Congratulations to Kaylee, Maggie, Anissa, and Mariana for making the 5th Grade Oral Reading team for UIL. These students need to practice, practice, practice reading their poems at home and in their homerooms.
I’m including a link to a virtual pumpkin carving page….this is fun! We’ll be using this in class next week to have a little “fun” time in computers along with writing and typing spoooookkkkyyy stories. We’re still working on our keyboarding skills so typing our Halloween stories should be helpful in seeing who is using all 10 fingers to type and type quickly. Check my blog roll on the right side of the page to get to the virtual pumpkin carving page.
This week is a “fun” week in the computer lab. I’ve told the kids some weeks are “work weeks” and some weeks our computer time seems to be more fun…while still learning. Since we are only 2 weeks away from Halloween, we used KidPix to create Halloween pictures. The kids learned to use the backgrounds, stamps, and drawing tools to create their unique, one-of-a-kind posters. We then printed them off and used our markers and crayons to add a splash of color. The best pictures were chosen for the “wall of fame” in the main hallway. Please hang your child’s picture on the regrigerator when he/she brings it home…we worked really hard on these priceless works of art. 
Students are practicing proper posture and keyboarding techniques. We are learning what “home row” is and how to type with both hands. Students can go online at home and search “typing test for kids” to practice their typing speed. 
In the computer lab we will start the 2nd six weeks by learning to keyboard. All students will be taught “home row” keys, how to correctly use all your fingers to type, and how to sit with correct posture. We will spend the six weeks working on our typing skills and trying to improve our time on timed keyboarding tests. This is a very important skill that your child will use for the rest of his/her life and I ask that you as parents help out by encouraging your child to “type with both hands”….no hunting and pecking with one finger .
