Connecting the Dots across the Hills!

Monday, we Skyped, created bookmarks, played with augmented reality, and of course enjoyed reading The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. My first graders joyfully sang along to The Dot Song as they worked on their bookmarks. I was touched when one of my second graders who borrowed The Dot joined in with a smile when I began to read her favorite part. It was obvious that she had read the book many, many times over the last week.  Our third graders created some very beautiful dots that we brought to life with the Colar Mix App.

Both schools that we met with virtually had "Hill" in the name. So I guess you could say that we connected the dots across the hills.

We were privileged to Skype with the fourth graders from Prairie Hill Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Thanks to Alyssa Calhoun, their school librarian for helping us to make the connection. We learned that they have art as a special. The Cedar Rapids students were shocked to find out that we don't have art at our school. We are looking forward to Skyping again when our bookmarks arrive.

Melissa McDonald, the librarian at Flower Hill Elementary School in Gaithersburg, MD and her kindergarten students shared Press Here with us.  Ms. McDonald also shared information about Flower Hill Elementary and Maryland with our students.

We are tracking our connections on a Google Map and are looking forward to connecting more dots all week long.

Connecting the Dots

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I am looking forward to celebrating International Dot Day next week. The Dot by Peter Reynolds is about making connections, sharing, collaborating, encouraging others, and so much more. It is a great way to begin the year.

This year, we are connecting with several classrooms via Skype. Students will also exchange bookmarks, buddy dots, and dot trading cards with students from across the country.  A simple dot has so many possibilities. I'll supply a variety of art mediums through out the week for my students to explore as they create dots to share. 

New this year, I am hoping to connect the dots across Tennessee.  We are trying to collect on dot from every county in TN.  If you live in TN,  you can go here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_FukTou773DwKmCZpvwXrRTcBXKJiVThxxHIAzmdfFA/viewform?usp=send_form to connect with us.  I can't wait to share the dots from each county in TN.  Follow me @mrs_kapp for updates on our #DotDay celebrations.