Chatter Pix In The Classroom

If you have never tried Chatter Pix in the classroom you have GOT to try it! For those of you with children of your own I am sure you are well aware of apps such as Talking Tom. The annoying cat that repeats everything you say. It's funny at first until you've heard it for hours. Then the tattling starts after one child uses it to annoy a sibling.  Anyway...back to Chatter Pix. It's kind of along the same lines. My son LOVES it & has used it at our home for countess hours of entertainment.  So what is it you ask?

Chatter Pix is a really simple app to use. There are two versions, Chatter Pix, and Chatter Pix for Kids. Honestly, I haven't figured out the difference between the two apps other than the kid version has a cuter icon. The regular version does allow you to email, send to YouTube, or Facebook. The kid version just downloads to your camera roll, so maybe that's the main difference?  To use Chatter Pix you simply take a picture. Then you use your finger & draw a line over where you'd like the "mouth" to appear. Next you touch the microphone button & it will record whatever you say. When you are finished you press the square button to stop. Your picture then "talks" and repeats what you have recorded.  

Click the video to see simple instructions

My son likes to take pictures of our pets & record his voice saying funny things, but the uses for this in the classroom are endless.

This week I took pictures of students & then had them create a Chatter Pix of them saying their New Year's Resolutions.

The picture doesn't HAVE to be of a person though. A student can take a picture of an illustration & then create a Chatter Pix recording themselves reading a short paragraph that they have written.

In math class we are working on division. I had my students create division word problems & draw an illustration to go with it. They then created a ChatterPix of an illustration that matches their problem & recorded their voice reading the problem. I linked my Ipad using my AppleTV and showed the Chatter Pix recordings to my class. Of course, they love to laugh at them, but they also had to solve the problems using their dry erase boards. If you don't have Apple TV then you could use the Ipad or Ipod in a station. 

I hope you give it a try in your classroom. Here's my son's Chatter Pix. 

Fun With Fractions

I LOVE teaching fractions in my classroom. There are just so many hands on things that can be done & that's right up my alley.  This past week we finished up our 3 week unit on fractions. Normally I have what I call "Fraction Fest" in my classroom. I have a bunch of fraction stations around the room that I created & create a schedule for the students to rotate through them. It's always a big hit with the students, but it's a lot of work for me.

This year, I decided to try something different. Even though this is my 19th year of teaching there are some days that I feel more overwhelmed than I did 19 years ago. The demands on a teacher just seem to keep increasing, yet the time to accomplish everything, and the funding to do it keep decreasing. So...when I thought about getting together my fraction stations and what I'd need to purchase, and creating my schedule for them to rotate through I got kind of grumpy.  I just didn't think I had the energy of the time this year.  Then I somehow came across a WONDERFUL free resource that saved the day!

Click on the picture to be taken to TPT

This hands on math booklet was super easy to prepare. Due to the way she has created it, you simply have to cut the stack in half then put one on top of the other & staple. There's no sorting of pages or timely folding necessary.  

The only thing I had to purchase was M&M's, which I actually used skittles instead due to peanut allergies in my classroom.

There are 9 different stations that the students will complete. Most of them they can just do at their desk if you wish.

 You will need:

• Play Dough - either store bought or homemade
• Plastic knives
• M & M's or skittles
• Legos (I borrowed some from a friend who has children younger than mine.) 
• Colored paper strips (The product comes with some, but I preferred using construction paper cut into strips. It was easier, faster, and didn't require colored ink.)

Knowing me...I would have taken the time to create an organized rotating schedule more than likely.  I originally did not have these stations planned for yesterday. My counselor was supposed to come & do her monthly lesson with my class. Therefore I had no plans & had even given away my computer lab time to a teacher who needed to do assessments. So when I got the call after waiting for the counselor for 10 minutes that she wouldn't be arriving, I got that dreaded feeling in my stomach about what I was going to do with them.  Then I remembered that I already had everything I needed to do the fraction stations except a schedule. I decided to just wing it. I set the Legos on one side of the room, Skittles on a table, construction paper strips on an empty desk, and play dough on my round table. 

I passed out the booklets to each student & went over the directions for the 9 stations. My only rule was that at the Legos & the Play Dough that no more than 4 kids could be there. Then I just set them loose. It was actually a blessing that my counselor cancelled.  I would have spent unnecessary time creating groups of varying abilities, figuring out the best order to rotate etc. had I had the time. Doing it on a whim saved me from all of that work & I just got to enjoy a full hour of my students being completely engaged. It was wonderful!

I highly recommend checking out this free resource. It saved my Friday afternoon, my sanity, and....the kids actually learned something too. :) 

Snow Time for A Sale

 

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End of the Year Sale!

Check out these amazing teachers who have their stores on sale 20% off for the next 2 days! 

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Black Friday & Saturday $1.00 Sale!

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Birthday Bash $1.00 Sale

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November Currently

I'm linking up with Oh' Boy 4th Grade for the November Currently!

Listening

 I can't believe it's November! Wow! This year has gone fast.

I'm listening to the hum of the air purifier in our living room with no other sounds. I love it! The rest of the family is still sleeping so it's Cooper & me hanging out on the couch. My husband always feels like he has to turn on the TV & watch Sports Center as soon as he wakes up. Personally...I love to just sit in a quiet house & enjoy the silence.

Loving

Yesterday was my son's 12th birthday. A wonderful lady that worked as my husband's assistant (He's a teacher too.) made the cake for us. I've been thinking about eating that cake for breakfast since I woke up. I may have a problem. :)

Thinking

I can't believe Chase turned 12 yesterday. My life has been a roller coaster since this guy was born. He had a stroke before birth which resulted in a blood clot also going to his arm cutting off the circulation. We spent 6 weeks in the NICU at Riley Hospital for children when he was born.  He had 6 surgeries on his arm with multiple amputations, skin grafts etc. in the first 3 months of his life.  We were told he would never walk, talk, or feed himself due to the severity of brain damage caused by the stroke. He's been in physical therapy, occupational therapy, developmental therapy, speech therapy, and equine therapy since he was 3 months old. We have done everything possible we can to prove our doctors wrong & give this amazing boy the life he deserves. He's doing everything we were told he wouldn't do. He has seizures because of the stroke, a wicked case of ADHD, and he is delayed in school. But...he's a math fact whiz, a sports addict, has a  hilarious personality, and is the most determined guy I've seen. I know he'll do great things.

Wanting

I want this cold weather to go away!! Trick or treating was awful! It was cold, rainy, and we even had snowflakes.  Yesterday, the wind was just blustery. I want to go back to Florida! We went to Panama City on our fall break & it was just beautiful & warm! It's hard to come back to Indiana weather. :( 

Needing

I REALLY need to create some new things for my classroom & TPT store. I have just been so busy being a mom & teacher that I don't even feel like I have time to think anymore. My daughter is in EVERYTHING at school. She's 13 going on 20 and feels the need to be in everything: show choir, orchestra, student council, peer mentor, swimming, cross country, and softball. The past two weeks I've spent every spare moment trying to come up with & organize fundraisers to try to help her show choir take an awesome trip in the spring. It hasn't left time for me to sit down & work on things for myself. Maybe November will be better. ;) 

Reading

I'm only a couple of chapters into Gone Girl. I haven't decided yet if I like it. I just KNOW the husband has killed his wife & it's just a very weird story so far. I've heard many positive reviews...so I'll keep reading. If only I get get farther before I fall asleep.  

I'm also reading The Maze Runner series. My daughter read the series a few years ago & wants to see the movie with me. I won't see the movie until I finish the series, so I've been trying to finish reading it while also reading Gone Girl since it's a library loan. I'm pretty sure I'd make more progress if I'd just focus on one of them & get it done.