Web 2.0 Goodies

The Web 2.0 goodie of the month: Jing Project, for video screen capture. Capture exactly what you are doing on your computer into a video package which you can narrate then share. Great tool! Thank you to friend Sarah Chauncey who introduced me to it! Jing seemed cool right away, but I keep thinking of more ways to use it in professional training for teachers and classroom instruction. You need to download a piece to your computer then you're good to go!

Another fun tool: Remindr - lighter than Jing, but very useful! Tell it what to remind you of, when, and how (phone, email, Twitter). It sends you a message. The authors do not take themselves too seriously either; but, they have a really simple tool that works.

I am excited to begin studying with Shelley Paul's online K12-Learning 2.0 class this month. Off topic for a moment, I highly recommend the online course, Teaching Poetry to Children, offered through ALSC, taught by Sylvia Vardell, a tireless advocate for poetry for children. The Moodle course improved my practice in the library. I was charged up about several poets and well-prepared to share their work with my students. A favorite "find" from the course (perfect for kindergarten!) was Touch the Poem by Arnold Adoff.

One more: I follow Teachers Love Smartboards. There are some gems on this site,including a link to Nicole Mobley's site with Smart Board lessons for your Kindergarten classroom.

The Inauguration Concert

I was so thrilled last night to view the concert in celebration of tomorrow's inauguration of Barack Obama. My family and I are not in Washington; we watched on television, but the excitement and anticipation of the huge crowd was still palpable. My young son was excited to see Pete Seeger, whom we met this summer in nearby Beacon, during a street festival. My family adores Pete Seeger, and can sing much of his classic folk repertoire by heart. We joined in with Pete and Bruce Springsteen as they sang "This Land is Your Land", written by Woody Guthrie. We sang also with James Taylor singing his "Shower the People" and the moving finale by Beyonce singing "America the Beautiful", joined by all the actors and singers who had performed earlier. The entire event was an astounding feat of logistics and artistic show and we enjoyed it from beginning to end. As we look forward to tomorrow's event, which we plan to view via streaming video in our school, I look forward to not just hearing the words of our new president and the response of the enormous crowd, but viewing this experience through the eyes of the 6 - 8 year olds in my school who have some sense in their young experience that this is a moment in our American history which will not be forgotten. Options for viewing the inauguration, check here (thank you to LM_NET).

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Courtesy of one of my favorite sources for navigating the web, Librarian's Internet Index, here is a helpful guide to Martin Luther King, Jr. at the San Jose Public Library. They link to an interesting page for kids, including games. Try and guess the words to Dr. King's legendary I Have A Dream speech here. Check out the origin of Martin Luther King Day at factmonster. Two lesson plans for K-2 on ReadWriteThink: 100 Acts of Kindness and Identifying With a Hero. Take a virtual tour of Dr. King's birth home in Atlanta. This year on January 19, 2009, we commemorate the 80th anniversary of Dr. King's birth.

Jan Brett's new contest is open

Jan Brett opened her 2009 school library visit contest today! This year is a little different -- you print out three characters to color and glue them under the right hat, then mail it to Jan Brett. Last year's contest was entirely online; this year, you get to mail your entry to Jan Brett! Remember that last year, Mohansic first-grader Ben won a signed poster from Jan Brett!! You can enter as many times as you wish! Click here for the contest page at janbrett.com to enter. Good Luck!

First Annual Mohansicott Award

First graders are learning about the Caldecott Medal, awarded to one picture book annually since 1938. We looked at the terms and criteria for the award, and had a lively discussion of what is meant by "the most distinguished American picture book for children"; how do we identify "distinguished" illustrations? We examined many Caldecott winners and noticed some characteristics of these "distinguished" books.

We do not know which books are being considered for this year's award. But there are several places to find some educated guesses. Try and google "Mock Caldecott" and you'll get a glimpse into a variety of opinions on the subject. Check out what School Library Journal thinks. The Allen County Public Library has a blog devoted to their mock Caldecott election. Here is the list by the Wells County Public Library. These are the books that first graders will choose from for the first Mohansicott Award:

What To Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham	Owney, the Mail Pouch Pooch by Mona Kerby, illustrated by Lynne Barasch	Old Bear written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes	A Kitten Tale written and illustrated by Eric Rohmann	Grace For President by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Monarch and Milkweed by Helen Frost, illustrated by Leonid Gore	Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young	1, 2 Buckle My Shoe by Anna Grossnickle Hines	Duel! : Burr and Hamilton's Deadly War of Words by Dennis Fradin, illustrated by Larry Day	Louise: the Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Harry Bliss

We will use a survey website for our election, so we can easily track the winner. I can't wait to get started sharing these books together! Even if your favorite doesn't win, there's nothing better than discovering a wonderful new story!

Author visit in January

We are all very excited about the planned visit by talented author/illustrator Pat Schories to Mohansic's kindergarten. Pat's illlustrations for the Biscuit books are adored by early readers. She has also created her own character, Jack, a Jack Russell terrier who is the main character in a wonderful series of wordless books.

Kindergarten students will learn where Pat gets her ideas for her illustrations and how she uses models for her drawings. We will enjoy telling each other the stories in the wordless Jack books.

If you would like to view an interview with Pat Schories and Alyssa Satin Capucilli, the author of the Biscuit books, click here.