Beach Sand: Fall

Showing posts with label Fall. Show all posts

Hello Friends!
I am so happy to be posting today! It's been FOR.E.VER!! Since the start of school, it's been one thing after the next! My son started high school. My daughter is in 7th grade. It's been endless homework, activities, carpools, etc. You know what I mean...taking care of the family is beyond a full-time job and pile that on top of school....whoa! Are you pulled in a million directions, too? What's your escape or how do you spend time on yourself? Leave a comment. I would love to hear!

Starting back with blogging is fun with Farley and her monthly Currently. Here is what I'm up to today!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog today. I appreciate it! I'm on Instagram and Facebook, too! Follow me and let's be social!

Please swing by my TpT store and check out my autumn products. You'll find some freebies, too!

Enjoy your weekend!

Beach Sand and Lesson Plans

Hop on over to Owl-ways Be Inspired to read my post about apples and Johnny Appleseed! Happy fall!!

Beach Sand and Lesson Plans

Social networking is so popular these days...in fact it is a way of life. I know a day doesn't go by when I don't check out Facebook! What would do without it! I currently started using Twitter and Facebook in the classroom! Don't panic! I don't have my 3rd graders tweeting during the school day. I decided that using what is popular and current gets the kids motivated! In my Turkey Time pack, I have created 2 fun activities...one is called Turkey Tweets and another called Plymouth Book. My 3rd graders will be tweeting from the turkey's perspective! The challenge is keeping the Tweets short and to the point. The kids have to be very specific and use details! (Real Tweets have to be 140 characters or less!)

The second activity is Plymouth Book. After doing a little research on the Pilgrims and the Native Americans, students create a "Facebook" page for a person that attended the first Thanksgiving. This is a great alternative to a typical report, summary, or book report and it enforces critical thinking skills! I'm going to create more "facebook" and "twitter" type activities! Be on the lookout.

Check this pack out at my TpT store! There are 8 activities in total, 2 printable bookmarks, and turkey themed writing paper for creative Turkey Tales!

Beach Sand and Lesson Plans

Halloween is by far one of my favorite holidays. Pumpkins, costumes, candy, tricks. Who doesn't love that?! I think I am at one of the only schools in my district that actually has a Halloween parade...not fall fest, not Octoberfest, not a storybook parade...but a full on Halloween parade. Parents attend and watch us march through the school. Everyone dresses up! I just LOVE it. My own children have taken part...along with my husband who, by the way, teaches in the adjoining room to me...another post another day! LOL! Traditions like that make for some happy school memories. My team this year dressed as THE SUPER TEACHERS... just how we feel this year (and most years). There is always more to do, more to learn, changes, etc. but the hours in the day stay the same and somehow we make it through...our SUPER POWERS I guess! Our media specialist had the storybook pumpkin contest. After the parade we walked through the library voting with pennies placed in UNICEF boxes. Captain Underpants made me laugh!! Families and kids are so clever and creative.

With the excitement of the parade and the night ahead, my team decided over the last few years to keep the rest of the day "low key". No big party. Instead we have centered the day around owl themed activities...keeping an academic focus, but having fun at the same time. My favorite part of this unit is dissecting Owl Pellets. If you have not done this before PLEASE give it a try. They can be purchased online, but ours come in the science materials we get each year. Do you know what an Owl pellet is?? The bones, fur, etc. that the owl can not digest gets regurgitated...kind of like a cat's hairball. The kids LOVE it! They could have picked through it all day. The pellet comes wrapped in tin foil. The kids make guesses as to what it is. We unwrap it and continue guessing. Then I tell them! The oohhs, yucks, and awwws are priceless. Now it's dissection time. They pick through the fur using tweezers and toothpicks. After they find the bones, they categorize them, and glue them on black construction paper. What a blast!!

How do you celebrate Halloween in your classroom?? Hope everyone had a spooky day!

Beach Sand and Lesson Plans

Head on over to The Tattooed Teacher for a haunted giveaway...ALL of her spooky files! How generous!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays...not a fan of dressing up in costume, but I do adore the decorations, trick-or-treating, the feel of fall in the air--which I'm still waiting for here in South Florida...maybe after Tropical Storm Sandy passes this weekend we'll get some cool dry weather! Keeping my fingers crossed.

While we wait my kids are working on this Autumn Brain Booster...great for morning work, early finishers, or just for fun!!