Dot Day Skype in NY

Today my class Skyped with another 4th grade class in Long Island, NewYork.  This was our 3rd Skype this week to celebrate International Dot Day.  We co-shared reading the book, "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds and asked a couple of questions about their location and then ended the call.  Afterwards, both classes worked collaboratively on Padlet where they each wrote a sentence stating how they would make a mark in this world.  The students all had wonderful and inspiring messages!
 Created with Padlet

Our First Skype

Today's marks our first class skype and a bonus for the kids was that I had 2 separate States from the US who were wanting to celebrate Dot Day with us.  Our first Skype was with a 4th grade class in MaryLand and our second Skype was with a 4th grade class in Utah.  The kids volunteered to orally share reading the book, "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds and understand that the theme of the book is to allow one tiny dot to mark only the beginning of a journey of the creative spirit in all of us.  It is also a story about surprise and self-discovery and one that I hope to watch grow in my students this year.

  The iPad was hooked up to the Smartboard where the two classes called our class through Skype.  After reading the book, we talked about how we respectively celebrated Dot Day.  My class showed their pillows which received A LOT of "ooohs" and "aaaahs" from both of the schools.  The school in Utah showed us their DOT shields they had made and the school in Maryland showed us their Dot trading cards they made. Our first attempt to Skype today went off without a hitch and the kids said they enjoyed every minute of it!

Pillow Making!

Today my students "SYNERGIZED" with the 9th grade HomeEc. students from Racette where they sewed their very own Dot pillow as our class way to celebrate Dot Day.  We walked over to Racette where the students and their teacher, Mrs. Pashko, were eagerly waiting for our arrival.  The students worked cooperatively and effectively and had their pillows completed in under an hour.  What a FUN and ENGAGING experience this was for all the students.  Thank-you grade 9's for welcoming us into your classroom today!