Computer Science For All

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Mrs. Petuya

Today, our president spoke about the importance of learning computer science at a young age. I also recognize the benefits which is why my students use kid-friendly programming apps like Bee-bot and Daisy the Dinosaur. This week my robot will make an appearance and the students will learn to be navigators and drivers. Soon our 3rd grade buddies will be working with us on the code.org website. I’ll be sending out more info so your child can log in at home and use code.org. If you would like to gain some computer science skills, come join us in the classroom. It’s always an adventure in TK!

Noisy or Quiet?

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Mrs. Petuya

Do you expect a classroom to be noisy or quiet? Do you expect students to be sitting politely and waiting for the teacher to direct the instruction? If you visit my classroom, and I hope you do, you will find out very quickly that my classroom is a noisy and active place most of the time. It may look messy and be louder than you are accustomed to, but that is learning in action!

In my roles as teacher, employee, boss, daughter, wife, mom, gramma, or friend, I realized that I don’t have all the answers and needed to ask questions, lots of questions. Shouldn’t we expect students to have the same need? Of, course! So I structure every lesson to include many opportunities for students to talk. By encouraging my students to practice putting words together to communicate their ideas, they are building strong relationships with me and their classmates. When my students feel safe and connected and valued, they are then free to explore deeper and make better learning connections. They practice collaborative strategies and learn to negotiate with and listen to others just like they will have to do in their future careers.

So now you know a bit about why my classroom is a noisy place. Learning thrives when relationships develop. I hope you’ll stop by soon and practice learning with us.

I found these resources recently. I’d like to know what you think, so please leave a comment, too.
Atlanta Speech School
Thirty Million Word Initiative

The Promise from Atlanta Speech School on Vimeo.

Migrating Monarchs

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Mrs. Petuya

We have been learning about the life cycle of a butterfly and the amazing migration of monarch butterflies. The monarch butterflies travel from all over North America to spend the winter in a very small area of Mexico. Read about it on JourneyNorth.org.

Our buddy class (Mrs. Washington’s Third Graders) have helped us participate in the Symbolic Migration. We are sending a cluster of decorated butterflies and friendly notes to school children in Mexico as a tokens of goodwill between our two countries. We are ambassadors and building understanding between people of other nations. We are also citizen scientists sharing observations of our environment as we post on journeynorth.org. You, too, can follow the migration of the butterflies or post your nature observations on the website via their app on your smartphone.

iPads in the House!

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Mrs. Petuya

I finally had the time to update my six iPads and introduce them to the students. So far we are just exploring a few of the apps but next week the iPads will be a regular part of our skill rotations and Worktime choices. The students are so excited to have this option available. I love how fearless they are with approaching tech challenges. I am confident that we will be making movies before too long!

PS: My robot is getting ready to visit our class, too!

Vote Now for Video Winners!

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Mrs. Petuya

Our little nutrition video is pretty cute, don’t you think? Well, you can participate in determining the contest winners while you help your family or class practice digital learning. Watch the video finalists and tally your votes and send one collective opinion via our online ballot. The videos are very short (about 90 seconds), so this task won’t take long at all.

As an exercise, this helps NextVista.org choose winners, of course, but even better, it gives students a sense of the various ways people approach sharing what they’ve learned. If you’d like to have your child enter the next contest (see below), this is a great way to get their gears turning.

VOTING ENDS THIS SUNDAY 9/27/15

Creative Bridge Video Contest details

Video Contest Finalist!

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Mrs. Petuya

I just have to brag on my class from last year. We made a video to teach a nutrition lesson in 90 seconds and entered a contest. We also had to cite all our sources so we could practice good digital citizenship. It was a fun project and we are finalists in the contest! Please watch and comment. Click here to find out more about the next contest.

Classroom Happenings

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Mrs. Petuya

This week we met our Buddy Class. They are Mrs. Washington’s Third Graders and they are eager to help us become confident learners. For our first experience together, they helped us learn how to log on and log off in the computer lab. It was very interesting to see how quickly the TK students caught on to the procedure. I’m sure we will need a bit more practice, but there are several students ready to teach their classmates who need another tutorial. Everybody knows something, so everybody can be a teacher!

Farewell, My Dear Friends

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Mrs. Petuya

June 2015

Dear Kindergartners,

I am so very proud of you! You have worked hard and learned so much in Kindergarten. It is hard to believe that our year together is ending. How did the days go so quickly?

We will always have happy memories of our online projects, iPads, field trips, Big Buddies, gardening, and so much more. Of course, you can always look on my blog to find links to our photos and VoiceThreads to enjoy again and again.

I have truly loved being your teacher. I hope that you will invite me to your high school and college graduations. It would be an honor to celebrate with you. Now, I must remind you of three important things to do in your life: Travel to faraway places. Live by the sea. Make the world more beautiful.

Joyfully,

Mrs. Catherine Petuya
blogs.egusd.net/petuya
ElemenTech.webs.com
@mrspetuyasclass
@CPetuya

Got Video?

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Mrs. Petuya

Thank you so much for coming to our promotion celebration. I hope you enjoyed it as much as the children and I did. The refreshments you provided were so delicious and appreciated. Your generosity this year has helped make this a wonderful year in Kindergarten.

If anyone has a video of the children singing, please send me a copy (via email attachment or on a flash drive). I would like to put that performance on my YouTube channel along with the video that was shown today. I will email you the links to my channel after the videos are uploaded. Save that email so you can access the videos at a later time. I keep the classroom videos unlisted to protect our privacy. The only way to view them is by following the link.

Thank you again for allowing me to be a part of your child’s educational journey.
Joyfully,
Mrs. P

GOFUNDME!

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Mrs. Petuya

If you haven’t logged on and used Lexia with your student, you may not know what a tremendous learning tool it is. We have used it a Carroll for a couple of years, but it is no longer a free resource. The PTA has given Mr. Hauder a generous sum to offset the cost, but we need quite a bit more. Here’s how you can help: donate to our gofundme campaign! And please send this link (http://www.gofundme.com/v5kdf7s) out to your friends, family, neighbors,coworkers, acquaintances, dentist, insurance agent…. You get the idea. Let’s make this happen for our kiddos!

Mrs. Petuya's

Classroom Blog

Category Archives: 21st Century Skills