Tried Comic Life and Love It!

I wanted to show you all what I did in my experimentation with Comic Life. I even downloaded a newer version and put it into my application file. It has a lot of newer features that were easy to use. Whenever I couldn't figure out something on my own I used the Help drop down menu and found out what I needed to do. I would like to make pages like this one for my kindergartners for each letter of the alphabet. My idea is to have the letter like Aa in the middle and then have pictures and words of things that start with the letter around it - like apple, alligator, etc. These pages could be mounted on the wall, could be published in a book for the classroom library, etc. Something else that might be fun is to have a picture of a student whose name starts with the letter be in the middle holding the letter, like A is for Anna. As I said before, students really seem to relate, or "tune in" when they see their picture or even their friend's picture. In additon to the picture, would be the connection with the alphabet letter and their name (and we kindergarten teachers know how powerful names are).To be able to accomplish this task, I would need a digital camera to take all the pictures and a color printer. These pictures and Comic Life would also enable me to do some Power Point presentations for my students to help them to identity letters. I am anxious to discover more technology types of presentations that I can use to enhance my teaching.

Tech Group Meets - Learning Takes Place!

We had a meeting this morning to ask questions, see what others had accomplished in the field of technology, and basically to see what we could use ourselves in our own classrooms with new software and different programs that we had not used before. It was a good meeting. I changed my settings in my blog and want to try Comic Life and Power Point. The hard part for me is setting aside time, and also seeing the relevance of how it could improve or enhance my teaching. Seeing some of the products that others had made helped me to see what I could do, in other words "made it relevant" for my grade level of teaching. I am also excited to do more with digital photography in the classroom. I think that the kids really tune in when they see their own faces and the faces of their classmates on the screen. Even making classroom books for our library with their faces in them would be fun for them.

Get-Away Retreat Just Minutes Away!

Here are two pictures of Bed and Breakfast Inns just minutes away from Everett School both on 17th Street. The first one is the Atwood House. We stayed in the Carriage House last Friday night, but we have stayed in two of the rooms in the main house as well. The owners, Ruth and Larry Stoll, are gracious hosts who have paid attention to every detail as far as pampering their guests goes. The rooms are beautifully appointed as well. I worked at school until 5:00 p.m., then went and checked in to our room. I relaxed for 2 hours before Don, my husband was able to come over after work. It wasn't too hard to sit by the fire, listen to music, then watch a movie as I sipped tea and ate Ruth's wonderful chocolate chip cookies. Because the room has a fully equipped kitchen, Don brought supper in and we ate in the room. Breakfast the next morning included fresh pineapple with sugared blackberries, a fresh cranberry muffin with sugar glaze, chili relleno egg casserole in a heart shaped dish with a sausage and cheese pastry on the side.

The next picture is of the Anniversary Mansion. It is south of the Atwood House on the other side of the street. This B&B is the closest to Everett. We stayed in the Anniversary Suite on Saturday night. The owners of this house, David and Cynthia Hoesch, are just as gracious and the food is very good also. Cynthia happens to be Ruth Stoll's sister and she treats you with charm just like her sister. Saturday we took in a great movie, "Casanova", went to an Antique show at the state fairgrounds and topped it off with dinner at The Green Gateau. All in all a wonderful vacation and we didn't have to worry about travel expenses or the time spent driving somewhere. It was a great get-away right here in town!

Please check out the websites for these two great B&Bs: www.atwoodhouse.com
www.amansion.com

Started back to school. I hope that the students have enthusiasm for learning and have retained what they learned before our holiday break. Assessments begins. End of quarter is next week. Report cards will be due soon. It's crunch time!

We put on a sun room this summer. We love it!

Meet my other grand-daughter - Grace!