It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's An Ocean!

"Wow, it's the ocean!" A bus full of preschools yell as we pull into Lowry Nature Center, peering on a small lake. We can hear the sounds of birds singing, chipmunks scampering, and frogs croaking. We were able to see a beautiful hawk and a barred owl being cared for. Not to mention the wonderful discovery area in which the children could pretend to be otters by sliding down the slide on their belly, going into a beaver dam made for exploration, and leaping from lily pad to lily pad like a frog. To these digital learners, this was a new experience. 

When I was a child, I spent many hours outside exploring. When you read my blog, I often share the wonderful digital things children are learning and doing. These digital experiences should not replace the every day activities necessary for learning and play, but they will change the way children experience their world. 

For example, while we were at the nature center, children were taking pictures of the things they saw. Using digital cameras, children were snapping photos left and right. Trying to capture the perfect image of that chipmunk before it scampered through the leaves, or that bird eating from the feeder before it departed scarred by the sound of 75 preschoolers in awe. (They tried so hard to stay quiet, but their excitement was just hard to control.) 

Why were they taking photos? They are digital learners, and they are socially connected to one another in new ways that engage them. Now, not only are they experiencing nature, but they are sharing it with their peers. Mostly synthesizing the new information and telling their peers about it with a visual. 

So, after all, the children have learned about a body of water called a lake and they know what it looks like. They have also seen many birds, leaves, and dirt and want to share it with you! Here are some of their photos! No, I didn't take these photos myself or use Google images; this is the work of four and five year-old students. 

 

Calling All Authors

After reading children's book, Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert this week, just wondering if we have a need for some children's authors who can keep up with our changing digital learners? The book references ordering seeds from catalogs and waiting all winter long for them to come. What? You used to order bean seeds from catalogs and have to wait months to get them?  Try to explain this concept to three through five year olds who don't speak English as their first language. Lois Ehlert is a famous children's author along with many classic children's book I have in my classroom that I need to retire to a closet. The concepts are out of date and don't have meaning for children in the twenty-first century. 

What is the future of the book? Will children just read books on iPads, Nooks, Tablets, or whatever the latest hand held device might be?  This sounds a bit daunting to consider the idea that children wouldn't actually hold a book. Never have a need to go to a library, or even a book store. 

Would it be so bad though? Children could carry hundreds of books around with them all on their hand held device. Read any book they wanted at anytime, anywhere! Sounds fantastic to me! Right now for a high price we could purchase one of these new devices. A few years from now, they will become much more affordable I believe because everyone will need one. 

What is the content like, that is the real question I am asking here. It seems as though we have just created an electronic version of the literature that has been around for years. I think we need some new authors and illustrators that can produce books fast enough to keep up with the demand of an ever changing world and the need for relevant information. 

What do you say, write a children's book today, upload it tomorrow, make millions! Change the way children learn and what they learn about! 

Painting with Poise

As the children wait for their turn to paint using Art Rage I quickly turn on Jing to capture their work of art in motion. Using these two tools I am able to capture the process of painting not just the finished product.

So often we give directions during art lessons and a model what it is we want the children to do. Lets try more of this type of art, I call it free art in my classroom! Call it what you will. The children are open to explore creative expression and participate freely. Funny, each child wanted a turn. During those other art lessons, how many children decline doing the "project"?

As the children wait their turn they love watching what is happening on the SMARTboard. Amazed by the vibrant colors and the mixing that takes place.  They talk about what they are doing and show respect and interest in others work. (Does that happen during crafts?)

As the children complete their masterpiece they stand back and take a look. I have them tell me about what they did and ask how they made it. For children who have less language abilities we discuss the colors they used. As they step back and look at their large painting on the SMARTboard they are proud of their work! You can read later postes about Art Rage if you are interested in using it in your classroom. 

Here in my classroom, the children just love using Art Rage! Plus they are learning skills far greater than how to follow step by step directions.

Cutting Edge

Have you ever...walked across a street?

 Have you ever...ridden a bike?

Have you ever...jumped into a swimming pool?

I'm thinking most of my readers have done these things. Why? Maybe you wanted something on the other side of the street? Maybe you wanted to ride your bike so you could go to your friends house? Or perhaps you just wanted to cool off in the pool on a hot summer day. Would you consider these things to be dangerous? Possibly you would if you never learned how to do them safely. This brings me to my cutting edge topic for the day. Scissors. 

Yes, it is conference time again! As I meet with parents, I ask them if they have a scissors for their child at home. I find out if they spend time practicing cutting with their child. Guess the answer. (You will have to keep reading to find out.) The conversations go on as I try to make a case for scissor practice at home. We discuss how using a scissor increases fine motor strength, eye-hand coordination, and muscle control. What parent doesn't want their child to have these skills?

Of course there is a scissors in the home the parents assure me. However, they tell me they don't want their child to use it. They say the child will cut everything around the house, even their hair. Some important conversation happens when I explain to the parents they can set the rules and limits on what the child can and cannot cut. We do the same at school. It is also important for the parents to sit with their child while they are cutting, supervision is necessary for success and safety. 

You could have been hit by a car if no one taught you to look both ways before crossing the street. You would have not been able to get around or go to your friends house if you couldn't ride your bike. Maybe you would have gotten hurt  if you jumped in a pool without supervision. In the same way, if you don't teach your children to use the scissors safely, they may get hurt. Without supervision, they will cut their hair. (Just ask my mom!)

I'm not speaking of cutting edge parenting here. With guidance my students will develop fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, and muscle control using a scissors at home as well as in school.

It's not just Skype!

This past week was very exciting for my assistant teacher Mrs. Fran as she became a grandmother to a beautiful little girl Mollie. Her daughter was blessed by having her stay for a week to help with the care taking. However, the students and myself missed Fran while she was not in school. We decided to use skype and connect during the week!

We were able to skype with the class and project onto the large smartboard and hear a story from Mrs. Fran. The children couldn't quite understand how Mrs. Fran was on the t.v. (as they call the SMART board) and how she could see them. I showed the children the camera and tried to explain to them that our computer was calling Mrs. Fran's computer. Either way, the details didn't matter to them, what mattered was the relationship that was fostered.

In this article: The importance of  Teacher-Child Relationships in Head-Start,

it states that "close teacher-child relationships were related to better receptive language for all children, but this was even stronger for children of color than for white children. Further, the connection between positive teacher-child relationships and children’s language was even stronger for preschool children than early elementary school children."  This one result was worth every second we spent on Skype with Mrs. Fran! 

Some see Skype as a fun way to connect with family or friends, but I see it as an educational learning tool that fosters relationships and builds connections that go beyond the school walls. I can't wait for another opportunity to use it!

Difficult Reality

These are my personal thoughts on what is going on in my classroom, a reflection, a blog post if you will.

The difficult reality I speak of today is hungry children. It is difficult because children whose basic needs are not meet can not move on to anything else until those basic needs are met.  I'm talking about learning here. If a child is hungry or tired, they are not going to be learning anything to their fullest potential. My job is then considered difficult because I want children to learn and be successful reaching their fullest potential but it isn't happening because they are hungry.

The last week in January I had at least half of my students tell me they were hungry. I would ask them if they had breakfast or something to eat before coming to school. Guess the response. No. I pondered this for a while. It would not have caught my attention but this trend was occurring in both morning and afternoon classes and with multiple children. This causes a teacher to wonder what is going on here. Why are the children so hungry?

My thoughts: were they in a hurry this morning, did they not want to eat, did they over sleep? What is it? I had to think about this because these basic needs were interfering with our learning. My second thought was, it is the end of the month. We all know our finances can get tight during this time of the month. I can't say for sure what is going on or why the students have been coming to school so hungry, but it does make me stop and think.

We are so thankful to be able to provide a healthy snack for children while they are at school. As I look at my classes and reflect on learning, I know my students need their basic needs met first! Are you able to meet your students needs?

Visual Learners

Hello to all of my new readers around the world! Sorry, I have not updated my blog lately. I'm still here working and teaching students using new technologies, just been a little busy. So this picture, yes, does look like something from the movie ET! However, it has been the coolest thing I've used lately and would promote for classrooms to have.

The real name of the device is a document camera, this one made by SMART works and interacts with my SMARTboard. This camera allows me to model or demonstrate tasks for my students that otherwise would be too small for them to see. 

As you can see here, I used the camera to show my students some new apps on the itouch! The students require little teaching when it comes to the itouch. Most of them pick it up and figure it out on their own. Their intuitive skills are far greater than many adults. I guess that is why they are called 21st century learners. They aren't afraid to break it by pushing the wrong button. They will explore until they get the app to work!

With this new document camera I am able to show an entire class how to use this small device. With the click of the power button this image is suddenly transmitted onto the SMARTboard. This is a little hard to explain, so I will give you a visual. The majority of people or 60% are considered to be visual learners. I think for our ELL students this statistic is much higher. As a teachers, I strive to meet all of the learning styles of my students. This new tool has empowered me to do just that! What is empowering you to meet your students learning styles?