Resolutions...or NOT!?!

I'm not about New Year's resolutions; in fact I'm not sure I've ever had one! Granted, as a teacher, January is just the middle of the year!! Each August I plan new things to work on in my class or things I want to change. Maybe you would call these "new year's" resolutions. This year is a little different because everything is new! 

Here is a brief overview of my visions for the computer lab this semester! 

All of my class will be participating in digital citizenship classes. I'm partnering with the counselor at my school to provide Internet safety and anti-cyberbullying education. 

- Fifth grade is going to complete their colonial movies. Then they will move into research, followed by weather forecast videos. 

- Third grade is going to...well I'm not quite sure yet! Maybe...they will learn some research skills! 

- Second grade is going to focus on typing and finish the Dance Mat levels. Once they finish all levels, they will begin having races to increase WPM. 

- First grade is going to work on labeling and identifying parts of the computer. After that they will be introduced to Kid Pix and work on a curriculum based activities. 

- Kindergarten is going to be participating in a study of the benefits of coding. (Meaning they will be coding and doing computer programming.) I am crazy...really I am! 

** Fourth grade tech club is going to work on programming a Botball robot for competition!  (I have to learn C++ programming!! Advice anyone??)

I'm excited about the new adventures this year will bring in the computer lab! All ideas will bring learning for the students and me! 

Whether or not you are like me with resolutions, something about January always brings a rejuvenated spirit ready to push through another semester, a semester unnecessarily filled with testing anxiety for so many sweet children.  Whether I'm in a new job or not, I always look forward to returning to my precious students! I hope you've taken time for God, time for yourself, and time for your family and are ready to return as well. I know the end of the holidays can bring feelings of sorrow for some, but no matter what the circumstances are I pray you find renewal enough to come back to school. January is a time to pour out energy! I challenge you to have the energy to show everyone the extraordinary teacher you are!! 

Here are two pictures of my relaxing and fun Christmas break!  Enjoyed LOTS of family time.
         

Code Much?

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting at my kitchen counter pondering what I should do with a couple grades in the computer lab! I found myself on Twitter and Pinterest searching for a lesson idea when I found an article about Hour of Code!! December 9-15 was the international hour of code.  (I'm all about supporting curriculum in the computer lab but sometimes you just have to do something fun.) Thankfully, there is freedom in the lab to go in multiple directions. I decided I was going to have Kindergarten-5th grade code.  Kindergarteners coding?  Yes, I AM crazy!!!

Monday I got to school and put a sign on my door. I created an "I can" statement based on one I saw online and I found a coding activity for each grade. 

Fifth, second, and third grade were on Tynker.com.  My fifth graders were given the opportunity to choose any activity from the website. My second graders did "Puppy Adventure" and my third graders did "Candy Quest."  Talk about loving what they were doing.  I had several fifth graders come in during recess just to do more coding.  SCORE!!!  The kindergartners and first graders used botlogic.us.  The kindergartners were on the iPads doing the activity while the first graders logged onto the computer.

Overall, the week went splendid and we had a lot of fun participating in Hour of Code.  I was so impressed with the requests to continue coding or about coding at home.  You know you’ve inspired kids when parents text you pictures of more completed certificates.  Here are just a few of the certificates from the week.  

The delight from so many of my kids really has me thinking about the direction I want to go in the computer lab.  How do you balance creating and making the curriculum fit but at the same time, truly igniting excitement in students? As I prepare for next semester I am truly searching for more engaging tactics and ideas to engage students who find school to be boring.  I want to inspire students and get them hooked on learning.  I love watching kids’ eyes dance with excitement when it comes to learning, new books, or a computer program.  Be looking and watching for the new ideas that come from the computer lab!!  

I also encourage you to try something new in your classroom.  Make the new thing exciting and engaging!  Coming from the classroom I know you can turn most things into something fun and engaging.  (Now long division is another story...seriously haven't ever been able to come up with something fun for that one!)  In one of our regular ed. classes the students participated in a technology activity to learn transformations.  Those kids were so excited to come show me what they were doing and I LOVED IT!  I also heard from their teacher they did significantly better on that particular topic when tested.  I love seeing kids enthusiastic about what they are learning...do something different and fun next semester to appeal to your students!!!