Developing Mouse Skills: Kindergarten Cookies and First Grade Gingerbread Houses

One of the first skills kindergartners and first graders work on in tech class is how to use the mouse. Mouse control develops hand-eye coordination and precision.  Students had lots of opportunities so far this year to develop mouse skills through math and reading games, drawing applications, and coding. Here is a showcase of one way students used this skill. Kindergartners decorated cookies, and first graders decorated their own gingerbread houses.

Kindergarten

Kindergartners created and saved their individual cookies using the Make a Cookie activity from ABCya.com. I combined their creations into a single picture using PhotoCollage.com.

First Grade

First graders created and saved their individual houses using the Make a Gingerbread House activity from ABCya.com. I combined their creations into a single picture using PhotoCollage.com.

Kindergarten-Third Grade Thankful Project

Students in kindergarten through third grade used a drawing application and voice recording tool to show what they are thankful for. Check out the links below to see their presentations!

Second Grade

Class B1

Class B2

Class B3

Third Grade

Class D1

Class D2 (2nd/3rd)

Class D3

Students created and saved their individual drawings using ABCya Paint.  Students did voice-recording using QuickTime Player.  I combined their drawings and recordings into a single Sway presentation for each class.

Celebrating Computer Science Education Week with Hour of Code

Coding is a large part of our curriculum this year.  It's time to celebrate with Hour of Code!

Follow this link to Candy Quest and click the button "Get Started" to join the fun.

Happy coding!



Want to try more Hour of Code activities at home?  Try some of these.

K-5th Grades

• Puppy Adventure
• Peep: Dance with Friends
• Peep: Nature Walk
• Spin Draw Animation Kit

2nd-5th Grades

• Minecraft Hour of Code
• Star Wars: Building a Galaxy with Code
• Code with Anna and Elsa from Frozen
• Make Music with Scratch

Find lots more at HourOfCode.com.

Welcome to tech class!

This year students will create and problem solve through the focused application of technology.  We are starting the year building proficiency with basic mouse skills, typing, and familiarity with navigating computers. Students will build on these foundational skills to code, conduct research, and produce written and audiovisual creations tied to the curriculum. Every lesson has a purpose. Stay tuned for updates on our journey throughout the year!