Connect with Students through eCards

Whoa. I wrote this post last night, but am only posting now, having just come from the airport. We had to pick up my daughter whose plane SLID OFF the RUNWAY upon landing! All are fine, thank the good Lord above. You never know what is in store on any given day, do you! The roads were HORRIBLE as we crept down the highway at 25 mph. Michigan winter fall weather at it's finest! WHAT is headed our way when WINTER actually comes this year?? Yikes.

Anyway, I am very happy to find a new link-up today! Thanks to Joanne at Head Over Heels for Teaching for her Spark Saturdays. I've been wanting to share a student connection idea. Research tells us that when kids feel connected to the teacher they do better in school. Luckily there are many ways to build rapport with students and families and I stumbled across one way with Blue Mountain eCards.

Each year at about this time I sign up for a couple months of membership. I use it to send eCards to families for Thanksgiving, Christmas or Hanukkah, New Years Day, and if I'm lucky, a stay home snow day, too. A membership is just $3.95 a month, so for eight dollars I get all these cards, and more, too, as I share with family and friends, as well. My students and their parents are so surprised to find an email from Mrs. Wright in the Inbox on a holiday.

Blue Mountain has many cards to choose from, but my favorites are the animated eCards. Sometimes the little animations run all by themselves, sometimes the kids get to click on things. There are also a couple that come with some games to play. Great fun! One family told me their little one would have watched it a hundred times if they had let him. My class and I have special connections to fairies and there are some great ones at Blue Mountain.

To see what I mean, just click on the picture below. It will take you to my favorite Christmas card.

I'm signing up with Blue Mountain this weekend and setting it up to go out on Thanksgiving Eve. I'm debating on the one below or a talking Pilgrim Chipmunk who will deliver my own message in a squeaky little voice. Kids will be so happy to find it that night or when they wake up. The Thanksgiving Parade isn't the only fun thing on the screen this holiday! Click on it to see.

Hope you find this a fun way to connect with and spark your students' enthusiasm for school... though we K teachers are lucky because it's a rare kid who doesn't LOVE Kindergarten!

Now click on back to Head Over Heels to read some other Student Sparks! And have a great rest of the weekend!

Oh, and if you liked this post, cruise around a bit on my blog home here and consider following, please. I am very close to 200 hundred followers and am planning a little party... stay tuned :)

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