Another Day in K

The end of the year is approaching and so are end of the year assessments. This week in my Kindergarten classroom I began my end of the year Kindergarten assessments. I will pass along these assessments to the first grade teachers and use them to evaluate myself and the students and what they learned throughout the year. I complete a large portion of the assessment with my students 1-1 but this year I used technology to complete a portion of the assessment. Using Google Forms, i was able to access a link to my google form. I set this link up on all the iPads in my classroom and allowed the students to complete the form assessment during center time. I will continue to use this assessment format for years to come!

This week I read one of Meredith Akers' previous blog posts. This blog post shared five easy ways to give students opportunities to collaborate using technology. Student collaboration has many benefits but here are a few Meredith shared in case you need convincing that it is an important part of learning: developing higher-level thinking skills enhancing student satisfaction with the learning experience promoting positive attitudes toward the subject matter developing communication and social interaction skills Here are the five ways Meredith shared to provide collaboration opportunities as early as tomorrow! 1. Google Docs 2. Google Slides 3. Padlet 4. Flipgrid 5. Google Drawings You can access Merediths post by clicking  here!

After reading and reflecting on a post shared from the blogger I am following, I decided to try posting a GIF on my Clevertouch every morning to share a positive, funny, or motivating message to connect with my students and start the day on a positive note. My kids have loved reading them and seeing the fun pictures. I know this idea has started each day with smiles on their faces. I the future I would like to allow my students to take turns selecting a GIF to share with the class to motivate and encourage their peers at school.  Here are a few GIFs I shared.  

This week I am sharing an old post from  Meredithakers.com  bout using GIFs for learning. I think students and adults can all agree that there are some funny GIFs out there. Using them for learning sounds like a fun, engaging idea. Here are a few ways Meredith shared to use GIFs for learning. 1. GIF Vocab -Pick a vocab word -Find a GIF -Define the word (with reference to the GIF) -Teach it to your class -Have a student tweet the GIF and definition in their own words 2. Engage and Motivate with a Morning GIF to welcoem students daily. 3. Engage with Content Websites available for educational GIFs: https://www.boredpanda.com/amazing-educational-gifs/ https://www.ngssphenomena.com/ I hope you will check out Meredith's post and try using GIFs in the classroom too!

This week on  MeredithAkers.com , Meredith talks about branding for your classroom or school. Meredith shares that branding can have a big impact on how your school or classroom is viewed by parents and community members. One of the easiest way to brand content shared from your school or class is by a logo. In this weeks blog post Meredith shares how to create your own logo for your classroom.  Here are the steps: Open Google Drive Select New Select Drawing Create simple logos by layering images and text Download drawing as a PNG I have followed the steps to create my own classroom logo. Here it is! I hope you enjoyed this post and will make a logo for your class too!

As a Catholic school teacher, my participate in many different activities during the Lent season that help our children learn about and prepare for Easter. One of the activities out school does is the Rice Bowl. Each family at school receives a bowl from Catholic Relief Services. It is a 40 day challenge that guides families through the season of lent and giving. Along with the rice bowl activities at home, CRS has a website with many kid friendly videos to explain Lent. In preparation for Easter and Holy Week coming up we have been exploring the CRS Rice Bowl website in my Kindergarten class. You can find the website  here .  My class loves to watch the "Stories of Hope" videos. These videos share stories of people in other counties that have benefitted from Rice Bowl donations. Here is one of the videos.  If you are a catholic school teacher, you may enjoy these online resources too!