The Dot Project -- Digital Art!

I read about The Dot Project and thought I'd try it out with my first graders. We read the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. This is an inspiring story about a student who doesn't think they can draw and ends up making great art. The students were ready to make their own art after reading this book!

Drawing on iPads would have been super fun, but we don't have any in our classroom. So we went to the computer lab and used Kid Pix to draw our very own dots. They are all unique and beautiful. The kids really enjoyed this and I'm sure we'll be doing more digital art in the future! Just another easy way to incorporate some tech into your day!

Nonfiction Text Features

We've been spending the week learning about text features of nonfiction books. This is coinciding PERFECTLY with writing "All About Books" ala Lucy Calkins.

We made this anchor chart...a great visual for the kiddos.

And today, the students dug deep into their own nonfiction books and looked for the specific features we've been learning this week.

To download, click the picture.

Quietube -- A Safer Way to Youtube

In the words of Junie B. : WOWIE. I learned so much over the last 2 days at the annual MACE conference, which is a tech conference for teachers. I hope to share some of the things I learned and how I'm applying it to my classroom with you all through my blog.

One website I was introduced to was Quietube....which allows you to watch youtube videos without all the "crap" -- related videos, comments, etc. Because every once in awhile an inappropriate related video or comment will be right near the video you are trying to use with students. This gets rid of all of that...plus it's just a lot less distracting.

So you go to quietube.com , and all you need to do is drag the button to your toolbar. Then when you have a youtube video you want to share, go to the video on youtube and click the quietube button on your toolbar and you'll go from this:

To this:

Dr. Seuss Camera - The Cat In the Hat Edition - iPhone App for Dr. Seuss Week!!

**UPDATE: Hello Pinterest! Wow, I thought no one read this little blog of mine. It's been on the back burner for over a year now. :) YES this app is FREE now and it is searchable in the app store --- Dr. Seuss Camera -- The Cat in the Hat Edition. Thank you and have a great Read Across America Day!



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Wow, my kiddos had fun with this one I just had to share!

During one of my centers today, students were able to use the Cat Cam app to put their picture into a Dr. Seuss scene. They selected the frame they wanted, took their picture, cropped how they wanted it, added a border, and saved it. We then put them on our class blog for parents to see. Too fun! Here's an example of the one I did. :)

You can download the Cat Cam for $1.99 on iTunes.   It's Free Now! Works with iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad....enjoy and HAPPY SEUSS WEEK!

Happy Grinch Day!

Sounds like a lot of us celebrated Grinch Day today! My class did so in style! We all wore green to get in the spirit!

Here's my class with the Grinches they made --- (ala Deanna Jump). :)

Grinch Punch! 7up and Lime Sherbert....yum!

 We feasted on Grinch Punch and Grinchy Cupcakes!

My kiddos loved the streamers!

Closeup of the Grinch cupcakes!

We played Grinch Punch-a-Bunch! Inside the bowls were trivia questions about How The Grinch Stole Christmas (and some candy!). Down below, you can download your own trivia questions that we used. Go HERE to see my original post about the Punch-a-Bunch Game. We also played Pin The Heart On The Grinch! 3 more days! 3 more days! :)

 

grinchtrivia

More Force and Motion Fun -- Marble Races!

Have I mentioned that I *LOVE* teaching science?! We discussed velocity and how objects move faster down an inclined plane set at a greater angle. We did a little experiment to prove this using our marble race track! Got the idea HERE.

It took nearly 6 seconds for the marble to roll down the ramp at this incline!

It took 1.77 seconds for the marble to reach the finish line at this incline.

1.25 seconds....Faster!

And only .78 seconds at the greatest incline! FASTEST!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

 

Yes, this little cutie is my *almost* 2 year old son. I may be biased, but I think he's the most precious thing ever. :) Photo by ME -- I was so pleased with how they came out!

And yesterday we had a mommy/son craft day and made these CUUUUUUTE thumbprint reindeer ornaments that have been floating around on pinterest. 

Isn't it really the most WONDERFUL time of the year?!