1-2-3 Come Do Some Pumpkin Life Cycle Activities With Me

Since the Life Cycle of an Apple packet, was so popular, I decided to make a matching one featuring a pumpkin's life cycle.

You’ll love the versatility, as it’s appropriate for a variety of ages and levels, with lots of options.

The Life Cycle of a Pumpkin emergent reader, is great non-fiction practice that reinforces plenty of sight words, as it includes 37 from the Dolch word lists!  Picture prompts help with the rest.

I’ve included a color copy for teachers, as well as a student copy in black & white.

Children trace and write the life cycle words, read the simple sentences, color the pictures, then cut & collate the pages into a “just the right size” booklet.

There’s a template with 6 on a page, as well as one with 12 mini-pages on a one-page template, so that you have the option to make Itty Bitty booklets, that are a real paper-saver.

To assist with reading, review the life cycle of a pumpkin with the 12 colorful pocket chart cards.

There’s a set featuring wonderful clip art, as well a set with real life photographs.
Use the smaller sets to play a Memory Match or Speed (sequencing) game.

I also made a bookmark-size template (with 4-on-a-page) for your students. 

You can also review the life cycle with a colorful pumpkin poster.  I've included a black line version your kidos can do as a worksheet.

The 6, pumpkin craftivities, also reinforce the life cycle.
Nothing like a hands-on artsy activity to get your kiddos excited, and completed projects make an awesome bulletin board or hallway display.

Because they are quick, easy & fun, and so different from each other, you could do several.

For example, do the flat Jack-o-lantern life cycle as a homework assignment worksheet, and the pumpkin life cycle wheel as an independent center or whole group activity. 

The pumpkin wheel craftivity is my personal favorite; the green stem acts as a pull-tab to easily rotate the pumpkin to show the various stages.

All of the crafts come in full-color so you can make a quick sample to share, as well as black & white for your kiddos to color.

If you do the “Oh My! Pumpkin Pie” craftivity, spritz with pumpkin-cinnamon air freshener! Your room will smell wonderful.

The ”life cycle-circles” come in 2 sizes, as well as black & white, plus full-color options, with and without word labels.

The packet also includes 15 posters featuring real photographs of the various stages of a pumpkin’s life cycle, which make a lovely bulletin board display, or simply share them with your kiddos to introduce or review the stages.

I think photographs really add to a lesson, as it's always amazing to me how many of my little "punkins" have never been to a pumpkin patch to pick out their pumpkin, or are even aware of the fact that pumpkins, like apples, come in more than one color. 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to take a look see at this 85-pager: Life Cycle of a Pumpkin packet.  It's my sincere hope that you & your sweeties enjoy these activities as much as mine do.

While you're over there, I'd so appreciate it if you'd click the "Follow me" button. That way you'll know when I post FREEBIES, & Diane's Dollar Deals.

Thanks in advance; I'm excited to reach 700 followers.  I always design a special freebie when I hit a "milestone". Speaking of FREEBIES, the featured one today is also about pumpkins. 

I call it "Peekin' in a Pumpkin" because you can literally peek inside the paper plate pumpkin "window", and see "pumpkin guts". 

On the front of the paper plate, students draw a Jack-o'-lantern.  My kiddos absolutely LOVE doing this craftivity, and the results, suspended from the ceiling in the hall, are simply "spook-tacular!"

We get lots of "ooh ahh" comments too.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  The trees are just starting to turn, so it's time for a nature walk.

My poodle pup, Chloe, will be thrilled.  Wishing you a relaxing day; I hope it's invigorating as well.

"When the wind blows through a wood, its mass is cut and closed by every leaf, forming a train of jittery vortices in the air." -Alice Oswald

1-2-3 Come Make An Autumn Dangler With Me

There's nothing quite like adding a bit of craftiness to a writing assignment, to get your kiddos excited and down to business.

With that in mind, I created this "Welcome Fall" dangler.
I call it that because the leaves are "falling" as they dangle from the ceiling.

They look amazing as they swirl & twirl just like real leaves.
PK kiddos can simply color and cut their leaves.

Run the templates off on a variety of colors of construction paper, so that older students can complete the writing prompt: "Leaves CAN-HAVE-ARE..." on the back of the leaves, then cut them out.

I've included a worksheet for this that you can do as a whole group, or individually, for pre-writing practice.
A completed template makes it easy for you to incorporate.

The back also sports a "Red, orange, yellow and brown.  Autumn leaves flutter down." poem.  The front simply says: Welcome Fall. I chose open-faced letters so that students could add a bit of color.

You can also dream up another writing prompt as well, such as "Why I Like Autumn" or describe fall with some nice descriptive adjectives.

I tossed these into Diane's Dollar Deals, to make adding that excitement inexpensive, quick, easy & of course super-fun.

For that finishing touch, my students ran their leaves through a crimping roller.
They came out looking like corrugated cardboard, which makes for an awesome 3D effect that will have passersby saying: "Cool!" "How'd you do that?"  If you look closely, you can see these "wavy lines" in the photo.

You can pick up one of these cool tools at most craft and scrapbooking stores.  Mine was $18 and well worth the money, as my kiddos LOVE using Mr. Cruncher Muncher each month.  It's a fun way for them to strengthen their finger muscles too.

Click on the link to grab this delightful Dollar Deal from Diane: Welcome Fall Writing Prompt Craftivity.  Here's hoping you get a chance to make time for a little crafty-creative writing this fall. And . . .

If you're one of those blessed teachers who have time to do a craft "just for fun" (like the good old days), your kiddos will absolutely LOVE "Autumn Splendor". 

It's another one on my Dollar Deals, and my personal favorite fall craft. 

The photo does not do the finished products justice, as they turn out so amazing!!!!!

Some of my kiddos actually squeal with delight as I carefully peel the wax paper off their melted crayon creation.  They are so proud of this project. 

I tossed in some upper and lowercase letter practice for the "Alpha Trees" that are also part of this packet, so take heart if you're dying to do something crafty, and need a reason why.

Today's featured FREEBIE is also a leaf craft.  It's super-simple and a quick, easy & fun way to reinforce the science vocabulary word chlorophyll, which your kiddos will be learning with any study of leaves.

All little ones do is glue half of a folded yellow, red, or orange leaf to a green "cholorophyll" leaf. 

Explain that the colored leaves are that color because they lost their ...(lift up the flap) to reveal the word chlorophyll and the green leaf. 

This FREEBIE is in the equally free "Leaf Man" packet.  It's one of the first fall things I posted years ago, before classes, software, clip art & fonts were purchased, so it's not up to my quality of standards today... 

But hey, it's free and still fun. As you can see, our leaf men turned out rather awesome! Afterwards, we read Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert.  

Well that's it for today.  The leaves have not started turning as yet, a little unusual for October here in Michigan.

However the nights have been pretty cool, so Mother Nature will soon be turning heads.  Wishing you a colorful day.

"If you can't be in awe of Mother Nature, there's something wrong with you." -Alex Trebek

1-2-3 Come Do A Super-Fun Writing Prompt With Me

There's never enough time to get in all of the wonderful "Getting to know you" activities we do for back to school, so I do at least one each month.

My kiddos LOVE sharing about themselves, so they really enjoy this type of writing. Plus, it's fun to continue to learn more about our classmates.

With this in mind, I designed "Me!" A Fall-Themed Writing Prompt packet. 

All you have to do to get excited about this "craftivity", is make a sample of your own, to see how much fun this is!

An added bonus is that completed projects make an easy bulletin board you can keep up for months! Woo hoo. Caption: "Fall Into Writing!"

Plus, this activity is so versatile, it can be done by PK kiddos with one-word answers, all the way up through 5th grade!

Have older students write 3-4 things in each section.
You can also encourage the use of adjectives too.

There are 7, autumn-shapes to choose from: an apple, 2 pumpkins, 3 leaves and an acorn.

Because they are all fall pictures, you can give students a choice for an eclectic bulletin board display.

Just pumpkins in a patch, leaves and acorns blowing in the wind, or apples on a tree or in a big basket look terrific too.

If you choose the pumpkin pattern without a leaf, have children trace their hand on green construction paper, trim and add to the top for a "keepsake" leaf.

I've also included blank templates, so you can dream up your own writing prompts.

Do in class, or send home as a homework assignment that your kiddos will really want to do!

For that finishing touch, add a school photo. I also have my students choose 2 or 3 colors, so we can practice an AB-AB or ABC-ABC pattern, which really makes their completed writing prompt stand out.

Click on the link to pop on over to my TpT shop to have a look see at this 20-pager: "Me!" Fall Writing Promt Craftivity packet.

While there, I'd so appreciate it if you'd follow me.  That way you'll know when I post FREEBIES, Diane's Dollar Deals, new stuff or have a sale. 

I know it sounds silly, but I really get excited seeing that  number grow.  I'm anxious to reach 700 followers.  Whenever I achieve a milestone, I create a special freebie that will hopefully knock-your-socks off!

Speaking of FREEBIES, today's featured free item is a 15-page leaf-themed math worksheet packet.  Reinforce numbers, sequencing, skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s & 10s. Plus, there are "What's Missing?" worksheets, and some for counting to 120.  Click on the link to grab a copy. 

Well that's it for today.  It's a chilly morning, but no frost on the pumpkins yet (PTL).

I am so not ready for winter-weather during fall.  Wishing you a warm and snuggly kind of day.

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

1-2-3 Come Sing and Learn With Me

Do you sing “5 Little Apples In an Apple Tree” during fall?  It’s one of my kiddos favorites, and a great way to practice all sorts of math skills! 

They especially enjoy the fingerplays I've added, and like it so much, we continue to sing 5 Little Apples through November, as we add other songs to our autumn repertoire.

I added an extra stanza to the end. I figured if a child ate 5 apples, especially green ones, they'd probably end up with a tummy ache; thus the line: "Did I eat 5 apples without a break? Uh oh! Tummy ache."

Besides singing the song, I wanted to do some follow up activities that would also reinforce a variety of standards, so I designed the 5 Little Apples Activities packet. 

I think you’ll really like the versatility, as it’s appropriate for PK-1st and especially helpful for ESL children.  Simply pick & choose what’s right for your group.

The packet includes :

* An emergent reader, which includes a full-color copy for teachers, as well as a black & white one for your students.

Children read the repetitive sentences, trace & write the number & number word, then draw that many apples on their tree. 

To make this a sweet keepsake, I have my kiddos press their index finger on their choice of a red, yellow or green stamp pad, to make their apples. 

If you like that idea too, you'll want to include the optional last page:

* I've also included a set of Pocket chart cards. As you read the poem-chant with your kiddos, you can take an apple away.

Continue reading by simply changing the 2 cards that have a number on them.

To reinforce subtraction with my kiddos, I have them hold up a "high five" hand. 

As apples fall we "fold" one of our fingers down. 

I say: "5 apples were on the tree.  One fell down; that left..." They say and show me 4.

* There's also a variety of Games:Memory Match, I Spy, Where's Wiggles? ( which practices ordinal numbers as well as spatial directions), plus I Have-Who Has?; Speed, Kaboom & an Apples on a Roll (dice game).

* Some posters, including photographs of real apples.
* Math-related worksheets with the 5 Little Apples theme. 

Pick the level that's appropriate for your kiddos.

* My personal favorite, is an apple slider craftivity, with two options: a simple slider with numbers from 1-5 for PK kiddos, as well as one that skip counts by 5s.

* The number puzzles are also suitable for different ages and levels.

I hope your kiddos enjoy this song-poem as much as mine do. As you can see, it’s a quick, easy and fun way to cover all sorts of standards. 

Click on the link to pop on over to my TpT shop to have a look see at this 57-pager that's chock full of fun, and only $3.50: 5 Little Apples Activities

The featured FREEBIE today, is a quick, easy and fun way to learn more about your students, as they practice their address, which I think is extremely important, and fits right in with our Fire Safety activities this month. 

Click on the link for the "My Home" writing prompt craftivity.  Completed projects make an adorable "Our Classroom Neighborhood" bulletin board too.  

Well that's it for today.  I'm anxious to start designing other fire safety stuff, plus pumpkin and scarecrow activities!

Be sure and pop back tomorrow to see what I got accomplished. For now, it's time for a computer break to decorate my house for fall, before Halloween has come and gone! Wishing you a weekend filled with super-fun autumn activities.

"Let your life lightly dance on the edges of time, like dew on the tip of a leaf." - Rabindranath Tagore

3 pages

Help explain the 4 seasons with this seasonal apple tree poster and worksheet.  This FREEBIE is part of my jumbo 83-page 4 Seasons Of My Apple Tree packet in my TpT shop.  For your convenience, I've included a PREVIEW with the free poster & worksheet here.

1-2-3 Come Do Some 4 Seasons-Apple Activities With Me

My apple studies spill into October because of our big Harvest Theme going on. 

With all of the rules, “getting to know” you activities, and assessing where my kiddos are at, I simply don’t have enough time in September, to get to all of the interesting apple science I have planned because we don't start school 'til after Labor Day. 

So my super-fun apple activities, simply flow into October, along with my other harvest themes: pumpkins and scarecrows.

October is also the perfect time to learn about the seasons because my students can definitely see lots of changes going on outside.

With that in mind, I designed the Seasons of my Apple Tree packet.

It’s chock full of all sorts of fun activities that reinforce a variety of standards.

I introduce these lessons by reading The Season’s of Arnold’s Apple Tree, by Gail Gibbons.

The packet includes:

* An emergent reader booklet, which includes 36 Dolch sight words!
* There’s 6-mini pages on a one-page template, for a “just the right size” Itty Bitty booklet, which saves on paper & printing.

* I’ve included an emergent reader in full-color for teachers, as well as black & white for your students.

* There’s an optional last page, so you can Segway into graphing a favorite season, as well as a favorite color apple.

* My personal favorite, is an adorable keepsake 4-seasons tree.

* You can either have children trace their hand and arm, to make the branches and trunk of the tree, or print off my pattern.

It's one of my kiddos' favorite counting-subtraction songs.  For that finishing touch, add a child's photo to the hollow of the trunk.

* The packet also includes posters, some of which are beautiful photographs of apple trees during the 4 seasons.

* I live in Michigan, which is a huge apple growing state, so there are plenty of places you can see orchards.

Use the pictures as posters, a bulletin board display, or simply share with your students before or after reading apple stories.

* I've also included worksheets, & pocket chart cards.

One of the worksheets gives your kiddos some scissor practice, as they cut and glue the appropriate items for each season to tree branches. 

You can keep it as a one-page worksheet, or get in some more scissor practice and have your kiddos cut the 4 pages, collate, and staple together to make another Itty Bitty booklet. 

There's also a matching set of game cards, so you can play Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" games.

Besides games, I also designed matching seasonal puzzles that reinforce counting from 1-10, counting backwards from 10-1, as well as skip counting by 2s and 10s.

* The puzzles come in full color, so you can use them for an independent math center, as well as black and white, so kiddos can color, cut and make their own puzzle. 

Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to have a look see. The packet is a whopping 83-pages and just $3.95: Seasons Of My Apple Tree activity packet.

To be sure you get all of the FREEBIES, news of sales, Diane's Dollar Deals and new stuff, be sure and click the "Follow Me" button.  Thanks in advance! 

 

Speaking of FREEBIES, I have two for you today.  They both come from the packet.

The first one is a set of the 4 seasons of my apple tree poster, in color as well as black and white. 

I've also included a mini 5x7 poster to save on printing and paper. Click on the link to grab your FREEBIE today.

 

The other free item is the "Label the apple tree" poster, with a matching "cut & glue" worksheet. Click on the photo or link to zip on over to get it.

Well that's it for today.  My grandchildren are coming over and we're going to decorate the house for fall. 

I so enjoy doing that, especially with little ones to help energize me with their excitement.  

Wishing you a love-filled day.

 "Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation." -Lois Wyse

I know I'm late in posting this, as September has gone by faster than its usual speed of light for me, but I wanted to finish up with apples, before I move on to other fall-themed units.

I figure apples fit well with my harvest theme for October, so I usually throw in a few extra apple activities that I didn't have time to cover earlier. It's also great to compare and contrast apples with pumpkins too. 

Any hoo, I had so much fun redesigning two of my all-time favorite life cycle of an apple crafts, and tossing in an emergent reader to round out the activities in my latest fall packet: Life Cycle of an Apple Activities.

I think you’ll love the versatility, as it’s appropriate for a variety of ages and levels, with lots of options.

The Life Cycle of an Apple emergent reader, is great non-fiction practice that reinforces plenty of sight words, as it includes 31 from the Dolch word lists!
Picture prompts help with the other words.

I’ve included a color copy for teachers, as well as a student copy in black & white.

Children trace and write the life cycle words, read the simple sentences, color the pictures, then cut & collate the pages into a “just the right size” booklet.

There’s a template with 6 on a page, as well as one with 12 mini-pages on a one-page template, so that you have the option to make Itty Bitty booklets, that are a real paper-saver.

To assist with reading, review the life cycle of an apple, with the 8 colorful pocket chart cards.

I also made a bookmark-size template for your students.

The 2 apple craftivities also reinforce the life cycle. Nothing like a hands-on artsy activity to get your kiddos excited.

I’ve included a simple 4-section life cycle, as well as a more detailed one, with 7 sections. I feature both options in the photographs.

Completed projects look awesome dangling from the ceiling, as there is a front & back for each project.

Choose either the apple with a sweet fingerprint poem, or the equally adorable apple pie.  Here's the poem:

"There's a star inside my apple!  It's a miracle indeed, that a sweet and yummy apple was once a little seed. This one is extra special.  It's made with TLC.  The seeds are from my fingerprints, as you can plainly see."

I made the leaf 3D by folding an extra one in half then gluing it to the flat one. For that finishing touch, have students glue their school photo on the leaf. 

The life cycle of an apple, on a small paper plate, covered with aluminum foil, also turned out really cute. I spritzed ours with apple-cinnamon air freshener! Our room smells fabulous! 

The back of the "pie" has the life cycle, and the front features the "Life Cycle of an Apple" title circle.  Since the apples end up in a pie, I thought I'd dangle a slice "Oh my! Apple pie." to complete the cycle. 

I hope your kiddos enjoy doing these activities as much as mine did. An added bonus, is the wonderful compliments you’ll get from appreciative parents, who’ll love this special keepsake!

Click on the link to pop on over to my little TpT shop to take a peek at this 33-pager: Life Cycle of an Apple Activities packet. 

While you're there, I'd so appreciate it if you'd click on the "Follow Me" button; then you'll know when I post Diane's Dollar Deals, new stuff, and FREEBIES too.

Speaking of FREEBIES, today's featured free item, is a fall-themed "Shapely Graphing" packet.  Reinforce graphing, shapes and colors all in one worksheet!  Can I get an Amen!?

The teacher's answer keys are in full color to save you a ton of time, while the student worksheets are in black and white.

It's the newest FREEBIE in my store; I thought it fit the blog today because it has an apple graph, then slides us into the rest of my fall themes: pumpkins, leaves and spiders. Click on the link above to grab it.

Well that's it for today.  If March roars out like a lion or lamb, then September is bidding adieu like a beach ball. 

It's a beautiful sunny day in the 70's, and time to take my poodle pup, Chloe, for a much-needed trot around the block.  Wishing you a blessed week. 

"Designers want me to dress like spring, in billowing things.  I don't feel like spring.  I feel like a warm red autumn." -Marilyn Monroe

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

Are you studying colors or color words with your kiddos? Do you read Brown Bear Brown Bear, by Bill Martin & Eric Carle? If so, I think you'll enjoy Brown Bear's Colors.

I designed this color packet to go along with the story because it's one of my all-time favorites; my students really enjoy Brown Bear too, and it's perfect for sequencing as well as reinforcing colors.

You’ll LOVE the versatility of this packet, as it’s suitable for PK through 1st, and particularly helpful for ESL students.

Practice a variety of skills & standards, by simply taking the teachable moment to point out & explain, or skip that skill if it doesn’t apply to your age group/level.

The packet includes:

An emergent reader (2 options) One booklet is entitled "A Rainbow of Colors" and reinforces 6 colors of the rainbow. 

The other, "Lots of Colors" includes 11 basic colors.

Students read the simple sentences, which are packed with plenty of Dolch words, trace and write the color word, then color the crayon and bear's sweater the matching color.

So that you can have a "teachable moment" to review end punctuation, I've purposely included sentences with a period, question mark & exclamation point. 

To ensure that students are really reading their booklets, instead of repeating "I see a ________(color) crayon." I switch up the pronouns, so that you can  practice pronouns, which are also on the Dolch lists.

An anchor chart pronoun poster is also included.

I figure as long as my kiddos are learning to read these words, I might as well briefly explain pronouns, adding yet another word to their growing grammar vocabularies. 

The packet includes games galore! There are 4 separate games, plus 10 more you can play with just the colorful crayon poster!

I've made full-color sets to use as independent centers, as well as black & white games so that students can make their own to practice at home. 

Add the Kaboom cards for even more fun.  The packet also has . . .

* A whole group assessment
* Worksheets
* An assortment of anchor chart posters

* A  Rainbow Color song
* Favorite color graphing activity and
* A bookmark and certificate of praise

Since I have a lot of visitors from Australia, Great Brittain and Canada, I've also included templates with the "Colours" and "Grey" spellings.

* As always, directions, photographs and completed samples. Click on the link to pop on over to my TpT shop to have a look at this 80-page packet of color fun: "Brown Bear's Colors.

Today's featured FREEBIE, comes from the packet.  There are two; woo hoo!  The first one is the "Favorite Colors" graph. Click on the link or picture to get your copy.

The graph comes in color, to use as a whole-group activity,  as well as black and white, so that students can collect data on their own. 

The other FREEBIE is a set of posters. "We know our colors!" and "We know our color words."

Pick the one that's right for your kiddos. When they have mastered the standard, they get to sign the blank poster that's displayed underneath. 

This provides a nice incentive that promotes self-esteem.  There's also a "colours" set for my non USA teacher friends.  

Well that's it for today. Art Prize has started here in Grand Rapids, so I'm off to go meander around downtown with my hubbie and grandson.  Wishing you an ed-venturous weekend as well.

"The purpose of art is to wash the dust of life off our souls." - Pablo Picasso

2 pages.

Graphing colors, is a quick, interesting and fun way to introduce and practice graphing with your kiddos. Children LOVE giving their opinion.  Do some math extensions like addition and comparing greater & less then as well. I've included a color as well as black line pattern.

4 pages.

Are your kiddos learning their colors or color words? Use these posters as incentives.  When your students pass their assessment, and have mastered these sight words, or can identify all of the colors, they get to sign the "Wall of Fame" poster. 

Hang up to promote self-esteem.  To accommodate other countries, I've also included a set using the spelling colours.