EDCT 203: Week 2

This week in class we worked on PowerPoints. I already knew how to create a basic slide show (I think most people do) but in class we used PP to make educational games and interactive lessons for kids. We used hyperlinks to create multiple choice questions, animation and pictures to make it fun, etc. They actually turned out pretty cute!

I can definitely see myself using this in a classroom someday. I think that it would be more fun and engaging for the kids than just staring at a boring textbook. Since most classrooms have Smartboards now, you could even pull the game up on one so that several children could play at once. Older kids could use games like this to review or practice for a test.

Some student standards used this week were:

• 1a, 1b, 1c- yay for new ideas! :)
• 2b
• 4d
• 5(all)- always important!
• 6a, 6b

Some teacher standards used this week were:

• 1a
• 2(all)
• 3a, 3c
• 4(all)
• 5d

Well, that's it for this week. Thanks for reading!

one of my favorite quotes

"Faith is taking the first steps, even if you can't see the whole staircase" -MLK Jr.

EDCT203: Week 1

Greetings! I hope the New Year has found you all happy, healthy and loving life.
The new year has brought a new quarter at school, and new group of classes. I'm still teaching all day Tuesdays and Thursdays at a local elementary. I was so glad to be back, I missed my kiddos soooo much!

I'm also taking an educational technology class. A class that requires a weekly blog entry. Lucky for me, I already had a blog set up. So for the next ten weeks, I'll be posting some class related things on here. Sorry in advance if my ramblings bore you!!

This week in class, we learned how to set up wiki pages. I use Wikipedia all the time but this was the first time I actually sat and created a page. We also learned about setting up pages through Google. I like that we were offered many templates to choose from there. I found a cute teacher-ish one. However, I wish I had thought about it before clicking on the cute teacher-ish one, because that sucker is really hard to navigate! But it's cute. And it has a place for me to put up a student of the month, so it's cool.

I can totally see myself using these pages as a teacher in the future. I think it would be a great way to keep parents up-to-date on what's happening in class. There's even a section where you can post homework assignments for the whole week. It can also be a way for parents to contact either me or each other.

Some of the ISTE Standards for Students that were used this week are:

• 1d because our work on the Wiki pages are a way that we can express ourselves either alone or as a group
• 2a and 2d because we collaborate and work together to keep our page updated and running. All of our ideas come together for the final product
• 5 (all) because responsible and ethical behavior and actions are expected when using the group page
• 6a because the wiki page is a technology application, and we learned multiple ways to utilize it.

Some of the ISTE Standards for Teachers that were used this week are:

• 3a and 3b because we can share what we learned tonight with our students and create wiki pages for our class with them. I was also thinking that a class wiki would be a good way to keep parents updated, and a way for them to communicate with the teacher.
• 4a, for the same reasons stated for Student standard 5, above.
• 5d, I think that using technology will make a school much more effective.

Well, that's it for Week One. Stay tuned for more!

2011 in Pictures

Happy New Year!

Fa-La-La Favorites!

Wow! I can't believe that it is almost Christmas! Where has December gone?

Remember the Photo Trash Cans that I posted about last time? They were a hit. A huge hit. My friends loved them. Now I'm excited to do more things like that (tabletop? memory box? shelf?).

I decided that for this Fa La-La Friday post, I would share some of my holiday favorites with you (including a recipe and a craft idea... keep reading!). This is what my family likes to do each and every year. What are some of your favorites?

Favorite Cookie
Peanut Butter Kisses- these couldn't be easier. Start out by making some peanut butter cookies. You can use the store bought roll of dough or make your own family recipe. Up to you. Then while they're in the oven, start unwrapping Hershey Kiss candies. You won't have time to unwrap later, so do it now! Once the cookies come out of the oven, imediately (as in, before they even come off of the baking sheet) pop a Kiss onto each cookie. Let cool as usual. Enjoy!

Favorite Movie
There are a lot of good holiday movies out there. But my all time favorite is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I love the Christmas Spirit that just oozes from every second of the movie. I love the fuzzy green guy. But most of all, I love the message. "Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more".

Favorite Song
The Christmas Shoes, by Newsong. Mostly because it is just a beautiful (and tearjerking) song. But also because when I was younger (10-12ish), my three best friends and our mamas went to like 3 (maybe more) Newsong concerts. They played this song at every one. Even the one that was in the middle of July. Those concerts gave us girls some amazing memories. Here's a link if you haven't heard it. Warning: Have a tissue!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a_Y1wAJ2MU

Favorite Decoration
Our tree. It's a special tree. My grandma bought it and had it for several years before giving it to us. It was at our old house and we still have it at our current house. It's not like other trees. It's fuller than most trees you see these days. Like really, really, really, really full. It's the fattest, fullest tree I've ever seen. And I love it. It has plenty of room for all of our ornaments. They're all pretty special, themeselves. I love getting the boxes out each year and looking at the ornaments again and remembering all of the special memories that each one has. My mom's favorite is the handprint reindeer that I made in preschool. Wanna make one with your kids? It's simple! Just paint their hand brown and have them make a handprint on paper. Add googly eyes and a construction paper nose. The fingers are the antlers. Make sure to date it! We also have a ton of Hallmark ornaments. My grandma buys each of us a new one every year. Last year, she got me a kitty cat themed one since it was Bella's first Christmas. I love it! But not nearly as much as I love our special, special tree.

Well, friends, that's all for now. I hope that you have a great CHRISTmas weekend!

Fa-La-La Friday (Err, Tuesday)

I am a few several days late on my Fa-La-La Fridays post. That is because when it was actually Friday, I was working on the oh-so-cute craft project that is mentioned in this post. I'm sorry for the delay.

My three best friends and I exchange gifts every year, and this year we decided to do homemade gifts. Yay! I love crafting. My most favorite type of crafting is quilting, but I really didn't have time to crank out three quilts in a matter of a week. So I came up with this fun idea: Photo Trash Cans! They couldn't be simpler to do. Each one took about an hour to make, and I actually had fun doing it.

First, get your supplies ready. You'll need a trash can without a design (I used clear), scissors, Mod Podge, sponge brushes, ribbon and LOTS of pictures. The cat is optional.

Start trimming your first picture to your liking. I found it to be better to trim the pictures one at a time, rather than all at once. That way, you'll be sure that they all fit well. You can get really creative with this part. For some of the pictures, I just cut squares or rectangles. For others, I cut sillouhettes around the subjects. Once your first picture is ready, spread Mod Podge generously on the back with the sponge brush.

Then, stick it wherever you like on your trash can. It's definitely easier to start at either the top or bottom, rather than the middle. Make sure you hold it down for a bit and squish out any air bubbles. The corners of the picture will try to pop up, with the trash can being so round and all, but if you hold it down for a bit, it will stay. Promise!

Add another picture, then some more!

Once your trash can is completely covered with pictures, go over the entire thing with a top coat of Mod Podge. Then, once that's started to dry (but is still a little bit wet), add a ribbon to the top. The still-drying Mod Podge will help it stick. I had trouble getting it to stay in place at first, but like with the pictures, it will stay down if you hold it for a minute or two. I folded the ribbon down over the lip of the trash can so that part of it is on the inside, but you certainly don't have to do it that way. You can put it all on the outside if you like. Your choice!

And that's it! Let your trash can dry completely, and then watch your friends' faces light up! My mom even suggested writing "Our memories can never be thrown away" on the card, which I find to be completely adorable. I encourage you to get really creative with this project, and think of some other things besides trash cans that you could do this on. I have also considered doing the top of a small white end-table I have in my apartment. I'll post pictures if I ever actually do it. Here's what the trash cans looked like when they were completely done:

Thanks for reading, and I hope that you have a special friend that you can make this fun keepsake for. Let me know what you think!

PS: For old time's sake, here is a picture of my best friends and I, one of many featured on the cans. Bonus points if you can figure out which one is me!





Fa-La-La Fridays!

Hi, Friends!
I love Christmas. It is my absolute most favorite time of the year! So, I decided to do something fun on my blog to celebrate! It's a new series called Fa-La-La Fridays. Every Friday from now until the end of the year, I will share some of my favorite Christmas traditions, recipes, gift ideas, songs and more! I guess it will kind of be like the Super Summer Saturdays series that I had going all summer, but it will be cooler because it's Christmas!

Today I'll share one of my favorite traditions with you.

You may remember reading about my little cousins and the fun times we had together when my college hosted Sibs' Weekend last February. You may have realized that I really, really like doing fun things with these two cute little girls pre teens. Our most favorite thing to do together is our annual Christmas party.

We started this when they were quite small. It started as just an afternoon spent together making Christmas cookies and watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas (our favorite!!).

The next year, we made it a sleepover. More time for crafts, games and a few additional movies.

Then we started tacking several hours onto both the beginning and end of the sleepover, making it practially two full days. We made fun crafts, like fun holiday pillows. For the pillows, we used two pieces of fleece and put them on each side of a plain white 12x12 pillow. Then they used the cut and tie method that you often see people use to make blankets. They tied their fleece all around the pillow, and they turned out so so so cute!

We also always included a trip to Burger King. (If you read the Sib's Weekend post you'll know that we went there that weekend too. We really like Burger King!) After our lunch, we went to Dollar Tree (everything's a buck) so that the girls could pick out gifts for parents, friends and siblings. The things that they purchase always bring a smile to my face. The very first year we did this, Riley, just 3 at the time, picked out a Disney Barbie for her mama and a red bowl for grandma. As they've gotten older, they really, really think about the recipients interests and pick out the most thoughtful gifts that they know will be a hit.

It makes me sad to say that my freshman year of college (Christmas 09), the party did not happen. I was just so ridiculously overwhelmed with the new life chapter that I didn't have time to plan anything. I felt so awful.

Last year, I was still pretty busy, especially since Ihad taken a new job that took up a considerable abount of my free time. But I still wanted to do something for them. I knew it had to be easy to plan (for me) and more grown up than the past parties (for them).

I decided on a lunch at Applebees. My best friend was working in a nursing home at the time, and already knew that she would be working the morning shift on Christmas Day. I decided to use that as an opportunity to bring a smile to someone's face, plan a fun craft for the girls and teach them about giving as well. We decorated cards for the residents. I asked my friend how many we would need and counted out an index card for each person. Then I gave the girls crayons and Christmas stickers and let them go to town. They worked on these while we were waiting for our food. I told them how some of the residents don't get a lot of visitors, and my little empathetic sweethearts worked so hard to make them smile. I gave the cards to my friend and she delivered them on Christmas morning. She said they brought lots of smiles! :)

I'm not sure what our get together will entail this year, but I'm sure it will be fun!

Well, that's my favorite tradition! I'm a tradition girl, for sure. I can't wait to start some traditions with my own babies someday. I already know that I want do do Elf on the Shelf with them. I also want to give them new matching pajamas on Christmas Eve.

What are your family's favorite Christmas traditions? Stay tuned each Friday this month for more fun traditions, recipes, activities and more! Merry Christmas!