Sunday, October 30, 2016

Fire Safety for Kids!

Fire Prevention Week is in October. This year, we were lucky to have a firefighter dad come in and teach us about fire safety.



The kids created these fire dogs using the directed drawing below.  I love how unique they are.  

Then, we wrote about what we learned.  


Here are some great books to read about Fire Safety.



                 Here's the directed drawing:

Here are some of the projects!












You can grab this FREE paper from my Writing Paper and Prompts for October by clicking here. 
If you love it, check out my huge writing paper/prompts selection in my store. 
Enjoy!


Pumpkin Fun!



I loved how our pumpkin activity came out. 
It was inspired by I heart crafty things' pumpkin project.
We painted pumpkins, cut them out, and then it was up to the kids to add their own flare.





                             These were the supplies the kids were given.


                 Here are some of their creations:





The kids had investigated a real pumpkin and brainstormed adjectives that described the pumpkin, pulp, and seeds. Then, they wrote a sentence using the adjectives and practiced using commas.  Here's the final project.


You can grab this pumpkin adjective sheet to do with your class here:

Enjoy!






Saturday, October 15, 2016

TPT Giveaway and October Ideas!



Here are some fun activities for October!

Did you know it was Bat Appreciation Month? 

Our kids are working on learning non-fiction text features so I tied it into a unit on bats!  You can do it in October or anytime of the year.  
Here we are brainstorming what we know about Bats.



Then, we read a book about Bats and glued in the various text features on the pages such as diagrams, labels, bold words, table of contents and glossary.





Bats also includes a writing project, graphic organizers and so much more. You can grab it for your class here.





We also visited a sanctuary where the students created bat houses. They turned out amazing!


 Then the students decorated them.





 Here's a bat skeleton.

Here are some great books to read about bats:





Since Columbus Day just passed and I wanted to share this easy craft activity for students to share their knowledge of Columbus.  I try not to get into the nit and grit of history, but I teach them how he was an explorer and about the voyage.

 
 On each sail we wrote facts about Christopher Columbus.  The kids were given brown rectangles and cut off the corners on the bottom to create boats.



If you haven't already grabbed this FREE Halloween color code printable, get it here! Monsters aren't usually this cute!








A fellow teacherpreneur, Michelle Dupuis, is about to launch her new store and to celebrate over 30 teachers have joined in for a fantastic giveaway!  You can check out her new store here.
 Now for the fun part!  Enter to win 4 TpT Gift cards!

CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS!

Click here to enter  a Rafflecopter giveaway



Click here to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway











Thursday, October 6, 2016

Great Books to Use to Build a Classroom Community




Here are some great books to read in September that help teach kids about empathy, compassion, and working together. It helps build a classroom community and start the year off on the right foot!


The book, Zach Apologizes, spells out how to apologize to another person in a very simple way.  I made this poster to hang in our class after reading the book. You can grab a copy for your class here. 

There’s a great 4-part apology in the book that you can make as well. 



The Sneaky Weasel is a book about a Weasel who has all the fancy things, but when he throws a party for himself, no one comes. He finds out that not everyone appreciates the tricks he’s played on his friends and realizes he might have to become a better friend.



Do Unto Otters is a great book to read in the beginning of the year to introduce rules especially the Golden Rule to treat others the way you want to be treated. Well, in this case it’s OTTERS =)


Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed is a fabulous book for teaching kindness. It shows that one person can make a big change on the world.



Recess Queen & Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon are perfect for teaching kids to stand up for themselves.

The book, One is one of my favorites.  It has a powerful message that it just takes one person to stand up to a bully. It’s done in a wonderful way with colors as the characters.

More books will be added soon. Hope you enjoy these suggestions and feel free to add any great books you've read in the comments.

Clipart credit: melonheadz, Graphics From the Pond & Creative Clips!


Monday, October 3, 2016

Pinterest Pick 3 Linky for October


I’m joining up with Marissa from the Inspired Owl's Corner, Lisa from PAWSitively Teaching, and  Ashley from Just Reed! for the Pinterest Pick 3 Linky.  Come join the fun in finding some spooktacular idea for October!






I love the idea of having kids decorate pumpkins to represent their favorite book character. The ideas are endless and I'm sure the kids can come up with great results.




Here's a fun math estimating activity to do with your class. What kid wouldn't want to get wrapped up like a mummy?Who knew learning could be so much fun!





The last pin involves some fun STEM activities that the kids can do with fall candy. I love that you can set up experiments with supplies you have on hand.  Kids will love to experiment with some of their favorite candies!   




Have a wonderful Halloween!