PS4 vs. XBox One article from ReadWrite

OK this has nothing to do with teaching! Well maybe! This article caught my eye because we are thinking about buying a PS4. I will definitely have my husband read this one! It amazes me what these gaming consoles have become! No longer are they just for games. They are entire entertainment consoles. We have a PS2 and watch all our movies from it. We don't own a DVD or Blue ray player. But the new consoles will play Blue ray as well, so that is just one more perk. These devices have so many technological aspects to them. I am not sure if I can even scratch the surface of using one to it's full capabilities! How can this relate to teaching? Hmmmm, maybe just knowing what my students are talking about when they talk about these consoles would be good!

Teaching Students How to Have a Conversation from edutopia

As I read this article, it made me think of all the things I do in my Kindergarten classroom that relates to this without even thinking about it! Kindergartners are learning to communicate in appropriate ways all day long! I loved the 8 tips for speaking and listening.  I was able to sort of check mark in my mind as to whether I do these specific things. And if I didn't do them, they are great ideas to add to what I already do. Learning to have a conversation is really important, especially now with all the tweeting and other social forums that kids use.

Another great feed I was checking out on Feedly was Women's Health Magazine! There was an article about 5 healthy quick breakfast choices. I found this interesting as my family has decided we have to change our ways of eating. Breakfast before school is a tough one. We just don't have a lot of time. I need something quick and fun for my kids. Some suggestions in the article were smoothies, yogurt and fruit, and a few other things. I think the smoothies would work for us. We are trying to limit and eventually eliminate processed foods. My son has lots of trouble concentrating in school. It's year two and he is not growing out of it! So we debate if he is ADD. Our first line of defense is to change our diet! Hope this works.

Wow! Looking at Mrs. Jump's Class webpage! It's my dream room! I love her post with all her pictures of her classroom. It gives me great ideas to do to mine! I just need time and money! Hmmm, it might be awhile before mine is totally transformed!

As I checked out my RSS feed from Miss Kindergarten, I found a section on literacy centers. I am always looking for new ideas for my literacy centers. Miss Kindergarten seems to have some great ideas that I know I will be trying. Some of the ideas I do, but maybe in a different way. It's nice to see new ways to do the same skills so kids don't get bored!

Can't get my RSS Feed screen shot to post!!!

I can't seem to get my RSS screen shot to appear. Anyone have any tips?

As I dive deeper into the Common Core Standards that my state of Michigan has adopted officially this week, I thought this article would be an interesting read. "The State of the Common Core" by Vanessa Vega was the article I read from the Edutopia RSS feed. In the article, Vega talks about the Common Core Standards that have been adopted by most states in our nation. She also mentions the assessment choices that go along with Common Core. My state has chosen the Smarter Balance assessment. It caught my attention, because my Elementary school voted in June of this year to be a pilot for that test. We were not given enough information about what being a pilot for that entailed. And just 2 weeks ago we were slammed with a 6 course module that would take weeks to complete. These modules were to prepare teachers to teach the students how to use technology better in order to take these future test. There was a revolt! We are no longer being required to do this. Though the article didn't go into detail about the Smarter Balance test, it did give some stats that were interesting to read.