Resources for April!

I'm so glad to see the calendar finally turning to April! 

March has always been a long month, but April has a whole lot of fun learning to be had! 

Here are links to blog posts for many of the events happening in April!

I've got plenty of April Fool's fun ideas in THIS blog post!

• 8 Ways to Spice Up April Fool's Day

Looking for Science and Social Studies ideas for April?  

• What to do with Leftover Jellybeans

Easter is right around the corner. Here are a couple of blog posts to help you out! Easter Stories, Books, Music, and Fun Resources and An Easter Warning and an Easter Tradition.

Don't forget spring! Although we have snow predicted for this weekend here in New England, spring truly is trying to work it's way through this nasty weather! Be sure to check out these Spring Resources!

Plus, baseball season is starting up! If you have any baseball fans in your classroom, you'll have to checkout Baseball Fun!

For ideas and resources for Earth Day, see THIS link.

 

Many of my friends and coworkers agree, March was a very long month, but it's April, and there's a whole lot to look forward to! Maybe you can start the month winning some great stuff!

Will the Groundhog Predict Spring?

Do you think Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow?

It's a tough call, but I'm thinking we might just have 6 more weeks of winter. 

But even so, Groundhog Day is a fun day at the beginning of a dreary month to scramble up some fun excuses to learn!

Let's start with books! I'm a big fan of Gail Gibbons, and this one is perfect for groundhog learning. I love her books because she puts information in a way that's interesting and easy to understand for children. 

• Groundhog Day

These two books are fiction, but with a lot of learning to happen!

• Grumpy Groundhog

• Groundhog Weather School Fun Facts about Weather and Groundhogs

Speaking of reading skills, I have a close read about Groundhogs in this resource: Science and Social Studies Printables for February.

Plus, there's an activity sorting animals that hibernate in the winter.

Then there's video! 

Look what I found! This is a reading of Gail Gibbon's book Groundhog Day!

I also found an informational video that tells about Groundhog Day. I like this one because it has real groundhogs for the kids to see!

 

Besides the science of groundhogs, kids really take to this topic, so I've got a few resources to help you out!

Here's some groundhog-themed word work! Perfect for grades 2-3!

Groundhog Consonant -L-E: a sorting activity

Speaking of word work, Here's a fun game to practice prefixes and suffixes!

Don't Let the Groundhog See His Shadow!

What student doesn't think story problems are a little bit more when they have a fun theme! This is my plan for this week! It combines groundhogs AND Super Bowl themes!

Groundhog Day and Super Football Math Problems

Want to try a little science? Here's a Life Cycle activity with lots of options

The LIfe Cycle of the Groundhog

Want more science? Here are a couple of resources that give practice reading informational text while having some fun learning about groundhogs!

Boom Learning: Facts About Groundhogs

They love these "hands-on" booklets!

Groundhog informational booklet

Or grab them all in this fun Groundhog-themed Mini-bundle!

Groundhog Mini-Bundle

Isn't it fun to integrate seasonal topics into our learning?

Here's to hoping that groundhog doesn't see his shadow! 

We could use a little spring!

Wondering what will keep them engaged the last week before Christmas?

If you are already on vacation, congratulations for surviving! If you're still going, like I am, you'll be needing something extra special to keep those restless, overtired children engaged!

 

This week we did some STEM activities from this set: S.T.E.M. Activities for December.

The children had a great time creating face warmers for Santa!

And designing workshops for elves!

Every student was engaged, plus there was learning going on! Their reflections really showed they were learning about the Engineering Process, as well as learning to work as part of a team. I was proud of their achievements!

There's a lot going on this coming week. (Yes, we go through Friday afternoon at 3:30!) I'll be pulling out all the stops with some of my favorite holiday activities. 

We'll be painting, illustrating, and reading some of my favorite holiday stories. We'll also bring in a little Science and Social Studies with this resource: Science and Social Studies Activities for December.

They'll be reading informational text about the North Pole and about the Aurora Borealis, practicing their mapping skills with a map of the North Pole, sorting Christmas scents, and learning about laws by sorting elf laws.

 

Besides all this fun, I'll be pulled out of class on Thursday for an IEP meeting, so I'll be assigning some of the pages from this resource: Holiday No Prep Activities.

I can be sure the children will be getting fun practice on important reading, writing, and math skills with these! 

If all else fails, it's time to pull out the glitter! (Yes, I plan to!)

Of course, I hate to leave for vacation without being ready for that first week back! Here are a couple of resources I'll be pulling out at the beginning of January!

Beanie Toss to 100!

Thank You Cards

These may be going out of style for some, but grandparents still prefer a handwritten thank you card. Who doesn't want to keep grandparents happy?

 

2024 Calendar of Fun!

Here's a little something extra they can do with these calendars!

Science and Social Studies Activities for November

Science and Social Studies are my very favorite things to teach! 

However, it's so hard to find time in the schedule to teach these. But I manage to find time by overlapping with other subjects, such as reading, and including science and social studies concepts with the calendar!  

Here's my favorite resource for November!
Science and Social Studies Activities for November!

 

I'm determined to make your life easier, and I hope this resource does the job!  I've taken many of the important second-grade skills, mixed in a few November special days, and came up with these activities! There are close reading activities, mini-books, sorting activities, and even a S.T.E.M. activity to do with leftover Halloween candy corn! It's guaranteed fun for the kids, easy for the teachers, and valuable learning experiences!

Here are a couple of my favorite parts:

A Turkey Fact Mini-book! (With vocabulary and comprehension questions.)

Daylight Savings Time Close Read. 

 

A STEM Engineering Challenge with leftover Halloween candy corn!

 

Thanksgiving Fact or Fiction? This one was so much fun to make: Children have to decide whether things could have happened back in the 1600s at the first Thanksgiving! Expect plenty of giggles!

If you like these, check out some of my Science and Social Studies Bundles: Autumn Bundle

 

Winter Bundle

 

Spring Bundle

 

Summer Science and Social Studies

  

Science and Social Studies for the Year Bundle

These resources have made my life so much easier! I hope they do the same for you!

Ten Freebies, Dollar Deals, and Two Dollar Treats for Back to School!

Yes, you read that right, that's a full ten back-to-school bargains!

These bargains are designed to make your teacher life easier for back to school!

These are some of the things that always help me through those first busy weeks of school! 

 

Here's a Dollar Deal to help organize your literacy centers, including what the children do when they're not with you!

Literacy Center Cards! 

These cards are part of this more inclusive resource: 

Guided Reading and Literacy Center Management and Organization Resources

 

 

We all know those children who struggle to learn sight words. This research-based $2 Treat will help!

Spelling Fun - Brain Friendly Task Cards

For a more inclusive resource see:

Research-Based Sight Word Task Cards for ANY Word

 Here's a great way to keep communication open with parents, and give them some information that will help their children be successful!

Parent Communication Brochure for Back to School or September

This system has helped many children master their basic math facts. This freebie is the first of 8 research-based, brain-friendly levels toward math fact fluency.

Brain Friendly Addition and Subtraction Fact Freebie

Have your students mastered addition and subtraction facts? Move them on to multiplication and division! As with the addition and subtraction facts above, these are research-based and brain-friendly. This freebie is the first of 8 levels toward multiplication and division fact fluency!

 

Brain Friendly Multiplication and Division Freebie

This Dollar Deal is a great way to start the year in Science and Social Studies.

 

Science and Social Studies Printables for August & September Sampler

For the full set of 9 enhanced activities see:

Science and Social Studies Activities for August and September

  

Looking for some fun ways to get the children comfortable with each other and learn to work together? These 6 Dollar Deal Team Building Games are very popular!

6 Team Building Games and Activities 

These 6 games are included in:

20 Team Building Games and Activities Build Classroom Community

These 20 games are included in the bigger set... this one will last you the whole year!

60 Team Building Games and Activities to Build Classroom Community

  

I use these Dollar Deal tools as a "school office" with my students. These hands-on tools help children become independent learners!

 

Hands-On Tools for Learning: Sampler

These tools are included in the big bundle:

Hands-On Tools for Learning Bundle

These tools are also available for each individual subject:

Reading Tools for Learning

Writing Tools for Learning

Math Tools for Learning

Science Tools for Learning

Social Studies Tools for Learning

  

This Dollar Deal is a fun way to get the kiddos thinking about their learning and how they can take charge of their learning.

I Can Stretch My Brain!

 

This one will help the kiddos get all those summertime wiggles out!

Back to School Brain Breaks

If you find these freebies and dollar deals useful, I'd love if you left some feedback!

I hope these bargains and ideas make your teaching life a bit easier!