Tech Toys for 2007 - #1

First a disclaimer: The order of the 'Tech Toys' you will see appear in this blog are in no particular order. HOWEVER, they are ALL in my Top 10 Picks for 2007.

Today's Pick:

That's right folks -- get your very own 'Ellenville Central Schools' flash drive. It's a 1 GB flash drive so you can hold over 200 images or 200 music files and all for JUST $20. Get your flash drive now by contacting Hillary Smith at extension 414 or Phil Althouse at extension 407. Oh, and did I happen to mention that your purchase will help benefit the Senior class?

Save the Date! December 6th

Thursday, December 6th, the Ellenville Elementary School will proudly host its Winter Concert. The event will be held at 7 p.m. in the High School Auditorium. Join us for what is sure to be a fun-filled musical evening featuring the 4th grade band playing 'Merrily We Roll Along' among tunes and the 4th grade chorus singing 'Sleigh Ride' and other foot-tapping melodies.

Do a Little Dance...

A 'Snow Dance' that is! Heard on the radio driving in this a.m. that there's a good chance of snow on Sunday, possibly extending into Monday. Whether this will actually happen is anyone's guess, but it's that time of year again, so as a reminder -- please listen to the local radio station or you can call 647-0121 to hear about school delays and cancelations.

When I taught 2nd grade if there was a possibility of snow I would tell my class to sleep with their PJs inside-out if they wanted a snow day. And you know what? It worked! How are you going to sleep Sunday night?

Proof, Proof, Proof

That was my mantra for when I taught the writing process in my class. You didn't just give your written work a quick glance and call it 'proofing'. OH NO!!! You had to get three different people to look at your work before it could be considered 'proofed'. I ran across this activity the other day and the results had me chuckling. I mean, I'm considered by most to be the 'final eye'...and you might consider yourself the same. So take this short test and see how well you 'proof'. Three times may NOT be enough! LOL

Read the following sentence:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE-
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF-
IC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.

Now, quietly count the F's in that sentence. Count them ONLY ONCE. Do NOT go back and count them again (that would be cheating).

Click HERE to go to the website for the answer (you'll have to click on the 'click here for the answer')

Printable Bordered Papers

I know that as teachers, we're always looking for ways to enhance the look and appeal of our children's writing. At PrimaryGames.com you can do just that by printing out a variety of bordered papers. Especially designed for younger children, find various themes to download and print, including winter snowflakes, dinosaurs, Chinese New Year, etc.

Family Portrait Night - November 14, 2007

Family Portrait Night is coming to Ellenville Central Schools on November 14th. Portraits will be taken from 5 - 8 p.m. in the Elementary School Cafeteria. Price packages range from $9.00 to $50.00 and payment is due at the time the portrait is taken. If you are interested, please contact Jenn Bonitz from the Ellenville PTO at 647-4793 to schedule an appointment.

Daily Activity

Check out Enchanted Learning's Monthly Activity calendar page. Every day has a link to a different part of the Enchanted Learning website. Some links send you to a quiz page, other days you'll read about something new, and yet other days you'll find directions to a nifty craft project. And while you're at Enchanted Learning, check out some of the other areas of the website, you won't regret it!

Get Out Your Skates!!!

Nope, not discussing the impeding forecast of snow in the upper echelons of New York, I'm talking about Transmedia's Glide 2.0. Word on the street (or would that be the 'web') has it that it outperforms Google! You got to register to see it and believe it! What? Rumor has it that Glide 2.0 allows you to save to PowerPoint format or PDF (are you listening Google????). You do need to have Adobe's Flash Player on your machine (most of us already do). And when it comes to sharing, you can invite ANYONE, not just those with gmail accounts! I can't wait to check and the mobile version and upload to my iTouch.