Logging in!

     One of the most rewarding  (yet exhausting) parts of being a technology teacher, is working with our kindergarten and young 5's classes. Many of them come to school without much computer experience. They may have played on a tablet, or on a parent's phone, but they don't have experience using a mouse. Students also must learn to log on using a rather complicated user name and password assigned by the district. They also learn to log off  the computers at the end of their computer time.
     Sometimes I forget how far they have come! But today, I saw them helping one another! That is is true sign that they have learned a new skill...when they can teach others. I hear them using words like: Shift, webpage and backspace. They know how to find my webpage from Hanover-Horton's homepage. Some can identify the different activities on my webpage by looking for the first letter. It's fun to hear them telling a friend, "Click on Funbrain! It starts with F!" Most kindergartners can log in without any assistance; some have even memorized the user name and password! How can you help at home?

1.  Allow your kindergartner to use the computer. If you set www.hanoverhorton.org as a favorite, they will be able to do the rest! Fifteen or twenty minutes of computer time can be a fun reward in the evening.
2. Encourage them to know their birthdays! Part of each student's username is the birthdate. 
3. Practice usernames and passwords at home!

       username: first 3 letters of last name, first 3 letters of first name, birth month, birth date, letter A
       password:  two capital H's, 100, library checkout number

Mine would look like this:

VinBel1009A

HH1001227