Skype

Today we got a surprise. Carolyn, a grandparent who lives in New Jersey, called up using Skype. This is a free program for people to see each other face to face (with a webcam) and talk to each other. Carolyn, or Bodgie, as she is known in her family, was able to see all of the kids and we could see her. 

They asked some questions about New Jersey. Some one asked if New Jersey was great. She said it was, but that she also thought Vermont was pretty great. Many of the kids told her, "I live in Vermont!" This kind of exchange gives the kids both a sense of place as well as awareness of other places in the world. Hopefully, we can think of all kinds of creative ways to use this.

Bodgie did promise she would call us back. When she does, she is going to read us one of her favorite books. I will have to get a hold of good LCD projector and speakers so we can all see and hear her really well.

If any other families have relatives living somewhere else who are interested in Skyping into the classroom, please let me know. It will be fun to have more places to find out about and more people to meet this way.