1-2-3 Come Study 2D Shapes With Me

Since fall is in the air, I decided to put some autumn decorations up.  I have lots of scarecrow-themed things, as they can stay up through Thanksgiving.  I LOVE decorating for the seasons, but hate taking stuff down and putting it away, so the longer things can hang around, the better. 

My love for scarecrows probably stems from fond childhood memories, seeing all sorts of creations watching over large gardens and small farms in Wisconsin.  My Y5's enjoyed this mini-theme as well, so I used scarecrows to help teach all sorts of standards.  Here are some that I designed to reinforce 2D shapes.

My personal favorite is Socrates.  He's a "slider" as the paper strip of shapes, slide through the "window" to make his nose.   It was fun drawing and putting him together. 

As I putzed with what to do for his hair, I decided to put a sheet of yellow construction paper through a shredder. 

Rubbing a glue stick on the edges of his head and neck, then pressing down various pieces of shred, made the perfect scarecrow hair and "hay stuffing" peeking out of his neck and hat.

So that you can cover more standards, I've also included "sliders" for numbers 1-30, skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's, as well as upper and lowercase letters.  Click on the link to view/download Socrates the Scarecrow Shape Slider.

Socrates came about, because I made an easy reader booklet entitled: My Scarecrow's Nose. In the story, an adorable little scarecrow needs a nose! 

It's up to your students to decide which 2D shaped nose is the best for their scarecrow. 

It's a quick, easy and fun way to learn about shapes, at the same time helping strengthen finger muscles, as children trace and draw the nose shapes and then trace and write the shape words. 

To reinforce concepts of print, when everyone is done, read the booklet as a whole group.

I've also included a graphing extension where students vote on their favorite shaped nose. 

There are also 2 worksheets. Students trace and write the shape word, then match the shape to its shape word.

Finally my last scarecrow-themed shape activity is  Sam and Samantha. They are full-body scarecrow "danglers". 

Give students the option of whether they want to make a boy or girl scarecrow.

As with Socrates, I used shredded paper.  Picking up the long shred, ripping it into smaller lengths and then pressing them to the back of the scarecrow, is wonderful fine motor skill practice. 

However, if you think this is too time consuming, use a few pieces of double-sided stick tape, then cover with a piece of regular tape when children are done decorating.

Because a pile of shredded paper is tempting for all sorts of shenanigans, remind students ahead of time, that if they throw the shred around and make a mess, they will not be able to use some on their scarecrow.  I never had a problem.

So that you can review lots more 2D shapes, I've included a template with extra shapes on it.  Students can cut and glue as many shapely "patches" on their scarecrow as they want.

Children can opt to keep the shapes separate, (see photo of Samantha) and glue the various shapes onto a piece of yarn, or they can glue their pieces together, which is a bit easier for little ones. (See photo of Sam.)

Punch a hole in the top triangle and suspend from the ceiling, back-to-back with another child's scarecrow.  Adding a few real buttons adds a bit more pizzazz.  Click on the link to view/download Sam/Samantha The Shapely Scarecrow craftivity.

Thanks for visiting today.  For more scarecrow fun, be sure and pop back tomorrow  The timer's ringing, so I need to dash off and check the big pot of Veggie soup I'm making for dinner.  Nothing like a nice hearty bowl of soup on a crisp fall evening.  Wishing you an ed-venture filled day.

"Trying times are times for trying." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some SC Blend Activities With Me!

It's sometimes difficult to find interesting activities for teaching blends.  I decided since I was designing scarecrow items, I'd make some for the SC blend.

To introduce the SC blend, set a one-minute timer; challenge students to write down as many SC words as they can think of, before the timer rings.  I've included a worksheet for this, as well as one for how many words students can make using the letters in the word scarecrow.

The SC Word Blend packet includes 50 words that begin with the SC blend.  There's an anchor chart alphabetically listing them, + separate word cards you can put on your word wall or use for flashcards, alphabetizing, vowel sorting, or Memory Match and "I have; who has?" games. 

Combine them with the 50 SC pocket cards for  more activities.  The pocket cards feature dashed SC letters at the beginning of the word.  Students can trace them with a red dry erase marker. 

Add the scarecrow "Kaboom!" cards to make games even more fun. See the tip list of what to do with word cards to find out the directions.

I find that simply writing the words helps reinforce word recognition and usage.  So that this is not a tedious or boring activity, students can write the words in their own SC blend word book.

Encourage students to look up definitions for words that are new to them and include them.  There's a cover and recording page.  To make printing easier, I made 2 on a page. 

Another way to record words, is via the bookmark.  As students learn words they can add them to their list. 

There are also several worksheets, where students trace, write and alphabetize the words, fill in the SC blend to make words, as well as use the words to fill in the blanks to complete simple sentences. 

For more writing practice, there's a story-starter:  "No matter how hard Scarface, the scarecrow, tried to be scary, he just wasn't!" 

Encourage students to use as many SC blend words as makes sense; underlining them as they go.  Who incorporated the most?

Any of these activities would be great Daily 5 options, for the word work or writing portions.

This SC blend packet will be FREE for an entire year.  After that, it will become part of my whopping 184-page Common Core Scarecrow packet, in my TpT shop. Click on the link to pop on over.

If you're looking for more blend activities, click on the link to pop on over to that section of the site, where you can grab lots more FREEBIES.

I also spent some time searching YouTube for cute video clips reviewing the SC blend.  The only one I found worth taking a look at, was a 2-minute animated clip.  Click on the link above to take a look. 

Thank you for visiting today. I design and blog every day, so do stop by tomorrow to see the newest free items.  You may PIN anything you like. 

If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderfully educational items that I spend way too much time pinning, click on the heart button to the right of the blog.  I have an entire board of word-related activities.

"Children should be allowed the time to enjoy learning to play, for it will definitely lead to playing to learn." 

1-2-3 Come Do Some Scarecrow Activities With Me!

I love scarecrows; they were one of my favorite things to draw as a child.  Having grown up in Wisconsin, I enjoyed seeing the variety of these farmer-creations that kept watch over the pastoral countryside.

One of the first Art & Activities units that I designed was on scarecrows.  This was prior to all of the software programs, fonts and clip art that I now have at my disposal, but I think you'll still enjoy making some of these cuties from my hand drawn patterns.  Click on the link to view/download the 66-page Scarecrow Art & Activities packet. 

Here are a few samples:

Patrick, the paper chain scarecrow, can help your kiddo's countdown to Thanksgiving break.  Choose 2-colors for the links and review an ABAB pattern, or add a 3rd color to do ABCABC. 

You can simply make one to hang in your classroom, or set this scarecrow up as an independent center and have children work on one of their own. (Assign as many links as are appropriate for your age group.)  To incorporate blends, have students write an sc word on each link.

Carl, the counting scarecrow, will help your students review numbers 1-10, skip counting by 2's, 5's and 10's as well as the spatial directions of left and right. 

Five Little Crows in a Cornfield, is a "craftivity" that also includes math practice.

My all-time favorite scarecrow craft I call "Personal Scarecrows."  They are "jointed" so you can pose them in different ways.

Cut out a variety of colored construction paper shapes to use as "patches" for a quick and easy shape review.

I enlarged my students' school photo.  This became the scarecrow's head. The picture appeared very pixilated, which added to the awesome scarecrow looking effect. 

If you don't have the ability to do this, I've also included a scarecrow head template your children can cut and color.

When I was a freelance writer for Mailbox Magazine, my editor asked me to write a scarecrow poem.  The personal scarecrows were my inspiration. 

We received zillions of compliments on our hallway display, and my Y5's really enjoyed making them.  Click on the link to view/print the Personal Scarecrow craftivity.  

On a smaller scale, you could do Sam/Samantha the Shapely Scarecrows.   Give students the option of whether they want to make a boy or girl scarecrow. 

With the personal scarecrow, students got in some great cutting practice, by snipping on the lines of a square to make "hay". They glued these to the ends of the scarecrow's arms and legs. 

For Sam/Samantha, I ran yellow construction paper through my husband's shredder.  Pick up a bunch, crinkle it even more and tape the end to the back of the scarecrow. 

If you don't have a shredder, The Dollar Store sells bags of all sorts of colors.  Look for shredded paper in the gift bag section.  Most school offices have a shredder; you can ask to borrow it. 

To make "stuffing hay" a bit easier for little ones, put a piece of double-sided tape on the back. Children pick up pieces of shred and press them on the tape, when they are done, cover the stickiness with a piece of regular tape.

Remind students ahead of time, that if they throw the shred around and make a mess, that they will not be able to use some on their scarecrow. I think it gave Sam/Samantha that finishing touch. 

A template of additional shapes is included. Students can cut and glue as many "patches" to Sam's/Samantha's clothes as they desire.  I used a piece of yarn to make a dangler.  If you want this to look good on both sides when they spin, each child needs 2 of everything. 

A simpler way to assemble the scarecrow is to have students glue their pieces together.  Punch a hole in the triangle and suspend from the ceiling back-to-back with another child's scarecrow.   Adding a few real buttons adds a bit more pizzazz.  Click on the link to view/download Sam/Samantha The Shapely Scarecrow craftivity.

Finally, my favorite scarecrow easy-reader is My Scarecrow's Nose.  It too reviews shapes, as the scarecrow tries on different shaped noses.  In the end, he gets his favorite, the triangle. Children read, trace, write, color and draw. 

A graphing extension is included, where students vote on their favorite nose for the scarecrow; 2 worksheets continue the shape review.  Click on the link to view/download My Scarecrow's Nose.

I have a nice variety of other scarecrow activities on the site, including scarecrow 10 frames, and a scarecrow glyph.  Click on the link to zip on over to the scarecrow section. 

Thanks for visiting today.  I design and blog daily, so I hope you can pop by tomorrow to grab the newest FREEBIES. 

You may PIN anything you want.  If you'd like to take a peek at all of the cute-educational stuff I PIN, click on the heart button on the right.

"It will not always be summer; build barns." -Hesiod

1-2-3 Come Do Some Fall Writing With Me

Since the "Apple Sense" craftivity was downloaded quite a bit, I decided this format would also work well for Pumpkin Sense.   No matter what grade your students are in, they need to be reminded to use their senses to make their writing "come alive."  The use of adjectives is equally important, and such a simple thing to explain using examples.  I find that if students can add a bit of art to their creations, writing is more fun and completed projects make wonderful bulletin boards that build self-esteem.   

Run off the pumpkin template on orange construction paper.  Students add a bit of color to the the stem, with a green crayon.  You can make this even cuter, by having students trace their hand (with their fingers spread) onto a sheet of green construction paper, trim and glue their "leaf" next to the stem.  Adding a photograph gives things that finishing touch.

Run the "pumpkin guts" off on yellow construction paper.  Students trim and fill in their answers.  Before hand, discuss the 5 senses, as well as what an adjective is, explaining the importance of using both to write better.  

Brainstorm words that can be used to describe a pumpkin using the various senses and write them on the board.   Students can draw from this word bank when they write. 

So that they are practicing starting a sentence with a capital letter, have students write a complete sentence, rather than filling in their answer.  Review proper end punctuation.  To make sure that they use adjectives, encourage students to underline them.

You may want children to write a rough draft, checking to make sure that every noun has a descriptive word before it.  Can they think of a better word to describe what they are seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling, etc?  When they are satisfied with their final draft, they can write it on the yellow insert.   Click on the link to view/download the Pumpkin Sense craftivity.

Continuing with adjective practice, I designed a Describing Fall packet. 

Students think of words that describe the various fall themes: school, apples, leaves, pumpkins, spiders, bats, scarecrows, sunflowers, turkeys and Pilgrims, and then fill in the appropriate boxes with adjectives.  Once they have done that, students incorporate several words into 1 or 2 sentences that they write on the back of their worksheet. 

Children can add a bit of color with crayons or markers.  When everyone is done, have them share their work.  I've also included a definition of an adjective anchor chart. Click on the link to view/download the Describing Fall Adjective Writing packet.

If you're looking for more activities involving the 5 Senses you may like Sam's Senses craftivity.  Children cut and glue the labels to Sam the pumpkin man.  What makes Sam special is that his hands are the traced hands of the student.  Click on the link to view/download Sam. 

My Fall Senses, is a quick and easy candy corn graphic organizer that again helps students practice their writing skills.  Click on the link to view download this fall writing activity.

Thanks for visiting today.  I design and write daily, so I hope you can stop by tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES.  Feel free to PIN away.  To ensure that "pinners" return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button on the burgundy menu bar.   If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderful-educational items that I PIN, click on the heart button to the right of the blog. 

"Strength: A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Sort Pumpkins With Me

If you're looking for some seasonal math centers, you've come to the right place.  Two scarecrows, with the ever-popular names Even Steven and Odd Todd, each have an empty field waiting to be filled up with pumpkins.  There's a catch though.  Todd only wants odd numbered pumpkins, while Steven wants only even numbered ones. 

To make the game, print and laminate the scarecrow sorting mats, along with pumpkins numbered from 1-120 and then trim. Children grab a fist-full of pumpkins and place them in the appropriate pumpkin patch.  The numbered pumpkin tiles can also be used for sequencing activities, or to play an "I Have; Who Has?" game.

I've also included 2, trace and write the number worksheets. The 1st one goes from 1-50; the 2nd one from 51-100.

Click on the link to view/download the Odd and Even Pumpkin Patch game.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything from my site.  I LOVE Pinterest; it's such a wonderful way to share.

To ensure that pinners return to THIS blog article, click on the green title at the top; it will turn black, now click on the "Pin it" button on the burgundy menu bar.  If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderful educational items that I pin, click on the heart button to the right of the blog.

"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows." -Sydney J. Harris

1-2-3 Come Read AND Count With Me!

I designed the 1-2-3 Counting series of booklets to combine Common Core Math and Reading standards.

There is so much to cover in a day that I like to over lap subjects and to use an old colloquialism “Kill two birds with one stone.”

Also the consistency of these booklets helps empower students and builds their self-esteem, as it only takes one time for students to need assistance, instructions and then they can work independently on their booklet.

This makes them perfect for a Daily 5 activity or center and frees the teacher up to work one-on-one with other children to help strugglers or do assessing.

You can do one a week or month, depending on your themes or the needs of your students.

They are nice as a home-school connection if you need “homework”, something for students to do when children finish mandatory work, or perfect for a sub folder or something that can be sent home for those students who still don’t “get it.”

Read the booklet as a whole group to review concepts of print and reinforce the vocabulary.

Students read, trace and write the number and number word. They see the “themed object” in a sentence and say it.

They spy the number in a sequence and circle it.

They X-out that many boxes or use a bingo dot marker or stamp.  As an added math concept, I had my Y5’s use 2 different colored bingo dot markers and show me an ABAB pattern. (See sample page above.)

Children cut & glue the set/group to the matching numbered box. My students really enjoyed doing these booklets and they caught onto concepts quickly.

I have a nice collection of fall 1-2-3 easy readers that will hopefully add to your autumn themed lessons.

Each one includes a graphing extension, traceable word-wall word flashcards, a cover for the flashcards so students can turn them into an Itty Bitty Booklet, a “Plus one more” worksheet, and a certificate of praise.

Click on the links to view download any or all of the following: 123 Count Apples With Me,   123 Count Leaves With Me, 123 Count Footballs With Me,   123 Count Pumpkins With Me,   123 Count Fire Trucks With Me,   123 Count Scarecrows With Me. 

Click on the 123 link to view the entire collection of easy readers.

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“Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open.” –Thomas Dewar