I got a fold up easel for my 6th birthday. I love it a lot. I use it to draw pictures and practice my writing and spelling. I wrote a poem for my Mom and Dad last weekend, and I drew a picture of a giraffe. Mom added the baby giraffe. I am still learning how to spell, so my Mom will interpret the poem for you:
Roses are red, Violets are blue, But nobody is more specialer than you.
I also use and dry erase board to practice drawing and writing. I use this all the time. I have a lot of colored markers to use with the board. I can take it wherever I want. My teacher gave me a board for Christmas, but I left it at Nanny's house so Dad bought me one for our house to use until I get my first one back. It is so much fun. I drew a picture of Aerial, a giraffe, and wrote about my Mom. It says:
I love Mom. Mom loves me. Mom loves to read. Mom cooks dinner. Mom loves to play with Sorry Sliders. Mom makes me smile. Mom is special to me.
On Saturday afternoon, my mom invited some friends over for a knitting lesson. She helped them cast on. I taught them a poem on how to knit. It goes like this: "Under the fence, catch the sheep, back we come, off we leap." We had a fun time!
This is Finn, my fish. This is the second fish I've had named Finn. He is a Beta fish. He lives in a small tank above the kitchen sink. These are other things that are around him.
Nellie likes to go outside. She does this most of the time. She runs away from people when they try to pet her.
Charlie likes to play. When he does, you have to be careful around him. He might scratch or bite, but he is fun. He was playing with one of my baby toys in this picture. He was fascinated by the balls rolling through the boat.
Baily likes to hang out. When he does, he puts his head on his paw. Sometimes, he doesn't stay when you pet him.
My mom took these snapshots, but I chose them for this post.
We will only use FIRST names when writing about other children. We will use our "blogging display name" when writing about ourselves. We may use last names for adults such as teachers, parents, coaches, etc. We should only use names when we think it is important to our story.
We will only use SENSIBLE, KIND, and RESPECTFUL words in our posts and in our comments.
We will not write any of our DETAILS - this includes phone numbers, address,or personal email address.
We will be careful when putting PHOTOS on by only using nice photos of other people and by asking PERMISSION when putting on other people's photos.
We will give CREDIT for other people's words, artwork, videos, ideas, or photos.
If we are reading, writing, and spelling well, we will try our hardest to get our SPELLING right, and we will read over what we write before we post. We will ask our parents for help with posting.
We will be RESPONSIBLE when using and writing on our blog.
We will ask QUESTIONS when we need help or answers.
These guidelines are borrowed and slightly modified from Rachel Boyd's classroom blog rules seen here. Thank you, Ms. Boyd, for thinking through these issues, so clearly articulating them, and for your inspiring work with children in New Zealand.
Parents:
I will HELP my child/children post to this blog, and I will MONITOR their posting and commenting activity. I will Be CAREFUL to make sure we are following the community guidelines.
I will ENCOURAGE my child/children to read posts by other community members, to reflect, and to comment when appropriate. I will also make comments on posts when I am interested or have questions, thoughts, suggestions.
I will STRIVE to help my child/children POST at least twice per month.
As an author, you will be the only person who can edit your posts. Other people can only comment on posts you have written. I will not change or edit your posts unless you ask for my help. If I see something that needs to be changed for an important reason, I will contact the author to ask permission. I will delete a post if it is unkind or inappropriate for this blog (of course, I don't expect this to happen).
I will read all comments before they are added to the blog. I will not post comments that are unkind or inappropriate (not that I expect this to happen, either). Comments by blog authors do not have to be reviewed by the moderator.
I may add LABELS to your posts.
What are LABELS?
When we post, we can assign labels for the post. It is at the bottom of the text box on the "Posting screen." If you click on the "show all" link, you will see what labels have already been used by other members of the blog, and you may choose one of these if it applies. For example, Flower Power wrote about things that happened at school in her first post. If you write about school, you may want to use the label "at school" on your post, too, so that readers of the blog can easily find all posts about "at school" if they are interested in this topic. If you write about soccer, and you don't see a label for soccer, you may want to create a new label by just typing it into the "Label box." When we use labels, we create an index for our blog (or a keyword catalog). So, we want to identify our posts by their main content through labels.
We also want to identify posts by our "blogging display name." This way, readers of the blog can easily find all posts by a certain author. If your display name is "Light Saber," always put this label on your posts.
Now, I'm getting out of the way so that the real authors of this blog can do some posting!
If you have other suggestions for our community guidelines or questions about them, please comment!
Charlie likes to sleep on my mom and dad's bed. Sometimes he is funny.
Charlie also likes to sleep on the chair in the living room/dining room. He also likes to let me pet him, and he purrs.
Charlie also goes near blankets and acts funny, because he is a kid cat.
Charlie likes to sleep on my bed when I'm at school and rests the whole day. He waits for me. When I get home, he either goes away, or lets me pet him or play with him.
This part is addressed to parents who will probably be reading this first:
After the first two explanatory posts and any future posts that need to answer common questions, I will turn the bulk of posting over to children (with help from their parents). This blog is for elementary age children (about Kindergarten age through 6th grade). Children older than sixth grade are at the point that they may start their own blogs with parent supervision and permission. Children younger than sixth grade may want to start their own blogs, too, but this blog is intended to be a community of blogging children.
For now, I am limiting this project to children and parents I know so that I can more closely make sure it works. Other children and parents are encouraged to comment and follow our blog!
So, if you have a child or children who is/are in Kindergarten through 6th grade, and you are interested in starting this journey with your child or children and with me and my children, send me an e-mail (nolteowen@yahoo.com) or make a comment.
Children, especially the younger ones, are going to need help getting acquainted with the process. Parents will need to supervise all posting even if their children are self-sufficient. You may want to read through drafts to help them edit and revise. You may want to ask questions to help prod thoughts along.
What?
What is a blog?
There are four major jobs in a blogging community. Posting, Reading, Reflecting, and Commenting! Posting What are we supposed to post? Well, I can think of lots of things. . .
take a photo of or scan a piece of artwork and write about what techniques you used and why you created it
share a report, story, or poem you wrote for school and of which you are really proud
photograph the world around you and write about it
write about your hobbies-- sports, dance, music, collecting, whatever!
write about a book (or movie or TV show) you liked or didn't like
write about your pets
write about your holidays or vacations
write about something that happened at school or a special project
write about something in the news
write about something you discovered on the Internet and want to share
You can use photos, video clips, and links to other Internet resources to help tell your stories. You can also just write without using images. It is up to you. You are the author and/or the illustrator.
Everything you write does not have to be perfect! We all make writing mistakes. They can be easily corrected. I often find mistakes in my writing days after I have made a post, but I can still go back and make corrections. The point is to jump in and try your best. The more you read and write, the better you will become.
Some young children who are just learning how to read, write, and spell may want to use creative or invented spelling. Parents can help children make these decisions.
If typing is difficult for you, parents may want to help with this part. Again, this is something that you will have to decide.
Reading
You will want to regularly read the blog to see what other members of the community are up to.
Reflecting
You will want to think about what other people have posted.
Commenting
You will want to comment on posts that particularly interest you. You may want to offer encouragement. You may want to ask questions. You may want to add some of your own ideas or suggestions.
How?
With joy. With freedom. With responsibility.
This is not homework or schoolwork. This is not for a grade. This is not work to prepare for a multiple choice bubble test. This should be fun! It should be your choice.
But there are also technological components. You need an e-mail address (either your own or your parent's). You will need a digital camera or scanner to share photos or artwork. You need access to an Internet accessible computer. You need to have some familiarity with our blogging tool, www.blogger.com, uploading files, and navigating a blog. As the administrator/moderator, I have to approve and add you as a member of the blog.
I can help with the technology part. If you are in Jackson, Ms, I will make arrangements to help you get started. I have learned what I know by simply jumping in and playing with it. Rather than writing detailed instructions, it will be easier to help people as needed because every one's technological familiarity and set-ups will be different.
In the interest of Internet safety, I also need to mention another important word: caution. We need to be careful to protect our own privacy and the privacy of other blog members. I'll say more about this in a post on guidelines and our covenant.
When?
You may want to post once per week or several times a week. I encourage you to commit to posting at least twice per month. Remember, quality over quantity. You will need to discover a rhythm that works for you.
Where?
Blogging can be done anywhere with the right technology-- at home, at the library, at work (ask permission from your superiors), at school if your school allows this, or on the go with wireless. Some people even use cell phones to blog. I'm not there yet!
Coming next. . .
In the next post, I will start a list of group guidelines-- A Blogging Covenant. This may need to grow and change as the project gets started and as members of the community have their own suggestions.
And, since my daughter is at home from school today (not feeling well but not stuck in bed), we may try her first post together to practice how this may work.
I'm starting this blog off with the big question-- why?
First-- because WE CAN!
Here is a wonderful explanation from a fellow librarian, Rachel Boyd, in New Zealand!
And, here is another answer to this question from people who have thought a lot about trends, Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod (it is worth watching the entire 8 minute plus video to the end):
My daughter attends an elementary school that does not have an internet accessible computer lab. This school is part of a large, urban school district. At least one third of the computers and printers that teachers and students use in their classrooms do not work well or not at all. When students go to the library, they check out books and take AR tests. Don't get me wrong, these are wonderful activities. Of course I want my daughter to check out books on a week to week basis. And, I want my daughter to occasionally take multiple choice reading comprehension test through AR. But these activities alone are not adequate to meet the demands that will be placed on her through her educational career and through her life in the 21st Century.
I am a librarian. I have some skills to share. While I may not be as "on top" of technological innovations as some of my amazing colleagues, I am someone who can help. And so, I am starting this blog for my daughter (and my son, my niece, their friends, and my students) and for what I hope will become a community of children who can write, think, create, reflect, synthesize, collaborate, analyze, imagine, and post about their lives, the world around them, and what they are learning.
I am also a parent and an educator who cares deeply about children. While I cannot solve every education problem, I can make a difference. I can think "outside the box." I can supplement what schools have to offer. When my students and children see me photographing, documenting, and reflecting upon their work, they realize that it is important work. Even something as simple as reading a book in the library takes on new meaning. As I was recently snapping photographs of students brainstorming ideas for writing and illustrating their own books, they asked me, "Mrs. Owen, are you going to put that on your blog?" I responded, "Of course! What could be more important? Your thoughts and ideas are valuable stuff, and I am amazed at your creativity."
I have been thinking about this project since Thursday when I had the idea for it on the way to work. My husband can testify to how excited I was about the idea, because I called him to tell him about it as I was in the midst of formulating the words to describe it. Then, this morning the New York Times published this article, "In Web Age, Library Job Gets Update". Let's just say that I was nudged along to get started. I'm inspired and challenged to do more. So, let's see what happens . . .
Future posts will describe who? how? what? when? and where?
If you are a parent with a child or children who may be interested in joining this blogging project, comment below or send me an e-mail at nolteowen@yahoo.com.
My name is Julie Owen, and I care deeply about the future of "our children." Children have a lot to say. This blog is theirs. I hope this blog will be a place where we can listen and learn from them, and they can listen and learn from each other. Perhaps, we'll all learn a few new skills along the way.
