Awesome October Fun!

Math Extensions:

Comparing & Contrasting apples and pumpkins via a graph and Venn diagram:

If you’re like me, one of your science units in September was probably apples.

I take my students to an apple orchard in October that also has a huge pumpkin patch.

My students enjoy a tractor-pulled hayride out to the fields to pick out our class pumpkin and we get a chance to review what we learned about apples as they pick 3 different kinds in the orchard.

I thought you’d enjoy comparing the two fruits with a Venn diagram and seeing which is your students’ favorite.

My Y5’s have already graphed which color apple (red, yellow or green) they liked best, as well as compared apple juice with apple cider.

To enjoy a pumpkin, I give them each a tiny square of pumpkin pie (some have never tried it!) as well as a taste of roasted pumpkin seeds.

Once they’ve sampled both kinds of fruit, I graph which one they liked the best.  Every year the apples have gotten the most votes.

It might be because they enjoy that fruit in a huge variety of other ways or because quite a few of my students do not like the pumpkin pie.   

Click on the link to view/print the apple-pumpkin graph and Venn diagram to see how your students do.

I do my initial Venn diagram on the floor with two hula-hoops, picture cards, and sentence strips, so I’ve made you an apple and pumpkin poster-card, if you want to try that fun Venn diagraming method with your students.

Jack-O-Lantern Counting:

Your students will have fun making this plump pumpkin, tracing and sequencing the various number cards and stapling the mini booklets to the appropriate pumpkin part. 

What a fun way to review a variety of math standards.

My Y5's have counting by 1's and 10's as a standard, but I've also included 2's 3's and 5's. 

Choose whatever is appropriate for your students, run the masters off on yellow and green copy paper, and you'll have a handy reference tool for your little "punkins"!

Click on the link to view/print the pumpkin patterns.

Great Learning is something to CROW about!

So I designed a black crow where you can key in information your students are learning, on the wing-pages of the bird. 

You can also use my fast-bird-facts if you want.  I've also included skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's for a fun way to review that standard, or have students write down spelling words, word wall words, or math equations etc.

Buy a bag of black feathers at a craft-hobby store and add some extra pizzazz by stapling one to the outside of the wing. I used a glue dot and stuck a wiggle eye to my crow for that special 3-D look. 

You can staple the pages or attach then with a brass brad.

Click on the link to view/print the crow patterns.  If you'd like a fact sheet on crows and an answer as to what's the difference between crows, ravens and black birds, click on the link to view/print my crow fact sheet.

For your convenience I've put October Arts & Activities from 2010 right after this article so you can scroll down for even more ideas!

I also have other October FREEBIES available: 16-pages of Spider Stuff, 23-pages of Pumpkin Art & Activities in book I and 42-pages in book II, + Leaf Activities, and finally, Halloween Stuff.

Click on the links to check things out.

Looking for more?  I have entire units on pumpkins, leaves, bats, fire safety, acorns, candy corn, scarecrows and spiders! 

Why not become a subscriber and be able to download the entire shopping cart for an entire year at no additional cost.

I wish you a howling great time with your little ones!