Posts Tagged ‘kindergarten’

Sharing Our Book

Recently the fourth grade classes worked in small groups to create a Lego ABC book to share with kindergarteners. (Click here for post about making the book.)

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Our sharing took place on a beautiful afternoon so we gathered the iPads, the kinder students chose a “big” kid for a partner, and off we went. The little ones were enthralled with the 4th graders but what surprised me is how well the older students did with their young charges!

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While the big kids weren’t too eager to hold hands with the little ones (that was my suggestion that fell flat!), they were great at keeping them entertained with the book, talking to them, asking about their interests.

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The only problem we encountered was getting too far away from buildings and then we’d lose Wi-Fi. But, that was an easy fix.

We returned to the lab with a few minutes to spare. That allowed time to finish viewing the Lego Book and share other apps.

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It was a really good experience for our oldest Lower School students to interact with our youngest ones! Looking at the smiles on faces makes these kinds of activities worth every minute.

 

International Dot Day Celebrations!

the dotI love International Dot Day! September 15ish is the day to celebrate Peter H. Reynold’s wonderful book, The Dot. In the book, Vashti is asked to draw a picture in art class but can’t think of anything to illustrate. Her teacher encourages her to “just make a mark and see where it takes you.” Vashti jabs the paper with her pencil to create a tiny dot but the next time she comes to class, she discovers her teacher has framed it. From there, Vashti determines that she really can make better dots! At the end of the book, Vashti pays forward what her teacher has done for her by encouraging a little boy who believes he can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. This book has two wonderful themes:

  1. Every person is creative in their own special way.
  2. Each of us can find a way to “make our mark” by helping and encouraging others.

This year, celebrating Dot Day was a bit difficult for me. I worked part-time till Sept. 15 due to back surgery over the summer. But I had a wonderful sub, Jane Cooper, who worked tirelessly with many classes to  start our Dot Day celebrations. I returned full-time on September 15 to continue the activities – by the end of the day I was completely exhausted but it was a fantastic day to return! Below are descriptions of how our teachers and students “made our mark.”

Kindergarten

Our kinder teachers gave each student a dot and a “swirly gold framed” paper. The students created a picture from their dot.

photo 2(1)Click here for more pictures from kindergarten.

First Grade

The first graders had a two-part lesson. Mrs. Cooper introduced the students to making their creative mark by reading The Dot. The children were then given the dot coloring sheet for use with the ColAR app (free in the App Store and Google Play). Lots of colorful illustrations were made as the students were told that the following week they would see something magic happen to their dots. When the first graders returned to the lab, I showed them how to use the ColAR app. Amazed “oohs” and “aahs” were heard as my dot became 3-dimensional! The students were thrilled to see their own dots come to life.

IMG_1060View Animoto videos of each class:

Second Grade

Mrs. Cooper worked with the second graders to create a dot using the Drawing Box app. She explained to the students that, just as people are unique, their dots would be different from their classmates. But, when joined together, they would create a tapestry of colors. The children discussed how they were individuals but each unique person was needed to make a successful group – just as each dot they drew was important to the overall tapestry.

Third Grade

I asked the third graders to combine their creativity and a desire to “make a mark” on others by illustrating a picture in Microsoft’s Paint program. The students were asked to think about how they could make a difference  – in a person’s life (a classmate, family member, friend . . .), by doing a task to help their community, or thinking about something they could do in the future. The students wrote a short description then illustrated their idea. I combined their thoughts and drawings in Animoto videos

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Fourth Grade

Because of time constraints, I was only able to work with two of our three fourth grade classes (the third class participated in Dot Day in Spanish).

In one class, I asked the students to create a PowerPoint slide that included their name written in Braille and clip art that represented some of their interests. The students used the Braille Bug website to convert their name to Braille. They then used the shape tool and duplicate shortcut to create dots to form their Braille name. After adding clip art, I asked the students to save their slide as a jpeg (at this point I hadn’t decided how we would share their work). I ended up creating one slideshow with their images.

For another class, I thought I would give coding dots a try. The students had been learning JavaScript with our headmaster, Gary Krahn (see post) so they already had some practice. I asked them to use the ellipse code to create dot pictures. They eagerly set to work and programmed some absolutely amazing images! I loved watching them problem-solve with each other as they worked on placing their dots. When finished, they took screen shots of their work and I combined them into a slideshow.

Co-Curricular Classes
Of course, Dot Day wouldn’t be complete without music, art, and Spanish and those teachers led some very creative activities!
Mrs. Holloway had her music classes practicing musical note writing as they composed Dot songs.
photo 2First graders in Mrs. Black’s art classes used watercolors to beautifully decorate coffee filters.
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Click here to view more art and music pictures.
Our Spanish teachers were busy with a variety of activities. Sra. Ross’s first graders learned the Mexican Hat Dance (a circle dance). Her second graders designed Mexican mirrors. Sra. Nedrelow’s third graders created colorful Aztec calendars while her fourth graders constructed Costa Rican Ox Carts. (See more detailed descriptions of the mirrors and ox carts by clicking here.)
Spanish classesClick here to view more images from our Spanish classes.
We are proud to be part of International Dot Day 2014 but our creativity doesn’t stop in September. We will continue to make our mark all year!

Draw & Tell Visits the Farm

duck duck mooseWell, actually the Draw & Tell app came after the farm visit!

The kindergarteners took their annual trip to the farm and I wanted them to share something about the visit. When they came to the lab, I asked them to open Draw & Tell. This is a kid-friendly app that allows children to do just what the name says: draw a picture and tell about it by recording their voice.

I honestly did not know if the students would be able to complete their drawing, record, and save to the camera roll within our short 30 minute time period! But they did! We had 3 adults per class – teachers, assistants, and myself – and those extra hands made all the difference. But credit certainly goes to the kindergarteners who quickly learned what to do. (And kudos to Duck Duck Moose for a superb app!)

After the children left the lab, I air dropped the screen casts to my iPad so that all could be combined into class videos using the iMovie app.

Enjoy!

Mrs. Moore’s Class

Mrs. Newton’s Class

Mrs. Rea’s Class

In addition to making a creation to share with parents, the teachers were able to see the power of this app. They are excited to find more ways to use it within their classrooms.

 

International Dot Day 2013 in Review

Our Dot Day celebrations spanned several days and then it took me a bit longer to pull everything together but here’s a look at the students’ creativity.

Kindergarten:

After brainstorming what a dot could become, the children were given a “swirly gold frame” from Fablevision’s Dot Day Handbook and a dot sticker to make their own creation.


First Grade:

First graders decorated their dot by using the sheet from the ColAR website. ColAR Mix is an augmented reality coloring book app that brings images to life!  Dot Day Fun! Watch Your Dot Come to Life describes what special things happen to a dot when viewed through this app. Talk about oohs and ahhs from students! What I found amusing was watching the teachers getting just as involved as the children!


Second Grade:

Second grade took this activity a step further. After discussing that, yes, even young children can make a difference in other people’s lives, we brainstormed how this could happen. The students wrote their thoughts on their dot then decorated with crayons and markers. Then the fun began with the ColAR Mix app.


Third Grade:

After talking about how Vashti’s teacher made a difference in her life and then how Vashti guided a little boy to “make his mark,” the third graders were challenged to illustrate how they could make a difference in someone’s life. Students used the Microsoft Paint program to create their pictures. Since not all students wrote how they would make a difference, what they were thinking might not be readily observed but all had something in mind. We had a fabulous discussion about how even the little things you do are important! Here is a look at what they drew.


Fourth Grade:

By the time the students came to me, they had either read The Dot or had watched a video of it but that didn’t mean they didn’t want to hear it again! And, when the students found out that I also had Peter Reynold’s Ish and Sky Color, we couldn’t even begin the activity until I had read BOTH books! The students decided they just wanted to create. Some created images from a dot while others made some type of “ish” picture. Then I decided to let them experiment with the ColAR Mix app. They weren’t as “wowed” as the younger children but they did enjoy doing a walk-around to see what their classmates had created.

Co-Curricular Classes:

The music, art, and Spanish teachers incorporated dots into their lessons too. From dot paintings to dot music to oxcart wheels to mirrors, the students’ imaginations flowed!

Another Dot Day has passed but the creativity will continue!

A Quick Peek at International Dot Day Celebrations

I LOVE International Dot Day. Based on the book, The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds, students around the world celebrate “creativity, courage, and collaboration” on September 15th (ish).

Our students have been “making their mark” this week in a variety of ways. Here is a quick glimpse at some of the things we have done so far. As I pull everything together, more will be posted.

Kindergarten

After brainstorming what a dot could become, kindergarteners were given a “swirly gold frame” from Fablevision’s Dot Day Handbook and a dot sticker to make their own creation.

First Grade

First graders decorated their dot by using the sheet from the ColAR website. ColAR Mix is an augmented reality coloring book app that brings images to life!  Dot Day Fun! Watch Your Dot Come to Life describes what special things happen to a dot when viewed through this app. Talk about oohs and ahhs from students! What I found amusing was watching the teachers getting just as involved as the children!

Second Grade

Second grade took this activity a step further. After discussing that, yes, even young children can make a difference in other people’s lives, we brainstormed how this could happen. The students wrote their thoughts on their dot then decorated with crayons and markers. Then the fun began with the ColAR Mix app.

Picking up litter to help wildlife

Third Grade
Picking up litter to help wildlife

The third graders had the same charge as the second graders but they used Microsoft’s Paint program for their drawings. I’m hoping to use the Tellagami app to have the students insert their picture and then tell about their ideas on making their mark in their community.

Tomorrow the teachers will dress in their best dot clothing and students receive Dot Day certificates, stickers, and Dot Candy. What a fun, creative week we’ve had!

Yum - Dots!

Yum – Dots!

Drawing the Solar System with Kindergartners

Our kindergartners have been studying the solar system for the past couple of weeks. They have visited the planetarium, watched Brainpop, Jr.’s Moby and Annie talk about the solar system, visited webpages about space. As a culminating activity, each child was in charge of learning about one planet and making a model of it. These were brought in on Friday, so when the students came to the lab, I told them they would be able to draw either the planet that they studied or anything else in the solar system.

This was the students’ first introduction to the Microsoft Paint program; although several were excited to share that they had this program at home. I gave a quick preview of the most important tools and off they went. Below is a collection of their drawings (and I think they did a really good job, especially for the first time!).

Enjoy!

How Does that Mouse Work?

Not so many years ago we spent time teaching young children how to work a computer mouse. But then computer-savvy children arrived knowing exactly how a it worked.

Enter the era of tablets! Touch screens are the norm now and we’re back to providing mouse practice: when to click, when to click and drag, and so on.

Fortunately there are lots of fun games to help students with those skills. We practiced several with our kindergartners yesterday in the lab. I have several links on my TVS TechnoWizards website. They really enjoyed the activities as they had lots of practice with mouse skills.

The funniest thing happened though. One child had her name card on the monitor (the signal that the student needs help) so I went over to check on her. In a very frustrated voice, she announced, “I can’t get it to go down. What I want to do is down there and it won’t move.” As she spoke, her little fingers were doing their very best to touch that monitor and scroll that page down so that she could find what she was looking for! Gently, I moved her fingers down to the mouse and demonstrated how to use it to scroll down the page. “Oh, I get it now,” was her sweet reply.

Times have changed . . .

Making an e-Book in Kindergarten

After introducing our teachers to the exciting Book Creator app in our iPad Adventures workshop a couple weeks ago, the Kindergarten teachers and their assistants jumped right into it with their students. In fact, I think they had plans already under way before our workshop ended! This app allows users to create a digital book that can be opened in iBooks. The best feature is the in-app recording. What a wonderful way to share with parents!

Our kindergarten classes have been talking about neighborhoods and community helpers. All classes read A House is a House for Me, by Mary Ann Hoberman. The students filled in: A ________ is a house for _____________. Next, they added illustrations to their house shape. The teachers used the iPad camera to photograph each child’s work. The pictures were added to the Book Creator app. Finally, the students’ sweet voices were recorded as they read their story.

Below is the note one class (Mrs. Rea and Mrs. Morgan) sent to the parents.

We created a digital class book “A House Is a House for Me” during our class study of shelters and community.  The best part about this book is that when you click on the audio icon on the top right of the page you can hear your child read his or her page!  How neat!  Unfortunately this app only allows you to open it from an iPad or iPhone under iBooks.  When you click on the icon click on “download”.  Then choose to open in iBooks.  It will not open on a desktop.  We have it saved to our iPads in our classrooms so if you are unable to view this at home you can always come see it on one of our iPads.  Here is the link to see our class book with your precious children reading their part:

Mrs. Rea’s Class Book

Mrs. Moore’s Class Book

Mrs. Newton’s Class Book

I’m sure the students  and their families will treasure this forever!

Virtual Owl Pellets and More!

After spending the week learning about the animal kingdom, the kindergarten students visited the lab last Friday to examine some interactive activities. I had several links available:

  • Variations – from BBC (categorizing pictures by bird, mammal, insect, or plant)
  • Walk, Swim, or Fly – from Harcourt School (place an animal in its proper environment)
  • Build a Habitat – from Switcheroo Zoo (design a habitat for an animal and see if it can survive)
  • Design an Animal – also from Switcheroo Zoo (create a unique animal, take its photo, then print with information about the new creature)
  • Build a Fish – from MARE: Marine Activities, Resources, & Education (Choose an ocean habitat, select body parts and colorations that you think will help your fish survive, then click the “Survive-O-Meter” to check its status.)
  • Make a Tide Pool –  from Monterey Bay Aquarium (choose animals that live in a tide pool) 
  • Build a Bug – from Scholastic (use the bug parts in Ms Frizzle’s lab to build a bug found in nature or create a new one)
  • Virtual Owl Pellets – from KidWings (owl pellet dissection without the mess)

These are all fun, educational resources but I especially like the Virtual Owl Pellets site. Some of the students had already done their real owl pellet dissection and the others will do that within the next few days, so this was the perfect site for the students to either review or prepare for their hands-on dissection. The funniest part of this website is when a mouse crawls across the screen, sits and looks around halfway across, then continues to saunter to the other side. I had told the students to be on the lookout for a surprise but didn’t tell them what it would be. It was hilarious listening to the squeals as the rodent appeared on the screens. One little girl kept pushing her chair back as if trying to distance herself from the mouse! I highly recommend this site!!

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