Seasonal Books to Read in your Classroom

We have a tradition in our home that I started with my first baby. When we put up the tree I automatically have 24 presents wrapped. I've gone from wrapping to making Christmas cloth bags, but inside of each present is a Christmas book. Some books are better than others, and some are more religious than others, but I definitely have my favorites. I put together a list of each book that I love with a short description. Each is linked to buy the book. Enjoy!

1. The Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg

Once upon a time this wasn't a movie, and the magic of the illustrations and simple story left a profound impact on me. Many teachers do comparisons with the movie and the book. I like to read this so show the students how believing is truly a gift.

2. Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree, Robert Barry

Mr. Willowby gets a tree for Christmas, but it's too tall, so he cuts off the top and tosses it out. This is a story of realizing the small things we do can help other people.

3. A Creature was Stirring, Clement Moore and Carter Goodrich

This book is amazing. It takes the traditional "A Night Before Christmas" and mixes it with the thoughts of the little boy. Great story to read together as a group read.

4. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson

This chapter book is easy enough for second graders, but enjoyed by everyone. Great easy read aloud for the class also. Bonus: There's a DVD, too!

5. How Santa Got his Job, by Stephen Krensky

This book has so many lessons to teach during the Christmas season. One of the lessons I like to bring to it is opinion writing. We also talk about why hard work pays off. Great also to teach how important job skills are. The titles tells the gist of the book. The students all love this book!

6. Mrs. Claus Takes a Vacation, by Linus Alsenas

What happens when Mrs. Claus decides she is tired of the North Pole? This story is so much fun. It gets you thinking about Mrs. Claus since we don't hear enough about her. My students love reading this every year.

7.  Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect, by Richard H. Schneider

This story is about this history of the Christmas tree. I like to read it when I'm teaching Christmas Around the World. It's a longer story, but I really like the way the author writes. The pictures are also very beautiful.

8. The Legend of the Poinsettia, by Tomie dePaolo

I love this author! He writes many books, and this one doesn't disappoint. I use this when teaching about Christmas in Mexico. Because we also have poinsettias here, the students relate. There are many lessons learned here.

9. Mooseltoe, by Margie Palatini

I absolutely fell in love with this book!!! Your students will find this hilarious! You can't go wrong with a crazy moose. 

10. The Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

This may or may not be appropriate for your older grades, but the story is a classic, and at least if you are not reading the whole book, read parts of it together as a class. There are many lessons to be learned in this book. 

Writing Letters- It's more than Writing to Santa

(Thanks Miss Kate's Cuttables for the graphic!)

When you think of writing during the Christmas season you may just think about having your students write letters to Santa. I have a list of ideas for you to do with your students that will broaden your writing horizons!

1. Letters to the elves from the younger grades- let me explain. I teach second grade. One of my most dear projects I enjoy is having my students write to Santa's elves. Whatever they want to write. Then I buddy with an older grade and they are the elves. Their job is to write back to my students as an elf. I am always sensitive to students believing in Santa, but the older person's job is to keep it magical for the younger students.

2. Opinion Writing: Convincing the head elf that you are qualified to be one of Santa's elves. This is always hilarious to read.

3. Letter to Jack Frost asking him about how he controls the weather. Another idea: a letter someone pretending they are Jack Frost explaining how snow forms. (Great for a science lesson!)

Whatever you choose to write about this holiday season, remember this is a season of fun! Regardless of what age you teach, make sure to go through the basics of letter writing and the writing process.

Enjoy teaching letter writing this holiday season. If you are interested, I do have a packet available in my store to explore further holiday letter writing!

Gratitude Attitude in Classroom

Join me over at Busy Bees for my guest blog about gratitude in the classroom!

Thankfulness: Writing to our Veterans

In my area we are near a couple of military bases. There are many veterans and active military around us. Teaching the students to recognize them is really important to me. This week we are writing to our veterans. I have done this for the last couple of years. Many of the students know a veteran, or have someone in their family, but many do not. Luckily I know many! We have many neighbors who serve, and also family members. I talk to them a lot about what veterans do, and they are able to "put themselves in their shoes."

This year I started by showing this amazing tribute I found. It shows each part of the military and is very appropriate for all ages. I had many kids in tears, including me!

We choose someone to write to, and then I send them off. I always am a bit nervous/embarrassed to send them just because I don't know how they are going to receive them. Every time it has been a beautiful experience for my students and the veterans. I makes me a little emotional when I talk about it, and I think for students to see emotions close to the surface for teachers it's a good thing. I think it helps them realize how important it is to us. I have many different writing papers in my November Writing Bundle. Click on the pic to find it in my store. Also, I am giving one packet away. Please leave a comment of your favorite November Writing Activity. Another way to enter is to go to my FACEBOOK page and share the post about Veteran's Day Writing.

I will annouce winners by November 13!

Halloween Writing Activities

I really love Halloween. Each year I do things a little differently depending upon what my students enjoy or how much they "move along." Some of my students are prepared for  bigger and more elaborate things. Last year I had a class of 32 second graders, and my motto was literally, "Just Keep Swimming!" (Thanks Dori for the tip!) Our art and craftivity projects were kept to a minimum, which was sad because my own son was in my class and I really wanted to give it all, but some things are more time intensive, and with that many little bodies and needs, it was much harder! This year I pulled out my bat lesson that I haven't talk for a couple of years and I forgot how much fun we have with it.

I first teach lots of Bat Vocabulary. We read some nonfiction bat books (in my unit I have a list of great books) The students first took the vocabulary words and definitions and found their partners with the matching vocabulary card.

After that, we talk about a lot of bat facts. TONS OF FACTS! They each get a fact card and have to walk about the class and learn a fact from everyone, and teach everyone their fact. From these fact cards they learn how to create a question for their answer for their bat craftivity. I'm always amazed at what these kids are learning!

We ended the week by watching Magic School Bus Goes Batty, because who can resist Ms. Frizzle?! If you want to check this unit out, click on the picture below to be taken to my TpT store. 

Something else that I absolutely love doing is my unit on "There's a Nightmare in My Closet" by Mercer Mayer. It's an old book, but the kids absolutely love it. We talk about what we fear, and then how we can overcome these fears. 

We then turn that fear into a story. We talk about story structure and then write our "scary" stories. They always turn out so amazing! I have other activities in my packet also on TpT.

Halloween Glyph Freebie

My students are very creative this year. Not that every year they are not, but this year I can tell they absolutely love doing any kind of craft. I created this fun pumpkin glyph for them to craft away, and to learn their shapes. It's a little simple, but at the same time, we love glyphs!!! Enjoy the freebie (Click on the picture below) and make sure to leave me a comment to let me know how you like it!

Understanding the Difference of There, Their, They're

I think the most frustrating thing for me is seeing adults using these words wrong! Social media has really made me realize how important learning the skills of homophones early on benefits us all! I created this scavenger hunt to help my students see the difference of these words. The resource includes the definitions, posters to hang, and a great activity to help reinforce the ideas.

I also decided to bundle some of my other scavenger hunt games for you to buy at a discount. My students love these activities, and they really help reinforce what we are teaching. Click on the pic below to find these bundled resources that include: There, Their, They're; The Many sounds of -ED, and Plural Endings -s,-es,-ies.

Tips for a Successful Conference Week and a Freebie

Call it what you want it, conferences are exciting, fun, informative, and most of all- EXHAUSTING! Our week of conferences are beginning and I am excited. It is a time to get to meet parents and talk about the students. Conferences should be a positive experience for both the teacher, the parents, and the students. I had a wise principal that said that if there is a problem, the parents should know about that before conference, and conference is not the time for them to hear about it. Communication with parents is hard. Parents are busy- I'm a parent! However, it's up to us to let these parents know what is going on.

I like to gather some work the kids have been working on for the term and put them in a folder- a simple long piece of construction paper, folded in half, with a picture that students have colored on the front. (I'll post pics when we get them done.) I like to have a test for literacy and math in there, for parents to see what we are doing. I also like to have a goal sheet to show the child is setting goals.

I also like to send home a cute invitation for their conference.

I have some tips for you as a teacher and you as a parent to be ready!

 Teachers:
1. Prepare parents early for when they can sign up. Send home an email, a REMIND 101 (an app you can use to communicate with parents) or put it in your newsletter.
2. If you conferences are after a term, make sure report cards have been sent home and there were no surprises on the report card. In other words, make sure you have kept communication open and parents are aware when their child is struggling before they see it on a report card.
3. Clean your room! Make a good impression to your parents! Plug in a Scentsy to get out the "kid sweat" smell!
4. Have a list in the hallway showing conference times. Have something for parents to look at while they wait. (If they have to wait.) I always have classroom collaborative books we have made. The parents enjoy finding their child's work.
5. Share something positive with the parents to begin conference. This starts it out on a nice note. As mentioned earlier, this is a time that should be focused on the child's strengths. Save the negative concerns for previous meetings. This is not always possible, but don't let it be a surprise to the parents, either.
6. Enjoy! Even though conferences are long, they really are rewarding, and help you as the teacher to see where your children come from!

Parents
1. Make sure sign up for a conference time so you don't get assigned a time. This doesn't always work for you and it's important for your child that you attend conferences.
2. Make sure to be on time to conference.
3. Make a list of questions you want to ask the teacher. When you are there, you may feel rushed, and forget the questions you were going to ask!
4. Realize your child's teacher has a lot of students, so be patient with the teacher! But make sure you voice concerns with your child. The teacher needs to be aware of your child's needs to better teach them.
5. Celebrate your child! School is their job! Show them you are pleased with their hard work and help them feel valued!

I've made a freebie with some conference files for you to enjoy, including the invitation. Click on the apple invitation above! I will be revisiting this freebie for next conference to add another invitation. Enjoy! Leave me a comment and let me know what your advice is for conferences!

Gravity

Our second grade team does rotations for social studies and science. I was not thrilled when I drew out gravity in the summer when we were figuring out our schedule. My mind has been going crazy trying to figure out how to teach it. I decided that the first place to go was Magic School Bus- I love them! I found this on Youtube, and although movies are BORING all of the time, clips are not. I introduced gravity with a little bit of the episode. We only have thirty minutes for three weeks to teach each topic.

I really wanted to try my heart at STEM teaching. I've been researching it, and it should always start with a real life problem. I decided I would put together a mini unit so I could teach it. This one is about Aiden and his problem with different balls. I can't wait to use this unit. I will start using it next week!

I am starting to put my products up for FREE for the first 24 hours so I hope you catch it in time!!! Tell me what you do to make teaching gravity fun for your kids! I'd love to hear!

Our Successful Johnny Appleseed Week!

I posted earlier about how much we have on Johnny Appleseed week. We start out the week by just looking at different apple poems, short passages about apples and Johnny Appleseed, and introducing who he is. I then introduce them to this book:

We then talk about tall tales, and decide whether or not the tale of Johnny Appleseed is true, or some of it is a tall tale. It depends year to year how much writing they do individually and how much we do together. In my Johnny Appleseed packet, there opinion, informational, and narrative writing options. This year we decided to do informational. We brainstormed sentences of supporting details together after reading the book.

We then decided on a main idea sentence together. We haven't had a lot of exposure to writing informational since we have been focused on personal narratives, so it was good to have a lot of structure for them. We worked at a supporting sentence together, and then I gave them the option of using the supporting sentences we wrote together, or use their own from the knowledge they read in the book.

They turned out so cute!!

Later on that week we also did apple tasting, learned about how apples grow from the apple tree (using the book below which is amazing!)

and made the fantastic trees also. What a great week. We did make caramel apples, too. The kids wore pots on their heads, cut off jeans, and flannel plaid shirts. What a fun celebration!

Click on any of the pics to get the packets on TpT. I've bundled them together to get them both, or you can scroll below on the bundle to see them individually.

Giveaway Time!

I'm hosting a giveaway here because my collaborative blog of Utah Bloggers opens today and we are thrilled! So enter at my facebook page Head over to www.busybeesactivities.com to enter to win a $50 giftcard to Amazon and Teachers Pay Teachers!

Johnny Appleseed and Apples Everywhere!

One of my favorite holidays to teach is Johnny Appleseed day. I've created two units that I absolutely love. My first is my Language Arts with a bit of Science. My apples unit is more science and math. I'm in love with both of them! I also just bundled them. Click on the pics below to purchase individually, or click here to purchase them bundled!

Last year my students had such a good time with Johnny Appleseed day! We got to come dressed up in flannel, with a pot for our head! (I can post this handsome guy because he is my son and was in my class!)

While doing other apple stations from these packets, one of them is making caramel apples. In the morning I let each of the students unwrap some caramels to add to the crockpot. Add a couple tablespoons of water, and by the afternoon, the caramel is perfect.

 Here is one of my students doing the Apple Jacks Math. I adjusted it this year to be more focused on place value since we are hitting that really hard right now. I'm excited for my students to do this new place value Apple Jacks math.

If you have never celebrated Johnny Appleseed day, try it this year. There's so much to learn about apples and why we celebrate this holiday.

Directed Drawing for Snot Stew

We have been reading a read aloud Snot Stew by Bill Wallace that is so much fun! The kids have loved the book. I've been trying to figure out something to do that would tie it all together. Eventually I'll put together a comprehension packet, but I've never read it before this year. I've been reading about Directed Drawing over at Step in Second Grade. She's been doing a couple of different ones, and this has been caught my heart. It looks like fun and I have been wanting to try it. So today, after finishing the book, we did a directed drawing of a cat. Here is the beginning works of the cat:

Our next task is to trace the pencil with black marker, then color. Afterwards, we will answer a question from the book, "Are you more like Toby, or Kiki the cat?" I cannot wait for these to be done. This proved to be something we could fit into a ten minute period of time. The next task will take a little more time, but what a great project!

I decided to skip the part of tracing with black marker. I think in the future I will, but I wanted to able to finish up and do the quick write, too. I asked them to decided whether their were like Kiki or Toby (two cats in the story). They came up with wonderful reasons! This was a quick way for me to see handwriting, the ability to answer questions, ability to give a reason, and usage of capitals and periods. LOVE THIS ACTIVITY! Try it and show me what you can do!

Adventures of Messy Mike and Messy Millie

We have been trying for YEARS to get clean desks. Finally this year I have found something that really has been working. I created characters that are messy. Their names are Messy Mike and Messy Millie. My kids think it's hilarious! Whenever they see someone's desk get out of sorts, they are quickly reminding them not to be Messy Mike or Messy Millie. They are so funny! I decided to put my ideas together to show what we really do and I am so excited about this product. I will post pictures soon to show how this is working.

This packet included:

*A story you can read with your students about Messy Mike and Messy Millie.
*An organization solution for your students
*Monthly Clean Desk Club Posters in color and black and white
*Monthly Clean Desk certificates

Click on the pic to find the packet. Let me know if you have questions and I want to hear how you are able to find a solution!

Remembering and Honoring September 11th

Friday was the 14th anniversary of September 11th. I've always struggled with how to teach my students something that I've experienced and they haven't. My first year of teaching was in 2001, teaching first grade students. I remember getting to school early that morning, turning on my tv while I was preparing, and seeing what was going on. I didn't even know what to think. I had several other teachers in my room that morning as we all watched in horror at what was happening. Soon enough our students showed up and we had to put on our best teacher attitude and face the day. We soon got direction from our superintendent not to talk to the students about what was happening, and if they brought it up, just to assure them we were okay. I don't know what the right thing to do was. None of us had ever faced something like that. We got through that day, and the days following, but with first graders, it was a hard thing to put into words. Perhaps for anyone.

Fast forward fourteen years later. Here were are facing another anniversary, and I have never known how to teach these students about it. They weren't even born yet, and the parents may or may not have talked to them about the significance of this date. Our school did something amazing:

Each classroom went out into the hallway as patriotic music played over the speakers. One of sixth grade classes, who's teacher is retired from the Air Force, walked through the hallway holding the flag, as the rest of us sat with our hands on our heart, listening to the music. The students didn't know why we were doing it because it was soon after they arrived for the morning. But the reverence they felt as that flag passed them, with the teary-eyed teachers, was unforgettable. It united us in a way we needed to.

I then showed the students this video I found on Youtube. It's perfect. We then talked about how we don't give up, and our country didn't give up. We talked about courage, and our nation, and how are lucky to live in a nation that doesn't give up. We talked about our everyday heroes that live in our neighborhoods and help up daily.

The day turned into one of my favorite celebration days. I am grateful for what we have learned from this horrific day, and how important it is to teach our children about this day, so they know how important it is to never give up!

100s Charts

It happened again today- we needed to add our stickers from our smiley faces for the week and I hadn't made my 100's chart for it. So during recess there I was, frantically putting it together. So here's a freebie, and lots of different reasons to use a 100's chart. This is a fantastic way for your kids to visualize what 100 looks like, how to use a 100s chart, and anything from skip counting, math skills, and so much more. Download, enjoy, and then let me know the ways you use a 100s chart. I'll update the freebie with your ideas, too!  Enjoy! Click on the pic below for the freebie.

Fitting it all in

I think as teachers it's hard to fit it all in. This post is bit more personal, but I have just been reflecting since the beginning of school eleven days ago about life. We as teachers take on a lot. We take on students we love, students we learn to love, hard standards given to us by the state, common core, assessments, standardized testing, scheduling conflicts, etc. There is so much we face at school every day it's exhausting. I know we chose this path, and I know it's hard. I hope I'm not the only one that barely keeps it together the first six weeks of school! I have a list a mile long of errands I need to run, but after school gets out we have soccer, football, piano, and the list goes on! By the time we actually pull it together and are together as a family again, it's 9:00 and we are exhausted. I try my best to read to my kids before bed, but we don't always make it!

I think we need to give ourselves a little break and celebrate the small successes we have from day to day. Last night my husband was at a meeting, my daughter was at Young Women's (for our church) and I actually had a night with my boys. We got to turn off the tv, read some books (they wanted to read their own, which isn't always the case) and I got to do some laundry, and clean up their closet (something I never got to over the summer! We needed to get out the too small clothes!) It's amazing how much more relaxed I can be when I can meet the needs of my family while feeling like I can breath a bit.

Here's to the working moms out there, the teachers that sacrifice so much in their own lives to meet the needs of their students, who actually feel more like their own children. Cheers to you! Celebrate the small things in life to keep you going from day to day. As for me, I will take my own advice and know that I can do hard things!

Tired of Pirates: Here Comes Under the Sea

I am so excited to be doing a new classroom theme. I have been busy making my new decor and can't wait to get into the classroom to put it all together. I've posted a couple products for purchase on Teachers Pay Teachers:

I cannot wait to use this next year. I always add to my products because I always am thinking about other ways to make my life easier!!! Enjoy!