Settling In

So I won't lie, it took me a few days to settle into summer. Let's face it there's a huge difference between all out madness and barely having time to breathe and basking in the the beautiful glory of what I call "nothingness." Well at least sort of nothing...I still have my online class this summer, family obligations, etc. But, you know what I mean! I came across this AWESOME website www.kideos.com . It's like a safe video website for kids, pretty neat. So what kinds of videos are on Kideos? Well let's see, they have everything from Sid the Science Kid clips to Disney Movie clips/trailers and virtual field trips. They website is organized by channels, and you can also select your age group on top if you'd just like to browse videos that are age appropriate for your learners. My favorite channels are: Educational Videos (they've got some good stuff on Dinosaurs and Oceans which, are big units at my school), Book Characters, and National Geographic of course (see screenshot below)!

 Anytime I find a website, I always stop to think how I can integrate it meaningfully into my classroom. There are so many great technological tools out there, but I have to make sure they serve a purpose. So what would I do with KIDEOS? Well first and foremost, I think it's a great tool to use to supplement Science and Social Studies units as well as Language Arts. Did I mention they have the Schoolhouse Rock grammar videos?!?!?! If your school doesn't subscribe to Brainpop or Discovery Streaming, this is a FREE alternative to find those supplements to your curriculum. Living in PA means that we have decently cold winters. So for much of the winter we spend inside=INDOOR RECESS! Ahhhhh! Doesn't sound bad at all..at first...until you're on your 10th day of it. I try to vary our indoor recess activities. Sometimes we play with board games, magnets, and other building materials that I keep stocked in the classroom. Sometimes we get our cardio in for the day by visiting Adventure to Fitness. Sometimes, I'll show movies (mainly educational movies) and KIDEOS has a LOT of them. So be sure to check them out and think about how you can use them. I'd love to hear your ideas!

Ta Ta for now! Back to reading book 2 in the Shades of Grey series, I can hardly put this stuff down lol.