I really love KidPix. When I first arrived at the school we had KidPix 3 Deluxe. I loved its simplicity. I scoured the Internet for ideas and purchased many books, but eventually designed most of what I did myself. Over time, I’ve put together a lot of different projects.
This year, I created a wiki and as the weeks go by I go back through the lesson plans and add JPGs of the KidPix pages and little write ups of the projects. I use KidPix with grades Kindergarten to eighth, although the projects are really mostly for the primary grades.
I’ve mentioned the site a few times over at Classroom20.com, but thought I’d blog about it today. I still have one trimester of work to go, but it might be a useful resource to someone if they need a quick project idea.
I use the program extensively in Kindergarten and a fair amount in first and second grade. It has always been my plan to show the students that there are often more ways than one to use a piece of software. They become quite accomplished over time.
I am now using KidPix 4 for Schools. I had to switch because the old version would not work under OS X on Intel Macs. I do not like it as much. Too many bells and whistles in my opinion, but it still does a fantastic job.
I do not use Tux Paint at this point. I tried it last year and had trouble printing. I’ll have to try it again this year to see what I was doing wrong. I’m really into free open source programs whenever possible at this point in my teaching.
If you find it useful, I’m glad to have given you an idea or two. I’ll keep building the wiki. I’m also including a link on the navigation bar on the left. Feel free to add projects that you do with KidPix. I’m always on the look out for new ideas.
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