Final Movie-- Welcome to Kindergarten

This movie will be used at our Kindergarten Parent Night next month to give parents an inside look into Kindergarten. Each of my students had a role in making this...some of them are quite comfortable in front of the camera! Even though my teammates and I do things differently, I think this gives a general overview of kindergarten.

The sound on the video clips is quite soft, so we will be using a microphone with the speakers to help with the sound. (It is even softer after it posted to my blog.)

Music retrieved from: http://freeplaymusic.com/

Podcast- The Three Bears & Bear Facts

The kindergartners had a great time with this! They had fun retelling the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and finding sound effects for certain spots of the story. One of my HAL students completed a research project on bears. He created a book of facts that included pictures he found from google images. He then shared his findings and his images as a conclusion to the podcast. It was a fun experience for all of us!

All images retrieved from:  http://www.google.com/imghp
All sound clips retrieved from: http://www.freesound.org/

(The sound is fine in garage band and in itunes, but for some reason when it posted to the blog, it is very soft.)

Teacher Tube

This video was shared at a recent building staff development.  It sends such a powerful message of the job we all do every day. As a parent, I want my daughter's teacher to have high expectations for her and believe that she can and will succeed in spite of her disability. As a teacher, it inspires me to work even harder to provide more opportunities for the students in my classroom.
Enjoy!

Video link:  One Voice

The ABC's of Media Literacy: What Can Pre-Schoolers Learn?

This article describes ways to help young children understand our media driven world.

My 2 Minute Movie (is really 4ish minutes)

           This movie holds a special place in my heart. Six years ago my famiy's life was changed forever. We got "that phone call". My brother was injured in a work related accident that stopped his heart. Even though his heart his fine, he was deprived of oxygen for a prolonged period of time. He was left with an anoxic brain injury and is unable to do the tasks that you and I take for granted every day. Even though we are blessed that he is with us, we have lost who he was.

         Water sports and waterskiing are both things that our family has always participated in together. On the eve of the six year anniversary of his accident, Ken participated in an adaptive waterski clinic sponsored by Immanuel Hospital Rehab Center. Even though the manner in which he skiied was different, I can't even imagine how he felt being pulled behind the boat again.

Ken Hupka Waterskiing 

June 27, 2010

 

Introduction

My name is Jen Buchholz. I have been teaching Kindergarten in the Millard Public Schools for 15 years. I have taught at Norris Elementary and this year I transferred to Willowdale Elementary.

I received degrees in Elementary and Early Childhood from Northwest Missouri State University. 

My husband Kevin and I have been married for five years. Brooklyn is our four year old daughter. She is a gift to us in so many ways. She makes me realize every day that I am not just teaching students; but I am teaching someone else's baby.

Even though I have only used this blog site for my grad school work, I have blogged with my students for the first time this year. Click on the link on the left to see blogging with KidzLog.

Podcast

Even though I found many, many podcasts in my search on I-tunes, I had a hard time finding something that I could really see myself using with kindergartners. I noticed many podcasts had not been updated in along time, some even years.

I subscribed to the Story Home of Children's Audio Stories.

I really liked this podcast. It has a variety of stories that could be used in the kindergarten classroom. The stories range from fairy tales like The Three Little Pigs and The Little Red Hen among many others. The story teller reads with good expression and a variety of voices for his characters. Most of the stories are under ten minutes in length so could esaily be used in conjunction with a literature selection in the classroom and hold the children's attention. These could even be used as an independent work station activity for children at the listening station. After listening, children could sequence the stories or even write a literature response.

** Side note:
I have not had any prior experience with podcasting before. The school I just transferred to has been podacsting for several years. This is the link for Radio Willow Web and has a variety of podcasts made by kids for kids.