1-2-3 Come Do Some Vowel Activities With Me

The letter Yy is quite a unique letter, in that it can be both a consonant and vowel.

To complicate matters, the Y has several different phonemes (sounds). It can have a long e sound, as in worry, as well as a long i sound, as in fly.

With that in mind, I designed this Ys Guys & Spies packet, as recognizing special spellings for vowel sounds is part of successful decoding & word recognition.

Just like my best-selling ”Vowels & Villains” packet, instead of students being frustrated and tripped up with “exceptions to the rules”, they are prepared and get excited when they find a “spy” that they can “jail”.

The packet includes:

* A letter Y craftivity, where students create 3 different “Ys Guys“ writing the various Y words on their letters.

I've named them "Regular Y Guy" for words beginning with the letter Yy and having the "ya" sound, "Sky the Sly Spy Y Guy" for words ending with the letter Yy & having the long i sound, and then there's  "Shifty the Shady Lady", for words ending with a Yy and having the long e sound.

* There are 3, Y Guys posters to introduce the lesson, with a matching word poster filled with lots of examples.

* A variety of worksheets that build vocabulary, including “Jail the Spies” fun.

* A “Letter Yy Word Booklet”.

* A short, 2-page “Ys Guys” emergent reader, with 36 Dolch sight words.

* A graphing extension of the last page in the emergent reader.

* 2 “Disguise” definition posters.

* 2 “Wanted” posters.

* 4 sorting mats, to sort the 160, mini word cards. Quick, easy & fun way to build vocabulary. Includes matching worksheets for more practice.

* A “Ys Guys” spinner game.

* Practice literacy & math at the same time, with 4, number-strip puzzles.

Students color, write on words associated with that "Y Spy Guy", cut & then glue the strips together to make a mosaic picture puzzle.

The number puzzles reinforce skip counting by 2s & 10s. 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to check out the latest Villians in this 58-page Ys Guys & Spies packet.  

Since "bunny" is one of the Y Spy long e words, I thought my "I'm All Ears" bunny matching game, would be an appropriate featured FREEBIE for today. 

Use the large & small pattern to make this quick, easy & fun center activity. My Popsicle sticks include matching games for upper & lowercase letters, numbers, shapes, colors, equations, and contractions!

Well that's it for today. We are having absolutely gorgeous fall weather for November! 

The sunshine is calling me through my open window, so it's time to take a break and go play.  Wishing you a stress-free day.

 "Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." -Anthony J. D'Angelo

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

A delightful discovery, is that an intriguing photograph, tweaks a student’s interest, and gets their imagination, and creative juices flowing. 

You know the old saying: "A picture is worth a thousand words", so I thought looking at one, could certainly provoke at least a few, getting students excited to WANT to get down to the business of writing. 

With that in mind, I spent quite a few hours designing my newest packet: Fall, Picture-Driven Writing Prompts.

There are 135 fall-themed pictures to choose from, with 6 on a page to conserve ink.

Select your favorites that you think will be thought-provoking for your students, then print on card stock & laminate, so you can use every year.

Children select one, and depending on ability level, write a few sentences, a paragraph or a story on the filmstrip template.

Beforehand, use one to introduce the lesson, and as a whole group, make an example together to help explain what’s expected.

Completed projects make an awesome bulletin board.

Display students’ work with the photograph, and put the “Fall Picture Driven Writing Prompts" camera poster, in the center of your display.

I’ve also included a bookmark-size, graphic organizer, where students do a bit of pre-writing, jotting down adjectives & verbs that describe their picture.

These can also be part of your bulletin board.

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look see at this 28-page packet: Fall, Picture-Driven Writing Prompts. 

Today's featured FREEBIE is a scarecrow-themed writing prompt craftivity.

Completed projects turn out quite adorable. 

There's nothing quite like adding a bit of craftiness to a lesson, to get kiddos excited about writing.

Well that's it for today.  I truly hope these photographs are just the thing to help your students get as excited about writing, as my students have. 

I’m currently working on matching, picture-driven writing prompts, for the other 3 seasons.

"We must all make do with the rags of love we find flapping on the scarecrow of humanity." -Angela Carter, From Nights at the Circus

1-2-3 Come Practice Math With Me

I'm really excited about the M & M (Math & Me) booklet.  It's a super-fun way to practice all sorts of math and measurement skills, and is versatile enough to fit a variety of ages. (PK-4th)

I’ve organized the pages in the PDF, so that the first 11 pages are the easiest.  As the booklet progresses, it gets a bit more difficult.

Simply choose the pages that are appropriate for your kiddos. 
You can do several pages a day in class, or send home as homework.

PK kiddos can complete a simplified booklet, with one-on-one help from their family.

Sharing parts of the booklet, like the family page, is an interesting way for students to get to know their classmates.

Finished projects make a wonderful keepsake too.

Completing the booklet, involves using:
a ruler, measuring tape, scale, calendar, clock, addition, subtraction, counting, ordinal numbers, coins, tally marks, a 10 frame, fractions, greater & less than, geography, odd & even, comparison/contrast, data collection & analysis, writing, number sense, logic and imagination.

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look see at this 23-page, math-packed activity: M & M Math & Me Keepsake Booklet.  

The featured FREEBIE today is another "Me" activity.  This is entitled "Owl About Me" and is a super-easy, quick, & fun "getting to know you" activity.

That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  It's rainy and the wind is making it even more chilly. 

The perfect kind of day to snuggle up by the fire with a good book.   Wishing you a warm and cozy, lazy kind of day.

"Couds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky." -Rabindranath Tagore

1-2-3 Come Do Some Halloween Activities With Me

Halloween party day, tends to be a bit wild and crazy because of all the energy your kiddos have. 

With that in mind, I designed some trick or treat-themed activities that practice a variety of standards, while still being a lot of fun for your kiddos. 

With a theme like candy and trick or treating, you will definitely get your students’ attention, so that you can reinforce:
graphing, tally marks, skip counting, upper & lowercase letters, 2D/3D shapes, plus the -ick & -eat word families.

Pick & choose from worksheets, writing prompts, crafts, puzzles, songs, & games!

The packet includes:

A “Trick or Treat” writing prompt craftivity, with 2 options, plus completed samples to share, along with 4 other interesting & fun writing prompts.

A Trick or Treat bag craftivity that reinforces the -it & -eat word families. The “sliders” practice 15 -eat words, as well as 14 -ick family words.

There are 3 options, plus trace & write word cards in color as well as black and white.

A “How many words can you make using the letters in “Trick or Treat”? worksheet, which includes an alphabetized answer key, with 158 words & a poster to introduce the lesson.

Perfect for a fun, yet educational, Halloween party day game too.

Two songs: “T-R-I-C-K” to the tune of Bingo, & “Trick or Treating” to the tune of “Brother John”. 

"T-R-I-C-K" is a wonderful way to practice letter recognition, spelling & subtraction!  My kiddos LOVE singing & clapping too.

Lots of graphing worksheets to practice that skill, plus worksheets with tally marks, data collection & analysis, and a graphic organizer.

8 “Trick or Treating at a Haunted House” I spy game sheets, that are a quick, easy & fun way to whole group assess: listening & following directions. upper & lowercase letters, numbers 0-20 and shapes.

Includes a blank template so you can program with whatever.

There's an assortment of “Candy Bones” activities & worksheets, plus an awesome collection of . . .

2D & 3D candy shape posters. What a fun way to practice/review shapes!

Who doesn't remember excitedly spilling out their treat bag?

Have your kiddos sort & then graph the different shaped candy, using the recording sheet. 

And finally, there's ...

A dozen, “Trick or Treat” number puzzles, to help practice sequencing numbers from 1-10, counting backwards from 10-1, as well as skip counting by 2s & 10s.

Puzzles come in color for an independent math center, as well as black and white, so students can make their own.

This is a Perfect activity for Halloween party day.

The packet is a whopping 133 pages of fun.  Click on the link to pop on over to my TpT shop to have a look see. Trick or Treat-Themed Activities.

Today's featured FREEBIE, "Midnight Magic" is also a quick, easy & fun craftivity for party day. As you can see by the photo, the results turn out quite spectacular & take only about 5 minutes! 

Well that's it for today.  Halloween brings back some of my most favorite childhood memories.

Here's wishing you a “fang-tastic” rest of October, filled with lots of special treats.

"Halloween is an opportunity to be really creative." - Judy Gold

1-2-3 Come Do Some Word Family Activities With Me

Oh my gosh, I had such a fun time designing this newest emergent reader packet: Trick or Treating With the -at Word Family, which packs a lot of standard punch!

Practice rhyming, and the -at word family, with the song: “Trick or Treating We Will Go” to the tune of “Farmer in the Dell”.

I’ve included a poster of the song, as well as pocket chart cards of the verses, plus picture cards. There’s a matching bookmark for your students.

For more word family reinforcement, there are 3 “slider” craftivities: a cat, bat & hat, which include 20 -at family words!

The emergent reader incorporates 26 Dolch sight words, plus 7 of the -at family words.

Children add end punctuation: period, question mark & exclamation point to the simple sentences.

I’ve included a black & white copy, with 6 or 8 mini-pages, on a one-page pattern, so that you can make Itty Bitty booklets. 

There’s also a full-color teacher’s version.

Finally, 2 worksheets provide more reinforcement & practice the skill of alphabetizing. 

Click on the link to pop on over to my TpT shop to have a look see at this 27-page packet of fun: Trick or Treating With the -at Family. 

Today's featured freebie is called "Spooky Spirals". 

It's a quick, easy & fun writing prompt craftivity that's perfect for Halloween party day. 

Younger kiddos can simply do the craft.  Completed projects look simply "spooktacular" swirling & twirling from the ceiling.

That's it for today, thanks for stopping by. 

Time to switch gears, and try to shut my computer brain off. 

I have a lunch date with my daughter and the tots. 

Wishing you a love-filled day, filled with giggles galore.

 "In every conceivable manner, the family is the link to our past, and the bridge to our future." - Alex Haley

1-2-3 Come Make a Venn Friend With Me

Venn diagrams are a quick, easy & fun way to introduce the concept of comparison-contrast writing.

Years ago, I came up with the concept of students choosing a partner to make a "Venn Friend" with, as an interesting way for students to get to know each other.

I designed the fall "Venn Friends" packet, which feature apples, pumpkins, leaves, turkeys, Pilgrims & Native Americans.

Introduce the lesson with the "What's a Venn diagram?" poster.

To help them do a thorough job completing their Venn diagram and jump start the writing process, I've included a list of 40 questions that they can choose from to discuss with their partner.

Each student does their own "different" portion of the "circle", and then, once they glue their "circles" together, they take turns recording the similarities that they have with their Venn Friend, using the middle "same" section.

I used a "pumpkin seed" for the middle of the Pumpkin Venn Friends, and an acorn for the leaf ones. 

You can see little boy & girl "toppers" in the pumpkin photo. 

These are black & white so kiddos can color them.  Use them on the pumpkins, leaves or apples. 

I encourage students to do a boy/girl Venn friend, not only so they have an extra "difference" but so they can see how much they truly have in common with eachother.

Doing a Name Venn with a classmate, is another option, and practices upper & lowercase letters, along with name recognition & counting. 

I also incorporate the concept of “greater & less than” with this activity, as students decide who has the most or least number of letters in their name.

I’ve made a sample using an apple, as I do this in September, for a “Getting to Know You” activity for “Back to School”.   There are 3 sets of letter tiles for your kiddos to choose from.

My Y5s enjoy this activity so much, I repeat it in October with pumpkins, and see quite a bit of improvement.

As you can see by the photograph, colorful paper plates (smaller 8” size) provide a nice 3D effect.

I pre-cut these to expedite the activity. Besides yellow & red, I also buy lime green plates, giving my students an option. 

Besides using paper plates, I've also included a wormy apple pattern.

There’s also more than one option for November. Students have 3 choices for their Venn friend topper: a turkey, a Pilgrim boy or girl, or a Native American boy or girl.

You can have a turkey find a turkey partner, a boy Pilgrim find a girl Pilgrim, or a boy Native American find a boy Pilgrim, mixing and matching however you or your students wish.

I designed the Venn friends, specifically so students could get to know a classmate better, but you could certainly have students pretend to be "real" Pilgrims and Native American children, and then compare and contrast historical information as well.

Each seasonal Venn, comes with a graphing extension, so you can get some math practice in as well.

For that finishing touch, add a school photograph. Students could also make a green hand print "leaf" for their pumpkin.

Completed projects make awesome fall bulletin boards. Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to check out the super-fun, 51 page, Fall Venn Friend packet. 

Since Halloween is just a week away, I thought a "Halloween Boo Boos" worksheet would be a fun FREEBIE. Students make corrections to the sentences that have mistakes in them.

Click on the link to grab a copy.  It's certainly a little something fun, yet educational for party day.

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

The winds have knocked a lot of leaves off the trees, so this afternoon the hubby, pup & I are going for a relaxing drive to see what's left of the gorgeous fall colors, before they become  a distant memory, as barren trees dot the landscape.

I am so not ready for winter. Wishing you a pretty and peaceful day.

"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days." - John Burroughs

A big part of our fire safety studies includes learning about the emergency number 911.

Several years ago, one of my students was involved in a trailer fire. It was little Jose', just 6-years-old, who dialed 911. No need to convince me of the importance of making sure my kiddos know about fire safety and using their heads in a crisis.

With that incident in mind, it was a joy to put a lot of work into the 61-page, "Call 911 Fire Safety Packet", making sure you have a variety of simple & fun activities to keep students engaged, as they learn about this important emergency number.

Since my kiddos are just learning to recognize numbers, they often confuse 6s & 9s.

It makes no sense for them to recite “Call 911 in an emergency” if they haven’t practiced finding & pressing those numbers; so we practice on real, non-working cell phones, that parents have donated to our class.

Just as important as learning how to dial that number, is knowing when it’s appropriate to do so.

Keeping these things in mind, I designed this 911 packet, with quick, easy & super-fun activities that will ensure your students know how, as well as when, to dial this life saving number.

The packet includes:

* An emergent reader: “Who Ya Gonna Call?” with 24 Dolch sight words.

I titled the booklet that because of the catchy Ghostbusters tune, and have the music playing softly in the background, when my kiddos work on this activity.

When the refrain “Who ya gonna call?” is sung, my students yell out 911.

* Afterwards, we do the  “When Should I Call 911?” cell phone craftivity.

This not only reinforces the lesson, but tests comprehension. There are ...

* 2 song posters; 9-1-1 to the tune of “Brother John”, as well as “Call 9-1-1” to the tune of “If You’re Happy & You Know It”.

* A matching “flip phone craftivity” that displays the song inside.

* A “Rip & Tear” craftivity that helps strengthen finger muscles.

* A “100s chart, mystery number worksheet”, along with quite a few worksheets to practice the numbers 911.

* Five, colorful 911 number puzzles that practice sequencing numbers from 1-10, counting backwards from 10-1, plus skip counting by 2s & 10s.

I’ve included a black & white pattern as well, so that students can make their own puzzle. And finally . . .

* 911 “slap bracelets”, a bookmark and certificate of praise.

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop, to take a look at this whopping 61-page 911 Activities packet , chock full of hands-on fire safety fun. 

Today's FREEBIE also has a 911 theme.  Students sing this 9-1-1 song to the tune of "This Old Man". I've included 3 poster optons.  

Well that's it for today. It's balmy out, despite the drizzle; the perfect kind of day to open the windows, air out the house and snuggle up with a good book and hot cup of cider.  Wishing you a relaxing day.

"Each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor."  ~Edgar Allan Poe

1-2-3 Come Do Some Fire Safety Activities With Me

I know there's a lot a teacher has to cram in each month, but I can't stress enough, how important it is to make time to cover some fire safety with your kiddos, as life skills certainly far out way report card standards, should a crisis arise. 

With time as a factor, I designed these quick, easy & fun activities. 

There's nothing quite like adding a little bit of craftiness to a lesson or writing prompt, to get students excited and down to business. 

Younger studetns can simply do the craft, while older students can complete writing prompts. 

I've up-dated & tweaked some of my favorites and tossed them into Diane's Dollar Deals in my TpT shop. 

Simply click on the photograph that you're interested in, to zip on over to take a look. The "Safety Matches" are my personal favorite.

The "Put Out the Fire" craftivity, includes a sweet song. This project provides wonderful fine motor practice, as students cut the "hose" spiral. 

My kiddos are always amazed at the "way cool" results. I've included 2 spiral posters as well, so you can take advantage of that teachable moment to build vocabulary.

The Stop Drop & Roll writing prompt craftivity, also includes a song.

Besides fire safety "craftivities", I've also up-dated the fire safety number puzzles.

There's now a total of 52, featuring 20 different pictures. 

The puzzles come in color, so you can use them for an independent math center, as well as black & white, so your students can make their own. 

The number puzzles come in both horizontal & vertical patterns, and help students sequence numbers from 1-10, count backwards from 10 -1, as well as skip count by 2s & 10s.

I have two FREEBIES for you today: a cute fire hat, as well as a fire truck-themed 10 frames packet.  I hope you find them useful. 

Since I didn't want this blog to get too long, I'm posting two articles today, as I have one more big fire safety packet to share with you.

Simply scroll down, to check out all of the super-fun & creative activities, that will help teach your kiddos about the 911 emergency number.  

There's another FREEBIE there too. Thanks for stopping by. 

"The most tangible of all visible mysteries - fire."  ~Leigh Hunt

1-2-3 Come Do Some Fire Safety Activities With Me

Since Fire Safety Month is in October I wanted to use that theme for my word work activities.  Because we do that daily, I try to keep things fresh by practicing our skills using a seasonal theme.

My newesst fire safety activity, is F is for Fire.  It's packed with quick, easy & fun activities to engage your kiddos with.

The packet includes:

* An “F is for Fire” rip & tear craftivity,which helps strengthen those weak finger muscles. 

Completed projects make a colorful bulletin board. Older students can glue their alphabetical word work on it. 

* I've included a list of 42 words that contain the word fire.

Choose which ones are appropriate for your kiddos, and have them write the words in alphabetical order on the black and white ladder, or stationery or worksheet.

There are color copies of each to make a teacher's sample.

The list can be glued to the “F is for Fire” rip & tear craft.

* There’s also a “Please alphabetize these words:” poster.

Use it on your whiteboard as a "header" then list the words you want your students to work on, underneath.

* The 16 pocket chart picture word cards, come in full color, along with matching bookmarks.

* A Trace, Write & Color “F is for Fire” flip booklet, matches the pocket chart cards. There are 2 covers & 3 size options.

* There's also a word find
* A “My Fire Safety Words” booklet and . . .
* A “How many words can you make using the letters in the word firefighters?” worksheet.
I’ve included an answer key with 188 words!

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look-see at this 40-page packet of fun: F is For Fire.

Today's featured FREEBIE also has a fire safety theme.  "Keep Your Hands Off Fire" is a quick, easy and fun writing prompt craftivity, which includes an "I Promise to Keep My Hands Off Fire" poster, as well as a "Never Ever Play With Fire" song. 

The hand print "fire" at the top will get your students excited to complete the writing prompt. Finished projects make an awesome bulletin board too.

Click on the link to get a copy of "Keep Your Hands Off Fire"   and let the fun and safety begin. 

Well that's it for today.  The wind is howling at my office window sending the lovely leaves swirling. 

Wishing you a warm and snuggly day filled with smiles.

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." - Jimmy Dean

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

Are you studying 2D shapes?  If so, I think your kiddos will really enjoy learning & practicing with these super-fun, hands-on activities, featured in my newest packet: Scarecrow Shapes.

The packet is stuffed with a variety of hands-on fun for learning 2D shapes.

Here’s what you’ll get:

* An emergent reader, “The Scarecrow’s Nose”, which practices a variety of standards, and packs a lot of sight word clout, as I’ve included 33 Dolch words.

Children read the sentence, add end punctuation: (period, question mark & exclamation point).

They trace and write the shape & color word, trace and draw the shape, then color the picture.

There is a pattern with 2-on-a-one-page template, as well as 4-on-a-page to make an Itty Bitty booklet.

On the last page, children draw a scarecrow. The nose is their favorite shape and color.

* There’s a whole-group graphing activity to graph the results.

* I've also included a really cute “My Scarecrow’s Nose” slider craftivity. 

"Socrates" is not only super-fun, but a quick, easy, and interesting way to whole group assess 2D shapes.

I’ve included a full-page size, as well as a smaller, 2-on-a-page pattern.

* There's also 7 shape worksheets that practice a variety of standards, as well as ...

* 6 colorful pocket chart cards, plus a matching black and white set, so students can make a Shape Flip Booklet, plus ...

* 5 shape games along with ...

* 4 assessments using just one worksheet!  And finally,

* A bookmark-size, “color me” certificate of praise. 

This packet is a whopping 63 pages long. 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look: Scarecrow Shapes: Emergent Reader, Games, Worksheets & Craftivities and let the learning fun begin.

I hope your kiddos enjoy learning with "Socrates" as much as mine did. 

Today's featured FREEBIE is also another fun way to practice shapes.

Back in 2009, I designed Silly Shaped Penguins. 

Because it's one of my most popular downloads, throughout the years I've added to the menagerie. 

Since it's fall, I thought the Silly Shaped Owls were perfect for a fall FREEBIE.  Hope you enjoy them.  

Well that's it for today.  I have so many projects "in process" and scattered all over my desk , that I'm not sure where to begin. 

October is flying by way too fast! Wishing you an awesome autumn. 

"I craft so hard, I sweat glitter!" -Unknown