Are You Ready to Ship Your Students Off to a New World?

Yes, the last few weeks have been very busy! 

I'm VERY tired, and so are the kids, but we've got a couple more school days to survive!

It's time to pull all the stops out! Time for high-interest activities that involve conversation and movement. Here are some ideas:

I'll be pulling out this activity from my Science and Social Studies Printables for November.

We'll also be reading informational text and learning about wild turkeys! Turkey Fact Booklet  (This is also in the Science and Social Studies Printables for November.)

 

I like to let the children work in pairs or small groups while creating these informational text booklets. This encourages conversation about the information they are learning and encourages them to use their new vocabulary.

Looking for more turkey fun? Try this Turkey Mini-Bundle, which includes that turkey informational booklet you saw above!

Finally, we'll be practicing our reading, writing, word work, and math skills with these Fun, No-Prep Activities for Thanksgiving.

 

Planning ahead? 

Check out some of these posts: (See the images for the links!)

How are you keeping the children focused during this busy time?

February Books, Resources, and Deals!

Can you believe February is upon us? 

I've got a bunch of ideas to help you get ready!

Groundhog Day is February second. Will that groundhog see his shadow? Well, here's a groundhog that can predict the weather! (Amazon affiliate.)

• Groundhog Weather School: Fun Facts about Groundhogs and Weather.

Here's a collection of Groundhog learning activities the kiddos will love:

Groundhog Mini-bundle

The image will bring you to the bundle, but you can also grab individual resources.

Have you had Day 100? Ours will be this Wednesday. Here's a great Day 100 book! (Amazon affiliate.)

• 100th Day Worries

This is a game that challenges my second graders, and they love it! 

Mental Math 100: Adding and Subtracting Hundreds

This is a great activity if you're going to be out: easy directions, and the kiddos LOVE it! And it's great for developing their number sense.  Here's another Day 100 activity for "older" kiddos to practice sets of 100 Count to 1,000 Booklet.

And a Day 100 Dollar Deal for active kids...just see the image! Beanie Toss to 100

Guess what else is coming soon... Mardi Gras! These worksheets, games, and activities will keep them busy AND learning! Mardi Gras No Prep Activities: Literacy and Math

Valentine's Day is the same week! Here's my VERY favorite book to read on Valentine's Day! This one will warm your heart and the kid's hearts as well! (Amazon affiliate.)

• Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch!

And a Valentine's Day Dollar Deal!

Two Valentine's Day Mini-Books

Here are a few fun books for Presidents Day! (Amazon affiliates.)

• Arthur Meets the President
• Who Was Abraham Lincoln?
• Who Was George Washington?

          

Here's a game to help your kids remember which American holiday is which! Which Patriotic Holiday?

Here are plenty of activities for the kids with an American President theme! President's Day Games and Activities

Want to make life a whole lot easier and grab a big bargain?  Here's a bundle with several different activities

February Bundle!

Hope these items help you get through February!

Holiday Magic!

The holidays will be here before you know it! 

I've been putting my holiday resources in order, and here are a few that will keep the kiddos engaged, along with some fun learning as well! (Just like magic!)

 

Here's one of my most popular collections: Science and Social Studies Printables for December!

This has all sorts of Science and Social Studies activities! It's got close reads on the aurora borealis and the North Pole, a mapping activity about the North Pole, classifying animals by habitats, science activities on holiday scents and the effect of marshmallows on hot chocolate, and even a civics activity on elf laws!

This resource is relatively new, but it's already a hit! 

Winter Holidays Informational Text AND Readers Theater

Your students will be having so much fun they'll forget they're practicing important reading skills! This resource includes informational text describing ten different winter holidays! Plus, it has a readers' theater script (7 pages) for ten children. It also has a song that can be used as a finale if they want to perform the play!

Here's a great way to start each day with the children thinking!

 

These Morning Meeting Greeting Questions can be displayed each morning for discussion or printed for written responses. Based on the calendar and unusual national holidays, every day has a totally different question! 

The kiddos won't even know they're having learning experiences; they'll be having so much fun!

Holiday No Prep Printables has loads of Math and Literacy activities that are perfect for those few days before the holidays when you're trying to keep them focused, but all they want to do is talk about the upcoming holidays! This collection will perform its holiday magic on the kiddos!

Drawing Holiday Conclusions is a favorite of my students! These task cards can be used as a center, as part of a Scoot game, or as skill practice in a reading group. This is always a hit!

Finally, one of my favorite freebies! This resource is totally magical! The children LOVE to listen to the music of the Nutcracker and visualize the storyline. Their pictures are delightful, and it's always a peaceful time while they listen and illustrate. (Sh... don't tell them they are practicing important reading skills like visualizing and sequencing a story!)

I hope these resources bring some magic to your holiday season!

My Plans for April Fool's Day

The laughter of children is one of my very favorite sounds!

That's why I go out of my way to hear it on April Fool's Day in my classroom!

 

These are my plans for April Fool's Day!

April Fool's Day No Prep Activities!

This set has more than enough to spend the day on fun, silly activities, yet still squeeze in a little learning and skill work!

For math, there are story problems (with silly situations, of course!), three-digit mental math (adding hundreds) math fact review, and balancing equations-second grade style!

For word work, there's a great list of April Fool's day words, sentence writing, alphabetical order, compound words, and spelling practice.

There's an April Fool's themed writing practice.

For reading, there's prediction and visualizing.

This should keep those little guys busy, and happy, too! You'll be hearing that delightful laughter!

Just see the image for the link!

April Fool's Day Math Stories!

See this link, for this math resource, too! This is a sample of the larger resource above... just the math stories!

This resource is good for the whole year, but it's particularly enjoyable around April Fool's Day!

Facts About Comedy Boom Cards

Looking for more April Fool's Day learning fun? 

Check out these other blog posts.

The Day that Teachers Dread? 

8 Ways to Spice up April Fool's Day

Thanksgiving Resources

Wow, Thanksgiving is practically upon us!  

Can you believe it? After that, Christmas, then another year! Life, please slow down?

 

Well, I want to spend the next seven school days celebrating Thanksgiving. It's a great opportunity to "throw in" a little history and enjoy the things we are grateful for!

How do I squeeze all this in? Well, I always start with loads of books. Here's a collection of books I've loved. Some are fun, and some are informational. I like to have a lot of books for each interest and each reading level so they all can enjoy them at independent reading time! (These links are affiliate links to Amazon.)

10 Fat Turkeys

Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks

The Night Before Thanksgiving

The Story of the Pilgrims

A Turkey for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at the Tappletons

Thanksgiving is...

If You Were at the First Thanksgiving

Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl

The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving Story

Books are always a great start. Movies are another fun way to enjoy the holidays!

See the above image for a link to BrainPOP Jr's free Thanksgiving video! Don't you love BrainPOP?

Here are some movies I've found on YouTube with a Thanksgiving theme. Feel free to preview them and choose what is suitable for your group!

I try to incorporate the holidays into all my subjects. This resource has loads of math and literacy activities with the Thanksgiving theme. I'll be using these all week!

Thanksgiving No Prep Activities

A few Thanksgiving-themed items are in my November Science and Social Studies Printables!

There's an information mini-book about turkeys with fun facts, vocabulary practice, comprehension questions, and a reflection page. (My kiddos LOVED this, especially the fun facts!)

 

This resource is also available as a stand-alone resource here:

or as part of this bundle:

Plus, there's a sorting activity, where the children have to decide whether facts might have happened in 1621 or if they couldn't have happened then. Be prepared for giggles!

 

Here's a math game with a Turkey theme to practice those +9 facts. My kids LOVE this one!

Turkey Nines!

I can't let Thanksgiving pass without mentioning football! As a kid, we always had a football game in the morning and a turkey in the afternoon. (My dad was a football coach!)

Here are links to a couple of football games my kids love!

Football Game Board and Cards

Counting to 1,000, plus short and long vowels:

Here's a favorite with my boys:  Football Past and Present Verbs! Yes, all these verbs have something to do with football!

 Want still more football learning? Try this bundle!

Happy Thanksgiving!