Top 10 Fun Websites

Family Fun magazine posted their top 10 fun websites in their September 2010 issue.  I have listed them below:

1. The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks Virtual World - This website is for ages 7 and up and is a history based quest where kids help historical figures
2. Funbrain - This website is for ages 6 and up.  It has fun arcade games along with educational games.
3. Kideos - This is for ages 3 and up.  It has kid friendly videos (much safer than YouTube).
4. NGAkids Art Zone - This website, for ages 7 and up, offers interactive activities from the National Gallery of Art.
5. The Toymaker - For ages 5 and up, this website lets kids print and assemble fun paper toys.
6. iTwixie - This website is for ages 8 and up and is a tween girl's social networking site.
7. Exploratorium - For ages 8 and up, this is the website of the San Francisco science museum.
8. Shidonni - Ages 3 and up.  This website allows kids to draw a creature on screen and animate it.  It is great for pre-readers too.
9. Activity TV - This website is for ages 6 and up and offers kid friendly how-to videos.
10. Fizzy's Lunch Lab - Ages 4 and up.  This PBS site promotes health through fun games, videos, and recipes.

Other good ones they list:

1. Starfall.com
2. National Geographic Kids
3. Free Rice
4. PBS Kids Island
5. The Great Word Quest
6. Togetherville
7. World of Cars Online

Happy Surfing!

Musical Chairs Creation Game by Heather

This guest post is by Heather and is a result of an assignment for Ancient Civilizations/Bible.  She was asked to design a game that would help children learn the days of Creation.  Here is her guest post:

First, prepare for the game by getting the number of chairs needed for the classical game of musical chairs.  Put a piece of paper underneath each chair with three questions on it (see suggestions for the questions below).  Put numbers on each chair.  Make smaller numbers and put them in a bucket. When the music stops and a person is left not having a chair, draw a number from the bucket that will match the number on one of the chiars.  That person has to get the piece of paper from under their seat and give it to the teacher (who will know the answers).  The teacher will ask these two children (the one who is left without a seat and the person whose number was drawn) the questions on the paper about one of the days of Creation. You can use each day of Creation more than once but you can not use questions a second time.  The two children will race against each other to give the answer first.  Whoever gets more answers correct gets to stay in the game and the other child is out.  At the end of the game, the last two people left will be asked several questions about all the days of Creation (not just one) and the one who gets the most right is the winner of the game. 

This idea can be used for other stories in the Bible. 

Ideas for Questions:

1. On what day did God make _____________ (stars, swordfish, cats, etc)?
2. Which came first in creation: ___________ or __________________ (fish or man)?
3. Name one thing God made on Day ______.

by Heather

iPads, iPod touches, and Macbooks at BBS!

The pilot program has begun at Brainerd Baptist School!  This week so far, we have introduced an iPod touch lab in 5th grade (I didn't help with that one), used iPads with K4, and taken a mobile Macbook lab to K5 and 4th graders. Today, the mobile lab will go to 1st and 5th grade too.

The first day of iPads with K4 was a huge success.  Each group had about 15 minutes with the iPads and the time flew.  They loved it and took to it just as intuitively as I thought they would.  One little girl said it was like her daddy's iPhone but bigger. (I knew that some of them would have already been playing games on Mommy and Daddy's phones.)  We did the app called Make Shapes.  It was really good to begin to introduce the pressure with which the students need to push on the iPad in order to make it work.  The app has students trace shapes in one level, trace shapes in the appropriate color in the next, and make pictures out of traced shapes in the last.  Then, there is a free draw page.  When the students complete a shape in the free draw page, the program fills it in so the students can see that they drew a shape.  The program includes bright colors, animations, and encouraging comments (like "Great shape!"  "Great line!").

One interesting thing is that the boys tended to start off by pushing down too hard with their fingers and had to learn to adapt to using a lighter touch.  Also, the girls tended to enjoy tracing the shapes and getting the positive feedback on that whereas the boys liked the free draw.  Overall, a great experience with no problems. 

The K5 and 4th did very well with the MacBooks.  The fourth graders were about to pop out of their seats and explode - they were so excited to get their hands on a laptop!  We spent a little time talking about the differences between laptops and desktops, the use of the touchpad, and the fact that we would be going to the Internet on Safari instead of Internet Explorer instead of Firefox.  When I asked how many of them had used a laptop before, one class had all hands up and the other had all but 3 in the air.  Less than half had used a Mac before.

The biggest time consumer was getting the laptops out in groups of 3 and then putting them back.  Each class ran over because the putting up took longer than I thought (about 6-7 minutes).  I know that they will get faster as the year continues. 

I must say that it is an exciting year at BBS and I am so glad to be a part of it.  Being on the cutting edge is fun!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

    In the last book in the Harry Potter series, Lord Voldemort takes control of everything, even Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione have to embark on a journey full of danger and mystery to save the wizarding, and possibly muggle (non-magic folk), world. They face many difficulties on their way to finding and destroying all of Voldemort's ties to the mortal world and getting rid of him once and for all. On their journey, friendships are strained, secrets unveiled, and Harry learns the price he has to pay to defeat Voldemort. Years ago, a prophecy was given - "Neither can live while the other survives." Will Harry triumph over Voldemort?  Will Voldemort defeat Harry? Or will they both fall?
 
    This last installment in J.K. Rowling's thrilling series is one of the best books I have ever read. It is the biggest and best Harry Potter book. I highly recommend this series. You won't be able to put it down.

AR Level:  6.9
AR Points:  34

     Heather Marsh