Boogie Boards in the Kindergarten Classroom

When I think of technology in my classroom, I think of all of the big, wonderful, expensive things that need to be plugged in, charged, and updated on a regular basis. However, this year I discovered one of the simplest, easiest, most practical technology devices I have ever seen in a kindergarten classroom…

The Boogie Board!

Now maybe it’s just me, but “boogie board” makes me think of the little foam board my cousins and I used to fight over on vacation to the beach. 

Is anyone else picturing something like this?

 

Up until about 6 months ago, that’s what came to mind for me as well. That is, until one of my favorite kindergarten teacher blogs  (The Kindergarten Smorgasboard) started posting pictures of his class using their Boogie Boards for writing practice. I knew immediately I needed to purchase a few of these writing tablets for my classroom. At the time, I was hopeful that I could save enough money to get four or five to utilize at one center. After brainstorming with a teammate, I realized that a class set of Boogie Board would be ideal. I was extremely fortunate that my desperate plea to my school's Parent Teacher Organization was successful. They voted to purchase twenty-four Boogie Boards for my classroom. With a little patience and bargain shopping, and no need for a specific color, I was able to get each Boogie Board for just under $19.00 a piece.

 

 

 

My kindergartners have been using their class set of Boogie Boards to practice letter writing, number writing, shape drawing, patterning, and addition and I have been thrilled with their willingness and excitement to complete these activities.

 

The best part is, Boogie Board writing tablets do not need to be plugged in or charged. They don't even need new batteries. The power needed to operate the Boogie Board is so small, they are expected to last about six years with the original battery. I have been able to eliminate quite a few paper and pencil activities, as well as many personal dry erase board activities that used to be regular routines in my classroom. Not only has it cut back on paper consumption, it has motivated my students tremendously. I've also been really happy to not worry about dry erase markers losing their cap and drying out. My kids transition much more quickly with the Boogie Boards because they are erased with a quick touch of a button.

 

Overall, my kids love the Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablets just as much as I do! They were eager to use the Boogie Board to write "thank you" notes to PTO as well.

 

 



 

A special thanks to Greg over at The Kindergarten Smorgasboard for posting all about his love for Boogie Boards!

Why Tablets are a Game Changer in Education

Liz Logan wrote an article on Amplify that I wish I could share with the world. For now, I'll settle for sharing it with anyone who stumbles upon my blog.

"Why Tablets are a Game Changer in Education" highlights a handful of the wonderful reasons I wish all kindergarten and preschool classrooms could have at least a few tablets available.



Tablets in the Kindergarten Classroom

I remember the first time my principal mentioned the possibility of getting tablets for some of our classrooms. I thought, “Well, kindergarten is last on the list for all those kinds of things… I won’t hold my breath.” Much to my surprise, a month later the kindergarten and first grade teachers were called into a meeting. Our principal informed us each of us would be getting six ASUS Transformer tablets to use in our classroom, as long as we promised to attend all of the necessary training it would take to receive them. I enthusiastically told her to sign me up, knowing that tablets would be the golden ticket to get my kiddos excited about learning.

Fast forward to September when the technology assistant in my building popped in to tell me he had good news for me. My tablets had arrived and were officially programed to my username and password. I couldn’t wait to get started. Out of the eight teachers in my building that had received them, I was the first to start the tablets up and start planning how I would utilize them to enhance my curriculum and instruction. In fact, I was so excited to introduce my students to the tablets that I opened up a blank document and let my kids take turns typing their name and the alphabet. We didn’t have any apps yet, but I was not about to let the opportunity to get our hands on the tablets pass me by.

Fast forward to the present. My students have spent eight weeks practicing letters and letter sounds, kindergarten sight word recognition, and reading books I assigned to each individual student that match their independent reading level and metacognitive strategy needs. I’d like to highlight a few of my favorite apps I have been utilizing over the last eight weeks.

Kids A-Z:

My students use Kid A-Z to practice reading on-level text specifically assigned to them from my teacher account. The app allows students to read through the books on their own, listen to the books, and take quizzes on the books to work on comprehension. I can monitor each child's account through my teacher page, which is also where I select and assign books to each child. Each story the child reads helps them gain points on their account. I have been thrilled with the increase in fluency that I've seen since I started using this app. My kindergartners are thrilled when they log-in and see I have assigned them new books or they have moved up a level.

 

Spelling City:

 

My students enjoy using Spelling City to work on spelling color words, unscrambling familiar words, and alphabetizing a short list of words. The app uses engaging games and sound effects to intrigue students and keep them moving forward.

 

 



St. Louis County Public Library:

 

Kindergarten students typically develop a love for reading that is fueled by going to the library and self-selecting books, and being able to enjoy Tumblebooks. For those that don't know, Tumblebooks take existing books and add animation, sound, music, and narration and can be read to the student, or students can read themselves. I haven't utilized every aspect of the St. Louis County Public Library app yet, but I know they have a variety of Tumblebooks available - and my students are thrilled to get to use them!

 

 

 



Scratch Jr.:

 

My district has been expanding its STEM opportunities at the elementary level over the last couple years. Scratch Jr. was recommended to us by the STEM department, and allows students to match together the available programming opportunities to make their character sing, dance, jump around, etc. Student get to use their creativity to create their own interactive stories and games.

 

 



123s ABCs Kids Handwriting ZBP:

 

If your district uses Zaner-Bloser handwriting to teach your students to write, this is a wonderful app for your kids! The app allows students to see the letter or number, trace it with their finger, and listen to the name and/or sound it makes. All students have to do to erase their writing is shake the tablet - which might be the best part for a five year old!

 

 





Al five of these apps have been great for reinforcing lessons and ideas we are already working on in my kindergarten classroom. My students are thrilled to practice these skills when they get the opportunity to use one of our classroom tablets. I hope at least one of these apps could help you in your classroom as well!

Desktop Computers in the Kindergarten Classroom

It doesn’t take long for my tech-savvy kindergartners to get used to using our classroom Smartboard. Once I feel we have a pretty solid understanding of the Smartboard in our room, it’s time for the next technology adventure.  I like to start by introducing the idea of internet safety to my students. We utilize Net Smartz Kids to talk about being safe and smart on the computer. Net Smartz uses kid-friendly characters, like Clicky the Robot, to discuss the general rules young students should follow while online. The Webville Outlaws ,Potty-Mouth Pete, Wanta-Know Wally, Look-At-Dis Louie, and Meet-Me Mack, use catchy songs and games to remind students what to look out for when using the computer.

Clicky:

The Webville Outlaws:

 

Once I feel confident that my students know the rules of internet safety, we learn to log-in. Each child has a unique student ID to gain access to classroom computers. Logging in is an accomplishment in itself. Luckily, students are so excited to use the computer, they don’t even realize I’m making them practice letters and numbers to log-in to their account.

Log-in Screen:

Now that we have finally made it to the desktop screen, students have a couple of choices.

They may click on the yellow star to visit Starfall or they may click on the monkey to visit ABCya. Each website is visited several times on the Smartboard as a class to get the students used to navigating appropriately. We visit all of the curriculum supporting games and resources available, and work through them together, allowing different students to come up to the board and take a turn. They may not remember everything we do as a class, but by the time students are using these websites independently, they at least know where to locate games and what type of  activities are available to them.

Starfall:

 

 

ABCya:

 



Each time my students interact with the desktop computers, they are working on fine motor skills (using their fingers to type, navigating and using the mouse, etc), practicing letter and number recognition while logging in and navigating through games, and working on whatever skill is being addressed in the game or activity they are using that day (typically letter sounds, blending sounds together to read short consonant-vowel-consonant words, and basic math skills like number identification, ordering numbers, making an extending patterns, identifying and classifying shapes, and simple addition and subtraction). One added bonus is that my kids are being forced to read and decode words without even realizing they are practicing this skill. My students never hesitate to attempt reading a word if the words available stand between them and a game on the computer.

Overall, the time my students spend on the computer is pretty minimal. Each kindergarten and first grade teacher in my district received six tablets early in the school year. These tablets have greatly minimized the need for desktop computers that take up a large portion of our already small classroom. The tablets are small, wireless, and mobile, which is invaluable with my always-on-the-go kindergartners. I do look forward to second semester when my students will start to utilize Microsoft Word with their writing. Although the tablets are great for convenience, I don’t think I will be giving up my desktop computers until the district makes me!

Smartboards in the Kindergarten Classroom

As I mentioned in my last blog, my students are exposed to the Smartboard in our classroom from day one. As students enter the classroom on their first day of kindergarten, I greet them at the door, and invite them to find their nameplate on one of the circle tables in our classroom. Students begin a first day of school coloring sheet, and I call each student up to the front of the room to take a look at our Smartboard. Each student must find his or her name, and slide their name to a lunch choice. This serves several purposes.

First, students are practicing name recognition (which may sound funny to anyone who hasn’t worked with this young of students). Several students enter kindergarten unable to identify their own name. Of those students that can identify their name, several will mistake their name for a student whose name begins with the same letter. This repetitive routine of locating their name on the Smartboard is a great way to solidify name recognition and name spelling. Second, students are letting me know whether they need to order a school lunch or they brought a lunch from home. This saves me time when it comes to turning in lunch count to the cafeteria. Third, students are taking attendance for me. I can quickly peek at the list of student names that have not been moved to determine which students are not at school… Of course, they are five years old, so I always double check in case they just forgot this part of their morning routine!

Here is the Smartboard slide I use each morning:

Aside from aiding in daily routines, I use the Smartboard to reinforce skills from our curriculum. During our Language Arts block, the Smartboard is used for several games and activities. Smart Notebook has tons of backgrounds and themes available to utilize in the classroom. One of my favorite resources is the lined handwriting paper slide. I use this resource on almost a daily basis. I can quickly pull up the slide to model letter writing, letter formation, number writing, etc.  It is also a great resource to have the students practice their writing. Many students become frustrated when they make a mistake on paper and have to erase. Even the best eraser leaves smudges or wrinkles, and some kindergarten students even leave holes in their paper. The eraser tool on the Smartboard makes it easy to erase and fix mistakes quickly, without frustration. My students are more willing to try, and try again if it isn’t quite perfect.

Lined Handwriting Paper on Smart Notebook:

We also utilize the e-gagdet factory from Promethean Planet.  My personal favorite is the Magnetic Letter game, which allows students to build words.

You can find the magnetic letters and other games and resources at Promethean Planet.

We can't forget about math! Math is extremely important in our kindergarten world, and I wouldn't give up the opportunity to get my kids excited about practicing math skills. We use our Smartboard to reinforce all kinds of math skills.

Here are a few of my favorite math activities on the Smartboard:

 

 



I hope these screen grabs from my Smartboard collection will inspire you to utilize your Smartboard for daily routines and curriculum support!

Technology in the Kindergarten Classroom

Technology in the classroom is a hot topic in today’s tech-savvy world. Students are expected to use different types of technology for instruction, projects, assessments, research, collaboration; the list goes on and on. So how do we ensure that students are making the most out of their technology usage in school?

Well… it all starts in kindergarten!

While many students have been exposed to computers, tablets, and smart phones at home, it is relatively common that they have little to no experience with the types of technology or programs teachers want them to use in the elementary classroom. On the first day of school, students in my class are exposed to our classroom Smartboard. They work one-on-one with me the first time, making sure they know how to operate the board to complete the class expectation. After each child has accomplished their individual task, we meet as a whole class to talk about Smartboard rules and expectations.

While we do ease in to using the desktop computers, tablets, laptops, wireless listening center, and document camera in my classroom, students are introduced to the Smartboard within 10 minutes of entering the classroom. From that day on, students must interact with the Smartboard on a daily basis for a variety of reasons. My students check themselves in and make a lunch choice immediately after unpacking their backpack. It is amazing how much more fun these mundane tasks can be when you throw in a Smartboard! I have seen a significant decrease in the amount of students who forget to start their day with these tasks now that I use a Smartboard rather than the typical paper, pencil, and magnetic name system that used to be found in elementary classrooms.

As my class gets used to the daily routine and rules of our classroom and school, we are able to introduce more technology opportunities. Students are introduced to one piece of technology at a time, and they use this new item for several days before introducing the next item. Typically, by the middle of September, students are working independently with the Smartboard, desktop computers, ASUS tablets, and Boogie Boards.

My next several blogs will focus on each of the big pieces of technology utilized in my kindergarten classroom.  I will address what technology is available, what students are supposed to do with that technology, and what benefits I see from using that piece of technology in our classroom.

Now that I am used to the technology resources available at my school, I can’t imagine life without them!