Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

We're up to it again! We finally had enough snow to put in the luge run for this year :).  Our design this time around is different from last time , but I think it is just as fun. Our son, Dane has been busy learning a bit about making movies and using technology to document his learning, so today, he compiled a few of the videos and photos from our first day on the luge- ENJOY!

Here is an inside look at some of our memorable moments from this past week.

Welcome to my first installment of the Friday 5!   During each segment of this meme- I intend to share with you 5 posts that I have read over the past week that have me “wired, fired, and freakin’ inspired!” (Thank you Nancy Blackwell for the quote). They may be new or old….  but are posts that I have come across that definitely deserve your attention to hop on over and check out! If I opt to share your post and what I love about it, and you’d like to grab my button- you’re welcome to do so!  AND if you decided you want to join in on the fun…..  Please add any posts that you found especially inspiring this week in the comments. (Please keep this to posts that you have read, not posts that you have written . ) HERE GOES…. (in no particular order......) 1) 10 Reasons Why Teachers Like Learning Outdoors in Scotland  by I'm a Teacher Get Me Outside, Here! If you have been following me for any period of time, you know that I am an avid supporter of daily outdoor play. This p

We’ve had two snow days in a row….. and they are measuring the snowfall in feet rather than inches!  (Maybe we will have a luge this year after all!!!!)    Some of our feathered friends have been braving the storm to visit our feeders. We've been seeing lots of chickadees and even a few grosbeaks during the snow storm.  Today we decided that maybe our feathered friends could use a few more feeders in the yard, so we made some!     First, we covered some cardboard rolls from paper towels with Crisco.     Then we rolled the shortening covered rolls in bird seed.     To finish them off, we added a couple of tongue depressors as perches. (I cut into the tubes with a carpet knife and we slid them in place). We also used a hole punch to put a couple of holes in the tu

One of the pieces of technology that I have been using in my classroom for a long period of time is the program-audacity. I LOVE THIS technology! Audacity is a free voice recording and editing software. I often set up our own recording studio for the children to sing songs, record music, and to tell stories.  The software is really easy to use, and you can easily adjust the output volumes, edit out pieces of dead air, etc. The children love to hear their own songs and stories! We are also going to be using Audacity to increase the selections for our listening center. We have asked the parents to read their favorite books using the program. This will allow us to have more selections available in our listening library- AND bring in some more of our families cultures.  Do you use voice recording software in your classroom? If so, we'd love to hear about it! You can find and download Audacity here. Here are a couple of other posts where I mention our use

A few memories from this past week:

I'm being featured as one of the 365 Heroes in Education over on Anthony Salcito's Daily Edventures blog . I'm floored, honored, and trying to process how this all happened. I mean seriously, I spend about 9 out 10 days lounging in pajama pants. I am continually covered in some kind of goo (even when the children are not around, I am a goo/food/mess magnet).So, I continue to ponder, Why Me? During my interview process, I had to ask, "How did you find me?" Come to find out, it was here, because of my blog that they were able to find me and why I am being highlighted. How cool is that? I love that technology is allowing us to be connected in various nooks, crannies, and corners of the world.  However, I do struggle with some of this kind of recognition. I know that what I do makes a huge difference in this world, and I don't need to be labeled a "hero" by a blog connected to a large corporation to realize that. I also know that there ar

(photo from www.danieljhodgins.com ) Dan's new book is out!!!! Guess where his cover shot came from? Here at Child Central Station.  How cool is that! Hop on over to his website to order the new book! (You will recognize quite a few familiar faces from around here throughout the book!)

I was starting to give up on the idea that we might possibly be able to build a luge this year. We have had a very odd winter here in Upper Michigan. We had some early snow that lasted for awhile, but no real accumulation for weeks. Then…. almost all of it melted. You could seriously start to see green patches in our yard. The past couple of weeks have been riddled with well below freezing temperatures and snow accumulation! I think the public schools have been closed nearly just as much as they have been open. The snow is starting to pile up, almost enough now to put in our sled run ! While we have been waiting for enough snow in the yard, We have been making regular  trips to the park. We’ve also been spending some time playing in the yard. We decided to make a fort using the structure of our fort/slide/climbing wall as a base. The children have been shoveling the snow around the base to create walls and enclose a cool fort. Some of the younger children have been observing