Happy 2012!

Happy New Year blog readers! 

Here are some great activities, interactives, games, and resources all about the new year!  New Year's is all about new beginnings and making resolutions. Don't have a resolution yet? Well try out this resolution generator!

• New Year's Resolution Generator and you'll be given a resolution idea.  My resolution is to make something new everyday!

 

Kit Kat's resolution is to annoy her owners! This picture was created using Pizap.com

Here are some other fun and interactive games, printables and resources to use in your classroom or with your kids at home! 

• New Year printables - Some New Years printables, including resolutions  
• New Year listening activity - Read and listen to the traditions about New Year in USA 
• New Year Traditions in America - Multiple Choice Quiz - A multiple choice quiz on traditions  
• New Year's Resolutions - Read and listen (US English) - Read and listen about resolutions for New Years
• color and print New Year's coloring pages 
• New Year fill in the blank - A new year comprehension question and paragraph form 
• New Year around the world - New year around the world. Passages about how New Year's is celebrated throughout the world.
• New Years around the world 2 - Complete this interactive online quiz about New Year's around the world  
• New Year interactive coloring page - Interactive coloring pages with a New Year theme 
• New Year's word search - an interactive online word search 
• Word search 2 - Word search all about New Years
• New Year around the world - Learn to say Happy New Year in several different languages.
• Coloring Pages - Use your interactive crayon to paint these fun coloring pages of New Year symbols - father time, baby father time, happy New Year snowman, clock set at midnight, noisemakers, and a party man waiting for the New Year. 
• Jigsaw Puzzles - Ring in the New Year with these fun interactive jigsaw puzzles! 
• Scrambler Puzzles - Fun New Year picture puzzles to unscramble. Can you fix confetti and noisemakers? You have to go fast...you only have 4 minutes to complete each. 
• New Year's Eve Drag & Drop - New Year's eve drag and drop puzzle

Have a safe and happy New Year! If you would like to be a guest blogger for Sam's cool tools for classroom in 2012 please let me know! 

 

Sam's Super Diigo Finds! 12/29/2011

• Printable Paper

  tags: paper printable templates graph forms writing pdf Tools

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Sam's Super Diigo Finds! 12/28/2011

• Free Math Animations

  tags: math animation iwb tutorial animations maths SmartBoard

• christmas_tree.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object)

  tags: christmas tree decorate

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

4th night of Hanukkah - menorah

Here are some interactive menorah lighting games and activities:

Interactive coloring pages - Color in this interactive coloring page with a menorah

Menorah coloring page - color in a picture of kids lighting a menorah.

Virtual menorah- perfect of the dorm room or office!

Virtual menorah 2 - Great interactive virtual menorah complete with prayer.

Learn all about the menorah - with scholastic.

New to the special education process?

This one is for you parents, caregivers, or students who are new to the special education referral process. Here are some great links and resources for those of you who are brand new to the whole world of special education:

• CEC's tool of the week - Here are some free downloads available from the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC). These are all great downloads for any stage of special education. Some downloads include: driver's ed, understanding special education, and more.
• Special education news - Here is a great resource that has history of special education, and trending topics regarding special education.
• FAPE - Here is a great resource all about FAPE - Free and Appropriate Public Education 
• IDEA - Click here to learn about the IDEA  - Individual's with Disabilities Education Act.
• IEP - Here is a great site about the IEP process.
• NCLB - No child left behind - learn all about it here.

Have Twitter? Here are some special education related hash-tags:

• #sped
• #spedchat
• #specialneeds
• #spedtech
• #autism
• #adhd
• #asd

1 day of Christmas - the reason for the season

Jesus is the real reason why we celebrate the Christmas season. Here are some website that celebrate the real reason of Christmas...Jesus.

• Christmas story - Here is the Christmas story which is adapted to be used with a switch or the keyboard. This interactive story read alongs and highlights the words and symbols throughout the story. There are also games, worksheets, and printables to use after you read the story. 
• Nativity Send a Nativity e-card this Christmas from kids heart
• Nativity memory match game - see how many matches you can make.
• Make your own Nativity scene - Design and display your own Nativity scene.
• Story it - The nativity story from Storyit.com
• Manger puzzle
• Angels sliding puzzle
• Wiseman jigsaw
• See how much you know about the Christmas story with this online quiz. 

Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas and a bright, safe, and healthy new year! - Sam

Sam's Super Diigo Finds! 12/24/2011

• accu teach

  tags: online course managament creator

• Sam's Cool Tools for the classroom

  tags: teach teacher resoruces sites Web 2.0 web apps website

• Project management for Instructional designers

  tags: Instructional_strategies INSYS design

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

2 days of Christmas - Santa's apps

Let's take a look to see what's on Santa's ipad! Here are some cute Christmas apps to use your on your iphone, ipod, or ipad.

• Best Christmas apps for kids
• 9 holiday cheer apps
• 10 free holiday apps
• Top 9 holiday apps
• 21 festive apps

Sam's Super Diigo Finds! 12/23/2011

• concept board

  tags: concept map board mind brainstorm brainstorming

• santa solitare

  tags: santa card game solitare

• Switch games

  tags: switch aac AT augmentative access

• email santa

  tags: christmas santa email letter

• Educreations

  tags: edu education ipad

• Smart copying

  copy right,

  tags: copyright copy creativecommons

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

3rd night of Hanukkah - Dreidel games

Spin the driedel - take a driedel spin

Dreidel song by speakaboos

Dreidel spin - Spin the dreidel with this fun flowgo game.

Dreidel spin 2 players

The Dreidel game

Dreidel - spin the dreidel with this torah tots game

3 days of Christmas - random Christmas games

For this post I decided to post a link to all the other games I have tagged in my Diigo library that are related to Christmas. So here is the Christmas buffet..pick what you like!

• Email Santa - Email the big guy in red
• Cute Christmas ecards from Holiday Ecard - Here are some very cute ecards with a christmas theme
• Design your own Gingerbread house- Decorate a gingerbread house virtually.
• Snowflake workshop- Create a beautiful snowflake in the snowflake workshop
• Christmas themed switch games - switch games with a Christmas theme
• More Christmas switch games  - switch games with a Christmas theme 
• 12 days of Christmas game - Click on the ornaments to play 12 different Christmas games
• Norad track Santa - Track Santa around the world as he delivers packages to all the boys and girls.
• Cute ecard to learn about cause and effect while building an adorable snowman- Snowman e card
• Santa solitare - Play solitaire with cards that have a Santa theme
• Send a personalized call from Santa - Use gmail to send a call from Santa to your little one.

4 days of Christmas..See what Mrs. Claus is cooking

Let's see what Mrs. Claus is cooking up for Santa, the elves, and reindeer this year..

Northpole kitchen - The elves and I are baking some wonderful holiday treats. We have collected some of our favorite holiday recipes in my special cookbook. Just click on me or my cookbook below to take a look. Perfect for the little ones!

Claus' cookbook - Get a sneak peak at the Claus' cookbook!  Perfect for the little ones!

Kraft's holiday how to center - Want to know how to create a Christmas confection? Check out this Kraft site...we know Mrs. Claus does!

Family Fun - Has some cute Christmas cooking ideas from appetizers to main dishes. Also check out Christmas cookies for little hands from Family Fun. 

Kid's cooking corner on about - Great ideas for snowflake cupcakes and Christmas tree pizza!  

Christmas cooking for kids - Here is a great idea for a kid to cook up their favorite tasty Christmas confections and give them as gifts! 

Recommended Recipe sites:

• Kaboose Christmas recipes
• All recipes holiday corner
• Apples for the teacher Christmas recipes
• Kids in the kitchen  
  

"Christmas Cookies date back to medieval times as well as to various regions and countries. Some believe that the Gingerbread cookie, or the German Lubkuchen, was the first known traditional Christmas Cookie. Sugar type cookies descended from England. The original Animal Crackers were the first edible Christmas Tree Ornament's. The earliest American Christmas Cookies came to us compliments of the Dutch in the early 1600's." - Christmas cookie lore

 

2nd night of Hanukkah

Send a Hanukkah E-Card to a friend or family member this holiday season.....

123 greetings

blue mountain

Greeting cards

Care 2 send

American greetings animated cards

E-Greetings

Sam's Super Diigo Finds! 12/21/2011

• teach and tech

  tags: sped special education special_ed

• symbly

  tags: symbols aac at

• AAC apps

  tags: AAC augcomm AT

• MIT

  tags: MIT degree certificate

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

1st night of Hanukkah - ebooks and coloring books

Here are some interactive books and coloring pages all about Hanukkah. 

Hanukkah coloring pages- Most Hanukkah coloring pages come with a selection of sentences. 

Hanukkah for kids - A great website all for kids all about Hanukkah  - games, activities, interactives, and more!

Hanukkah coloring pages from lil fingers - Hanukkah coloring pages

Hanukkah coloring book - interactive Hanukkah coloring book

Interactive Hanukkah coloring pages - Interactive Hanukkah coloring pages found online

Lessons learned at Hanukkah - E-book about Hanukkah from story home
Hanukkah gifts - interactive book about Hanukkah
Life of Hanukkah - interactive book geared towards older students.

5 days of Christmas - Here comes Santa Claus...

 Here are some fun Santa related games and activities to play.

• Run Santa! - Santa has gained too much weight this year, help him run it off and avoid those extra goodies with this fun keyboard game. 

• Send a personal call from Santa from Gmail! 
•  Santa filbrinks - Santa filbrinks clear the screen 
• Snowball shoot out Can you hit Santa with a snowball? Make sure that you don't hit Rudolph. 
• Santa's trip - Santa distributes gifts all around the world. Can you remember his route? 
• Stack the sleigh Help Santa stack the the presents into size order before delivering them down the correct chimneys. Start with the longest present

 

• Whose Present Listening activity, match the child with their present by listening to what Santa has to say. 
• kids songs - Listen to a song about Santa and the busy elf. There is a game you can play while the song is loading, or you can do it before you listen to the song. Here are 5 words you will hear in the song. Can you draw lines between the words and the pictures? 
• Happy Christmas - Help Santa deliver the packages on time! 
• Santa's story - It's Christmas Eve and Santa's getting ready to deliver presents to boys and girls all round the world. How can he deliver all the presents in time?
• Merry Message from Better Homes and Gardens. Have Santa Claus deliver an audio message either by recording your own voice or by using the text-to-speech feature. 
• Santa swing - dancing Santa! Make yourself Santa or santa's helper then bust a move!
  

  

6 days of Christmas - polar express..All aboard!

Here are some perfect polar express sites...

Storyline online- search through for polar express - its the 4th page of stories

Polar Express/ - count down to Christmas

Crossword - Polar express crossword puzzle

Theatre play - Polar Express readers theater play

Ticket chase - play the polar express ticket chase 

Similarities - check out the two pictures and find what is similar in both

 

7 days of Christmas - Oh Christmas tree...

Oh Christmas tree...

It's time to decorate the Christmas tree! Gather your students around an interactive whiteboard or computer and decorate some of these fun interactive online trees!

Decorate a tree - From apples for the teacher

Decorate a Christmas Tree: Decorate the tree with blinking lights and yummy sugar cookies

Decorate your tree

Jan Brett Christmas tree

Fun ranch Christmas tree

Light up the tree Can you turn on all the lights?

Decorate the Christmas Tree

Trim the tree with this interactive drag and drop activity

Jog the Web Christmas activities

virtual Christmas tree 

Connections all around the world using technology!

Guest Post by Elaine Hirsch

Thank you Elaine for creating another great blog post about several different technologies which can be utilized to connect classrooms around the world!

Using Technology to Connect Classrooms Worldwide

In today's global marketplace, it is more important than ever for students to learn how to connect and communicate with people around the world. Whether a student is in high school, college or even completing a masters degree, they can benefit from exposure to diverse cultures and global projects. Not only does collaborating with other schools provide new learning opportunities for students, but it is also a great opportunity for teachers, as it provides them with alternative perspectives on the subjects they are teaching as well as chance to develop lessons plans with other educators.

Electronic Pen Pals

One method of getting students interested in other cultures is by assigning them a pen pal. Use a website such as epals.com to locate a school in another country with students that are around the same age. Students can then write to their new friends on a weekly or monthly basis. It's a good a idea to develop a rubric to ensure students write about the topics you want them to learn. Besides letting students “meet” kids in another country, having pen pals is great for students in foreign language classes as it allows them to practice writing in the language they are learning. Students can even practice speaking the language by setting up video conferences with their pen pals.

Skype

Skype is a telephone and videoconferencing tool that teachers can use to show their students people from around the world.  Use to service like Edublogger to locate other schools around the world that are signed up with Skype. After pairing up with a partner school, let the students discuss their environments, similarities and differences. Students can also work on a project in their respective countries and then demonstrate the projects to the students from the other country during a video conference. Not only will this allow students learn about other countries, but it will also help students develop relationships with students from other countries and develop brainstorming ideas for collaborative projects.

Collaborative Projects

Collaborative projects are another great way for students to get to know others around the world. For example, a school in Delaware participated in a history project in which the students gathered items that were common around the time of a shipwreck that occurred in 18571. On the anniversary of the shipwreck schools from all over the world shared their projects with each other. Likewise, students can also partner up with students from other schools to share literary works or digital projects.

Forums such as Blackboard are often used for these types of projects. Additionally, Epals also offers an extensive list of projects that allows teacher to find and pair up with other schools to complete a project. Projects vary greatly from completing written works, encouraging diversity, sharing information about cultures, and exploring math and science problems. Students can also study factors that affect people all around the world, such as politics and the economy. Students can also complete webquests online, which will allow them to learn about other countries and customs.

Virtual Tours

Virtual tours offer another opportunity for students from around the world to learn together. Many virtual tours can be completed independently at the teacher's and students' convenience, making it for teachers to incorporate them into lesson plans. Tours can also be scheduled in advance in which schools from all around the world can hear information regarding a country or museum. This type of project helps connect multiple schools and provides students with the opportunity to hear and ask questions in real time.

Students use new technology everyday and educational progress should reflect this dynamic. Using services like Skype and Blackboard  to complete projects will not only allow students to work with other young adults across the globe, but they also give students the chance to learn about issues on a global scale, improve their foreign language skills and become familiar with social customs around the world.

Sam's Super Diigo Finds! 12/19/2011

• one_hundred_snowballs.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object)

  tags: swf application object snow snowballs 100

• Free Technology for Teachers: Study Hall - Mobile Social Learning on an iPad

  tags: free ipad technology teachers mobile

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Sam's Super Diigo Finds! 12/18/2011

• giftstack.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object)

  tags: gift

• Christmas eCards | Holiday eCards | eCardica.com

  tags: christmas ecards

• EZSchool - The Premier Education Portal! Free materials for K-12

  tags: worksheets math Resources education language reading Science

• Google Hangouts: Now with Google Docs Integration, Now Even Better for Edu | Hack Education

  tags: google docs google googleapps google+ edchat integration

• iPadian

  tags: ipad windows

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

8 days of christmas - ornaments!

Let's make some beautiful ornaments online! 

Christmas Ornament Swap: Swap two ornaments so there are 3  ornaments that are the same in a row. Found on More holiday games

Ornaments Off the Edge Game: Make sure the Ornaments don't reach the edge!Found on More holiday games

5 Ornaments in a Line: Remove the Christmas ornaments by lining up five ornaments in a row! Found on More holiday games

Decorate a tree - Decorate a tree with the ornaments of your choice.

Ornament print out - Print out this ornament book and color a picture on each. Found on  Christmas theme printables

Make Christmas ornaments recipe Found on  Christmas theme printables

Christmas ornament- no bake Christmas ornaments

Sam's Super Diigo Finds! 12/16/2011

• PBS Teachers | Math Resources

  tags: education Technology math

• Design experiences, not information

  tags: elearning

• Tech Literacy II: Skills for the Online Instructor | Online Universities

  tags: online_learning

• Spelling & Vocabulary Homework Help Websites for Kids

  tags: spelling vocabulary homework help kids websites

• Videos

  tags: math Resources Mathematics education Gifted teacher pickle lessons

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

9 days of Christmas - write a letter to Santa

Write a letter to Santa...

 

It's never too late to write a letter to Santa...so check out these fun and interactive letter writing games. 

• Merry Message from Better Homes and Gardens. Have Santa Claus deliver an audio message either by recording your own voice or by using the text-to-speech feature.
• Northpole mailbox - send an animated postcard from the North Pole
• Letter to Santa - Can you put the letter back together?
• Northpole elf pal - The Elf Pal Academy offers activities that can easily be incorporated into lesson plans or a home schooling agenda. The activities combine learning with colorful artwork that will entertain children for hours
• Northpole letter  - Send a letter to Santa 
• Elf chat - Chat with one of Santa's special helpers 

Fun sites

To learn how to raise money for Make A Wish by writing a letter to Santa click  here

For more Christmas activities click here 

 

Sam's Super Diigo Finds! 12/15/2011

• Assistive Computer Technologies K-12

  tags: assistive computer technologies

• ZooWhiz | Maths, Reading, Word Skills, Punctuation, Grammar

  tags: reading maths math grammar learning

• WatchKnowLearn - Free Educational Videos for K-12 Students

  tags: Teaching education technology science sharing students presentation Educational

• Common Core State Standards TOOLBOX

  tags: core state standards toolbox

• Thoughts on Professional Development

  tags: pd

• Gizmos! Online simulations that power inquiry and understanding. | ExploreLearning

  tags: gizmos science math interactive simulations mathematics learning education

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

10 days of Christmas - music

Want to jam to some Christmas music or make your own Christmas melodies? Try out some of these music sites!

Jingle bells - animated jingle bells

kids songs - Listen to a song about Santa and the busy elf. There is a game you can play while the song is loading, or you can do it before you listen to the song.

3ws radio - jam out to Christmas music just click listen live and you can listen to 3ws on your computer! Great to have on as background noise during the holiday season!

Northpole radio- Listen to your holiday favorites all year round!

Christmas Song List - A list of songs and lyrics! Also here is a list of traditional songs and lyrics

Reindeer orchestra  - Play Santa's reindeer by pressing their noses. Learn to play a Christmas song or free play! 

Christmas Bells:  Make music with the Christmas bells. 

Christmas music resources:

Science or NASA related Twas the night before Christmas poem 

Christmas music power point presentations 

Sam's Super Diigo Finds! 12/14/2011

• SEN / ICT Directory

  tags: sen ict directory

• Free switch progression training

  tags: free progression training switch

• Sam's Cool Tools for the Classroom: 13 days of christmas - elf!

  tags: classroom christmas elf

• Download free textbooks online

  tags: ebooks textbooks books ebook Download education resources textbook

• Dec05_gingerbreadJunction.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object)

  tags: christmas gingerbread holidays design winter

• Logo Maker

  tags: logo design graphics Generator logos webdesign Web2.0 tools

• portaportal home

  tags: Web tools socialbookmarking bookmarking

• Barkles - The Place For Side By Side Debates

  tags: tools debates collaboration

• EDU - YouTube

  tags: educational edtech youtube education lectures web2.0 Learning

• Assistive Technology Radio

  tags: assistive assistive technology technology radio

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.