3 pages.

Review shapes in a fun way with this "Spin to Win" Columbus Day game.

1-2-3 Come Do Some Columbus Day Activities With Me!

This blog article will be a bit longer, as I have LOTS of Christopher Columbus "stuff" that I've been busy designing.  I hope you find something to do with your kiddo's on Columbus Day.

I've had a few more requests for shape activities that include the hexagon shape, so I designed Columbus' "Oceans of Fun." Children choose a partner and take turns spinning.  Whatever shape they land on, is the shape they name and trace. 

The object of the game is to get Christopher Columbus and his ships to San Salvador, by tracing all of the shapes.  Click on the link to view/download the Columbus Day Shape Game. 

Likewise, I've had requests for activities involving place value.  I've never made a place value game, so I thought I'd figure out one for Columbus Day.  Since most students learn that "Columbus sailed the blue in 1492"  I decided that would be a great number to figure out place value for. 

You can use real place value cubes and rods, or run off my pattern pieces for students to play with.  If you want to use this every year, laminate the 1492 mat, manipulatives and spinners.  You can also laminate just the spinners, and give each student their own 1492 map, with place value pieces to glue to it. 

Add more fun to the activity, by making this into a game.  Students choose a partner and take turns spinning the place value spinner.  The object of the game is to be the first to collect enough 1's, 10's, and 100's cubes/rods + the 1,000 cube, to make the number 1492.  Click on the link to view/download the Columbus Day place value game.

Getting students interested in writing every day is a big challenge.  I found that if I changed things up and followed monthly themes, children got into WANTING to write.  Click on the link to view/download the Columbus Day Writing packet. 

You'll find 2 class books, several adjective activities, a venn diagram, a Columbus Day KWL, a trace-cut-& glue booklet, + some fast-facts about Columbus, to test reading comprehension, and give students background information, so they can do some of the Columbus Day writing prompts.

The "craftivities" I post on TeachWithMe are very popular, so I wanted to make a few for Columbus Day. 

You can set these up as independent centers or tuck them in students' take home folders to do 1 or 2 as a homework assignment. 

Completed projects make lovely bulletin boards and hallway decorations.  Click on the link to view/download the Christopher Columbus paper chain, the Columbus Day pop-up card, and/or the "Let's Sail!" Columbus' ship craftivity. 

While I was doing research (so enjoy this; I learn lots of new things every day) I found all sorts of awesome clip art images that lent themselves to my popular Number-Strip Puzzles. 

This Columbus Day Puzzle Packet is a whopping 38 pages, with 14 different puzzles. Each set includes numbers from 1 to 10, counting backwards from 10 to 1, as well as skip counting by 10's.  

Print, laminate and trim, or run one off for your kiddo's to take home.  I've included blank templates for strip placement.  You can also use the templates to make "Flip and Find" booklets that combine 3-4 puzzles in mixed up fashion. For a cool "craftivity" print off a variety of puzzles for students to choose from. 

Have them trim and glue to a sheet of black construction paper, leaving a bit of a gap between pieces.   Click on the link to view/download the Columbus Day Puzzle Packet.

To cover more math standards on Columbus Day, click on the Counting With Columbus packet.  These pages can be laminated and cut up into puzzles, or run off so that each student can make their own number booklet.  To reinforce sequencing and writing numbers,

I've included trace & write pages for numbers 0-120, + skip counting by 3's & 10's.  Use as separate mini-worksheets, or staple them together to make a Columbus Day booklet.  Click on the link to view/download the Counting With Columbus packet. 

For more table top lessons for Columbus Day click on the link.  These worksheets are quick, easy to implement, and cover a nice range of standards. There's a Happy Columbus Day bookmark to give students when they've completed their lessons. 

If you count all of the individual activities in all of these packets you have over 50 lessons to help celebrate Columbus Day!  Hopefully you'll find just the right thing to plug in.  

Since this article was already so long, I whipped together a short one that includes several special requests. Scroll down to take a look at the Columbus-themed 10 frames and alphabet cards. Enjoy!

"I went to sea from the most tender age and have continued in a sea life to this day. Whoever gives himself up to this art wants to know the secrets of Nature here below. It is more than forty years that I have been thus engaged. Wherever any one has sailed, there I have sailed." – Christopher Columbus

24 pages.

Using candy to introduce and practice math concepts makes things more interesting and fun for students.  These Candy Bones activites cover quite a few standards, and are perfect for a science bone theme, pirate theme, or for Halloween.

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

I had a request for a Candy Bones graph.  I’d never heard of them; (Where have I been?) so I Googled candy bones.  They are really quite popular, as there were lots of Ask.com questions of where to buy candy bones and what to do with them.
Many of the links were outdated and broken, so I went on my own quest.

Oriental Trading has the best deal Online for “Candy Bones.”  The bones in their pack include: the ever-popular sweet-tart skull, foot, hand, ribs and plain bones. They come in pastel colors.  There are approximately 28 pieces per pack and 19 packets per unit (13 oz.) They are “fat free” and were $8, now on sale for $5.99 as of 10/7/13  I have dealt with Oriental Trading for many years and never had a problem. Their customer service is wonderful.

Amazon.com also offers the same candy bones mini packages. They are sold by Zugar and fulfilled by Amazon.  They are $9.99 for the same quantity as Oriental Trading.  Some teachers have e-mailed me that they have also found the candy bones packages at their Dollar Tree Stores.  However, they were not in mine, here in Grand Rapids, MI

There is also another popular bone candy called: Skulls and Bones.  Unlike the above candy, these only have 2 shapes inside, but more colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, white and a blackish purple. Unlike the other pastel candies, these are brightly colored.  They are offered by Candy Nation.  They sell bulk at $3.85 a pound.

O’Ryan’s Village, featuring old-fashioned candy, also sells a package of Skulls and Bones for $2.29.  There are 11 small packages inside.  So now you know where to get the candy.  Why would you want it?  For starters, they are perfect for graphing. The skull and bones lend themselves to a Halloween, pirate or a science skeleton/bone activity.  

A sweet treat makes math a whole lot more fun for your kiddo's too.  So they aren't eating too much candy, pass out a sample from your stash at the start of the lesson, with the promise of being able to eat one more at the end, and if they behave, they can take the rest home.  This always worked with my Y5's whenever I used edibles for lessons.

Students spill out their package and sort them on the sorting mats.  I have ones for both kinds of candy, as well as a sorting mat for colors.  Children practice counting, tally marks, and addition with the various graphs and candy bones worksheets. 

I've also included whole-group graphs so that you have an extra opportunity to review your students' results.  There are graphs for shapes, colors, favorites, and flavors.  Since I was on a roll, I decided to make guess-timation activities, as well as some worksheets for patterning.  You can cover quite a few standards in a short amount of time. 

Click on the link to view/download the Candy Bones Math Activities packet.  Another popular download is the candy shape poster packet.  Did you know that Halloween treats come in all of the standard shapes?  For a fun review, print off a set to use as anchor charts or large flashcards.

Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN away.  Just think, if everyone took a few minues to share, our lives would be so much easier.  If you'd like to take a peek at all of the creative and educational FREEBIES I spend way too much time pinning, click on the heart button to the right of the blog.

"Learning should be a joy and full of excitement.  It is life's greatest adventure and should be an illustrated excursion into the minds of noble and learned men, not a conducted tour through a jail." -Taylor Caldwell

2 pages.

Help students practice and improve their writing, as well as review the 5 senses, with this candy corn graphic organizer. 

4 pages.

Review the 5 senses with this cute pumpkin "craftivity."  Students cut out the words and label Sam.

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

3 pages.

Increase your students' writing skills with this quick and easy pumpkin "craftivity" that reinforces the use of adjectives, as well as involving the 5 senses.  If you like this activity, be sure and check out the matching apple one.

1-2-3 Do Some Fall Games With Me

Since the apple and pumpkin shape games, as well as the apple and pumpkin number games, were such a huge hit, I decided to design some for the rest of the popular fall themes.  There are sets for leaves, spiders, bats, owls and turkeys.  If I've missed a theme that you do, and would like games for, simply shoot me an e-mail: diane@teachwithme.com and I'll see what I can do.

Number words were always part of my word wall.  I found that the more contact my students had with these words, the easier it became for them to automatically recognize and read them.  Playing word games made learning them interesting and fun.  To make the games, print off the cards, laminate them and then trim. 

Students clip a clothespin to the number that matches the number word on the themed-card.  So that students can self-check, put an X on the back of the card in the location of the correct answer.  I kept clothespins in a tub and games in their own separate Baggy. 

There's a blank set of cards for each theme, so that you can program higher numbers, or use for whatever.  Click on the link to view/download the Fall Themed Number Word Clothespin Games.

To go along with the apple and pumpkin shape games, I also made 5 more fall-themed shape matching games.   They too include the above sets: leaves, spiders, bats, owls and turkeys. 

Run off the shape template on a variety of colors of construction paper; laminate and trim.  Students place the colored shape tile onto the matching shape on the themed card.   The shapes on the cards also include the shape word, to help reinforce word recognition as well. 

I've included a blank set of cards with these sets too, so that you can program them with more shapes or whatever.  Click on the link to view/download the Fall Shape Matching Game packet.

Thanks for visiting today.  I design and blog every day, so I hope you can stop by again tomorrow, for the newest FREEBIES.  Feel free to PIN away.  I think sharing makes everyone's life easier.    If you'd like to see all of the educational items that I pin, click on the heart to the right of the blog. 

"This above all else: to thine own self be true." -William Shakespeare

16 pages.

Here are 5 more fall-themed shape matching games.  Print, laminate and trim.  Students place the colored shape tile on to 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.