Most of you know by now that I hoard collect educational links. I even started another blog to house them. (The poor thing has been neglected over the holidays.)
I used to have a fantastic memory, but it went to the bathroom to powder its nose when I had my first child … and never returned! Because of this, there are a few free online tools that I use when planning our school activities.
~Google Reader There are several different feed readers out there but Google Reader is my favorite. I can tell at a glance which of the blogs that I follow have new posts. There are so many great ideas in Bloggyworld, but it would take forever to visit each blog just to see if there are any new posts. Here are a few of the lovely websites in my Google Reader:
- Art Projects for Kids
- By Sun and Candlelight
- Craft Jr
- Just Call Me Jamin!
- Let’s Play Math!
- Life as Not a Cereal
- Make and Takes
- PreKinders
- Turkey Feathers
~Delicious Once I find an article or idea that I like, I save it as a bookmark through Delicious. I have a little tag button in my toolbar that lets me easily bookmark a link. My links are all sorted by category tags that I assign.
Sometimes I run across an idea that I definitely want to use later in the year. In addition to my regular categories, I will also label it 2010. That way, when Christmas rolls around and I am browsing my Christmas links, I will remember that I want to study Christmas Around the World. Or in late September, when I am browsing my Autumn links, I will remember that I want to make a leaf mural to decorate our home.
Another benefit to Delicious is that I can search other members’ tags by clicking on one of my tags. I love browsing through a category like filefoldergames to see what links other people are saving.
One last great use: create an online cookbook. I have 554 recipes saved and sorted into categories, all with the click of a finger.
~Zoho Notebook I was in need of a way to organize all of this info into lesson plans when I stumbled across this post at PreKinders several months ago. Zoho notebook turned out to be a perfect fit for me!
I set up a new book every month and have several pages in each. September had a page for apple links, a page for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom activities, and a page for the first week of school. December had a different page for each of the symbols we studied. My newest book is for a Writing Station that I am setting up next week. (I’ll be posting on that when I get it done!)
Zoho has a big list of applications that I’m sure would be useful if I ever find the time to figure them out.
So there you have it, my brain-in-a-post.
What clever methods do you use to help you remember?
[Ok, hands up, how many of you are still singing ‘Pinky & The Brain, Pinky & The Brain …. one is a genius, the other’s insane.’ ?]
