Monday, October 5, 2015

Halloween Hop




Knock, Knock
… 
(Who’s there?)
Orange  ...
 (Orange who?)
Orange you shocked it’s already Halloween time?!

I know I am! It seems like it was just the first day of school!
Already…
a nine week grading period is in the books,
fall break is underway,
& parent teacher conferences are around the corner.
Where does the time go?

This week, I am linking up with Primary Polka Dots and friends to bring you a Halloween blog hop. I hope that you take the time out and trick-or-treat with everyone around. 
Click to get your treat! :)
In our fourth grade classroom this month, we are busy learning about explorers and the thirteen colonies, however, I have introduced a new component that has helped us line up quicker. I thought that maybe you would be interested in it as well. I learned this trick from a friend at a workshop this past summer, and thought why not give it a try.
 Recite Me: October Poem
We recite a stanza from our “monthly poem” as we line up during transitions. I show it on the overhead as they are lining up. Each week we will add a stanza to the lineup process. At the end of the month, they will recite the poem to the entire class. This way, we work in some of those speaking and listening skills! I’m really excited to try out this month’s poem. The first week went so well. They learned the first stanza of October. We learned about some of the parts of the poem as well. Don’t forget to get your free copy of this month’s poem page. 

 I LOVE HALLOWEEN! 

Last year at school, I dressed up for Halloween. I was the Book Fairy! I walked around the school with my awesome outfit, and rewarded students who were walking the hallways quietly with a book from the book bag--boy was that heavy! 



I made my "wings" out of cardboard, string, scrapbook paper, and newspaper. Then I found a really neat headband (that lit up!) at Kroger. Finally, I added some books from McKay's into my Halloween bag. I was ready for the school day.  (PS- The name of my book-wings were A History of Magic) I hope I can find all of my pieces to reincarnate the book fairy named "Bookthilda Factshot"

The kids really thought I had dyed my hair too!

Of course, some magic has to happen at the house! Here is a pic from our Halloween party a few years ago (again-it seems like only last year!). I was concocting a magic potion for the crowd of onlookers! There are a lot of easy, peasy magic-er- science experiments that you can do to spice up your school party! This one was making goop--think chemical reaction! 

Corn starch and water is all you need. You can call the corn starch something witchy like Crushed Ogre Teeth and the water you can add food coloring to it, and call it ________ Potion or Swamp Water. 
Mix them together until it's liquid when you rub it, but hard when you poke it. Check out how you can make it in YOUR classroom here.

As I mentioned earlier, I am linking up with some friends to offer you some wonderful prizes!  Check them out below...

Want a chance to win more TREATS, OOZING with Halloween fun?!
Check out the TREATS (no tricks here) that are EERILY EXCITING in this giveaway!
This CAULDRON of TREATS features fabulous TpT products for grades 3rd-5th, as well as a TEACHER TREAT BAG that is to DIE for!

  
Are you excited? Eeek! Go and sign up to win all of these amazing prizes. 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Next, go and trick-or-treating at my neighbor's blog. 
 

Saturday, September 26, 2015

It's finally time!

I am so excited to introduce my new design for Exploring is Elementary!


My friend, Kristen, from Chalk & Apples did a FANTASTIC job. I couldn't be more proud of this page now. Please check out her store and leave comments telling her how great she is!


Can you believe it is already the END of September? I know I can't. It seems like the year is flying by. We are going to do our district benchmarks next week, and I am sure my kids are ready (That's a first!!) 

So, I have some great things for you today! A few of my friends have come together to help me celebrate this big occasion. Primary Inspired, NotJANE, Mrs. Wheeler's Class, and Mrs. Price's Kindergators have all sent some wonderful products for you to WIN!! 

For the first prize of the day: Enter to win 4 amazing products from the ladies above and one from my own store! It is a great mixture for elementary school teachers.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Second Prize Pack: Win a $10 TPT Gift Card, and a $10 Gift Card to your choice: Amazon, Target, or Starbucks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway







Friday, September 4, 2015

GoNoodlers Unite!

So, being from Nashville, I am very fond of GoNoodle. The folks there completely out do themselves every time I log in. My kids are so very excited when I say we are going to do a brain break.

Are 4th graders too old for GoNoodle?
No way! My kids love to jam to songs like Pop Se Ko and to do yoga with Maximo. During quiet time they want to travel the USA with Airtime. They walk around telling people about the crazy state facts they learn from it.

How can I make it educational?
Bodyspell is great to get kids to learn their spelling words. I put in their spelling words for the week, and I have students that are such Kinesthetic learners! It really helps them remember the patterns. You can see them on their tests doing the motions!

My students are ecstatic when they can help Montana James through the Palace of Peril. We enter study questions for their subject. Then they do the exercises to answer the questions. They love to play against each other.

Socio-Emotional Learning
A big move that we are doing this year is really focusing on the whole child and helping them learn how to solve problems and see their own self worth. Think About It gets kids thinking during our Morning Meeting time. You can hear them telling each other the Think About It moments as reminders throughout the week

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I am very excited to be a part of the blogger hop for GoNoodle! Even better... there is a GIVEAWAY!

Have you ever seen a bracelet as an eraser? Oh my goodness, these are pretty awesome! I wish I had some for my kiddos!
If you want to get some for yourself, you can always go to the GoNoodle store. Use BTSwithGoNoodle for 15% off of your order. (It's good from Sept. 4th to Sept. 11th)



What to learn more ways to use GoNoodle in your classroom? Check out the mega-post here!