Three Really Good Apps

The Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade, and Third Grade students have to take turns when we are working on the computers.  Those students who are not on the computers are using our Media Center iPod Touches.  We have been using apps that support what is happening in the classroom.  Listed below are the apps we have been using lately.  The students are enjoying them a lot, while having lifelong skills reinforced.  

An app that I have used with Kindergarten and First Grade is The Math Tree by Bellamon.  Click here for information about this app.  I love this app because of the mix of simple addition and subtraction facts.  It is a paid app; the price is $.99.

An app that I have just begun to use with First Grade is Interactive Telling Time Lite.  I have only used the Set the Time part of this app.  This has the students setting time to the hour and the half hour.  The students love this app!  The added bonus of being able to pick a prize to add to aquarium, in the app, was a nice reward for setting the time correctly.  The lite version of this app is free.  I have not used the paid version of this app.  Click here for more information about this app.

A great app for Second Grade, Third Grade, and older students is Counting Bills and Coins.  Click here for more information about this app.  This app has so many different activities, that is what makes it great for a lot of different grades.  The activity that the students have been using is counting money.  This activity allows students to count just coins or bills and coins and type in the correct amount.  The other activities are:  Show Me The Money (students are given an amount and have to show it with bills and coins), Making Change (students read a word problem and have to figure out how much change the person in the problem would get), Matching Amounts (students have to show a different combination of the amount of money given), and Show Value (students drag money over to the board, count it up in their head and the touch show value to check their answer).  The best part about this app is that it is free!

A word of caution with these apps and any others that you have download to your devices for your children, make sure that you are going on each app and playing with it every so often.  Many times the creators, after a few updates have added some ads that are not appropriate for children.  This is why before I use any apps with students I always play around on them, even if I used the app the day before.

Miss Hazuda

Spring Break!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Spring Break as much as I am.  Even though around here it doesn't feel a whole lot like Spring.  I'm taking this time to do some Spring Cleaning at my house.

I've got two book suggestions for you about cleaning.  The books can be placed on hold at the Public Library or through their catalog.  

The first suggestion is a nonfiction book, Cleaning the House by John Malam.  This book describes how people have handled household tasks such as dusting, sweeping and trash disposal since the Stone Age and discusses the invention of such cleaning items as the vacuum cleaner and dishwasher, the discovery of soap and more.

The second suggestion is a fiction picture book, Diggy Dan: A Room-Cleaning Adventure by Daniel Kamish.  Dan becomes an archaeologist, a pirate, an Outer Space Man and other resourceful characters as he clears out the monumental mess in his room.  This is a favorite of mine.  We also have this book in our collection at HES.  

I'll be posting some student book reviews later on today and this week.  I also will be posting about some apps that we have been using in our Media classes to support what is going on in the classroom.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda

Henry Cole Visits HES!!

On February 28^th author/illustrator Henry Cole visited Hollywood Elementary.  He spoke to Kindergarten through Fifth Grade students throughout the day.  Each session he spoke to the students about his younger years when he was going to school and his path to becoming an author and an illustrator.  Henry Cole shared a lot of advice to with the students.  One of my favorite pieces of advice was that he always brought his clipboard with paper and pencil case with him wherever he went.  Henry Cole told the students that this is because it didn't need any wires or batteries.  So he could always be working on developing characters or working on illustrations.  The other piece of advice was to come up with many ideas and to keep revising until it is correct.  



Another really cool thing that Henry Cole showed the students was how the book first comes in a huge sheet all attached!  He described the process that that sheet had to go through, to be come the book that everyone reads.  The kids found this very interesting.  I don't think many of them thought about how a book, comes to be the book that we can hold in our hands.




At the end of each session Henry Cole showed the students how he liked to draw his illustrations with music playing.  He allowed to music to inspire his illustrations.  The first piece he played was a very upbeat piece of music.  The illustration that he drew was a whimsical piece with two animals playing instruments.  The second music piece was more mellow and calming.  Using this music, he drew Celeste (from his book A Nest for Celeste).  This activity inspired Mrs. Colao's First Grade class to give this a try at the end of the day.  She used a few different types of music to inspire her students and the illustrations were incredible!  This might be a great activity for all students at home! 

In each of his sessions spoke about many of the books that had become favorites of most students.  Some of the books that he has written and/or illustrated that were discussed are:  Some Smug Slug, A Nest for Celeste, On Meadowview Street, and his newest Unspoken.  You can find all of these and many more at the Public Library.  Click here to visit the Public Library website.

Everyone, students and staff, enjoyed and was inspired by Henry Cole’s visit.  Those students who purchased books were able to meet Henry Cole when he autographed their books. 

He got the highest compliment from one Second Grade class, they said that his visit was worth missing PE!

Thank you to the HES PTA for helping to pay for his visit.  It was truly a wonderful experience!

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda

Blog Updates Coming Soon

Keep an eye on the blog there will be LOTS of updates soon!  I have three new "Have I Got A Book For You" student book reviews to post.  Also I will be posting about Henry Cole's visit to HES.

Happy Reading!!

Miss Hazuda

Our Henry Cole Visit Was Awesome!!

On Thursday February 28th author/illustrator Henry Cole came to HES.  We had an awesome visit and a great time was had by all.  I will be posting later in the week about our visit and posting some pictures.

I'd like to thank the HES PTA for helping bring Henry Cole to HES.

Miss Hazuda