Wixie in Kindergarten!

The number one program that kindergarteners learn in our computer classes is Wixie.  Our computer teacher loves Wixie and uses it for almost all her activities.  Writing fact vs. opinion, counting and number sentences, history timelines...why not music! 

Wixie is a subscription based program that my school uses entirely online. Students know their log-in names and can work on a project in the lab, in their classrooms, or on the iPads!  Teachers can create and assign projects too!

I am always looking for new projects to utilize my class iPads.  I spent spring break updating the iPads and started exploring Wixie a little.  Kindergarten had been singing the silly song Aiken Drum and I was trying to brainstorm a way of letting the students create their own Aiken Drum men.  I knew we could make a big one on the SmartBoard, but I wanted them to be creative and have freedom to create their own unique Aiken Drum-and in turn, compose their own version of the song!

When tinkering with Wixie over spring break, I found the "cloner" option which makes any object infinite!  This is exactly the same as the infinite cloner in Smart Notebook.  I picked out all the fruit and veggies (and a few extras) from the sticker library (saving lots of time and whining kindergarteners) and created a little template.   

Since kindergarteners already know how to use the basic tools of Wixie, we did a quick 2 minute explanation of how the touch screen is different than the iPad (duh, Mrs. Cabello, we know that!) and they were off!  They came up with quite the silly Aiken Drums!

But...

This isn't computer class or art class, this is music class!  Where is the music!!  Well Wixie has a nifty little record button on the main page that lets the user record audio and attach it to the page!  BAM!  Music class!

Once students finished making their own Aiken Drum character, I moved them to a quiet spot behind my desk or piano so they could SING their unique songs that they composed!  I let it be pure kindergarten voices with very little help from me.  (We had made class characters at least twice and sang the tune over and over and over so I was sure they were prepped for success.  It was also a great way for me to assess singing voice!)

Here's one of my favorite songs from kindergarten.  The best part is that they can't always remember what the names of the fruits are!  Don't worry, they eventually remember!