Pinterest and Starfall

Round 2 of Technology Thursday

It's the new craze that is sweeping the nation, Pinterest!

I thought I was in trouble when I got addicted to blogs, add Pinterest and I'm sunk. Pinterest is a great site that bookmarks your favorite ideas, recipes, and pictures. It is super easy and very addictive. Basically you add a small button to your bookmark bar and any time you come across something cool on the internet you use that tool to pin it to your boards. 

Can you see my priorities here?

So much easier to remember something you saw when it is bookmarked in a cute searchable picture form. You can also get ideas from other peoples boards and find more great blogs to follow. Boards are organized by subject, so you can follow all of a person's boards or just the ones you like. 

You can follow me here!

My goal this week is to make this:

I figured most of you already know about Pinterest so I thought I would share another free website.

I ran into Starfall.com when I was volunteering in a Kindergarten class. 

I love it! Not just because it is free, but because it has children practice important reading skills in a fun way.

Starfall has five big sections.

1. The ABC's

Clicking leads you to these awesome alphabet blocks.

One of my favorite parts? A button to teach your child the alphabet in ASL in the bottom left hand corner. 

 Once your student clicks on a letter a short video with examples words and sounds pops up.

The shiny stars show your students where to click. :)

2. Learn to Read

Clicking here leads to easy games, and books to help practice simple skills.

There are 15 sets to complete. Once your child has mastered those you move on to part 3. 

3. It's Fun to Read

There are a ton of fun interactive stories for your child to listen and read.

4. I'm Reading goes even further and introduced children to the topic of genres.

Your child picks a genre, and then a story. They can have someone read the story to them, read it themselves, or pick individual words to be read to them, all while learning great literature. Have I told you how much I love this site yet?

Almost there, only one more section to read.

5. Holidays and Special Events

My favorite? The calendar game. It works on reading a calendar and how to use one. Super cute.

Do you use Starfall or Pinterest at home or school? Which parts are your favorite? Need an invite to Pinterest? Just leave me your e-mail and I will send you one.