1-2-3 Come Do Some Turkey-rific Shape Activities With Me

Review 2D shapes in fun and interesting ways, with this Thanksgiving "Shape Up!" turkey packet.The packet includes a turkey craft, where the feathers have the various shapes on them. Students write the name of the shape underneath the picture.  Older students can write the attributes of that shape on the back of the feather.

Note the feet of the turkey are pentagons, his beak is a rhombus and the belly of the turkey is a hexagon.  I've provided a shape pattern for the head, but if you want to turn this into a keepsake craft, have students trace their shoe for this part. 

I've included feathers for the standard 2D shapes shown in the picture, as well as feathers with a trapezoid, rhombus, pentagon and octagon on them as well.

For more practice, there's a turkey dice game.  children play in groups of 2-4 and take turns rolling a dice.  Whatever number they roll, is the matching numbered shape that they color.  Encourage children to say the shape words as they play the game. 

There's also a turkey shape slider. Even though this is a shape-themed packet, I've also included "slider" strips for upper and lowercase letters, numbers to 30, counting backwards from 10-1 and 20-1, as well as skip counting sliders for 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's. 

Sliders are a quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess.  Choose a child to call out a shape, children pull their slider 'til that shape is in the "window" and then hold it up.  You can see at a glance who is having difficulty.

Use the 10 turkey shape cards in a pocket chart, for your word wall, or as a flashcard review.

Make extra sets and cut them up for puzzles or Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" games. 

All of these fun, fall FREEBIES, can be found in the  Turkey Shape Craftivities & Games packet.  I hope you and your kiddos enjoy them.

Thanks for visiting today.  It's time for a break to go crunch through some leaves and take a hike through the park. 

Chloe, my poodle pup, has been waiting patiently.  Wishing you an invigorating day.

 "Each life is like a letter of the alphabet. Alone, it can be meaningless, or it can become part of the whole, to achieve true meaning." -- Unknown 


1-2-3 Come Study -ick and -eat Word Families and Shapes With Me

Here's a word family trick for helping teach Common Core, that's a real treat, as you'll  be covering the Phonological Awareness Common Core State Standards: RF.K2a, RF.K2c and RF.K2e  in a quick, easy and fun way.

Here's How: Run off my template with the adorable Laura Strickland trick or treaters on it. You can use the treat bag just as it is, or you can cut off the top of a brown paper lunch bag, so that it fits on the back of this treat bag, and glue it on.

It's a bit more difficult to manipulate the strips, but worth the extra effort as it's truly a functional bag for doing other things with, which I'll explain later.

Pre cut the top & bottom dashed lines of the squares. (I use an Exacto knife.) Insert letter strips, so students can make new words.    

I’ve also included traceable word flashcards, so students can practice the words in yet another way.  There's a cover if you want them to alphabetize the words and then make an Itty Bitty booklet.

When they have finished cutting & tracing their word cards, they can drop them in the bag when they are done.  Students write their name on the side of the bag. You can punch holes and put in real yarn for handles if you want a more 3-D effect.

After everyone has completed their bag, call on students to pull their strips to make the various sentences. Children read them in unison.  There'll probably be a few giggles as they say “Wick or wheat”, “Sick or seat” "Chick or cheat" and “Kick or heat.” etc.

Make sure the last one they read is “Trick or Treat!”  Drop a piece of candy corn, or a sticker, or special treat in their bag as a reward for their great effort!

You can also play “I Have; Who Has?” with the word cards.  Make a copy of the word cards and do not cut them out. Post these pages on the board.  Make another copy and laminate them.  Cut these out.  Put them in your Trick or Treat bag and have students choose cards ‘til they are all gone.

You read an –ick card and ask for an -eat card on the list. The –eat child reads their card. Both children say their “–ick or –eat!” sentence together. Those cards go in the bag. Play continues ‘til all of the cards are gone.

The packet also includes a poster that says: How many words can you make using the letters in Trick or treat?" plus a recording sheet and alphabetical list of 158 words that I thought of. 

Click on the link to view/download the –ick or –eat Word Family Treat Bag.

Finally, after doing this trick or treat-themed activity, you may want to review 2D and 3D shapes using my candy shape posters.  

There are 17 Candy Shape posters in all, with a white or black background. What a fun way to grab your kiddos’ attention. 

These “real life” shape examples will certainly help them understand and hopefully remember the various shapes.

As an incentive, reward them with a shaped sweet treat when they can identify all of the shapes on the posters.

Thanks for visiting today.  The rain's stopped and it's time to take my poodle pup out for a romp.  The fresh air is filled with the wonderful fragrance of fall.  Wishing you a splendid day.

"Like a ten-speed bike, most of us have gears we do not use." - Charles Schulz 

A 1-2-3 Come Do Some More Haunted House Activities With Me

I'm enjoying a bit of R&R time this weekend, so I wanted to feature 2 "oldies" but "goodies" for today's blog.  They fit in perfectly with the 2 new haunted house FREEBIES from yesterday.  If you missed that article, simply scroll down to check it out.

The 17-page Haunted House math packet, is a "craftivity" and game to help reinforce fact families in a fun way.

The Packet includes:

• Fact Family "craftivity" templates.
• Fact Family spinner game templates.
• Directions and link for a home-school math connection, for fact family Online homework skill building practice
• Directions and sample of how to make mini dry erase envelope boards.
• Fact Family T-bar "mad-minute" skill sheets +
• A certificate of praise.

Click on the link to view/download Haunted House Fact Family Fun.

The other haunted house activity helps reinforce 2D shapes.  These are quick, easy and fun games for your kiddos to play in an independent center, or as a whole group.

Click on the link to view/download the Spooky Windows Haunted House Shape Games.

That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  Wishing you a restful and relaxing weekend too.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore is not an act, but a habit." -Aristotle

1-2-3 Come Do Some Pumpkin Craftivities With Me

Quite a few of my most popular downloads are those that involve a hands-on craft.  With all of the standards we have to teach, I realize that many teachers don't feel that they have any time left in their day for the "fun" things they used to do. 

With that in mind, I try to incorporate some standards in the crafts that I design, thus the name "craftivities".  I decided to feature  A Baker's Dozen   of my all-time favorite pumpkin craftivities in this article, since the number 13 can certainly be associated with Halloween.  Although I've used the term a baker's dozen for years, I didn't know why it came about.  If you're curious too, click on the link. 

Since Apple Sense was such a huge hit, I decided to make a Pumpkin Sense one.  This is a quick, easy and fun way to review the 5 senses, as well as work on the importance of adjectives in descriptive writing. 

Having a carved class pumpkin isn't necessary, but really helps.  Adding a hand print leaf and photo adds that finishing touch.

Another writing craftivity is the Personal Pumpkin Patch Craft.Family relationship names, (mom, dad, sister, brother etc.) are a part of most teacher's word walls, so I wanted to think of something that would tie into building that vocabulary. 

Via a note home to parents, which is included in the packet,  you'll have the personal information needed to help your kiddo's make a personal pumpkin. 

There are also family word cards that you can use in a pocket chart or for flashcards, plus several worksheets and a Tally Time activity with math extensions.

Pumpkins In The News  reinforces the letter Pp, and has a variety of writing options as well. Students find and cut out shapes to make a pumpkin face, as well as letters that spell their name.  These will be used for the pumpkin's smile.  They can also search for all of the letter Pps on their pumpkin and circle them.

 For writing practice, younger students trace and write the Pp is for pumpkin worksheet and glue it to the back of their pumpkin.  Brainstorm with older students of why pumpkins might be in the news.  They choose a topic and then write about it on the pumpkin template, trim and then glue to the back of their newsprint pumpkin. 

Punch a hole in the stem and suspend from the ceiling. There's also a pattern for a class-made book entitled: The Case Of The Missing Pumpkins. 

The Shapely Pumpkin Packet  reviews 2D shapes and includes a spinner game and worksheet. Sponge painting is a super-fun, non-messy way for little ones to paint with awesome results.

I've been doing the Peekin' In A Pumpkin for 15 years.  It also reviews shapes, as a Jack-O-Lantern face is on the front. The "guts" of the pumpkin are on the other side. 

I put a dollop of Elmer's glue with a bit of yellow paint in the middle and let my students swirl it around with a Q-tip, then glue bits of yarn and real pumpkin seeds on, for an awesome result.

Add a bit of science to your day with the Life Cycle Of A Pumpkin Craftivity.  There are 3 options for this cute pumpkin bowl craft. 

You can review 2D shapes and have students draw a Jack-O-Lantern face on the back, or you can teach some pumpkin facts with the pumpkins ARE, HAVE, CAN writing prompt; (I've included a completed sample.) or you can explain the life cycle of a pumpkin, and have students color, trim and glue that circle to the back of their pumpkin bowl. 

Curling ribbon and a child's hand print leaf add the finishing touches.  These look terrific suspended from the ceiling too.

The  Triple Play Pumpkin  also has 3 options.  

One involves measurement activities, another investigates the inside and outside of a pumpkin and uses adjectives to record findings; while the last one involves writing about things that scare you. 

This is a 3 dimensional pumpkin as students glue 3-4 paper circles together.

We do a lot of singing in Y5's.  It's a fun way to learn all sorts of things, review concepts and the children really enjoy it.  One of their favorite October songs was Pumpkin Round and Fat. 

When I Googled the song, I found a sweet Popsicle stick puppet over at Teacher Mama.  Click on the link for a pattern and my version. Pumpkin Puppet.

If you're a homeschooling parent and looking for an awesome, but easy fall centerpiece that your child can make, then I think you'll enjoy the  Dryer Hose Pumpkin.

This idea has been around for decades, but I just learned of it a few years ago when I met a crafty gal at Hobby Lobby.  I actually made these with my Y5's.  Their mommies were really impressed, as they turned out so cute.  They cost about $1 each to make.

If you haven't made puffy paint by mixing shaving cream, Elmer's glue and tempera, then you're in for a treat. 

This photo doesn't do justice to how absolutely awesome these turned out, as our pumpkins puffed up to over an inch high when they dried.

We also revisit this technique in January when we make snowmen.  Click on the link for the Puffy Pumpkin.  To see a photo of our snowmen click here. For some reason, you can see the puffiness much better in the snowman pictures.

Finally, to round out my baker's dozen, I wanted to share 3 outstanding pumpkin crafts that I found Online. 

Tammy's Kool Aid Pumpkins from over at Housing a Forest, has been pinned over 1,000 times from my pumpkin Pinterest board.  She has a quick tutorial of how to make these terrific-looking pumpkins that smell scrumptious.

Mrs. Withrow, over at Garden of Praise, makes these adorable Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater nursery rhyme pumpkins with her kinders, and substitutes their name for the word wife.  LOVE the pictures she took of her kiddos to place inside.

Lastly, but not "leastly" is a sweet paper plate pumpkin Mask, from over at DLTK Kids. 

If you don't have time to have each child make one, whip 5 different Jack-O-Lanterns up yourself, and have students use them as manipulatives to act out the popular 5 Little Pumpkins Sitting On A Gate poem.

Mrs. Alvarado over at Learning Safari does this with 5 large tag board pumpkins.  Too cute!

Whew! That's a whole "lotta" pumpkin stuff. Hopefully you found a few things to add some extra fun to your pumpkin activities. 

I'm off to do some much-needed grocery shopping.  Maybe my grandson and I will make a stop at the farmer's market to pick out a pumpkin!  Wishing you a fun-filled day!

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Sing A Fire Safety Song With Me

Almost 15 years ago, my 1st graders enjoyed singing my version of The Wheels On The Bus Go 'Round and 'Round,  as I'd add all sorts of extra goofy things to the traditional favorite. 

When October rolled around, and we were studying fire safety, I thought it would be fun to substitute a fire truck for the bus.  My kiddos loved it. 

Well it's years later and I decided to build a Common Core packet around this silly little song.  While doing research, I even found a few people who had the same idea. ("Great minds think alike and all that..." )

Any woo, what started out to be just a few things, morphed into a whopping 69-page packet, and believe me, my brain is a bit fried. 

I had a few requests for some fire safety themed alphabet and number cards, so I threw them into the mix, and one thing led to another...

Take a peek, pick the items that suit your fancy, and let the fun begin. 

The Packet Includes:

• The song that started it all: Wheels On The Truck Go 'Round And 'Round
• Poster of the song.
• 9 pocket chart cards to go with the song
• Labeled fire truck poster
• Fine motor Popsicle stick fire truck activity
• Writing prompt graphic organizer page:  "If a fire truck could talk it might say . . ."

• A wheels on the fire truck upper and lowercase matching game, with answer key. 

Students place the uppercase letter circle on the first wheel and then match the lowercase letter circle to the back wheel.

• Upper and lowercase letter cards, with a 4-page tip list of what to do with them.
• A Kaboom game to make playing a variety of the other games like Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" even more fun.
• Number cards from 0-120, with a 2-page tip list of what to do with them. (I tried to keep the ABC and number cards small, to conserve ink and paper.)

• 11 number cards with numbers and their matching number words. (0-10).
• Ordinal number cards (1-10).
• Odd and Even Sorting Mat +
• 20 worksheets, which include the following:

1. Can-Are-Have
2. Label the truck
3. KWL
4. Match the pictures to the words
5. Unscramble the words.
6. Graphing shapes.
7. Trace and write the words in alphabetical order.
8. Re telling a story: Beginning-Middle-End
9. Describing fire trucks (Adjective activity).
10. How Many Words Can You Make? (Use the letters in fire truck.) I've included my list of 56 that I came up with. Great for vocabulary building.
11. Two cutting skill sheets.  One difficult with zig zag lines, the other simple with straight lines.
12. Two dot-to-dot worksheets.  One with all the letters of the alphabet, the other with numbers 1-30.
13. Two trace the numbers to to the fire. (Skip counting by 5's, the other #s 1-20).
14. Two trace the letters to the hydrant. (Uppercase and lowercase).
15. Match the number to the number word and finally,
16. Fire Trucks On A Roll a dice game to practice numbers, counting and addition. Whew!

 Click on the link to view/download the Common Core Wheels On The Truck Packet.

While looking for fire truck ideas, I came across a super-simple fire truck Make a Vehicle game over at Enchanted Learning. 

I always liked to give my Y5's some computer time, and this would make a quick, easy and fun independent activity to practice keyboarding skills etc.

I also found an excellent video on YouTube featuring real fire trucks.  It's only 2:44 minutes long.  My grandson was revited, but then he's only 2 and everything is pretty exciting.

If you're teaching numbers 1-10, Monster Fire Trucks is also a rather short video (4:18) that's kind of cute.  Certainly attention grabbing.

Well that's it for today. (Where has it gone?) I hope your kiddos enjoy learning, as their own wheels start turning.  I'm off for a romp outside to unclutter my mind.  Wishing you a fabulous fall!

"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places." -Author Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Common Core Activities With Me and Spot the Fire Safety Dog

Since the Common Core Scarecrow packet was such a popular download, I thought it would be fun to design a fire-safety themed one. Thus Spot the Common Core Fire Dog was born. 

The packet includes patterns to make 4 Dalmatian matching games for: (upper & lowercase letters, numbers, shapes and colors). Students put a fireman's hat on the Dalmatian, then find the matching bone to put in his mouth. 

For example, Sparky, the shape Dalmatian has a 2D shape on his fire hat. 

Students find the matching bone with the shape word on it, and slide it under the slit of Sparky's mouth.  For another matching game, and to cover more standards, write the shape's attributes on the back of the bones. 

To complete the CCSS shape standard, and review spatial directions, have students place the dog bone above, behind, under, beside etc. 

I've also included a spotless dog for you to program for other things, as well as a black and white spotted puppy so students can color it. (Use as a topper for writing prompts etc.)

There are also blank fire hats and blank bones for you to program with whatever.  Use them for other games, name tags, or write a fire safety rule on each bone.

For even more practice, there are 16 "I Spy" worksheets.

Use them as a fun way to quickly and easily whole group assess: upper and lowercase letters, numbers, number words, colors, color words, shapes, and shape words.

I've also included 5 trace and write worksheets to practice writing upper and lowercase letters, plus numbers from 1-100.

Since so many fire safety rules begin with a contraction like "Don't play with matches."  I've included these Dalmatian-themed contraction action activities: an alphabetical list of 72 contractions, 24 pocket cards with fire-safety sentences using contractions, plus 3 contraction worksheets.

To grab some fun, click on the link to view/download the fall FREEBIE: Common Core Fire-Safety Themed Puppy Packet.

If you'd like to make a Dalmatian sock puppet to use with these activities, or when you read some fire-safety books that feature a Dalmatian fire dog, click on the link. A little square of cardboard inside the toe of the sock, makes the "talking mouth".

I made these each year with my students.  We used them to show spatial directions and share a fire-safety fact.  My kiddos also had fun showing how to stop-drop and roll using their puppy puppet.  

I've included a copy of our Puppey Pokey song, which was a great way to get the wiggles out! There's also a puppy adoption certificate.  My Y5's enjoyed naming their puppies and then introducing them to the class. 

We really enjoy the song: Who Let The Dog's Out, so we'd finish up our fire-safety day rocking out to that tune.  Click on the link for a You Tube listen.  LOVE the variety of dogs that they use in their animation. :-)

I hope you found something that your kiddos will enjoy.  Thanks for visiting.  Time for a little fresh air. 

I love the crunching sound as I tromp through fallen leaves.  The colors are looking pretty spectacular and there's a crisp coolness to the air this morning.  Wishing you a sunshine-filled day.

"When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time." -Author Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Fall-Themed Activities With Me

I just love fall.  It's my favorite season, not only because of the spectacular fall colors and wonderful weather, but because of the super-fun themes that we get to teach.

In this blog article, I  want to feature some of the fall groupings I did to cover numbers (1-10), skip counting by 10's, number words and shapes. 

Using the adorable clip art of Laura Strickland over at mycutegraphics.com as well as Dianne Hook at djinkers.com, I whipped up 24 number puzzles. 

There are a dozen for sequencing numbers 1-10, as well as another 12 for skip counting by 10's.  Print, laminate and trim and then store in Ziplock Baggies.  To help little ones, I've also included blank templates. 

Besides using these as independent centers or something "early finishers" can do, choose 3 or 4 and make a flip book.  I give directions in the packet.  (A sample is pictured at the bottom of the photo.)

Click on the link to view/download the 24 Fall-Themed Number Puzzles.

If you want to reinforce shapes as well as shape words, then I think you'll enjoy these fall-themed, shapely matching games.  Simply print, laminate and trim. 

Students place the colored shape tile onto the matching shape on the leaf, spider, bat, owl, or turkey card.  

I've included a blank template for each theme, so you can program with more shapes or whatever. If you like this set, be sure and check out the apple and pumpkin ones.

Finally, to practice number word recognition, click on the link for some fall-themed clothespin number games. Students clip a clothespin to the number that matches the number word on the card. 

Pinching a clothespin, is great for strengthening a little one's finger muscles.  Children also seem to really enjoy this activity, so it's a win-win. :-)

To make the cards self-checking, mark an X on the back of the card where the correct number lies on the front. These are something different for your kiddos to do for their Daily 5 word work activities too.

I've included a blank set of cards for each theme, so that you can program them with higher numbers or whatever else you'd like your kiddo's to practice.  If you like this set, be sure and check out the apple and pumpkin ones.

Thanks for visiting today.  Fall is in the air; the sun is shining and a lovely breeze is blowing through my office window.  The weather is calling me, so it's time for a much-needed break.  Wishing you a refreshing day filled with everything and everyone you enjoy the most.

"Success: To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

 1-2-3 Come Make A Multi-Purpose Scarecrow With Me

Since there are so many standards on our plates these days, there never seems to be enough time for everything, let alone a fun seasonal craft that we know our students would enjoy. That's why I spend so much time designing hands-on "craftivities" that revolve around all sorts of standards. 

Because it's so comprehensive, it took me several days to complete this Common Core scarecrow, and even more hours to make a sample of all 11 scarecrows, but it was time well spent, as they turned out so cute, are easy for your kiddos to make, and reinfore the following: 

Upper and lowercase letters, vowels, sc blend, beginning s sounds, matching words with pictures, numbers 0-30, odd and even, skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s & 10s, shapes, telling time, colors, contractions, number words, color words, compound words, CVC words, and rhyming words.

Completed projects make a wonderful fall bulletin board, or look sweet hanging back-to-back from the ceiling.

To make this extra special, fold a sheet of white construction paper, have students trace their hand and then cut once, to get two hand prints for their scarecrow's "gloves".  I ran yellow construction paper through a shredder to make the "hair". 

Run off the scarecrow's body templates on a variety of colors of construction paper.  Students trim and glue together. 

For more fine motor practice, cut yellow rectangles with a paper cutter.  Have students snip the bottom portion and glue the "hay" to the back of the scarecrow's pant legs, then crumple.

I purposely made these patterns super simple to cut out, but if you think this is too much for PK kiddos, have a room helper trace once and then cut 3-6 shirts and pants out at a time,  leaving just the head for preschoolers to cut out.  

There's a blank head so children can draw their own scarecrow face, as well as a completed template for little ones to color.

 Students make their scarecrow and then trim and glue on the appropriate patches.  The vowel scarecrow is especially versatile, as it not only covers vowels, but shapes and colors too.

For extra practice, when everyone is done, play an "I Spy" game and give students a piece of candy corn to use as a manipulative.  Choose a student to call out a "patch". 

Children locate that letter, number, shape or whatever, cover it with the candy corn, and then raise their hand. 

This is a fun way to practice and review standards, as well as a quick and easy way to whole group assess, as you can see at a glance who is having difficulty. 

I've also included blank patches for you to fill in with whatever, plus ideas and templates to use the number, letter and shape scarecrows for matching games.

i.e. match the lowercase patches to the uppercase letters; match the number word patches to the numbers; and/or match the shapes to the shape words.

For more scarecrow-themed letter fun, click on the link for a set of scarecrow alphabet cards.

The following scarecrows are wonderful for vocabulary building and Daily 5 word work: Carl is the Compound words scarecrow; (Click on the link for an alphabetical list of over 3,000 compound words.)

Connie, is a contraction action scarecrow; (With an alphabetical list of 72 contractions)

Sam, is a scarecrow that loves 37, 3-letter words that begin with S; (CVC practice!)

Scott, is the SC blend scarecrow, with a list of 50 words. The packet also includes an entire SC blend section, with lots more activities.

Sophie, is a scarecrow with 47-picture patches, for simple words starting with the letter S. 

For a quick review, I've also included 4, Ss word, picture posters.

Rodney, is the Rhyme Time scarecrow, with 56 words that rhyme with scare and a list of 274 words that rhyme with crow.

Write the words that rhyme with scare on the front of Rodney, and have children choose some words that rhyme with crow and write them on the back.

In the sample, I chose 24-scare rhyming words and wrote them on the shirt, and then wrote an equal amount of words that rhyme with crow, on the pants.  The alphabetical lists include rhyming words that start with every letter except U & X.  I chose one of each.

Finally, the number scarecrow, has several options and serves double duty.  There are number patches from 0-30, which  I traced in a variety of colors. 

You can make Odd Todd and Even Steven scarecrows (front and back) or put the odd numbers on the top and the even numbers on the bottom.  (See photo.)

For more math number practice, I've also included skip counting patches.  Children can skip count by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's.  There are matching worksheets in the packet as well, along with number cards, plus number puzzles in color & black and white.  

For more odd and even scarecrow number fun, click on the link to practice numbers from 1-120, in the Scarecrow's Pumpkin Patch packet.

If your kiddos are familiar with that concept, but need to work on matching numbers to their number words, use the Norman & Nancy number scarecrow patterns, with numbers 0-10, along with their matching number word patches.

Glue the numbers on the shirt and the number words on the pants.  For more practice, have students write the words above their matching number patch.

Click on the link to view/download the "craftivity" portion of the Common Core Scarecrow Packet.

This section will be FREE for an entire year!  After that, you can pick up the whopping 184-page jumbo packet in my TpT shop for just $5.95.  Click on the link for Patches, The Standard Scarecrow Craftivities packet to pop on over.

Thanks for visiting today.  I need to unclutter my brain, so we're off to a nearby fall festival.  It's a beautiful autumn-weather day, if the rain just holds out for awhile. 

 "If stars can shine with darkness, so can you." -Unknown

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 Make Some Sliders With Me

I enjoy designing "sliders."  They are a quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess all sorts of standards.  I gave them the name "sliders" because students trace the numbers or letters on the strip of paper. 

The teacher chooses students to call out a letter/number and then everyone slides their strip of paper 'til that letter/number shows in the "window" of their slider.   Since this is like an "I Spy" game, students really enjoy sliders, and teachers can see at a glance who is having difficulty.

Because I've been making some activities to go with Pete the Cat, I decided to create a cat slider.  One turned into 4 and there went my day... 

You can choose the cat for your students, or give them a choice.  Run the cat patterns off on blue construction paper (for a Pete the Cat one) and have students trim, or run them off on white construction paper and have students color their cat. 

To add a bit more pizzazz to the blue construction paper cats, I've included patterns for little tennis shoes. Run them off on white paper. Students trim and glue to the appropriate cat.  

Cutting out the cats, can be a bit tricky, so I would not do this option for really little ones. Instead, use the smaller cat patterns, with the dashed lines, and run off on white paper. 

Younger kiddos can easily follow the lines and get some cutting practice in, but are not overwhelmed with twisting and turning their scissors.

Since the blue ones turned out especially cute, you may want to make a set of your own and laminate them.  After students have found the letter/shape/number that is called out for the "I Spy" game, and everyone's hand is raised, you can hold up your cat and ask: "Is this letter/shape/number showing on your cat?"

Students make adjustments, so you are reinforcing the correct answer, without having to take the time to individually correct a struggling student, or embarrass them. 

There are "sliders" for upper and lowercase letters, numbers, counting backwards from 10-0, shapes and skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, and 10's. 

Pick the slider for the standard that you want to practice, run them off and trim on a paper cutter. You could also reuse the sliders and review another standard, with a different slider on another day.  

For more teachable moments, review patterns or odd and even numbers, by having students choose 2 or 3 colors of crayons or markers and trace the letters/numbers in an ABAB or ABC pattern. (I did this in my samples, so be sure and look at the photographs closely. )

To review shapes, I'd suggest using the cat head pattern.  Children color the shapes on their slider, which will then become the "nose" of the cat when they slide the strip into that position.  I think they turned out pretty cute if I do say so for myself.

Click on the link to view/download the Cat Slider packet.  I hope it's simply "purr-fect" for Pete the Cat or any other cat-themed activities you have going on. 

Thanks for visiting.  The chill is in the air today and really feels like fall.  Time for a brisk walk with my pup Chloe, to help get energized.

"Your current safe boundaries, were once unknown frontiers." -Anonymous