Monday, May 17, 2010

Our Journey

 I have officially started my first blog and am excited about the prospects. It is interesting to me how one can go from being fearful of a new endeavor to incredibly excited about what this new endeavor has to offer. Since my initial decision to create a blog focusing on early childhood environments and how to effectively integrate meaningful technology, I have become flooded with ideas!
The first idea that comes to mind is incorporating digital cameras into a Pre Kindergarten program for the child to use. Thus the title 'our journey', because as I discover and explore the integration of technology, my students will discover along side me.  I have been using a digital camera for my own use since I began teaching Pre K. The response is always the same when I take a child's picture and that is, 'Can I see?'  The children are always so interested in the picture taking process, why not let them have a chance?
That is what I did! I let children take the camera outside to capture things of interest outside, and then bring the photos back inside to represent what they saw.
This will be an ongoing project that has just begun, but the children are fascinated, engaged, and creating their own learning journey.
They are recreating what they see in their photograph with many materials found in the classroom. They are painting dandelions and building apparatus. They are exploring color, texture, and shape.  As we continue with the project, I will continue to keep you posted!

3 comments:

  1. This is a very exciting idea for a blog, and you will find many other kindred spirits in the blogosphere. By the way, if you haven't yet seen Kathy Cassidy's class blog @ http://staff.prairiesouth.ca/~cassidy.kathy/index.html, I know you will find it fascinating and chockablock with good ideas for you.

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  2. Hey Terri-Lynn,

    Rick already passed along my favorite primary teacher but let me share two others that you might want to connect with:

    Jennifer Orr from Virginia:
    http://emdffi.blogspot.com/

    and Maria Knee from New Hampshire:

    http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=51141

    All the best.

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  3. It's great to have another early years teacher blogging! It is a specialized area, and there are not a lot of us. I look forward to reading your thoughts. Digital cameras are a great place to start.

    Also, that is an AWESOME picture at the top of your blog post.

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