Technology Fair

I am part of our district's Geek Squad and love it! I am Geek inside and out whether I like it or not. Recently, our grand GeekMaster invited us to join in on a Technology Fair for our district to show off the kinds of technology we use in our classrooms. I am so excited about this! I love using technology in my Pre-K classroom. From the SMARTboard to the computers to iPad and iPods, we use a little of everything. In fact, this is our schools FIRST year for our Pre-K to use anything with technology!

I had an idea of what I wanted to present: re-telling a story on the iPad using the Puppet Pals app. If you've never used Puppet Pals it is so much fun! The kids love it as it it completely kid friendly. I bought the upgraded version for just a few bucks to get all the good characters. It will also include any new characters the app brings on. There is a page for characters, a backgrounds page, and an accessory page. On the character page you can even take a picture of a student, use the cut out button and use YOUR STUDENT as the character!! I love that part of it! Once you choose your characters and your background and any other goodies you want, you hit the RECORD button and you can make your very own video.

My project? Well, our story folder this week was "The Great Enormous Rock." Just a short story about an elephant, a rabbit, a turtle, and a snake who wanted to play at the top of the hill but there was a great enormous rock at the top of it and they had to move it. The first three animals couldn't move the rock, but the snake came along and said he would help. Of course, the elephant laughed at him because he was too small to help. But the snake ignored him, rolled himself into a ball, and whacked the giant rock and sent it rolling down the hill. (Sorry, I just gave away the ending and didn't even give you a spoiler warning!)

So, I chose my sweetie who can TELL A STORY!! Oh my, she can go on and she is very creative as she goes on and on and on. Shall I mention that this is my sweetie who is my only spitter, kicker, runner, hitter? Yeah, she is. BUT, she is also my little genius! She is too adorable to even put into words, but she does have her moments! =D

So, I read her the story again (just the two of us) and asked her to use the characters to re-tell the story. In ONE shot, she retold it with expression, with different voices for each character, and with details. Yes, she has just turned five! I can't wait to see her when gets into UIL once she hits second grade!! Anyway, that will be my entry for the Technology Fair. If you have an iPad or iPod I strongly recommend Puppet Pals. There are American History characters, farm animals, fairy tale, famous people, and many more with matching backgrounds for each.

Has anyone else used something similar to this with their kiddos? I'd love to hear about it!