Back-to-School Bargains

Back-to-School is in the air! The stores are setting up their back to school shops and with good reason; 25 official days of summer vacation left before I return to work, which means a little over 30 days before the students return. WOW!!! This does make the perfect time to shop for bargains. I found the perfect bargain at Target yesterday, which sparked the idea for this linky party; Back-to-School Bargains.

Here's how it works: 

1. Shop. 

2. Find a good deal.

3. Brag...I mean blog about it. 

4. Grab my button and link up.

Now for my bargain...Yesterday, I stopped by Target, and in the Dollar Spot, I found all sorts of Dr. Seuss items. Perfect for my Dr. Seuss themed classroom this year! Plus, I love Dr. Seuss! 

Pencils and erasers will make great rewards. 

Bulletin Board decorations

Bags that I'm going to use for guided reading supplies. These will look so much nicer than my current zip-lock bags. 

 I couldn't leave my son out. Flash cards, dinner set...oh the socks are mine:) 

There were also bookmarks, I have many Dr. Seuss bookmarks already, and stickers that I didn't pick up. Not to mention all the other back-to school dollar items that were not Dr. Seuss. Hurry, check out Target Dollar Spot before they're gone. Remember to link up with your back-to-school bargain.

Apps A-Z: Kids Doodle

Kids Doodle

Sometimes, it's nice giving students the freedom to use apps of their choice to complete an assignment. I learned a lot by doing this. Kids Doodle is one of the many apps I learned to use by watching my students.

Kids Doodle is a very simple app to use. It allows you to draw using one of several pen types; you are allowed to select the pen type, but not the color.  Drawings are done on a blank canvas or a photo from your camera roll. Drawings can be saved as images or made into a video. The video allows you to see exactly how the drawing was created. Students enjoyed creating videos and then using them in other apps. 

This will be one of the first apps, along with the camera, that I introduce my students to. Students will take a photo of themselves (they love to do this), then use it in the Kids Doodle app. Once the picture is in Kids Doodle, students will write a short sentence about themselves on the picture. They must include their name in the sentence. Students will save a photo and video to their camera roll, that they will share with the class. I think this is a great way to start putting names with faces! What do you think? Have you used Kids Doodle in your classroom? 

Example of the project: 

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Apps A-Z: iMovie

I'm back with another app in my Apps A-Z series. I know I've already shared my "I i" app, but there are several great apps that start with the letter I, i that i'm gong to share another one today; iMovie.

iMovie a must have app! This movie making app allows you to create projects or movie trailers in minutes. It is very easy to use, and works great for just about any content area. Best of all students enjoy creating them.

I often use iMovie projects for vocabulary. After reading a chapter or short story, students select 2-3 words and create an iMovie project. Each entry must include the word, a picture and a sentence (created using the audio recording in iMovie). In addition they must include story or chapter titles.

Here is an example:

iMovie trailers are also a big hit. There are several designs to chose from. Last summer, I came across some storyboards for iMovie trailers that I wrote about here. The storyboards came in handy this year, I had  planned a great lesson over onmonpetia, and what happens...technology wasn't working. So,  I copied the storyboards, and had students plan out their trailer. The storyboards worked great! After completing them, it was a quick process to create the trailer. Without the story boards students tend to take awhile (days in some cases) to complete a project.  Below is an example trailer.

How are you using iMovie in your class? 

Saturday Snapshots

I'm linking up with Run! Miss Nelson's got the Camera! for Saturday Snapshots. This is a great linky!  I enjoy taking pictures and this linky gives me the opportunity to share some of my favorite pictures from the week. So here they are:

We tried geocaching this week, here is our first cache. 

Below are pictures of one of the most popular peices of artwork, in the sculpture garden at our local art muesum. 

Fourth of July art project 

I discovered a new photo app called papelook. This was my first creation using the app.

Did you snap any pictures this week? If so head over to Run! Miss Nelson's got the Camera! and link up.

Favorite Pins Friday

It's Friday again...already? Where did the week go? Five for Friday is on vacation until August, so I'm linking up with The First Grade Parade for Favorite Pins Friday. This actually works great for me since I've been slacking on my pins. Not that I haven't been on Pinterest, but I haven't pinned much school stuff. I've mostly been trying out pins I have for my son, but with one month of summer vacation left I must get back into the groove of things. Here I go...

New pins this week: 

First up is an awesome pencil eraser gumball machine from Teaching Maddeness. Student are always asking me for an eraser, so this will be a nice addition to my classroom. 

Next up is a simple french bread chicken   pizza recipe from What's Cooking with Ruthie. I'm always looking for simple quick dinner ideas during the school year, and this looks perfect. I will have to test it out before heading back to work. 

My final new pin of the week deals with sentence writing, and comes from none other than The First Grade Parade. You take a tissue box a print out six incorrect sentences for students to correct, awesome idea!  Last year, my students struggled with editing sentences; I'm hoping this will help.

Now for pins I've tried this week

We had some surprise rain showers this week, and my 10 year old cousin was spending some time with us, so we tried splatter paint from Little Page Turners. 

Here's how it worked: 

We squirted food coloring onto a white sheet of paper and placed it out in the rain an just like that we had a couple of masterpieces:) 

The second pin I tried was with my son, who is 21 months old. It is called baby collage. This pin is from Laughing Kids Learn. Here's what we did: 

I tape some contact paper to a window (sticky side out). Then gave my son scrapes of paper, tissue paper, and ribbon. He placed them on the contact paper. This keep him busy for a good 30 min. which is like forever in toddler world. Below is the finished project. We used red, white, and blue in celebration of Independence Day. 

There you have it, my 5 pins for Friday. What have you pinned this week? Head over to First grade Parade and link up.  

To those of you that have been following my Apps A-Z, I'll be back with a new apps next week. 

    

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing everyone a fun, festive and safe Fourth of July. Here's a fireworks app you may like.  It's simply called Fireworks. Have a great day!

Currently July with Snapshots

I can't believe it's July already! Where did June go? For the second month in a row, I'm joining the Currently Linky Party hosted by Oh' Boy Fourth Grade. I am also going to link up with Run! Miss Nelson's got the Camera for Saturday Snapshots.

Listening:

I'm a long time fan of The Young and the Restless, so whenever I get a break from work I try not to miss it. What better time to catch up than summer? 11:00 am the tv is tuned to Y&R, even though most days I'm just listening to it while do other things around the house. 

Loving: 

Summer school ended last week, and my sister and cousin needed someone to watch their kids (both are 10).  I volunteered. It's actually nice because, they keep my 1 year old busy. Plus, we had a lot of fun geocaching yesterday. 

Thinking: 

I'm taking some on-line classes this summer, and as hard as it maybe I'm trying not to wait until the last minute to turn in my assignments. 

Wanting: 

June was a busy month, and went by way to fast! Before you know it it'll be time to go back to school. I'm excited for the upcoming year, but I am enjoying summer, oh so much. 

Needing:

With my relaxed summer schedule, I've also relaxed on getting the laundry done. My goal is to be all caught up by the 4th of July! 

Tips: 

Savor every moment of summer! What better way to do that than with snapshots of those moments.  Here are some snapshots from June. 

I used the app A Beautiful Mess to add the text to this beautiful summertime photo. It's a new app I've just started using. 

Bowling in the street was a first for us, and a ton of fun!  I used one of my favorite apps (pic collage) to create this collage. 

Hot summer days are spent outside in water. 

Water painting when it's not hot enough to get in the pool is also fun. 

My daughter and I ready for a 5k fun run, on a nice summer night.

That's currently what's going on with me with a few snapshots. What's currently going on in your life? Stop by Oh' Boy Fourth Grade and link up with the July Currently; and don't forget to savor those summertime moments with snapshots, and link up with Run! Miss Nelson's got the Camera for Saturday Snapshots. Have a great July!