Students eating their snack with Ms. Karen via webcam
Technology in the Classroom
I currently teach in a 3 and 4 year old preschool
classroom, with my co-teacher, Karen. Last August Karen had to have emergency surgery and was forced to miss the first month
and a half of school. I brainstormed as to how my students could get to know their other teacher while she wasn't in the classroom.
Thanks to modern technology, I quickly found the solution. I set up a web camera at Karen's house and another in my classroom.
Once Karen was feeling up to it, my class would have daily chats with Karen over the internet.Working collaboratively with
me, Karen was able to read stories, sing songs, and even teach lessons to the children. By the time Karen came to the classroom
in October, she and the children already shared a bond, and it felt as though she had always been there.
NBC 4 reporter, Carol Anne Riddell,
covered our story for her weekly "Family Matters" segment on NBC News4. Please view the segment below.
Preschool students showing 5th graders how a "tornado bottle" works
Fifth Grade Buddy Program
Several years ago a fifth-grade teacher and I collaborated
on an idea to create a program that would build a bond between the oldest and the youngest children in the school. The Fifth
Grade Buddy Program that emerged has empowered the fifth grade students to be positive role models for my preschool students.They
have taken on the role of big brothers and sisters for my young students, and my preschoolers look up to their buddies as
if they truly were older siblings. The fifth graders have demonstrated a tremendous sense responsibility and pride in the
way that they care for my students. Sometimes the fifth graders will visit our classroom and other times we visit their room.
During these visits the fifth graders do a number of different things with my students. The fifth graders will write stories
dictated by the preschoolers, read books to them, and even do science experiments with them. The fifth graders also escort
my students to all assemblies and school functions. We have found this program to be beneficial in so many ways, and we are
so proud of the way the fifth graders and preschoolers respond to each other.
5th grade student reading a favorite story to a preschool student
5th grade student writing a story dictated by a preschool student
