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!