Oh so Pinteresting and Other Smiles to Share!!!

1st Item for Today:
I am baffled at all there is on Pinterest! What did we do before it came along?? There's so much to see. I just need more TIME!!!! Debbie Clement, of Rainbows Within Reach, has put together this spectacular link up for EDU-Pinners! What a plethora of Educators on Pinterest --See for yourself! As of the day I'm writing this post (Aug. 5th), there are 362 Edu-pinners linked up! HOLY MOLY!!! Be sure to read the rest of my post after bazillion link ups you find! You can browse in just a second!!! lol..
What would I like to brag about on Pinterest? The vast resources I've found via fellow blogger boards, collaborative boards, and so much more.... I went ahead a created a collaborative board too! "STRAIGHT UP GRAMMAR!" My reason for bragging is because I have rallied up about 21 awesome EDU-pinners/Teacher-Authors to contribute to this board. You are sure to find your grammar necessities here! It's still a new-born but is growing fast in pins and pinners! :)
So, be sure to swing by Rainbows Within Reach to (tell her Innovative Connections sent you, wink wink...) leave her a note about how easy she's made it for us to have instant access to hundreds of peeps in the education field!! You will rarely search again for them! I promise.

2nd Item for Today:

I would like to "SMILE" on and extend my thanks to Always a Lesson for passing along the Versatile Blogger Award to me. (Unfortunately, I'm just now getting to this....I feel bad, but blogging about it sort of slipped my mind!) Please swing by her blog and see what it is all about!

Whether you are teaching a lesson or learning one yourself, 

this blog is for you! CALLING ALL EDUCATORS!

Hope you are having a fabulous day! Thanks for checking out my post.

Can you leave me the link to your one absolute FAVORITE pinterest board???? I would love to check it out!

A Series of Educational Sites: "F"...PBS Kids!

As a Mississippi girl, I'm have enjoyed PBS Kids and PBS Teachers!! Just in case you're not familiar with PBS, I wanted to post about this site because it's pretty darn cool... for all of us--teachers, children, and parents!

This post is so much more than about PBS Kids, as the title includes. 
Let's start with the main site-- PBS.ORG! This site has created PBS Kids, PBS Teachers, and PBS Parents to name the most helpful to you...
Featuring videos, games, shows, and more, there's plenty to entertain students in an educational manner. 
Teachers...See the PBS Teachers--Kids in the Classroom! They offer a "Word of the Day," Early Childhood Resources, and quite a bit more ranging from PreK to 12th Grade. Another tidbit to check out is the Teacher Innovation Awards -Are you an Innovative Educator? See how many winners there are just in 2011! 
Parents will love this site now that school is out (or soon will be) for the summer! Mom & Dad can access activities, advice, and even recipes for quality time spent with the kiddos! Ideas are endless and perfect for those rainy days or TOO HOT days! Sign up for the PBS Parent Newsletter and stay up to date...

Want to know another great feature? 
Mobile apps are available as well! How convenient is that...for kids to watch their top fav PBS shows? A couple of these shows I remember watching when I was little!


In case you missed them, see previous posts of "A Series of Educational Sites" I've blogged about:
Educational Site A: Quizlet
Educational Site B: Arcademic Skill Builders
Educational Site C: Wonderopolis (Free Writing Printable included!)
Educational Site D: EZSchool
Educational Site E: The Problem Site

So, check out PBS Kids...and tell me what your favorite PBS show is (yes, you, the teacher/parent)? 
Was it one you watched as a child too? 
If you don't have one, what are your child's or students' favorites? 
Please share them with us in a comment below! Or, click on my signature to share your comments on my Facebook page! I'd love to see you there too!


Regards,

A Series of Educational Sites: "E"...The Problem Site!

I landed on another fun site you may/may not know about...
The Problem Site!
Students will jump all over extra computer time to play free online educational games! They can also engage in lots of other fun interactive skill-polishing activities on The Problem Site!
Just to give you an idea, here are a few games offered on the site:

• Picture Word Game
• Hangman
• Secret Number 2
• Zero Gravity Connect Four
• Subtraction Triangles
• The Pirate's Map
• Treasure Hunt

My thoughts?

I must say that I am pretty impressed with how many avenues of topics and levels this site covers. It really get students to think, as it did me. There's a lot to gain from extra problem solving activities and good brainteasing challenges.  I love that it also has daily online puzzles, a reference/resource page to use in research and other projects, printables to easily and quickly create, and brainteasers! Just let them explore and see what they like! I think you'll find something for most any student. 

Why use interactive sites in the classroom?
We all have students, or perhaps children, that love interactive games and playing on the computer! Let them utilize the site when extra time allows them use on computers or when you just want to give them some extra challenge time! Computer time is always a great reward or incentive for promoting good classroom behavior or achieving goals academically!

Have you heard about it? Let me know what you think about the site or if you already utilize it! I'd love to know your thoughts on using computer time as a reward or motivator in the classroom too!

A Series of Educational Sites: "D"...EZSchool!

 

I've visited and used some wonderful resources from EZSchool for almost as long as I've been teaching! Do I dare say 11 years now? 

If you need to engage students (or your own children) in educational GAMES for that extra challenge or help, this is a great place to do it! It has a wide variety of games divided into grade level categories, making it super user-friendly!

Click Images to Find Out for Yourself...

Games, tutorials, study tools, and spelling are just some of the tabs to access resources on the site.

Besides all grades represented, EZSchool has all subject areas and various languages!!

As the logo tells you, it is "The Premier Educational Portal" for teachers and students.

For your convenience, subscribe to EZSchool's newsletter for updates, new resources, and other goodies! 

You'll gain lots of insightful information from reading the many articles linked up for you!

This is today's educational web site in the "A Series of Educational Sites" posts on Innovative Connections. 

I hope I've helped connect you to a supplemental resource to educate your students or children!! After all, that's the point! 

If you have used this site before, or you use this site quite often, I'd love to hear your feedback! Submit your thoughts in a comment below! Thanks so much for visiting Innovative Connections and letting me know how you implement EZSchool...

A Series of Educational Sites: "C"

Wonderopolis!

http://wonderopolis.org/

By the National Center for Family Literacy!

I am an email subscribed reader and enjoy the “Wonder of the Day” on this site…it’s pretty cool!

For Example:

4/26/12   #571

Should You Believe Everything You Hear?

4/25/12   #570

How Fast Can a Nose Run?

Some of these daily wonder posts come with  pictures, videos, etc. Many "Wonders" are quite informative and most useful, and others are totally unique in that they include cool points to ponder or interesting tidbits to learn! I love the Wonder "Why is it so fun to monkey around?" (I adore animals if you didn't already know!) It’s like a small dose of “Get your brain exercising…” that never hurts any of us to get on a daily basis!

There’s even a Twitter Wonderfeed: @wonderopolis

So, Question: What is something (maybe bizarre or truly mysterious) that you have always wondered? 

Imagine all of the journal prompts and creative writing activities you could do in class just with this as a springboard! 

You can download this printable for FREE in my TpT Store or directly from GoogleDocs! 

Wonderopolis Writing Prompt PDF

Please tell us in a comment below! I’m sure someone will either have wondered the same or become entirely curious too!

Have a great day! 

A Series of Educational Sites-"B: Arcademic Skill Builders!"

Hello to All! I hope you saw the first of my "Series of Educational Sites" Posts which featured post "A:  Quizlet!"  

Today's "A Series of Educational Sites" post: 

"B: Arcademic Skill Builders!"  (Yes, ARCADEmic...)

Visit Arcademic Skill Builders' Facebook Fan Page!

This cool place is an interactive site full of engaging educational games for children. From Grades 1-6, you will find ALL sorts of games across the board in subject area!

Why Incorporate this Interactive Web Site?

• Games Aligned with Common Core Standards for Grades 1-6 
• It works! Immediate feedback, provides students that desired challenge, and more!
• The Basic Games with Standard Content are FREE!
• Students love playing games! If practicing important skills is incorporated with play, where's the loss?

 An Example: VERB VIPER!

Arcademic Skill Builders' Verb Viper Game!

Click Here to See More Games

Awesome link to tell your students about just to let them play games at home! 

I'm thinking this would be a fantastic remediation tool or bonus point option for class! A free time center? Hmmm.....

This kind of learning is what my colleagues and I refer to as "Sneaky Learning" because you can slide in those skills they need as they "PLAY" games and have fun! 

Have you used Arcademic Skill Builders before? Please let us know how you used it! What kinds of games do your students like to play?          ________________________________________________________

Also, while I've added this site's link to it, be sure to visit the 

Top Teacher Resources' Facebook Page!

Stay tuned for another post on "A Series of Educational Sites" from Innovative Connections! Thanks for stopping by my blog!