Talking Cookies ~ ChatterPix

My kindergarten class just spent the week reading lots of gingerbread stories:  Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Baby, Gingerbread Bear,  and other silly versions such as The Stinky Cheese Man, The Runaway Pancake, and The Runaway Tortilla.

At the end of the week, my co-worker brought in some gingerbread man-shaped sugar cookies with all the fixings, and the kids had a great time decorating their own cookie to eat at snack time.

The cookies ran away while the kids were out for recess, and we had to go search for them!  They weren't in the kitchen, or the art room, or the office, and the other classes hadn't seen any cookie crumbs or evidence of our runaway snacks.  

But thank goodness we found those sneaky cookies!  I asked the kids to take a photo of their cookie with their iPad before they ate it, because we had to add some more magic to our day.

I wanted students to use ChatterPix to tell the story of their cookie, or retell one of the Gingerbread stories we read during the week.  Some students had a lot to say! 

I am excited to share this little creation with parents.  Check out the ChatterPix app - it's FREE!  Kids can use it in many ways - retelling a story, telling animal facts, restating classroom rules, putting some personality into their artwork, giving a report on a book or famous historical figure, or just for fun! 

We are Thankful - Felt Board and SeeSaw

I'm thankful for Seesaw!  It's an online student learning journal where I plan to keep lots of work samples throughout the year.

Last week for Thanksgiving we did our first activity that incorporates the Seesaw journal.  Students used the app "Felt Board" and created a scene of things we are thankful for.  Most students included their family and four or more extra things like sunshine, pets, favorite foods, and a nice warm house.

After we saved the creation as a photo, we took time one-on-one to learn how to load it into Seesaw and chose the microphone icon to narrate the scene.  Students did a terrific job! I was able to email each child's creation to their parents.

Enjoy their little voices and their big ideas.  

I look forward to more uses of this awesome app to show growth and learning!  As part of the Seesaw Teachers online Facebook community, I am seeing lots of ideas and getting inspired daily. Check out the website for this app, as well.