Small School Summit #sss13 #innovatenow

Have you seen the video clip of Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon mocking hashtags? 

#HIGHlarious

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=57dzaMaouXA

This is real life, I kid you not. 

Me: "Ok, students you need to enter the number sign before your student log in number on the computers." Grade 4 students: "You mean the hashtag?" Me: "Yes, yes hashtag your student number." Followed by an inconspicuous eye roll and a mental note. Really?!?

I haven't been able to "unplug" in about 72 hours and I feel like I'm even starting to speak "twitter" ... Ever talk to someone and accidentally say, LOL instead of physically laughing out loud? We'll, that's what I mean. 

Here's why: I was honoured to be invited to our school boards "Small School Summit" these past two days. It's an unbelievable learning experience - a two day conference, filled with one-hour presentations from various professionals (psychologists, teachers, board personnel, etc ...) on a variety of topics, geared towards engaging teachers about innovative practices in the classroom and maintaining student engagement. The overarching theme of the Summit this year was INNOVATE NOW! The keynote speakers at the conference this year were: Diane Buckner, David Usher and Amber MacArthur. 

Diane Buckner, host of CBC's Dragon's Den, spoke about major trends that affect the way we now live, learn and relate: gamification, customization, high-tech health, innovation, social media, mobility, and authenticity. She noted how these trends are affecting society, how they are affecting our everyday lives and ultimately, how they are also affecting our teaching practices. Get on board. We're in an ever-changing world that not only requires, but demands that we stay innovative. Think outside the box. 

David Usher, Canadian music icon, was the guest speaker and performer last night. Not only did he melt our hearts with those dreamy deep set eyes, but he spoke from the heart which captivated the audience and had us hanging onto his every word. He spoke about creativity. He ... He ... He had me at hello. Ok, seriously. He explained that people aren't BORN creative ... You have to work at it! It's not as if he sits down with a bottle of whiskey and waits for the creativity to set it, but rather he has to work though those life distractions (as he played a super cute audio clip of him rehearsing at home only to be interrupted by his 5-year old daughter asking him where her princess shoes are). He reminded his audience to take risks ... To break down the fourth wall, step out of comfort zones and give something new a try. 

As a grunge-band 90s junkie, I was in full glory. 

Today, Social Media expert Amber Mac told me that she liked my hair. 

Amber Mac wasn't afraid to tell it like it is. She spoke about the realities of the ever-changing 21st century and the need to stay current. She spoke about how to get the most out of social media (Twitter, apps, etc) and how to avoid the major pitfalls that accompany these platforms. She shared examples of how powerful social media can be. For example, she noted the case of Canadian musician Dave Carroll, who's guitar was tossed and broken by United Airlines staff. He launched a music video in protest, which went viral on YouTube. It was estimated that United lost $180 million in revenue because of the bad publicity it generated. Incredible. She urged teachers to "think before you tweet." She spoke about innovation and the need for adaptation. For example, kids aren't staying on any ONE social media platform for long enough for parents to get on board. As soon as parents get on it, they're off and already onto something new. Snapchat won't be around forever ... It's likely just the flavour of the month.

As an educator who has a blog with a widget that feeds Instagram photos to it, I'd like to think that I'm current and innovative. I like figuring things out on my own, re-writing codes and creating my own TeachersPayTeachers products. I am open to the possibility of new ideas, I'm curious, I colour outside of the lines, I question the norm (even when I know it doesn't need to be questioned). I question the trends. I think critically about what's out there and  I'm willing to try new things, to be flexible and innovative, engaging and engaged, but now I wonder ... Is my job title still "educator"? I feel like more of a innovator than anything else. After attending the Small School Summit this week, I think I can confidently add "innovator" to my hat rack. 

#innovatenow

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Using Ipads as Documentation and Reward Time

I promised an Ipad-Mini update, so here's what we've been up to:

Students in my Core French classes (both the 1/2 and the 3/4) have been practicing familiar and everyday expressions and very basic phrases. They've been working at introducing themselves and others and asking and answering simple questions, like "Comment ca va?"

These kiddos had wayyyyy too much fun:

The great thing about the Ipad Minis (what's not to love about them, really) is that assessment and evaluation is literally at my fingertips. I can have students email me the videos at the end of the class and I have all the information I need for the day. Who did well, who needs to be pushed a little harder, which groups worked well together, who was silly, who understands basic sentence conventions in French, etc... . It's not the be-all, end-all, but it's certainly a great way to assess if I'm not able to make it around to each "working group" in a day. Based on this video alone, I can tell that we need to revist the "Je m'appelle ____" introductions! One student began as "Je suis ..." and the other began as "J'ai ..." Hmm.

We've also been using the Ipad Minis as a supplement to my reward incentive program. Each of my classes is set up so that students sit in groups (they choose where they want to sit), and each group is assigned a colour. One person from each group is the "chef" and they are expected to change "chefs" each day ... The chef is in charge of the clothespins. Each group earns clothespins (les pinces) for answering questions in French, singing loudly, transitioning quickly, cleaning up their workspace, etc ... At the end of the period, the chef tells me their total (and if they tell me the number in French, they get a bonus point) and at the end of the week they cash in their clothespin totals for reward time. They've been using their reward time for Ipad Mini time!

 

Students in my classes are rewarded (A LOT and OFTEN) for small accomplishments... But these 'small' accomplishments are what make my students feel successful. And in order to move them from an A1 to an A2 (when referring to the CEFR), they need to know that they are doing well.

 

What do you use as incentives in your Core French classes?

 

TTFN,

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iPad Minis!

Today we dove head first into the iPad minis! Although we had to go over a few 'ground rules' before we took the plunge, the kids finally got to explore those shiny new iPads that have been plugged in and calling our names from the back counter since the first week of school. What a teaser, how cruel of me! As teachers, we're supposed to build anticipation, right?!

The grade 3/4 class began their reading workshop with a 5 minute read to self period. They're still building stamina ... but they're really good at 5 minutes! Tomorrow we might try 6 minutes ;) After our read to self, I introduced them to the iPad minis. We have 10 of them for the school to share and teachers can sign them out in sets of 5. Conveniently enough, they're stored in my room ... For a small fee, of course. I spent hours registering them, updating the apps, setting up the iCloud accounts and keeping them charged :)

The kids were extremely excited to use them. The iPad minis have a way of inspiring creativity and maintaining interest - they're a tool that kids actually want to use! I had them log into the RazKids app (Click here for link), sign into our class and read with a partner. I was amazed. Each partnership was paired according to reading level and they went straight to work.

 

Information about RazKids will be sent home soon - it's an incredible reading program that has been purchased by our school for students to use either at school or at home!

 

The 3/4 French class also got to explore the minis today! They had an important job ... they were French app critics. Since all of the minis are synced together, they all have the same apps but I wasn't sure if the students would actually be interested in the French apps. Were they too babyish? Too boring? Not hard enough? Just not interesting? They did a wonderful job because they (not surprisingly) were brutally honest. It was great to hear their perspective.

 

So serious - they even wanted headphones!

 

 

Can't wait to dive a little deeper into the use of technology in the classroom! On the lesson plan for tomorrow ... Using the minis to videotape one another using simple French greetings and salutations.

 

:)

 





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First Week Fun!

Wow!!

It is so hard to believe that it is the third week of school already!! Didn't we JUST start?!

To sum it all up ... so far, so good! It's going to be a GREAT year!

The past few weeks have been spent learning all about one another, getting settled into routines and schedules, speaking FRENCH and taking tons of pictures along the way.

Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to:

In Grade 3/4 French, we talked lots about school rules and expectations. What better way to do this then to read "David va a l'ecole". That David is always up to no good!

Check out the following link to a cute (and free) David Craftivity from Fall into First ... I used it as a springboard, but decided that at a Grade 3/4 level, they would be able to make their own David's. You be the judge, but I think they're cute!

 

 

We brainstormed all the naughty things David did and then decided to turn it around to write about the things that he could do - to teach him right from wrong. The writing activity attached to it was "Oui, David! Tu peux ..." We had sentences starters (a discussion about verbs - yay!) on the board and students chose which one they would act out and write about. Too cute. They also completed a 'sort' "oui tu peux" or "non tu ne peux pas" activity from the following website: http://clin.ac-mayotte.fr/spip.php?article56 This website had TONS of resources - including a modified/shorter scanned version of the story in French.

The 1/2 Core French group also did the David activity - but in a shorter, more age appropriate kind of way. For instance, we read the story, talked about what not to do, made the David crafts (from Fall into First) and then wrote "Non David" on a sentence strip. It was so cute to see their ideas of David - some made David exactly the way he looks, striped blue shirt and all, and others went wayyyy outside the box and made him all different colours, holding one hand in the air and the other on his pants to duplicate the page where David keeps asking to go to the bathroom!!

This week, we've been integrating technology (whooohooo - 10 new Ipad Minis for the school). Stay tuned to what we've been learning!

TTFN,

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New beginnings ...

After much debate, I've decided to keep my blog up and running. I LOVE blogging, don't get me wrong ... it's not just for my own personal growth in an ever-changing techno-coloured world, but it's also for the community, for the parents and even for the students. So when I found out that my assignment for next year might be a little bit more difficult to 'blog' about, I thought that maybe I would take the site down.

NAHHHHH. Who am I kidding?! Just because it's titled as Ms. Kidd's Kindergarten, doesn't mean that's what it has to be right? The blog is a place to store and document student and classroom information, to collaborate with other teachers from across the continent and to stretch conversations at home from, "How was school today?" to "Tell me more about your science experiment today!" How on Earth could I go without blogging?! So, after (not-so-much) debate, I've decided to keep my blog up and running as Ms. Kidd's Kindergarten even though this September, I will be teaching:

Grade 3/4 Language
JK/SK Core French
1/2 Core French
and Grade 3/4 Phys. Ed and Core French

I've figured out a way to 'label' posts so that they are organized by class/grade on the left hand side of the blog, so if there is a blog post in reference to something specific to a class then it will go directly to that class on the right side with a label.

With that being said ... so long, sweet summer. This teacher is starting to think about school again!

TTFN, Pin It

Kinder Kandinsky

If you've ever asked someone to borrow oil pastels from their room, you'll understand what I mean when I say I had to steal oil pastels today. Okay, not really steal. But I borrowed without asking ... and that's because it's really hard to get your hands on oil pastels. ESPECIALLY if you tell the person that you're borrowing from that you're going to let kindergarten use them!

Don't worry. They were returned, safe and sound. We didn't even break any! The oil pastels are an absolute treat for any artist ... even at a very young age, these kids can understand why these tools were such a special addition to the art centre today.

"They're special crayons because they're dark!"

"They're rubbery and soft."

"They look like paint!"

I sat down at a table with some supplies and called over a few students at a time to show them the art project of the day - Kandinsky circles! We went over the materials that we would be using, any special things that we needed to take into consideration (like personal space and rolling up our sleeves), and went over the directions. I showed them how to trace circles (using a tracer) and reminded them to write their names. Some students fit 4 circles on their page, some fit 5. We then had a discussion about their favourite colours ...

"I like yellow, just because."

"I like purple and blue."

"My favourite is orange because I like oranges!"

Here's a sneak peak of their creations ...

I'd love to share their final products, but ... they're not quite done yet!

Here's what they're SUPPOSED to look like. But ... keep in mind, I didn't show them what it SHOULD look like. And, if they're SUPPOSED to look like this, then that would imply that there is a right way and a wrong way ... I just told them to make circles, choose colours they like and go around and around!

If I showed them this, I think some of my little guys would get upset that their final product didn't match what it should look like. I'd rather not let these budding artists feel like anything less than budding artists at this point.

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Flubber. Gak. Goop.

We didn't just "make goop" this week ... Students dove head first into their own inquiry. Here's the story:

This week, one of the girls in my class brought out a ziploc bag full of bright blue goopy, flubbery gunk. First of all, I LOVE the initiative that she took and the confidence that she had to take it out of her school bag. Second of all, I LOVE that she set up her very own centre with this blue goopy gunk, calling all of her friends over to the table and indicating that the centre had too many friends when there wasn't enough goop to go around. 

Naturally, the students suggested that we make more. We researched the ingredients (which I had on had because I had been waiting for a rainy day to make this stuff), took a walk down to the breakfast kitchen to get the materials and supplies and got to work! 

From start to finish, students were incredibly engaged. Science lends itself quite naturally to the FDK program and this experiment was no exception. We have since made two batches and the learning has been endless. Kids LOVE goop! There's something about that sticky, gooey, malleable, slimy stuff that 5 year olds love. I know I'm totally dating myself, but if you're wondering what it reminds me of, its Robin Williams Flubber. Haha. 

Here's the recipe and instructions (so simple!):

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups elmer white glue
food coloring
1 1/3 cups warm water
3 teaspoons borax

1. In one container mix 1 1/2 cups warm water, white glue and a few drops of food colouring.
2. In a second container mix 1 1/3 cups of warm water and Borax.
3. Mix the Borax mixture into the glue mixture until combined (may be some liquid in bottom of container).
4. Place Fubber on a tray and let stand for a few minutes before playing with it!
5. Store in air tight container.

Here's the link: <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/flubber-134095?oc=linkback">http://www.food.com/recipe/flubber-134095?oc=linkback</a>

I have a couple of Grade 5/6 boys who come to help me at recess (i.e. stack chairs, clean the tables, sweep the floor, empty the water table, etc) and even THEY got a kick out of the goop. Usually when they finish their jobs, I let them play floor hockey in my room ... They are hockey crazy. This week they gave up the hockey sticks to play with the flubber instead. 

And to think ... If the goop had stayed in the little girls bag, none of this would have happened.

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