Just because everything is blooming, I decided to upload a selection of flower photos. You can print these out in a fairly large size to hang up in a classroom. However, if you plan to use them in an activity or on a web page, you will need to re-size them in a graphics application.

Have you been toying with the idea of setting up a web page? Aren’t sure where to start? I developed a set of step-by-step instructions for doing your first web page using Google Sites®, and some additional tips on web safety, copyright, digital photos, and other web-related issues. Bonus: Link to a site where you can publish online FREE!

I’m always on the lookout for new ways to use digital photos. Recently I’ve been experimenting with making them into jigsaw puzzles. The results are many different puzzle making options, including templates in IntelliTools Classroom Suite and HyperStudio 5 formats, PDF Puzzle Patterns for off computer puzzles, and a links to pages where you can make online puzzles, all using your photos.

I’ve just posted finished jigsaw puzzles in four different formats that complement three of the activity sets,Petting Farm, Little Toot, and Tide Pools. You’ll find links on this page to download all the puzzles I’ve done so far. In some cases, the puzzles and the other parts of an activity set are all in one download. In other cases, you can download just the puzzles from a unit. You’ll also find links to all seven online puzzles. After seeing all these puzzles, you’ll want to make some, too!

Visiting A Petting Farm takes students on a virtual exploration. They can go to see all the animals on the farm in whatever order they wish. They also have a chance to feed and pet the animals, and when they do, they hear the sound the animal makes. When they decide to leave, students hear all the animals sound off together to bid them goodbye. Bonus: Puzzles and Photo collection!

For beautiful nature photos, take a look at a website by John P. Sercel. John has set up an online gallery of images including mountains, water, wildlife, flowers, and more. And you can download them free! I’ve put a link to his page under the Free Stuff links you will find when you scroll down and look in the right-hand sidebar of this page.

I’ve found a web site that is a treasure trove of free online activities in areas across the entire curriculum. I was particularly excited about her mathematics activities. Besides math practice, she has pages that illustrate symmetry and various types of patterns. The link at the foot of this page leads to an index of Jo Edkins’ many separate educational pages.

Brianna is a bright young lady who daily faces great challenges, and does so with style! Now she has her own web site where you can watch her at work. She and her mother Dinell Stuckey hope that the videos on her site will be valuable to others who are helping kids like Brianna to develop study skills. I’ve put a link to her site at the foot of this page.

Snow includes two anchor books, a sequencing activity, and a phonics activity using some of the “ow” words from the Snow story. There are also cloze activities in some formats. The Snow story uses photos and movies to illustrate a perpetual winter problem for those of us who live in cold areas: What can we do with all this snow? Making A Snowman answers that question! Bonus: All 7 photos used in Snow and 14 more, plus clip art!

Little Toot is a charming story about a real boat, a water taxi that operates in the Santa Barbara, California harbor. Readers get on board for a ride, with Little Toot pointing out everything along the way. Better yet, the reader drives the boat and has a chance to toot the whistle. Bonus: In the Credits page of the online version, there is a link to the real Little Toot’s web page!