Slaughter's Innovative Moment
Christmas Goodies Edition
Need Something for those Elves to work on!
Another fun site for coding is PencilCode. It is an excellent way to play with code and learn through discovery!
If you have not tried Scratch, you should check it out. This is the site that even Harvard uses for teaching the fundamentals of programming. The remarkable thing is that it can be simple or complex. Again, it is a great way to get your feet wet with coding.
When you are ready for a greater challenge, check out Codeacademy and open sources like edX.
CHECK OUT GOOGLE SANTA TRACKER AND MORE!
Christmas Coding Gifts for Kids
Dot and Dash
Sphero
Code-a-pillar
LittleBits Droid Inventor Kit
Bloxels and Star Wars Bloxels
Air Hogs DR1 FPV Drone with Headset
Christmas or Winter Wonderland Memories
One of my all-time favorite Christmas projects was when the students created a digital-story of their favorite Christmas Memory. Some students brought in pictures, some drew, and others we recreated a memory, and they narrated their memory. This project allowed students to see each other in a different light and it made for a wonderful afternoon filled with stories, cookies, and cocoa.
You can alter this prompt to winter memories, as well.
There are so many great options for creating this fun and meaningful project. Google Slides, Adobe Spark, WeVideo, and so many more!
If you want to keep the heart of this project but are short on time, consider using Flipgrip, ReCap, or SeeSaw. These amazing resources will allow students to video themselves discussing their favorite memory and interact with peers. Add a rubric to give them more direction and expectations and watch them rise to the challenge.
Build a Snowman with Google Slides
Edit Pictures for Projects
From making Christmas tags for the family to altering student pictures for writing prompts, I have enjoyed editing and playing with pictures. Students have made themselves into snowmen and much more. For one descriptive prompt, I took black and white photos of students and they had to describe a feature they liked most about themselves (eyes, feet, athletic ability, etc). Using the photos we discussed how words can paint a vivid picture in the mind of a reader. Pictures are a great way to bring fun and technology into a project.
Some great sites for photo editing:
Fotor- has Christmas stickers to make over your picture into a wonderland.Sad to say that PicMonkey, which is one of my favorites, is now $5.99 a month.