ahhh Summer

Well its a bit chilly here in NY today, but summer will be upon us soon. For many parents our kids will be out of school soon which poses a whole host of dilemmas. Child care while you go to work, camp, vacations. My son's school releases on June 10th! Yes folks he gets almost 3 months of summer vacation. What is a parent to do!

I am a firm believer in "get outside and run and play until you collapse, then take a bath and go to sleep" and then do it all over again the next day. Since I work, camp pretty much has that covered for me-THANK GOODNESS. But the question at hand is "What do I do with my lil one when the weather is bad, or money is tight or the car is broke?" VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS. Take your kid on a virtual field trip and discover a world of endless learning and possibilities. Here are some good examples:

Visit a real farm! http://www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/virtualfarm/main.html I like this one for the younger kids. The movies are real, the farmers are real and there is a lot to learn about farms.

Go on an adventure! http://questconnect.org/ These are free online expeditions that allow you to engage your children with journal entries, photographs and data.

Greatest Places Online. http://www.goals.com/Index.htm Online adventures around the world with real time reports. The photography here is beautiful.

Get electrical http://www.ieee-virtual-museum.org/ Good lessons but for an older student.

Learn about the Liberty Bell http://www.libertybellmuseum.com/ Nice photos and good content on a subject that is rarely taught in school.

I will continue to add links as I come to them, but feel free to comment and offer suggestions to other sites.

Changes in the workplace...prepare our kids

Increasing I hear more and more folks saying that their work day is structured differently. Here is a link to another blogger who talks about it http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/category/working-from-home/ They have the ability to work from home, from Starbucks, from a park as long as they have an Internet connection. I think that the typical "office" has begun to shift dramatically but by the time our school aged children reach the work force the concept of an office, with paper, paperclips, scissors, white out and a water cooler will be few and far between. Let's face it, more and more people I work with ask for things digitally and those things aren't even stored on our computers. All important documents that I need are in Google Docs. I can access my work anywhere anyplace. I am not even wedded to my computer, just a connection. The water cooler is now facebook, myspace, ning or any other social network. The boundaries of the water cooler are no longer confined to the walls of the office. People can connect, collaborate and communicate with like minded folks all over the world. The water cooler is global.



As parents/home schoolers/educators we need to teach our students/children to use these tools in a safe and responsible environment. I know I have talked about this before, but I can't drive home the point enough that our kids are going to rock this world one day and we need to teach them to use this power that is so accessible to them in a way that will make a positive change. Not having discussions about using the Internet in a safe way is doing them a disservice. If your child's school is not showing them the ways, then offer to teach an isafe course to the PTA. Get the word out there that our kids are cybercitizens who need to act in a safe and appropriate fashion.

Technology across the grades...Part 2

For our First Graders here are some thoughts pulled together from the standards set forth by NCREL http://www.ncrel.org/tech/nets/netsrubricp2.pdf

1. Students know how to start up the computer; locate applications; choose icons to select, open, save, print, and close files; and shut down the computer, monitor, and printer.



2. Students identify ways that the computer is used at home and in school.



3. Students recognize that passwords protect the security of technology systems.



4. Students, assisted by teachers, parents, or student partners, know how to select media formats (e.g., text, clip art, photos, video, Web pages, newsletters) to communicate and share ideas with students in other classrooms.



5. Students know how to use developmentally appropriate software to collect classroom data, create a graph, identify the questions that could be answered by the information in the graph, and interpret the results from the graph.

Here are some lessons and suggestions for implementing technology into your first grader's education:

http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/527 Lessons in Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Science and Art

http://www.growing.course.com/level_1/index.html A FREE typing tutorial that identifies keys, posture and begins to allow the student an opportunity to use both hands (no more hunt and peck)