Month: February 2020 Page 1 of 2

Field Trip Time!

On February 27, 2020

Hi Carly’s Crew,

Today we went on a field trip to George Jay Elementary school to speak to a kindergarten teacher that has built her entire classroom around inquiry based learning! The teacher’s name was Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt…she is AMAZING!

I left feeling inspired and excited! Especially with our practicum coming up so soon, it was nice to hear from her as she shared her journey with inquiry learning in primary classrooms. It was interesting to hear her talk about her educator heart and it really made me think about what my values as an educator are.

Her classroom is absolutely beautiful! There are a variety of quiet spaces that offer students flexible seating, and provocations for inquiry in every corner. I followed her on Instagram and she will definitely be a major source of inspiration as I begin to create my own classroom one day.

Right now, her students are working on a dinosaur inquiry. Even though dinosaurs aren’t in the curriculum, Rebecca was able to use dinosaurs to make cross-curricular connections and turn into a big project that students are fully immersed in.

My favourite part of Rebecca’s classroom was the wonder wall. It had pictures of all the students with thought bubbles coming out of their heads. Whenever the student has a question or a wonder, they teacher writes in their thought bubble as they work towards answering it. I will definitely want to incorporate this into my own class one day. Sadly, I couldn’t take a picture of it because it had all of the kids’ faces on it!

My biggest take-away from this field trip was that instead of beginning unit plans with a statement, we should begin them with a question that we can ask students. This will encourage student engagement because it is much more fun to have a class discussion rather than just have the teacher ramble on about all of the information. Rebecca shared that we need to provide students with skills and knowledge that is “un-google-able”… we live in an age where we can search the answer to anything in a matter of minutes. As educators we need to teach students the academics but also how to problem-solve and wonder!

We hear so much about inquiry learning and giving students voice, choice and agency in the class but seeing it put into practice gave me a much better understanding of how it all works. I loved everything about our visit to George Jay Elementary School!

See you next week dedicated followers 🙂

Carly

Peanut Butter Balls

by carlyheemskerk

On February 25, 2020

In Free Inquiry

Hi Carly’s Crew!

I hope you didn’t forget about me while I was taking some time off for reading break 😉 Don’t worry I definitely didn’t forget about you! As promised I have a new recipe to share with you this week folks…Peanut Butter Protein Balls. There are so many varieties of protein balls but I wanted one with lots of seeds and no chocolate chips. I found this one on Detox Insta! Here is a list of other recipes that I looked at and want to try eventually!

Here is the step-by-step picture breakdown:

Step 1: Pull out ingredients.

Step 2: Mix all together in a large bowl. (I had to use a spoon because a spatula wasn’t working very well)

Step 3: Roll into small bite sized balls and place onto parchment paper.

Step 4: Let cool in fridge for at least an hour and then store in an air-tight container… That is ALL!

Difficulty level : 2/10

These took me about 10 minutes to whip up and the clean up was super quick as well. I had to go out and buy some flax seeds but I am planning on using flax seeds in my upcoming recipes so I decided to purchase the big bag.

Deliciousness level: 8/10

Yum yum yum! I am a peanut butter fan so I am biased but lets be real… peanut butter anything is always delicious. The seeds in these make them super filling which is always a plus. Even just one ball is enough to fill me up for a little snack. They are a little bit too crumbly but I think it could have been solved by adding some extra peanut butter or honey to make them less dry.

If you have never made protein balls I would highly recommend them! They are quick and easy for meal prep but they also last a while in the freezer so you can always make a large batch in one setting. This recipe is definitely a staple that I will be making again sometime in the near future.

Next week I will be making overnight oats and researching the benefits of them. Overnight oats are all the rage on health blogs right now but I have never tried them; I usually just have the packaged oatmeal that has tons of added sugar and never really fill me up.

Can’t wait to share my findings with you next week!

Catch you soon Carly’s Crew!

Best Applications for a Primary Classroom!

by carlyheemskerk

On February 25, 2020

In EdTech Inquiry

Hey Cloggers & Carly’s Crew,

For this week’s blog, we’re gonna name drop some of the best computer applications and online learning resources for a primary classroom.

Let’s get right to it!

#1: Raz-Kids

This website allows students to find a WIDE variety of books at any time. They have the option of reading books themselves, or they can listen to an audio version of the book (in various languages too). It also involves interactive tools that allows students to practice their critical thinking skills. Finally, it allows teachers and parents to track student progress through an online portal. However, teachers should keep in mind that using this website requires a membership fee for each student.

#2: Mystery Science

This application focuses on science and offers various resources and interactive activities. This format allows for independent learning where students can work at their own pace and choose their topic of interest. Some examples are Plant & Animal Superpowers, Weather Watching, Invisible Forces, and Spaceship Earth. This is great for teachers who want to introduce an inquiry based approach into their classrooms without losing control of classroom management.

#3: Explain Everything

This application allows students to use visuals and pictures to explain their learning. For example, if you are teaching a unit on money in math, students can open the money tab and play around with the various coins and bills. They can then record their voice to add to their video of them working with the money. This app also offers other subjects and a variety of activities within each subject. It’s also available on desktop computers, tablets, and phones!

If you’re a teacher, maybe test some of these out with your class and write a blog about it so we can learn more from you!

Clogging off for now,

Carly and COordt 🙂

Protected: Midterm Goal Complete!

by carlyheemskerk

On February 24, 2020

In Music

Avocado Cookies

by carlyheemskerk

On February 12, 2020

In Free Inquiry

Hey Carly’s Crew!

This week I was feeling extra adventurous and I baked some avocado cookies…Say what? Avocado in cookies? Yup, you heard that right!

I saw this recipe and I was absolutely intrigued. The ingredients looked simple, however, I was so curious to see how avocado and banana would blend together and form a cookie. I chose to skip the chocolate chips in order to keep them on the healthier side.

Here are my step-by-step photos:

Step 1: Preheat oven and line baking sheet.

Step 2: Cube avocado.

Step 3: Mix up avocado, banana and honey in food processor/blender.

Step 4: Add remainder of ingredients and mix.

Step 5: Scoop onto baking sheet.

Step 6: Bake for about 12 minutes and then let cool.

Difficulty level: 6/10

I already had all of these ingredients kicking around at home so lucky for me, I got to skip extra grocery shopping this week. Blending the avocado, banana in the food processor was the trickiest part because I had never used a food processor on my own before. I actually ended up using our Vitamix rather than a food processor. They were quick to make but holy smokes did it ever make for a chocolatey clean up! The batter got everywhere (as you can see in my photos).

Deliciousness level: 2/10

These “cookies” were a bit of a bust! They had the texture of a soggy brownie and zero flavour. They are super healthy though! Maybe if I added an extra banana they would have a bit more flavour and sweetness. Oh well…now I know!

In all honesty, I was skeptical to try these cookies. Avocado was one ingredient that I had on my mind map from the very beginning of my inquiry so I decided to brave it out. I don’t think I will make these cookies again. However, I will definitely use avocado again in my baking!

Next week is reading break yippee! The good news is I will get some time to relax but the bad news is that I won’t be posting a new recipe for all of my dedicated followers. Make sure to check back in a couple weeks and see what I end up creating 🙂

Bye for now Carly’s Crew!

Privacy and Safety

by carlyheemskerk

On February 11, 2020

In EdTech

Hi Carly’s Crew!

Today in our EdTech class we had a guest lecture from Jesse Miller. It was all about privacy and safety online… It definitely made me think about everything that I have posted online. In middle school, I remember we had a guest speaker come in and talk to us about internet safety so this topic was something that I already knew a little bit about. However, Jesse made me really think about the repercussions of social media and how it will affect future employment.

One quote that stood out to me from Jesse’s slides that focussed on preparing students for the future and about how our job is to”…help children make sense of their on-demand media and online experiences, teaching & guiding how to uphold enduring values & empowering their communications expectations in the reality they live in…” Technology can be a scary topic due to all the security and privacy issues; due to this, many teachers are quick to push technology off to the side and disregard the conversations that need to be had. We as educators need to provide students with skills to set them up for the future and to do this we need to prepare them how to use technology safely. Technology really is the reality of this world! Jesse spoke about digital footprints, and digital literacies and it was super interesting to learn about because that’s what Claire and I have been researching for our EdTech Inquiry. We definitely took away some interesting points that we will incorporate into our next blog.

I googled my name and I did not find anything surprising or anything that was inappropriate to be online. With that being said, there were definitely some funny things that came up that I had forgotten about and I honestly did not even know that my middle school Prezi presentation on Canadian history was still out there. From now on, I know I need to be even more careful with what I post on social media but more importantly, what others post about me on social media. I am proud of the digital footprint that I have left behind so far!

For the last hour of our class we changed our focus to video editing. I created a green screen video with chickens swimming in the ocean. I used to make iMovies all the time when I was younger so I am quite comfortable with navigating the program. Creating the green screen video was much easier than I had anticipated but the program seemed to lag behind a bit. I am not sure if I had too many other tabs open but it was quite frustrating trying to move everything around due to the time delay. I am excited to use iMovie in a classroom one day to get students to create projects like book trailers and mini movies. I attached my movie for you all to see!

Next week is reading break so you will not be hearing from me! Don’t miss me too much 😉

Carly

Safe Screen Strategies

by carlyheemskerk

On February 11, 2020

In EdTech Inquiry

Hey Cloggers and Carly’s Crew! (Did you miss us?)

This week for our EdTech Inquiry, we are focussing on…

ONLINE SAFETY IN THE CLASSROOM!

Technology can be a scary addition to a classroom, especially with all of the dangers associated with being on the internet. Lucky for you guys, we have created a list of important strategies to keep you and your students protected online!

With regards to each and every tip, we believe teachers should educate students as to why this can be dangerous, and allow for students to engage in discussions and ask questions about personal safety online.

Tip #1: Don’t share personal information.

Make sure your students know that they shouldn’t be sharing personal information such as their name, address, birthday or school online. This includes sharing passwords with friends; no matter how close the students are, a password is personal and private.

Tip #2: Don’t talk to strangers on the internet.

If someone you don’t know tries to talk to connect with you via an online platform or chatroom, students should inform a parent or trusted adult immediately and allow them to deal with that situation. Stranger danger is just as important on the internet these days, as it is in real life! Students should also be informed that people online are not always who they say they are and they need to be extremely careful before they trust anyone.

Tip #3: Get students thinking about their digital footprint.

As soon as students start creating work online they are building their digital footprint. We need to teach students that everything they do online can be traced back to them and therefore, they need to be cautious and considerate. Teachers can help students decide what is appropriate to post online and what is better to keep to themselves. Students’ digital footprints are related to keeping their personal information secure.

Tip #4: Don’t believe everything you read online.

Students are often quick to believe that everything the read online is straight facts. In reality, the internet is not as credible as we may think. Due to the fact that anyone can post anything, students need to be critical when finding information on the internet. As teachers, we should encourage students to ask an adult or classmate for a second opinion if they ever get confused.

We hope you learned something about online safety! Teachers are responsible for finding where the resources store their data (and students’ personal information). This is just as important as finding quality online classroom resources when it comes to purposeful screen time.

Logging off for now,

Carly and COordt 🙂

Almost perfect…

by carlyheemskerk

On February 10, 2020

In Music

Hi Carly’s Crew!

I have been working on my piano lots the last couple of weeks and it is finally starting to become a habit that I fit into my everyday routine. I am feeling really proud of myself so far, however, there are definitely a few places where I am really struggling! To make it easy for you to understand where I am at with my practicing I will organize this post into two sections: apples and onions. Apples represent the things that I am doing well and onions will represent the areas where I am still having some troubles.

Apples

As of today I am able to play the whole song through with my right hand only! This means that I am right on track with where I need to be in terms of my growth plan.
I am able to play about 75% of the song from memory. This means I am not looking at sheet music or any videos.

Onions

In all honesty, I am very nervous to start using my left hand to play at the same time. I have spent some time trying to add it in slowly but I am finding it impossible to play two hands at the same time.
I keep rushing the timing of the song as I get more comfortable with it. I know that when I video myself I will be extra nervous, and rush even more than usual, so I need to practice and focus on the correct timing!

That’s all for now! Fingers crossed I will have figured out how to get my left hand playing simultaneously with my right hand by the next time you hear from me 😉

See you then!

Go Bananas!

by carlyheemskerk

On February 7, 2020

In Free Inquiry

Hey there Carly’s Crew!

Welcome to another week of my baking adventures. Following along with my muffin success from last week I decided to cook up some banana muffins (sans sugar).

Mashing up the bananas!

The final product!

Difficulty level : 6/10

These muffins weren’t terribly tricky but the elevated difficulty level comes from the complexity of the ingredients. I didn’t have any almond extract or almond milk at home so I took a quick trip to the grocery store and picked up some ingredients. For my bananas, I used frozen bananas and holy smokes, it sure is tricky to mash a frozen solid banana. I quickly learned that if you run it under hot water for about a minute while the peel is still on it makes it much easier

Deliciousness level: 6/10

Yum yum yum…these muffins were tasty, and you couldn’t even tell that they were made without sugar. Unfortunately, they were a little bit too dry once they cooled! It was an easy fix though, when I microwaved the muffins, the moisture returned.

I didn’t really plan to make muffins two weeks in a row but I was craving banana muffins so I thought I should go for it. To change it up from last week I focused on creating muffins without any added sugar. I found this recipe on a website that I had never heard of before but it turned out pretty well still. We live in an age where technology gives us access to literally anything in a matter of seconds. This had made it so easy for me to find recipes for just about anything I could ever imagine. I definitely have spent a lot of time just scrolling through recipe sites and bookmarking hundreds of recipes that I want to try one day. I have a hard time picturing what it was like before the internet when cookbooks were the only source for finding new recipes!

I had a stressful week but while I was baking these muffins I realized that all my stress disappeared for a little bit. This was a really good reminder of how fun and beneficial baking can be. After thinking about my experience with mental health and baking I figured there must be some research out there that looked into this topic. I found one study that recognized this experience as “culinary therapy”. Another article spoke about how baking allows you to feel in control and gives you a sense of purpose. Personally, when I feel overwhelmed after a hard day I just want to curl up in bed, however, baking gives me a chance to work hard on something and the end result is usually something delicious. The immediate reward of a snack or meal makes me feel proud of myself and I feel accomplished!

Before this inquiry I had never considered baking to be anything more than just a hobby! Of course, I am still mainly focusing on the nutritional benefits of baking but I think it is also important to recognize the mental health benefits that accompany baking. Next week, I will be working on some protein cookies so make sure to check back soon!

See you then Carly’s Crew xo

True or False? Screen Time Kills You

by carlyheemskerk

On February 5, 2020

In EdTech Inquiry

Hey Cloggers and Carly’s Crew!

We’re back with our screen time inquiry project and we have some juicy information to share! If you like tea, this is the post for you 😉

Today, we’re going to present you with some common (and some less common and just plain funny) misconceptions and myths around screen time.

So here we go…

Misconception #1: Screen time makes you stupid.

Okay, boomer. This is a bit of a stretch (or more than a bit…) There is no evidence that points to a negative correlation between success and screen time. Screen time has zero effect on brain development or a human’s ability to learn and process information. This statement is so behind the times… So as Ariana Grande would say – thank you, NEXT!

Misconception #2: Screen time makes you unhealthy.

There is definitely a possibility of being unhealthy, but this has less to do with screen time and more to do with simply not taking care of yourself. Anyone in literally any occupation can become unhealthy if they do not take the necessary actions to stay healthy. There is, once again, no direct correlation between the two. Think of it this way, if you don’t spend any time on screens, that does not automatically make you a super healthy person. You have to personally work on staying healthy whether you use screens or not. In fact, there are so many technologies that can help you stay fit and remind you to take care of yourself. Let’s move on.

Misconception #3: Screen time makes you socially awkward.

If this is true, then we must be pretty socially awkward. But, luckily, it’s not. *Phew* Obviously, if you isolate yourself from people, you might struggle to connect with others. Nonetheless, technology doesn’t affect this. It can even help people increase their social skills through online chat rooms, emailing, and blogging (yay, us!) There are so many occupations these days that require you to communicate with people through technology so learning about it definitely isn’t holding you back in any way. And in the end, there’s nothing wrong with being a little awkward. 😛

Misconception #4: Screen time results in an earlier death.

Well, if this is true, we would probably be dead because we live for the blog. Since we can’t predict time of death to begin with, there’s not really any proof to back up this point. And to be honest, we’re sure that one round of Papa’s Cupcakeria won’t send you to the morgue (P.S. we played a round and we’re still not dead…)

So as you can see, there are so many crazy misconceptions about screen time. The reality is that screens are apart of daily life so you might as well learn how to use them effectively. As Peter West would say – “The amount of time a child spends in front of a screen is not the problem. The type and quality of the material on the screen is the problem.”

Be smart folks, and don’t believe everything you read on the internet.

Logging off for now,

Carly and COordt 🙂