New Year's Bucket Fillers

Cultivate classroom friendships with my New Year Bucket Filler notes!

Click to download

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Prized Possession Writing for Possessive Nouns

My class got practice with perfecting possessives today with a partner writing activity.

Each student brought in a prized possession to share.  I took a picture of each student and then they partnered up and wrote about another classmate's object. So fun and eye opening. One of my students brought in a very touching item, a Beads of Courage necklace for children dealing with cancer and serious illness. Can I say that was POWERFUL!

 

 

(This photo below is from my original product file. It has since been freshly updated with new fonts and layout. Check it out.)

Want this perfect lesson for possessives? You can get a copy {HERE}.

You might want to do this writing activity after the holidays with each students' favorite holiday gift.

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Acrostic Poem for the Holidays

My students are writing about their holiday happenings acrostic style this week.

Click and print

Have yourself a merry little holiday!

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Bucket Fillers with Holiday Cheer

I'm spreading holiday cheer because..... 

My holiday bucket fillers are here!

Click and print

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Snowflake Snowman Door Decoration - Winter Activities for the Classroom

After reading the story The Biggest Best Snowman I've had my classes create a snowflake snowman to decorate our classroom door. This was at a previous school which had a standard door. The school I'm at now has a bigger window right in the middle of our door which we cannot cover, so if I decide to do my snowflake snowman it will have to be on a doorless object. So, back to my snowman. This is a collaborative snowman, similar to little Nell getting help from her animal friends to make a snowman in the story read aloud.

Give your kiddos die cut circles and have them create a gobzillion snowflakes out of them. Then make 3 snowballs and decorate your snow guy!

This snowman multiplication and division fact family craft would also be fun for your winter classroom activities.

Find more great ideas at my  TPT store 

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Holiday Ornament Gift

My students did this beaded ornament project for a family gift.

We used Fast Grab Tacky glue to stick the beads to the ornament and let dry overnight.

If there were bare spots the next day, we did touch up gluing of beads.

Then we wrapped the gifts and added this sweet little note:

Click picture to download notes

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Multiplication Card Games: Deck Out Your Holidays with a Deck of Cards

Give your students a holiday gift that keeps them learning!

I put my rhyming skills to practice with this little number:

"Your teacher is so smart

She wants you to do your part

For learning fame

Do a card game"

I typed up the rhyme and 4 card game directions.

I made 2 different versions: One set focuses on addition and subtraction and the other set includes addition, subtraction, and multiplication.

Attach a deck of cards to the game set and you have a gift for students to "Deck Out their Holidays"

Like this idea?  Grab your copy {HERE}

2 packs of cards at Dollar Tree makes your gift only 50 cents per student.

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Acrostic Synonym & Antonyms

I loved the acrostic poem idea I found {HERE} for antonyms and synonyms.  I retyped and "cutified" them!

Click image to grab your copy!

Take them or leave them

Like them or hate them

I'm on an antonym and synonym roll!

Gifts of Giving Bags

My class is treated to "Gifts of Giving" goodie bags just prior to our winter break. The basic idea is to have students bring in a class set of goodies like seasonal pencils, candy canes, erasers, or holiday Dollar Store items. I send home a donation letter to parents, and those that want to send treats in do.  All students decorate their gift cover and glue it to the front of a paper bag. As donations come in I fill the bags with all the treats and on our last day together every student has their own "Gifts of Giving" goodie bag. You can take a peek at my sample letter below and also grab a copy of my "Gifts of Giving" cover.

Grab a copy of the bag cover:

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My Window

I snapped this picture this fall Thanksgiving morning. This is the beauty that greets me every time I sit at my laptop to blog, grade, or lesson plan. I love my view from my kitchen window.

"I look out this window and I think this is a cosmos, this is a huge creation, this is one small corner of it. The trees and birds and everything else and I'm part of it. I didn't ask to be put here, I've been lucky in finding myself here."

~Morris West~

Thinking of Thanks

I'm joining Oh Boy 4th Grade and What the Teacher Wants Thankful linkies.

Harley & Me

I'm currently typing this post as a one eyed teacher due to eye surgery this morning. I have a huge eye patch over one eye and it's taken me FOREVER to correct all my misspellings.  But I'm recovering with gratitude because IT is the way, even though the doc says I'll be black, blue and bruised for Turkey Day. Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation.

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No Cost Gift Writing

My FAVORITE December holiday writing activity is related to No Cost Gifts.

I assign each student an item that costs nothing monetarily, and they write about how they appreciate it in their lives.  

Grab it at my store

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Farmer Mac Nugget's Turkeys

What a classic read for Thanksgiving!

For my first grade blogger friends I ran across a math story mat lesson I used to do with my firsties following this story.

I guess now I can enrich this same lesson by dividing or multiplying turkeys and haystacks for my 3rd graders!

These mats used turkeys and hay stacks to build subtraction word problems.

I laminated the mats for reuse.

Thankful Bucket Fillers

Have your students fill buckets this week in a thankful way!

Click each photo to download each bucket filler note.

~Enjoy~

I recently started a Facebook Group for teachers to share ideas, questions, and inspiration. 

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A Plateful of Turkey: Turkey Craft

Come make yourself a plateful of turkeys. Here's how. I was originally inspired by the idea {HERE}, but didn't want to have my kiddos paint all those plain white plates! My easy solution was to use seasonal and colored plates. They are a little thicker and harder to roll, but it's doable.

Start with a solid brown plate and roll it into a cone. Staple it and cut off larger bottom end to use as wings. Then, cut the fall leaf plate into 3/4 and 1/4 parts for the feather accents.  Layer the cut plates and staple to cone body. Last, add your too cute turkey face.  All done and with no painting!  Wala...I'm sending mine home with the students for their Thanksgiving table centerpieces.

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Gratitude Journal Prompt Writing for Thanksgiving Lessons in the Classroom

Thanksgiving at the Tappleton's is an adorable holiday read aloud with a great message of finding gratitude in all situations. The Tappleton's traditional Thanksgiving meal goes all awry when Mrs. Tappleton lets the frozen turkey accidentally slide down the icy sidewalk into the pond. The meal plans go from bad to worse shape from there on in! It's a very cute read.

This book is a perfect lead in to my Gratitude Journal prompts I use in November.

This set has 18 prompts focused on thanks and gratitude.

I also do this adorable Apple Turkey Craft. It makes a wonderful table decoration for families on Thanksgiving.

Click picture to grab a copy.

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I recently started a Facebook Group for teachers to share ideas, questions, and inspiration. 

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Veterans Day Ideas for the Classroom

Here's a peek at my plans for Veterans Day. Hope you find something you can use in your classroom.

 I read the story The Wall by Eve Bunting which is also a Reading Rainbow video.

This song is a wonderful resource too!

We also read and illustrate this poem:

I also have a Veterans Day Pack if you are interested.

(The poem above is included in the pack)

To wrap up our learning my school holds a special Veterans Day assembly where we invite military friends and family to be honored through songs sung by our student chorus.  A high school honor guard also is part of the program. My class will also be writing veterans special letters of thanks.

What are your plans for Veterans Day? 

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Trick or Treat Mats

After reading this I hope you never look at a doormat the same way!  Can you believe that thanks to Dollar Tree I've made learning game doormats! They are portable, sturdy, don't need laminating or cutting and BEST of all are cute. All I did was write various language or math concepts on each candy corn with a sharpie. Take a peek of a few I've made. I also have sets for antonyms, synonyms, compound words, place value,  and rounding. Grab a few mats and make some yourself!

I've made recording sheets to go with each mat  and posted a couple for you.

Click pictures to download

Give me a Halloween holler if you like this idea please.

Halloween Games for the Classroom

These games are spooktacular fun for Halloween.

First off, it's Spooky Spin a la Twister style.

I got this game at Target a few years ago.

Next, it's Pumpkins on a Fence Toss

Then, I took an old favorite: Toss Across and added leaves and pumpkins for a beanbag toss.

Get 3 in a row!

Let's end with some pumpkin bowling.

My class also LOVED sharing Halloween Jokes. I gave each one joke

to present to the class and they tried to guess the punchline. Afterwards each joke

was copied and illustrated to make a class joke book. 

You can get this at my TPT store.

This joke activity also comes in a money saving bundle with Halloween themed book report writing.