Sunday, October 30, 2011

October Fun!

October is nearly over and so much has happened this month. Alden turned 1!  Hurray! AND...she's walking too! As I look back and think about how slack I was at blogging throughout her first year, I thought that I'd take a minute to jot down all of her miraculous milestones as I did with Loch.

A list of firsts...
Smile: I want to say 3 weeks...but generally that's gas!
Tooth: 4 1/2 months
Sitting Alone: 4 months 3 weeks
Eating Solids: 5 1/2 months
Taking a Bottle: 8 months
Going to Daycare: 10 months
Walking: 12 1/2 months

In the slideshow below you'll see pics of Alden's birthday party, Loch's first field trip for Pre-K, (he rode the bus!), visit to the pumpkin patch and playing at the park.
If you click on the slideshow, it will take you to my Picasa Album online!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Happy Birthday Alden

Well, we made it! Alden has turned one and is full of energy! When planning for her birthday party, Jeff and I made a unanimous decision NOT to have a repeat of Loch's first birthday. We kept it pretty simple, invited a few friends, ordered in lunch and had cupcakes. Easy-peasy!
Because I kept it simple, I got some cute little decorations and Brenda brought an adorible little cake that I hated for her to "smash" in to.
So, now that she's one...Alden is standing on her own, she's taken a few little steps, she blows kisses and waves bye-bye, brushes her teeth, combs her hair, says mama, dada, dances like a rock-star, screams like a rock-star, sleeps like an angel and all in all, is a great little girl!!!
This past year has been BUSY, but lots of fun. Loch adores his little sissy and Alden loves him back! Watching the two of them together is makes up for all of the crazy times that I don't think I'll get through. I'm lucky to have great kids and a wonderful hubby to share my family with!
Here's a video of Alden on her big day with her biggest fans! (the one's who could be there anyways!)

Giving Up Control....

As I think about Teaching and Learning, 21st Century Skills, Child at the Center and Student Directed Learning, it all encompasses around one key factor...ME, Giving Up Control...letting go! I would consider myself a type A personality. I like things to be orderly, I tend to be a list-maker and a time-keeper, a planner and I definitely do things with a vision of an end result or product. I guess I get that from my father, who is the master of organization, habit and list-making.
While planning for my 5th grade lessons over the next several rotations, I'm making it my goal to give up control and allow the students to hone in on those 21st Century skills that we always talk about. Creativity, problem solving, collaboration and initiative are just a few of the capacities that the students display while in tech lab. So, here's the plan...and "generally" I tend to teach step-by-step...but for 5th grade, I'm letting go!

The Product: iMovie Presentation- Tour My School
The students will create a multimedia presentation about our school. Students will learn how to import and edit images, record their voice, add transitions, music, and finally export their project as a movie file.


How Do I Get There?
  • cooperative groups
  • storyboarding/brainstorming
  • digital images with digital camera
  • power point
  • narration
  • iPhoto editing
  • iMovie presentation
So, thus far, the kids have seen an example of Tour My School. They came up with their groups, roles, and planning for the movie. I'm providing some guidance and facilitation with keeping things moving, but I know that Trinity students are very self-motivated and will use their leadership skills to help one another.
I'll check back in with y'all in a month or two and let you know how things have gone...

Here's to "Letting Go"!

Photo by Alexus Machine via Flickr