Artifacts

Lesson Plan Analysis: __//** After reviewing the given lesson plan titled “Body Parts,” my group and I gathered our thoughts of how equipped the lesson plan was for toddlers. E then went through the table of multiple intelligences to see what parts the lesson covered, what areas needed to be enhanced upon and what sections where missing and needed to be covered, in which to meet the children’s’ all around needs. After that, lastly we typed our brainstorming thoughts together and then presented them to the class. Doing the lesson plan activity, I was able to learn how to cover all the bases of learning for each child to be touch educationally, by using the multiple intelligences’ chart. I also learned that the chart is a good way to learn how to meet children where they are in order to take them where you want them to go.
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=**//__Digital Storytelling:__//**= My digital story is one for the record books for my class……. I completed my story by doing a photo story instead of the typical “power point.” My story is about a little toddler girl, who loves to count and decided to do a counting book. Instead of making a simple one out of construction paper, we went around collecting items, number one (1) through ten (10) and taking pictures of them. From there I put the pictures together along with some clipart, added her voice over, which spoke about some of the pictures and adding word illustrations to the others. It turned out great to me…..

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Given the challenge, by my professor, to do photo story for my digital project was my choice because I live for challenges. While interacting and exploring with this application, I found it to be wonderful and greater than many of the other ones. Using this one seemed easier and simpler than using power point. But I can say that if given more time I would have done more with the projects beginning, by doing more with the child do have more to add to the number book. Lastly while doing the project; first I learned how to use a new application, photo story, which was great to me. Then while exploring the tools within the application, I learned to easily maneuver the pictures, words, and voice over without becoming frustrated. Now overall doing this project I have learned how handing this lesson can be in an everyday classroom with allowing people to see what activities took place: the steps, the activity itself, and more so the voice over from the children themselves. Within my classroom, well any classroom I am in, I would like to do many digital stories so that the parents would be able to visual view what their child has done but in a different fashion. Some of the good stories would be: prom, graduation, party, water play, play dough making, cooking day, and nature walk, play ground adventure, etc. These examples would be many ways I would use the digital camera as well as when the children and I are making things like placemats, cards, our own game cards, and or labels for things. Within our ECE settings both the digital story and camera would be good when wanting to story tell about the childcare facility. Now depending upon the age group the challenges I face will vary when trying to use the digital storytelling and camera only because I would want the children to take some part in using the technology and not just doing the activity itself. When it comes to the younger children it will be a challenge trying to get them to use the camera without them licking it and or putting it in their mouths. As I travel to the toddlers I will find I may have the challenge of either frustration of boredom or the fighting of wanting to have control over the equipment and not wanting to let it go. Getting to the older toddlers and school-age, the classrooms would need to have more equipment because more children would definitely want to be involved and be strongly independent.

Online Resources:

Educators: 1. Ed Helper [|www.edhelper.com] : This site aids in the educator obtaining information in doing their lesson and activities for the children on a regular basis. It supplies one with themes for many different topics to cover several months at a time. Also this site provides educational games in all learning topics to aid the teacher in each lesson she may be interested in teaching the children, in the pre-k age group.

2. Lesson PlanZ [|www.lessonplanz.com] : This site is self explanatory: providing helpful lesson plans to the educator for all age groups mainly focusing on the early childhood educators (birth through age eight). The site is very easy giving many themes that most have already been explored and some have been placed on site by other educators. Also the site has a comment section so that the educators are able to talk about the lessons after using them.

3. A.B.C. Teach [|www.abcteach.com] : This site is well rounded providing the educator with many wonderful things that one can only hope all sites have. Here you can decide to be a paying member or not. They provide you with teaching materials for children from preschool to 8th grade, in all areas of subject. They have tools creating [|handwriting worksheets] (ZB-Style Font, D’Nealian, Handwriting Without Tears, and Queensland), [|crossword puzzles], [|shape books] , [|word walls] , [|word unscrambles] , [|word searches] , [|math worksheets] , and [|Sudoku]. Lastly this site has a news letter they send out to keep educators updated.

4. P.A. Keys [|www.pakeys.org] : Sponsored by the Department of Public Welfare's Office of Child Development and Early Learning, this site provides educators with the other important features of being features such as training. This site, and is company, does have a lot going on, but is very equipped with providing the most up to date proper information needed in the educational world in order for the educators to provide the best quality care to children and their families. On this site, one can sign up for training courses, they can be a member of PA Keys, learn about others state programs which they are affiliated with: Keystone Stars, and one can read their monthly newsletter.

Student: 1. Educational Games for Kids [|www.funbrain.com]: This site is very enhanced and colorful. The site appears to be geared towards pre-k, kindergarten and school-age children. Here they will explore many areas to enhance their literacy skills. The activities on this site will motivate the children in learning and have them wanting more.

2. PBS Kids [|www.pbskids.org]: Easy navigation and mind stimulating is the gear for this site. This site has stories, activities, and games that interact and motivate the kid’s eagerness to learn and read. While interacting they will obtain important skills and concepts while interacting with some familiar and favorite characters they watch on television such as Barney, Dragon Tales, and Caillou.

3. Sprout [|www.sproutonline.com]: This site, just as PBS, has great colorful interactive activities for children to enhance and stimulate the brain and fill their blank sheets. Here they will be able to interact in the educational games while playing with their favorite imaginary friends from Sesame Street, Thomas the Train and even the Good Morning and Good Night Show. Also the children are able to learn things such as the whether –where they live and other areas of the US--, the month day and year, and to celebrate other peoples happy days –birthdays and special stars.

4. Learning Games for Kids [|www.learninggamesforkids.com]: This site, which aids in the literacy enhancement for preschoolers and toddlers, is very colorful to captivate their ever moving minds. This site has many activities and games for the children to strengthen their education in a wide range of learning areas: math, science, logic, math art-n-music. Also this site has interactive games that I found myself to be fun and easy to manipulate.