Exciting happenings!!

What a great week it has been! While I dread not being at work so that I may attend staff development, I always leave my trainings refreshed and ready to try something new. This last week I attended the Mega Conference at Region 20 in San Antonio. I had the privilege of listening to Dr. Willard Daggett speak about 21st Century Learners and the direction our educational system is heading. He addressed Rigor, Relevance and Relationships in education and although I returned to loads of unfinished tasks, it was well worth the two days out!

Some AWESOME things I want to share...

What is the flipped classroom?

A reversed teaching model that delivers instruction at home through interactive, teacher-created videos and moves “homework” to the classroom. Moving lectures outside of the classroom allows teachers to spend more 1:1 time with each student. Students have the opportunity to ask questions and work through problems with the guidance of their teachers and the support of their peers - creating a collaborative learning environment. (click on the picture to read more)

I am excited that several of the teachers here at Curington are willing to give this "FLIPPED" classroom a try. I cannot wait to post pictures of it in action!

 

 All I can say is WOW!!! The instructional technology department has an amazing resource site for teachers! I had no idea how much I could find at literally just a click of the button!!
     Two 'librarians' that I recommend you start with are Donald Hawkins and Shannon Baumann... click on their names for a direct link to their sites.

Remember when I posted about GLOGSTER??? Check out some created by our very own 4th grade students! Again, simply amazing what kids today can create... and kudos to the teachers to facilitate this style of learning!

http://maryroc.edu.glogster.com/matter

http://dereknas.edu.glogster.com/matter

http://myaols.edu.glogster.com/matter-2

Busy, busy, busy...

Today is the first day of Red Ribbon Week... make sure you click on the tab to see what is happening here at CES! I also want to highlight an amazing website that focuses on prevention of drug/alcohol abuse. The Natural High organization focuses on helping children find ways to find euphoria without the assistance of artificial chemicals. The founder of the site lost two brothers to drug abuse. He has found that children early on start looking for ways to feel 'high'. His goal is to create a powerful and effective campaign encouraging kids to say “yes” to a natural high and “no” to drugs. Check out the AMAZING things he has put together:

Have you heard about the latest We Give Books cause? This fall, join the Bug Squad to raise awareness for the importance of early childhood literacy while having fun and helping to break a world record!

Inspired by Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad, the 2012 Jumpstart’s Read for the Record book written by David Soman and Jacky Davis, We Give Books has created their own Bug Squad to give us new ways to read, give, and share reading this fall! There are tons of Bug Squad resources to help your kids get excited about reading and to help you plan your own record-setting celebration.

We Give Books is a fantastic resource for parents, teachers, and anyone who loves to read children’s books. They have a free online library of over 150 outstanding children’s books available at www.wegivebooks.org, including some of our favorites, like the Llama Llama and Skippyjon Jones books, and DK science books. The best part is, your reading will directly impact the great work of non-profit organizations around the world!

So, head over to www.wegivebooks.org to Join the Bug Squad and find out more about this wonderful initiative, and start reading and giving!

One of our wonderful parents, Kimberly Jones, came and read the Ladybug Girl to one of our second grade classrooms and shared this exciting program! Here is her daughter with the book.... what a great experience that was for our 2nd graders.

Amazing things are happening around here!

The last couple of weeks I have been sharing things that I have found out in the 'internet world'. I am amazed every day at the BLOGS teachers have created! Where do they find the time? I think it becomes a way to unwind and celebrate a job well done. Today I want to share with you some incredible happenings I found right here at Curington.

The possibilities are endless with edmodo! Our 5th grade students were introduced to edomodo this year and they LOVE it. As a parent of a 5th grader I have seen it in action and absolutely love seeing my son use it at home.

I am always looking for creative ways for students to show mastery of skills. GlogsterEDU offers just that! Our 4th grade students are working on this project right now... simply amazing! Click here to see it...

Who isn't always looking for new and different behavior management tools? I know that one shoe never fits them all! Our 3rd grade team has found an APP that the students are truly responding positively to. What is amazing about classdojo is that it travels the campus with you. Your smart device acts as a remote for the program and a teacher can give positives or negatives from anywhere in the school. Just the other day I saw one of our teachers give a student a compliment for responsible behavior in the hallway. The teacher then pulled out her device and gave him a 'positive mark' for his awesome behavior; immediately the entire class perked up. Teachers can also email daily/weekly results to parents... how powerful!!

Fall is in the air!!!

Well, the children and teachers are settling into their classrooms as if they have been together forever. I have some great finds this week...

I absolutely love the idea of utilizing a study carrel as a writing 'office'! Attached is a PDF of all you need to make this  awesome tool... 

WOW!! This is an amazing BLOG! Literally hundreds of lessons and ideas for ALL content areas...

The picture says it all!! 

This weeks favorites

I cannot believe that it is already OCTOBER!!! Even in Texas we are getting hints of fall... here are some wonderful things I found out there this week-

This is an amazing BLOG! So many math ideas... 

This is a perfect resource for setting up guided math stations in your classroom