Making Books with Children...

It's been a long time since I have taken time to post here. I recently came upon a site by Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord. She has a delightful website called Making Books with Children, that teaches and encourages children to make their own books. She also has a blog featuring various handmade books! I love that she uses or should I say re-uses all sorts of papers. I especially like what she calls the HOT DOG BOOK! Here's a video on how to make one:

Or if you prefer to print out the instructions, here's a link to a PDF file: Hot Dog Book. I can't wait to share this with my students next fall!

Powerful Words...

It's been a while since I've come to this side of my blogging. The classroom blog has kept me very busy. I posted today at Teacher Tube. I am always interested to see what other teachers have posted. I came across this very moving video titled: "The Kid No One Wanted". It caught my attention. As I watched, I couldn't help but think how many others may be able to relate to this person's journeys in school? I couldn't help but think of my own son and how he could easily tell a similar story. Without a doubt his experiences parallel with those of this man, for many of the same reasons. How many kids do you know that share this sort pain? How many were able to find someone to help guide them through it and come out changed for the better? How many teachers do you know that contribute to the pain of young children, and how many do you know that are the ones that make a difference?

Watch and reflect:

Thoughts While on Spring Break...

We're out on Spring Break, I don't know who originally thought of this idea; but I am happy they did! ;-) Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my students, colleagues and my work with them TREMENDOUSLY! But... this time off gives all of us the opportunity to refresh our minds and spirits. I welcome time for sleeping in, exploring web sites that I don't have time to explore on a day-to-day basis, do some spring cleaning, playing with the dog, reading, working out (OK maybe NOT!) organizing, RELAXING (what's that??), stamping and scrapbooking, shopping.....all the things I enjoy, at a much slower pace.

One of the things I enjoy about returning to school after the break is everyone seems ready and eager to "take in more". We've all had time to get recharged and energized.
I came across this video that made me smile and caused me to wonder....really wonder, who among my kids, past and present, will do extraordinary things? Will it be Darren? Casey? Anita?Kevin? Luke? Riley? Marissa?...... Samantha? Jack? Michael? Brenna? Tonia?.... Jimmy? J'Kolbi? Laura? Jill? Blaise? Jennifer?Brooke?.... Dillon? Chris? Amanda? Jayme?...Natasha? 'Bella? Celina? Emily? Dana? Monica? Mohamed?.... Who among the hundreds of kids that I have had the honor and pleasure to teach, influence and love will break away from the norm to take a chance to do something extraordinary?

Taking Another Step....

I have been very busy with the Kindergarten Tales blog. It has taken off in ways I never imagined. As we enter our second semester with the blog, we are taking what seems to be the "natural" next steps. All this time I have modeled for the children how to post to the blog. They listened as I "thought" out loud the words I wanted to say. They helped me sound out words along the way, and got a sense how ideas flow and develop into a post. They have observed me as I photographed them as they went about the daily routines in class. Rarely was I looking for "posed" subjects, but tried to capture kids as they naturally moved about. Posed pictures seemed more appropriate for the times we were gathered with family and friends for No-Cook Nights or classroom parties.
We moved on to having the children help me decide which photos best fit our topic and the style of our post. We've created videos at One True Media and VoiceThread. The children have helped select music as well. We worked on recording our voices so they wouldn't seem as if we were "SHOUTING" to the world but rather, "sharing".
All this and more has led to me turning over more responsibilities for our posts to the children. They are excited to be the ones that are taking the photos, and dictating the words for the posts. Mind you, some of the photos lack the lighting and centering that one could expect to see on a blog, but then again, these are 5 & 6 year old students who are embarking on new territory. I am so incredibly proud of what they have produced so far. They handle the digital camera, microphones and other equipment with the utmost respect. I am thrilled with how all of this is coming together. I have several projects waiting to be posted, report cards, conferences and other matters-of-teaching limit the time I can spend going through the photos and having kids dictate their posts to me. But we'll get there. I remain excited and enthusiastic about the possibilities for sharing what we do in our class. It's VERY contagious and we continue to spread it to one another, back and forth between us. They keep me wanting to learn more. I will continue to encourage them to learn more and teach each other more about the various aspects of tending to our blog...but in the meantime....I repeat...I am so incredibly proud! We will continue on this road together taking small steps together!

Time Flies...

My word, I can hardly believe we've started December already! Where has the time gone?
I have been keeping very busy with my classroom blog. The kids, their families and I are thoroughly enjoying the sharing that is taking place.
I could really use about a month to get caught up on all the links I have left in my delicious account as well as try out new tools I have discovered over the past few months. I would like time to sit and listen to a pile of podcasts on educational technology as well as design ways to help encourage teachers to move beyond their own fears and begin making use of the tools in their classrooms. Hmm... would a month really be enough time? I try telling myself I'll get caught up this summer, but by then there will be more tools and hopefully more classes (David Jakes that's a shout out directed to you ;-) ). I want so much to be "on top" of the technology, and yet time seems to fly by me....INCREDIBLY quickly. In the meantime....I keep plugging away at it all.....and am lovin' every nanosecond of it!

Blog Action Day is here...

Today is Blog Action Day. I took time today to discuss with my students ways in which we can impact on the environment. In particular we discussed "Reusing and Recycling". We read from a couple of books about ways in which we can do our part to diminish the amount of garbage in landfills. The children shared thoughts of things they would like to try out at home. We tried to set realistic goals. Check out our blog to see the ideas the children came up with....Blog Action Day (Kindergarten Tales). I tired to let them know that through their small hands...BIG things can happen.

Journey into the Unknown....

Each day I find myself connecting with more and more resources on the Internet. As I indicated earlier this year, I am trying to make use of the Web 2.0 tools that are available online. I am in a constant state of awe as I find resources through Delicious, Google Reader, blogs and more. It is part of my daily routine to check these resources to see what new and interesting ideas and additional resources have popped up overnight. Being new to this thing called Web 2.0, I am in many ways, playing catch-up! I find myself drawn to articles and blogs of interest that are several months, if not years old.
I came across the article “Are Your Students (and Teachers) Building Networks?” by Will Richardson. It’s dated almost a full year from today and yet it is very inspiring to me. While I know I have a long way to go, I can honestly say I am making a full blown attempt at what Richardson outlines in the article. He asks, are you teaching your students how to build these connections, construct their own learning networks that will nurture them once they leave your schools? Are your teachers modeling their learning for their students by building their own networks that range far outside their classroom walls? Are you becoming part of a larger community that can offer perspective, new ideas, and support your work?
I feel very confident in saying “Yes Will, I am!”
I feel as if I am on a never ending journey... to a place I may never really get to see. The view along the way is absolutely breathtaking.... I am doing all I can to pick up as many students, teachers and parents on the road as I can and bring them along for the ride.

What a wonderful ride this is turning out to be….