. People can upload to save their own photos while sharing them with others. In turn companies can use these pictures if you allow them for commercial use. Because so many people use Flickr there are thousands upon thousands of images that you can use and see for as many projects as you can imagine. The link above has already included the animal search. Find and image and then answer the following questions.

What is the animal?

What is the environment of the animal?

What do you like about the animal?

Do you have anything in common with the animal?

If you could be this animal what would be your favorite thing about getting to be them?

Have fun!

Image Citation:

"Female Lynx Walking In The Snow." 30 November 2013. Online image. Flickr. Accessed 6 November 2014. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tambako/13540268445/

Drug Free Flowers

During red ribbon week our wonderful PTO purchased bulbs for all of the students to plant. In the spring they will be reminded of their promise to stay drug free!

To look down.. or to look up? (4-A-2)

The internet and technology is quickly becoming intertwined with our every day life. Very few people are not familiar with either an ipad, iphone, or computer. All of these devices give us access to the world wide web. However, they are also quickly becoming attached to our every move.

Have we lost the ability to communicate with one another, learn from one another, and feel truly connected? Or are the use of computers and phones only helping us learn more, teach more, and connect with even more people?

 Below is a link to a video that states that we are too busy looking down at our phones and other technologies. Everyday we post on blogs, facebook, twitter, and other sites powered by the web for others to see. However, because we are so preoccupied with what is online we are starting to loose social interaction skills. By losing these skills we are beginning to lose the things that were once considered important. Take a look at the video to gain a better aspect on the message being delivered.

Look Up Link

In a response there have been several videos that took the exact opposite side. Some could argue that by constantly being connected and building an online community we are socializing more and more every day. We get to share and post the things that are important to us with everyone we know every single day. This allows friends and families to keep in touch and know all the aspects of what is going on. This also allows users to find things they may have never known they were interested in. Take a look at the response videos in the link below.

Look Down Link 2
Look Down Link 1

* There was another video that was in response but more of a funny parody. Due to some comments and content I chose not to post it. However if you wish to see more just do a quick youtube search.  

So after watching both videos and considering both sides I ask you, should we look up or down?

Parents & Pinterest (3-D-2)

How do we keep it all organized? How can we find more information about the topics we want to find? The answer is becoming easier and easier with all of the online social bookmarking tools such as Pinterest and Diigo. As a teacher I am constantly looking for new and fresh ideas to help get my students to learn the topics that will help them succeed. As parents you are always looking to do the same.

Below I am going to list some easy steps to creating your own Pinterest account and what to do once you have one. This will allow you as a parent to continually find new and exciting ways to keep your child's learning going even outside of school.

Steps:

1. Go to www.pinterest.com

2. Click Sign Up

3. Fill in the criteria to create an account

4. Log on to your email to activate and confirm your account.

5. Now you have an account. The next thing to do is to start to add the content you are interested in. Pinterest will ask you some questions about the things that you are interested in. The great part about this is you can find things that have to do with school, cooking, art, or anything else that you may enjoy. It will organize this for you later so do not worry that it will get mixed together.

6. After answering these questions you are ready to go! Begin to search. At the top left bar you can search for whatever you would like to find.

*Tips- I suggest searching for topics that your child may struggle with in school or are interested in learning more about. Examples: CVC words, short vowel, letter naming, counting, and number Id

7. After searching you can do two things.

  A. Follow Users
     1. If you find another user that has a lot of content that you are interested click the follow button.
     2. Now when this user pins things that match your interest they will come up on your home screen.
     3. This makes it easy for you to find relative content.

   B. Pin Content to a Board
      1. When you find an activity that you would like to try you will "Pin It."
      2. When you "Pin" an activity you can put it on a "board."
      3. You can create as many "boards" as you would like. When you click pin it will ask you what board you would like to pin it to. Click the create new board and name the board what you will be pinning. Examples: Recipes, Halloween, Reading or more specific such as CVC words, short vowels, etc.

8. Continue to search and look through content as the year progresses to give you new and fresh ideas!

There you have it! You know have your very own pinterest account that will help you keep organized and find new and fun ideas for your child. Since you are no longer in school I will not make this homework nor will I grade. However, I do ask if you find something super cool or interesting share it with me over email. I would love to see what you guys find and use them in class if we can!

Happy pinning!

Learning with RSS (3-B-2 & 3-C-1)

With all of the new education changes and developments in technology it can be hard to keep up with it all. So how can you stay on top of it? As a teacher I am always looking for new ideas to use with the kids as well as the newest up to date learning theories. By using RSS feeder I can stay better up to date on the newest development. It is great as an educator to use myself however my students are two young to benefit from it. With older grades during research papers they could subscribe to feeds that are related to their subject content. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with all of the things I am trying to do in my classroom. Which learning theories do I use, how have the education laws changed, what new technology is out? This makes it easy to group all of that information together and give me one place to find it all!

Parents can also benefit form using an RSS feeder by subscribing to relevant information at their child's developmental stage. For more information you can visit Family Education.

As an alternative educators and parents can use Netvibes.com to keep a feed on all of their favorite resources. I am an avid reader of many Kindergarten blogs and this lets me keep them all in one place. If you would like to visit my public page I have created a resource page with all of my favorites that you can access here.

Drug Free

Today was the kick off to Red Ribbon week. The entire school made a promise to be drug free while putting their ribbon on the field fence across from the school. In the afternoon we were lucky enough to have a wonderful performance by Josh & Gab. The duo sang songs about making good choices and put on a real rock and roll show!

What Makes Us Everyday Super Heroes!

This year our school theme is everyday super heroes. Here in room 108 we discussed what that meant and how we are heroes every single day. It is a pretty cool thing to think of yourself as a super hero and even cooler because it is true. After discussing what we did to become heroes we drew pictures and shared our thoughts with you! Please feel free to communicate and respond back to our work. We would love to hear from you!

 Sincerely,                                 

Miss P & Room 108                

P.S. Keep posted for a clip of what everyday heroes dance like!

 "I help my sister clean up toys. I am a super hero!" -Kiara

 "When my brother makes a mess I help him clean up. That makes me a super hero." - Cailyn

"That is me and my friend picking up a toy." _ Jayden

"I am a super hero because I help my mom help feed my dogs." - Rilee

 

"I like helping my mom with her hurt hand." - Noah

 

"I am a super hero because I help my brother clean up when he makes a mess." - Bubba

"I help my dad clean up my toys and that makes me a super hero!" - Ethan

" I am a super hero because I push in my friend's chair." - Carter

" I am a superhero because I help my dad clean up his blood when he is hurt." - Davilynn

" I am a super hero because Adam got hurt and I am helping him." - Saul

" I am a super hero because Bubba is hurt and I am helping him." - Adam

" I help my mom feed the cat." - David

"I help my friends and my mom. When she is sick I help her get up." -Lexa

"I like to help my dad when he is not here with his work. I help fix the bicycle. That makes me a super hero." - Arelyn

"I help my brother find the bathroom" - Pat

Excited to blog- Kindergarteners tell why!

Today I introduced the concept of the Internet and blogging. We discussed how we are going to be sharing our work online with our families and community. This is what they had to say about why they are excited to get online:

"I want to talk about something exciting!" - Bubba

"We have never done this before!" - Lexa

"I want to show my parents." - Davilynn

"I like seeing my work on a computer. I like to share my work." - Arelyn

"I like to share my work with my sister." - Kiara

"I like showing other people." - Ethan

To the web... and beyond!

It is hard to imagine what teaching was like without computers. It is equally hard to imagine what it will be like in the next few years. The invention of the computer and its counterpart the Internet has grown unbelievably fast. Every single day more and more apps, websites, blogs, games, etc are developed to share ideas, express oneself, sell things, and educate. The opportunities are limitless.

If they are limitless how do we know where to start and keep a grip on it all? First, we start with the tried and true basics that have been around a little longer than others. In my room parents and students will encounter a few uses of the web and technology I have used over the past two years as well as new ideas as they come up.

Remind101- This is a wonderful tool run through the web and cell phones. It keeps parents informed at any time the teachers decides to send a text alert out. No longer are the days of phone chains or wondering and waiting. This simple to use website connects the classroom and home almost immediately.

Skype- Expensive assemblies? No more. Thanks to the web classrooms can not only connect to real life people but they can do so with people across the world! I still remember being in 2nd grade and sending a letter to a pen pal across the state. Now students can draft up questions and prepare for a real life interview with an astronaut, dentist, or maybe even a family member halfway across the world.

Blogging- Blogs allow me not only to share what is going on with my class with parents but the world. Teachers have an entire world worth of information and ideas readily available to them thanks to the web and other teachers blogs. I love to share and spread my ideas as well as build on those of other incredible teachers.

These just touch on a few. Parents can now (if they have computer access) easily locate and stimulate their child at home using educational websites. So what is the limit? There does not seem to be a limit. Virtually whatever we think up we may be able to do one day. My ideas are yours, my students ideas are yours, and your ideas can be shared when you comment below! Let's connect!

Kindergarten Blogging: Can it be done?

I am currently enrolled in a few Grad School classes. One of them discussing the web and how we incorporate it in our classrooms to enrich our student's lives.

Recently we have been discussing blogging. Not from the teacher but from the students themselves. Obviously being a Kindergarten teacher I can not let my children lose in the same way that a High School English class can. We are just learning how to construct basic sentences and learning three letter words! However while doing some research I came across this article davisonkindergarten.blogspot.com/p/blogging.html that talks about blogging with Kindergarteners.

It has inspired me to try some new innovative things with our class. Mrs. Davison has successful worked with her students to not only introduce technology and blogging to her class but done so in a way that promotes reading skills and makes children proud of their work. 

Over the next couple of weeks our classroom blog will finally be up and running. Assignments, News, and Updates will start to be posted at least once a week. However, all of these things used to be posted solely by me, the teacher. After some research I have decided that we will be doing this as a class!

I am very excited to introduce your children to more computer use while strengthening Reading skills. Keep an eye out for more educational posts, information on our blogging project, and other classroom information!

Super Safari Students

Hi Everyone,

I know it has been a very long time since I have been on to post. Things have been a bit crazy. As many of you know I moved schools and the switch has been a bit hectic. I will post about the change along with the makeover soon. But first let me introduce you to the SUPER SAFARI CLASS!!!

Update

I am very excited to start posting this year. After an amazing summer abroad things have been crazy getting ready for my new room. Look forward to my posts about my new classroom theme, new classroom, and updates and schedules for my 2014-15 classroom!

Field Trip Children's Museum

We had a wonderful time exploring the Children's Museum. Students had the chance to explore concepts involving science, emotion, art, and much much more. The students loved getting all of the hands experiences. I can truly say I enjoyed this field trip with this wonderful group of students. It was exciting, interesting, and just plain fun!!!

Here is a look at our field trip through pictures:

A special thanks to Mrs. Sullivan and Mrs. King for being wonderful volunteers!!!