3rd Grade is VERY 'Scare-y' Indeed!

If you enter our building, you'll see some pretty 'scare-y' fellows hanging out in the main lobby! These are just a few of the scarecrows created by our 3rd graders. Check out the pictures below to see more of them!

Check out the slideshow HERE.

Mouse House Mural

The Elementary has a wireless lab located on the main floor. It used to be called the 'HOTS Lab', but has now been renamed the 'Mouse House'. Decorating it has been a 'work in progress' (and I'm not quite done yet). To make the space more inviting to our students, our Artist Extra-Ordinaire, Ms. Weyant, agreed to create a mural -- and what a mural it is!

By Monday afternoon the wall looked like this:



By Wednesday afternoon the wall looked like this:



You can see Ms. Weyant hard at work here:



And the masterpiece was finished by Thursday afternoon. Check it out! Isn't it B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L?



Stay tuned for looks at the final 'Makeover'!

Tips to Help Your Child with Reading

I was surfing the web this morning and ran across some information from 'Reading Rockets' on tips to help your child with reading. The information is in their 'Target the Problem' section which focuses on helping to "understand the specific problems a child may be having with reading. You'll find practical suggestions on what you (and kids themselves) can do to help students overcome or deal with their reading difficulties." There are sections on: phonemic awareness, word decoding, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and other sources of reading difficulty. Each area has an explanation of the problem, how it affects a child's reading, and suggestions on how to help your child. Check it out at 'Target the Problem'.

Do You Know What a Computer Mouse Is?

I have to tell you...I have a GREAT job!!! I get to work with children from grades Kindergarten through 4th grade and, boy, do they keep me on my toes! LOL I ABSOLUTELY LOVE working with the Kindergarten students. They take everything so literally. I'm keeping a log of the amazing things that they say and do in computer lab and plan on sharing this 'pearls of wisdom' with you throughout the year.

My favorite 'Kinder Komment' so far has got to be the following: I was teaching a lesson on the four main parts of a computer to my Kindergarten students. We went over the keyboard, the monitor, the CPU, and when I got to the mouse I showed the class a cute little stuffed animal mouse and asked them if this was a computer mouse. To my amazement, this student decided to take over and teach me a thing or two! I hope you enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed watching in amazement the workings of a Kindergartener's mind!

NOTE: PLEASE WAIT UNTIL THE GRAY BAR AT THE BOTTOM OF THE VIDEO SCREEN IS ALL THE WAY TO THE RIGHT BEFORE CLICKING ON THE 'PLAY' BUTTON.



'Stay Tuned and Stay Connected!'

Web 'Cubed'

[This post is 'cross-posted'.]

O.K. So I've been thinking about this for a while and finally decided to put my thoughts to blog.

You know how the web is considered by most to be the 'read/write' web? I don't think that is applicable any more and would like to offer a new paradigm. I think we need to view the web as 'cubed'. Instead of 'read', we should look at 'consume', because, let's face it we don't only 'read' on the web anymore since 'read' implies text. As for 'write', we should look at 'contribute', since again, 'write' implies text and we now have the ability to 'write' images, videos, audio, etc. And we have a new component -- 'collaborate', since so many of the new applications are social in nature and provide the ability to work with others.

So here's my new slogan: 'Web 'Cubed' -- consume, contribute, collaborate'. [And if anyone can figure out how to get the exponent '3' onto a blog, PLEASE let me know!] [Actually I would like to see it 'Web', then the letter 'C', then the exponent '3'. Help!]

What are your thoughts on this?

Sight Word Practice

I've been asked by a number of people if there was a website that students could use to help them review their sight words. And the answer is a resounding 'YES'! A Canadian educator, Kathy Cassidy has put together an incredible page of sight words. There are four sets with 5 sub-sets. The best part is the ability to move the mouse over the word and have the word read to you by a child. How cool is that? Check it out at Mrs. Cassidy's Sight Word Sets

When you click on a link, you will have a slideshow appear that will allow you to listen to the word by hovering the mouse over it. The first set contains the 100 most common words found in children's books. The second set uses the Dolch words, minus the 100 most common words found in the first set. There are a total of 590 words in the four sets of words.

Teachers and Parents: Click here to get a list of the words in each set and sub-set.

Want to Meet me Halfway?

Just spent the better part of the last hour presenting and sharing with Discovery Educators from around the U.S. Someone shared the following website that allows you to type in your address and the address of the person that you plan on meeting halfway. You then can choose from a variety of places to meet, such as 'coffee' or 'pizza'. The result is a place halfway between the two of you, it shows the location on a map and gives a whole list of either coffee shops or pizzarias, etc. where you can meet.

And their web address is to-the-point: www.a.placebetween.us