Pause and Ponder

A couple weeks ago, I took my students on a virtual field trip and it was the highlight of my school year! Last fall, I attended a training for Google Expeditions, and promptly signed up to check out a classroom set for a week in March. As the time got closer for the experience with my students, I became nervous. The morning of the first day of lessons, I was very hesitant. I even contemplated ditching this idea and doing something completely different as I just wasn't sure how the lesson was going to play out. I arrived at school early, pulled everything out and started preparing for the lessons. I had visited with the classroom teachers to find out what students were studying in social studies and science, so the experiences could relate to their classroom learning. As I started looking at the virtual field trips, I had a feeling this was going to be a lesson the students would remember for a long time. The first class came in, and after talking about virtual reality

This  morning, I wanted to skip the Wednesday ritual at my school ... Books and Looks. I needed to prepare the computer lab for class, my mood was gloomy, and I honestly just wanted to drink a cup of coffee before diving into my busy day. But I knew the second and third graders were counting on me. Little did I know they would turn around my day! Books and Looks started a couple months ago at my school. The idea came from another school where the teacher does something called Books and Braids. Students are able to come to her classroom before school to get their hair fixed while reading a book. My principal decided we should try this, and it's been a very popular option with both boys and girls. In fact, there were so many students wanting their hair fixed when we first started that we had to limit it to certain grade levels each week with a rotating schedule. Staff members who are available help fix hair. We each have our specialty ... some are good with styling boys hair into

Breakout Edu has become one of my favorite activities for engaging students. I first read about it on my go to source for learning ... Twitter! I purchased a kit and started recruiting teachers to work with me to share this learning experience with their students. The response has been absolutely fabulous! The teachers love it, the students love it and we all learn from each experience. If you are not familiar with Breakout Edu, here's a brief overview. It's similar to the escape room concept where students solve puzzles and gather clues in order to open locks attached to a box.  Students implement the four Cs in their work ... creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication. The Breakout Edu website features games on every subject imaginable, and for all ages. I have facilitated Breakout Edu activities for students in grades one through seven, and even for our staff development before school started in the fall. The most recent Breakout Edu I facilitated was

The colleagues I work with know that I like to try new things and expose students to a variety of ideas and topics. A couple years ago, I read on Twitter about Hour of Code. I had no idea what it was, so I did a little research. I found the website www.code.org and all the resources it offered. I switched gears, moved my lessons around and decided to attempt Hour of Code with my students. The students loved it and I appreciated what it taught students, as they "played" a game on the computer. There are lots of resources to teach Hour of Code at the elementary level. I have found two short videos on Brainpop and BrainpopJr. that have worked very well as an introduction for the students. The upper elementary students like the Minecraft coding activities at www.code.org, and the younger students enjoy Angry Birds at this site, or activities at Kodable.com. While the students might relate this experience to playing a video game, the activity is much more than that. St

I have to confess: I have a walk-in closet full of crafting supplies. It's grown from a small tote, to a couple large totes, to an entire closet filled with glitter, clothespins, popsicle sticks, tissue paper, hot glue guns, sequins, pipe cleaners, beads ... you name it ... I could probably find it! So, when I read about makerspace on Twitter about two years ago, I decided to jump right in. This is a crafter's dream come true! Who ever thought I could share my love of craft projects at school as a librarian? I had lots of practice crafting with my own children. In fact, they were the ones who got me started with crafting. They are creative and visual, and would have wonderful ideas but needed me to get the supplies for them. We would go to the store, get the items they needed, and then I'd stand back and watch them create. It was absolutely awe-inspiring ... the things they could make using cotton batting, paper plates, glue and a scissor!                        

What 10 year old would read a book someone else chose, finish it within a month, and then skip recess to talk about it? In my schools, there are a lot! When I came up with the idea of an elementary book club, I wasn't sure if there would be interest. First of all, I was going to choose the book for the group to read. Students would need to read the book on their own time and finish it by a certain date. And, they would need to skip recess to meet and talk about it. I was surprised last year by the response to my idea. Students couldn't wait to be in book club. I was overwhelmed by the  number of students who wanted to be part of this, and actually had to draw names. If students had their own copy of the book, they were able to join the group. The size of the book club was limited to the number of copies I had ... which happened to be 12. I kept track of who was in the book club, so I could make sure all those who were interested had the opportunity to participate at least o