E is for Explore

Happy New Years All!

I discovered this amazing blog this morning from the iLearn Technology Blog.  What a find!!  Blogger Erin Bittman is a graphic designer who has taught Pre-K and graphic design to kids.  The design of the blog is beautiful, and the hundreds of ideas are brilliant.  I think you will find ideas for every subject and grade level with this blog to help perk up lessons during those long January days. Topics include discovery/exploration, science/engineering, mathematics, art, literacy, social studies and seasons/holidays. 

Videos to Enrich the Mind

As I am a visual learner, and have a relatively short attention span, I have always loved educational videos. Schoolhouse Rock and I are old friends... and you all know how I love BrainPop.

This week, I discovered some neat new sources of educational videos on YouTube - to include Bill Nye the Science Guy and Schoolhouse Rock.  And I love the idea of Crash Course History and Biology.  Enjoy:

Crash Course History
This is a series of 37 fast-paced ten to twelve minute overviews of major concepts and themes in World History. These might be a fun way to kick-off or reinforce a unit in the Upper School.

Thinkfinity has some Bright Ideas for Summer

One of the many wonderful techie resources we use at Holy Trinity is readwritethink, which is a part of the Verizon Foundation's Thinkfinity website.  The link to the website can be found here:

While this is a great resource for teachers, this website has a number of Bright Ideas to fight the summer slide for parents and kids:

I was particularly intrigued by four of their suggested projects, because they use some of the interactive literacy resources we love at HTS.

Oh How I Love BrainPop

As a technology teacher, one of my all-time favorite sites is BrainPop.  BrainPop, BrainPop Jr and Brainpop Espanol offer hundreds of animated educational videos for children on a wide range of subjects.  Brainpop was the brainchild of an immunologist and pediatrician named Avraham Kadar, as a creative way to explain difficult concepts to young children.   Let me assure you, he has succeeded!

In the BrainPop movies, Tim and his robot side-kick Moby narrate the movies:

And in the BrainPop Jr. movies, a little girl named Annie narrates with Moby:

Many of the HTS teachers use these videos in the classroom, and our students LOVE them.

The link to BrainPop can be found here:

The link to BrainPop Jr. can be found here:

The link to BrainPop Espanol can be found here:

Our students never seem to get enough time to explore the subject areas that most fascinate them in the school setting, so this would be a great website to suggest on one of those summer days when the heat index is 110... like this week!

There are dozens of free videos each week, or you can sign up for a free trial, so your child can explore the website for a few days.  The home subscription for BrainPop Jr. is about $9 a month, and for BrainPop $10 a month.  I subscribed to BrainPop for a couple of years for my own children, as they were captivated by the site... let me assure you, it was money very well spent!

 I should mention that BrainPop also offers a variety of fascinating games and activities.

Introducing Edheads - Activate Your Mind, Budding Scientists!

Edheads is a wonderful site that provides free, educational online games focused on science, math, and critical thinking.  Their motto is: "Activate Your Mind." (Which might come in handy if you feel it is turning to marshmallow creme at this point in the summer.)  At Holy Trinity, we use it in the 3rd grade to explore Simple Machines, but the Upper School students particularly love the medical adventures such as Virtual Knee Replacement or Virtual Hip Replacement. (Be warned, however, this is not a site for those who get queasy at the sight of blood!)

Students may choose from a long menu of options - to include designing a cell phone, and each game will have recommendations for grade level appropriateness.  Enjoy, future scientists!

http://www.edheads.org/

A few sample games are pictured below: