100th day celebration, a set on Flickr.
This would be a wonderful way to share mulitple photos of big events in kindergarten! I could have students take the photos, parents and myself!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Using the Ipad Camera
I am very fortunate this year, because I have several students that are reading and writing at a 1st grade and higher level. Their abilities have allowed me to explore more apps and programs that I wouldn't get to use with most of my students in the limited time that 1/2 day kindergarten allows. One of the apps that I like to use with my higher students is the "Show Me" app. Students can write a sentence or sentences. Then they take the ipad and snap a picture to match the words that they write. For kindergartners, I asked them to find something in the room to write about. I didn't want them wandering the halls just yet :) While the large group of students were practicing sound spelling words that begin with letter of the day, my advanced small group was looking for something in the room that began with that letter, snapping a picture to place as the background, writing a sentence and recording their voice while they wrote. They loved it!
You Tube Playlist
Recently I have created a YouTube playlist. Although I have not had my students access the playlist on their devices, I have found it incredibly useful! In kindergarten, we are always playing songs about letters, counting by 5's, or videos of pictures books to help our students remember. Typically I have the songs imported in the flipcharts that we use and then I am searching for them, or I've pinned them on pinterest. I can have YouTube opened & signed in and I can quickly pull up songs/videos through out the day and with kindergarten, the less "wait time" the better ;)
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Apps, Apps and More Apps!
The buzz all around Lindbergh is the iPad and how they can best be used in the classroom. I am very fortunate to have 5 student iPads and a teacher iPad. I spent a large part of my holiday break searching for FREE, educational apps appropriate for kindergarten. There are so many to weed through! I believe that half of the battle is simply finding what will compliment our curriculum, be intriguing to our students and is free.
Here are a few that I like so far:
Rhyming Bee: this game takes two word families and has students sort the bees to the rhyming word family. It bounces back if you chose the correct flower. Once you've filled all the petals of the flower, you move on to a new set of word families.
Number Magic 2: this app helps students practice their numbers 1-9. It helps with number recognition and 1-to-1 matching. They use beads, playing cards and the number.
Storia: which I think everyone knows about from Scholastic. I love that there are activities to connect to many of the books and there is an option to have it read aloud to the kids. The challenging part is collecting a nice library of books which each cost money. I have several free ones and I keep trying to save up my bonus points to acquire more.
Rocket Speller: currently my students are using this app. They love that they can build their own rocket by answering the questions correctly. Each "stop" the student has to build the word that the alien says out loud. Students listen to the beginning, middle and ending sounds and sort the letters. The early levels include the correct spelling to help guide the student. The letter bounces back if it is not correct.
Here are a few that I like so far:
Rhyming Bee: this game takes two word families and has students sort the bees to the rhyming word family. It bounces back if you chose the correct flower. Once you've filled all the petals of the flower, you move on to a new set of word families.
Number Magic 2: this app helps students practice their numbers 1-9. It helps with number recognition and 1-to-1 matching. They use beads, playing cards and the number.
Storia: which I think everyone knows about from Scholastic. I love that there are activities to connect to many of the books and there is an option to have it read aloud to the kids. The challenging part is collecting a nice library of books which each cost money. I have several free ones and I keep trying to save up my bonus points to acquire more.
Rocket Speller: currently my students are using this app. They love that they can build their own rocket by answering the questions correctly. Each "stop" the student has to build the word that the alien says out loud. Students listen to the beginning, middle and ending sounds and sort the letters. The early levels include the correct spelling to help guide the student. The letter bounces back if it is not correct.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Google Voice
I recently set up a Google Voice account. With Angie's help it was so quick and easy! I sent an email to my students' families, requesting that they call in, state their name, and then tell me how they can show caring. Caring is our school's character word of the month. We don't have many days in December, plus there is a LOT of assessment and holiday activities. We don't often get a lot of opportunities to explore what caring means and how we can show it: especially in half day kindergarten!
I posted the phone number and an example of what I was looking for on my blog. I played the example in class and told my students that when they went home they should talk to their mom or dad and call in. I had 7 students call in out of 21. Not wonderful odds, but the content of what I received was so touching. To hear, directly from a 5 year old, how they can help their mom around the house or play with their sibling is very touching.
I played several of the examples in class and the students cheered for each other as if they were celebrities! It was a wonderful way for students to build each other up and show that they care for one another. I love that it allowed many of my students, who can not always communicate through writing, a chance to share their great ideas!! I plan on doing it again, but changing the activity to reading a list of 5 sight words, or read the attached sentence. I hope to post more great results on my blog!
I posted the phone number and an example of what I was looking for on my blog. I played the example in class and told my students that when they went home they should talk to their mom or dad and call in. I had 7 students call in out of 21. Not wonderful odds, but the content of what I received was so touching. To hear, directly from a 5 year old, how they can help their mom around the house or play with their sibling is very touching.
I played several of the examples in class and the students cheered for each other as if they were celebrities! It was a wonderful way for students to build each other up and show that they care for one another. I love that it allowed many of my students, who can not always communicate through writing, a chance to share their great ideas!! I plan on doing it again, but changing the activity to reading a list of 5 sight words, or read the attached sentence. I hope to post more great results on my blog!
Monday, November 26, 2012
Facebook in the Primary Classroom
Currently I communicate with my parents through email and my classroom blog. I have a website and will update it periodically, but mostly it is used as a resource for my "constant" information. I have been debating whether or not to start a facebook page for my classroom as well. It already seems like so much to keep up with; however, I am on facebook for my own personal connections. Making the switch from my blog to facebook might happen sooner than I thought after reading about Ms. Schoening's First Grade Class and their use of Facebook in the classroom.
There were several ideas that appealed to me as I read the article. I like the ability for students to have some responsibility in writing about the day's events. I am not the only one that has to be paying attention! I like that I can quickly remind parents about special dress down days or service learning project links, etc. I can also take picture or video of student work. I am able to do many of these things through my blog; however, I am not sure how many of my parents receive the message. With Facebook, the message will most likely be received immediately or within several hours.
I am most excited with the possibility of utilizing the events section. It seems so much easier to set up events and invite the parents through Facebook. We have an upcoming winter/holiday party. I could set up all of the important information and parents would be able to refer to it as needed. They could verify who was going or identify who could bring which items.
As a parent, I am thrilled that my son's teacher uses Facebook. I can see pictures or comments that have happened through out the day. As soon as I pick him up, I ask, "So it looks like you guys talked about the election today. Which candidate are you planning on voting for?" I can ask more direct questions and get more specific answers. At the age of 6, he is not reluctant to share, but I know I would continue to appreciate the opportunity to know what is happening in my son's life.
The question is no longer if I want to start a classroom Facebook page, but when would there be a smooth transition!
There were several ideas that appealed to me as I read the article. I like the ability for students to have some responsibility in writing about the day's events. I am not the only one that has to be paying attention! I like that I can quickly remind parents about special dress down days or service learning project links, etc. I can also take picture or video of student work. I am able to do many of these things through my blog; however, I am not sure how many of my parents receive the message. With Facebook, the message will most likely be received immediately or within several hours.
I am most excited with the possibility of utilizing the events section. It seems so much easier to set up events and invite the parents through Facebook. We have an upcoming winter/holiday party. I could set up all of the important information and parents would be able to refer to it as needed. They could verify who was going or identify who could bring which items.
As a parent, I am thrilled that my son's teacher uses Facebook. I can see pictures or comments that have happened through out the day. As soon as I pick him up, I ask, "So it looks like you guys talked about the election today. Which candidate are you planning on voting for?" I can ask more direct questions and get more specific answers. At the age of 6, he is not reluctant to share, but I know I would continue to appreciate the opportunity to know what is happening in my son's life.
The question is no longer if I want to start a classroom Facebook page, but when would there be a smooth transition!
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Learning from Diigo Groups
One of the Diigo groups that I joined is "Kindergarten Cove". I love that there are a variety of subjects, but I don't have to filter through the middle and high school links! Many of the bookmarks seem to catch my eye.
The bookmark, "Count Us In Games" looked like the perfect link after our team conversation with our principal. We had been discussing the Common Core standards for Math. Several of the ideas need to begin changing now. Our current group of kindergarten students will be in second grade and prepping for the standard test in third grade. They will be tested on the new set of standards that were put into place with the belief that they had been taught the previous standards. We will have failed them as educators if we don't present the correct information to them NOW.
The biggest focus of kindergarten seems to be on understanding formations of 10. Can they count to 10? Can they count BY 10's? Are they able to understand 10 frames and how the number 10 can be represented visually? Can they figure out which pairs of numbers total to 10? Although all of these questions are currently answered in our curriculum, the ability to manipulate and play with and feel secure in all of these ways could use some extra practice (especially in HALF day kindergarten)!
I was looking for a fun, interactive game that we could introduce as a whole group and begin to get more and more comfortable with splitting numbers, understanding the pairs that can create each one. This is when I found the bookmark http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/default.htm and instantly tried it in the classroom. The students were thrilled. I plan to play with it again as a whole group and perhaps even add in a little competition. Watch out Common Core standards! We are ready for you!
The bookmark, "Count Us In Games" looked like the perfect link after our team conversation with our principal. We had been discussing the Common Core standards for Math. Several of the ideas need to begin changing now. Our current group of kindergarten students will be in second grade and prepping for the standard test in third grade. They will be tested on the new set of standards that were put into place with the belief that they had been taught the previous standards. We will have failed them as educators if we don't present the correct information to them NOW.
The biggest focus of kindergarten seems to be on understanding formations of 10. Can they count to 10? Can they count BY 10's? Are they able to understand 10 frames and how the number 10 can be represented visually? Can they figure out which pairs of numbers total to 10? Although all of these questions are currently answered in our curriculum, the ability to manipulate and play with and feel secure in all of these ways could use some extra practice (especially in HALF day kindergarten)!
I was looking for a fun, interactive game that we could introduce as a whole group and begin to get more and more comfortable with splitting numbers, understanding the pairs that can create each one. This is when I found the bookmark http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/default.htm and instantly tried it in the classroom. The students were thrilled. I plan to play with it again as a whole group and perhaps even add in a little competition. Watch out Common Core standards! We are ready for you!
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