A Visit From Frosty! SURPRISE!!!

Frosty the Snowman made a surprise visit to our classroom!

Once there was a snowman,


Stood outside the door.


Thought he'd like to come inside


And run around the floor.

Thought he'd like to warm himself


By the firelight red;.

Thought he'd like to climb up


On that big white bed.


So he called the North Wind,


"Help me now I pray.


I'm completely frozen,


Standing here all day."


So the North Wind came along


And blew him in the door,


And now there's nothing left of him


But a puddle on the floor!

Field Trip to the Ohio Railway Museum!! Choo Choo!!

We took a FIELD TRIP to The Ohio Railway Museum!  It is one of the oldest railroad museums in America. The museum is designed to educate through displays and demonstrations, the role and effect of the railroads in the life of the people and businesses of Ohio and the United States.

The museum's collection includes locomotives, streetcars, and an interurban parlor car #501, nicknamed "The Red Bird." 

Click on the Transportation Unit below for a variety of train, plane, boat, and car activities!

We LOVE Sarah Hale!

Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (October 24, 1788 – April 30, 1879) was an American writer and an influential editor. She is the author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb".  Hale famously campaigned for the creation of the American holiday known as Thanksgiving!

Sarah Hale

Sarah Hale may be the individual most responsible for making Thanksgiving a national holiday in the United States; it had previously been celebrated only in New England.  Each state scheduled its own holiday, some as early as October and others as late as January; it was largely unknown in the South.  Her advocacy for the national holiday began in 1846 and lasted 17 years before it was successful.  In support of the proposed national holiday, Hale wrote letters to five Presidents of the United States: Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln. Her initial letters failed to persuade, but the letter she wrote to Lincoln convinced him to support legislation establishing a national holiday of Thanksgiving in 1863.  The new national holiday was considered a unifying day after the stress of the American Civil War.  Before Thanksgiving's addition, the only national holidays celebrated in the United States were Washington's Birthday and Independence Day.

Every year my classes participate in a Reader’s Theater – Thank You, Sarah Hale.  We LOVE Sarah Hale!  

Click  Here for Sarah Hale Reader's Theater!

Halloween Party Poem!!

PUMPKIN PATCH and HAYRIDE through FAIRYTALE FOREST!

Autumn can be such a glorious time of year!  The smell of hot spiced cider, donuts, crisp leaves, and pumpkin filled the air at our PUMPKIN PATCH field trip!!  If you’d like Autumn Activities for your classroom or homeschoolers, click on the items below our Pumpkin Patch pictures!

GIGANTIC SPIDER WEB and SPIDERS!!

What a perfect time of year to read SPIDER books!  One of my favorites is Miss Spider by David Kirk.  As an enrichment activity, I have my students create a spider out of ANYTHING at home and bring it to school for sharing.  The only criterion is the spider must have 8 legs!  I create a GIGANTIC spider web on the largest bulletin board in my classroom.  My students always oooohhh and aaaahhhh as they watch their teacher spin this web!  They are so excited when I tell them that the spider that THEY make at home gets to sit on the web for the entire month of October!  I ALWAYS get 100% participation in this activity!!

APPLES, APPLES, ZOOMING APPLES!!!

We have been having BUSHELS of fun with our apple activities this week!!  Sorting apples, counting apples, making apple sauce, apple printing, and so much more, all in anticipation of Johnny Appleseed’s Birthday this week!  We talked a lot about how Johnny Appleseed WALKED all over the eastern part of the United States planting apple seeds.  That inspired us to think of a way to make a form of transportation out of APPLES!!  APPLE CARS!!!  See our YUMMY creations below!!  You should also click the link below to check out of Johnny Appleseed Reader’s Theater!!

Click Here to Check Out This Johnny Appleseed Reader's Theater!!

How Many Bugs Invade Our Classroom!?!

Combining GREAT children’s literature and MATH is a WIN-WIN situation!  I have used my all time favorite 1-2-3 Number Books to create a 1-2-3 Counting Books Thematic Math Unit!  Every year my students go wild for these activities!!  One of their favorites is “How Many Bugs in a Box?” 

After reading How Many Bugs in a Box, play the Number Soup Game with your students!  Here is how to play…tell your student’s they will work in their own personal space; they should create enough space between each other so that they will not bump into each other.  Tell your students they will use their whole body to create each number that you call out.  You will call out numbers between zero and nine.  Next, pair the students and tell them to work together to create the numbers you call out between ten and twenty.  See the pictures below for our follow-up activity.  I have many, many print and go activities in this unit.

Please click the link below if you would like to purchase this 4 week long unit from my TeachersPayTeacher Store. 

Click Here for this Fabulous Unit!!

ABC's DAZZLE Our Classroom!!

I LOVE to begin the school year with an ABC BOOKS Thematic Literacy Unit!!  This unit gives lots and lots of opportunities for my new students to show what they know about their ABC’s!  I put out my favorite ABC Books on display.  To kick off the unit I ask every student to create their favorite letter out of something shiny at home and bring it to school for sharing!  We hang these over our alphabet chart and word wall to make our classroom DAZZLE!!!  Please click the link below if you would like to purchase this 4 week long unit from my TeachersPayTeacher Store.  You’ll LOVE it!!

Click Here for this Fabulous ABC Unit!!

Great Back to School Reader’s Theaters!!

A wonderful way to break the ice and the first day jitters is through really FUN Reader’s Theaters!  Click the book cover to to link to the Reader’s Theater!!

My favorites are:

Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler

Louise the Big Cheese and the Back-to-School Smarty Pants by Elise Primavera

How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague

That Dreadful Day by James Stevenson

First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

Back to School - JOB CHART CARDS

Job Chart Cards serve as an easy, child friendly, way to teach responsibility in your classroom.  These jobs will help keep your class running smoothly and every student will have the chance to rise to the occasion!!  I have 46 different job cards for you to choose from.  I polled all my colleagues to see what jobs they use most often and compiled the list below.  The list is alphabetized for you to easily find the job cards you need.  There are 4 cards on a page to be cut out and laminated.  I also included 10 blank cards for you to fill in any jobs unique to your own classroom!  You may want to copy or mount them on cardstock for lasting durability.  These cards will fit great in a pocket chart or you can use clothespins with each student’s name on them to rotate jobs.  The popular styles will pictured below keep everyone’s attention!!

Click on Any Style!!!

SUMMER VACATION! Hot, hot, hot!!!

I don’t mind the summer’s heat.  In fact, I’d much rather be hot than cold!  However, what I can’t stand is the heat when it is HUMID!!!  That sticky feeling is not fun!!  If you are lucky enough to live in a hot DRY climate . . . I’ll be right over!!  So, to try to put a smile on my HOT and SWEATY face, I’m going to try to describe HOW HOT IT IS!!

It is sooooooooooooooo hot . . .

. . . the cows are giving evaporated milk.

. . . the trees are whistling for the dogs.

. . . you can make instant sun tea.

. . . you notice the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.

. . . farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs.

. . . you eat hot chilies to cool off your mouth .

. . . you discover that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.

. . . the birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.

. . . you realize that asphalt has a liquid state.

I have pulled together activities to keep children’s brains busy all summer long.  Included in the packet are literacy and math activities to do throughout the entire summer!  Click the castle below!!

End of the School Year GEMS!

At the end of every school year I am extremely touched by the very kind words of appreciation I receive in cards from parents.  I am also touched by the effort my students put into writing their thoughts of the year that they present to me with smiles wider than the Grand Canyon!  Enjoy these little treats below!