October Books: "Book of the Month" Blog Hop

Who doesn't love a good holiday/theme/seasonal book? For some reason, it always seems so exciting to have those books that you only pull out at a certain time of year. Well I was just thinking that I needed to find some more October/Halloween books and then I happened upon 1..2..3.. Teach With Me's blog hop for books for the month of October, how perfect? I've already found some books that I'll have to check out.

So here is my October/Halloween book list:

All images via Amazon

1. Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman - A cute little Halloween story about a big pumpkin and all the Halloween creatures you need - witches, bats, vampires, mummies, you name it.

2. Halloween Night by Marjorie Dennis Murray - This is a new purchase for me. It is set to the tune of The Night Before Christmas and thus is great for rhyming.

3. Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex - Another new purchase for me. It has a bunch of short stories/poems with a Halloween/monster theme.

4. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz - These are perfect for older students and hold a special place in my heart because I remember reading them in elementary school!

Do you have October favourites? Go link up with Tammy to list yours!

Fonts, Freebies, and Fun Halloween

Well this post has an agenda, so here we go.

FONTS


When I first started blogging/making more of my own products I would always see so many cute fonts and I had no idea where to find them so I always used old reliables (Times New Roman and Comic Sans - I would emphasize those by putting the words in the fonts I'm talking about but, well, I don't know how to do that). Then, I can't remember how it happened but I found kevinandamanda.com and between their Fonts for Peas and their Scrapbook Font, well I had found EVERYTHING I needed font-wise. They are 100% still my go-to fonts, I use them in everything I make and because there are so many fonts, I am always finding new favourites. If you have not checked out their fonts, you MUST!

I've also recently found that Graphics From the Pond has been giving away free fonts, just check out the Free Fonts button on the website sidebar.

Finally, I recently found out about a set of free fonts provided by Rowdy in Room 300. They are so cute I have already used them in my new Halloween unit (more about that later).

FREEBIES

I recently blogged about my Mystery Number Card Freebies and after some requests I added two new sets, 2-digit and 5-, 6-, & 7-digit numbers. Check them out if you're interested.

FUN HALLOWEEN

Finally, since it's almost October all I have been thinking about is Halloween. I finally finished my Halloween unit, which contains fun printables, Halloween-themed math, and writing prompts. Click on the picture if you're interested.

I think that's all I have to say for now, didn't the teacher in you just love the alliteration in the title? Have a great week, October will be here soon!

Here Comes Fall

Well I did not realize that after only a week back at school I would be so exhausted. I thought I was going to need a nap this afternoon!
As the nights and mornings get darker and the day gets shorter it is definitely beginning to feel like Fall and thus a question enters my mind - when can I start talking about Halloween? I always love incorporating any holidays/special times into the classroom to keep the kids (and myself) engaged, but is September too early for Halloween? Don't answer that, I already know the answer - yes (YES), it is too early (well in my opinion). I think I'll have to wait until the second week of October (or so). In the meantime I will continue working on my Halloween unit, which I hope to have up on TPT soon (well when I'm not napping).
Following the Fall theme of this post, I just saw the cutest Fall art project on Pinterest:

It kind of follows a pointillist idea, like I talked about HERE and I think it would be a good project for getting students to focus and take their time.

Is the weekend here yet?

Back to School Books

Well I can never resist anything book related so I have decided to join up with Blog Hoppin' for the "Back to School Books Linky Party and Giveaway!" School has still not started for me, but I only have a few more glorious summer days before it is back into the classroom. I know there are a million fantastic books I could have chosen, but I decided to narrow it down to 3:


1.    

I was actually introduced to this book at the end of last year, and I read it to a Grade One class who absolutely LOVED it and requested it over and over. It goes with the ides of excitement and also patience, which are important to cover on the first day.

2.

Along with excitement, I think the first day should also touch on the worries that most students (and teachers!) are probably feeling. I think this is a classic book to open up that discussion for students.

3.

To finish off the list, a little humor. This book opens up a discussion about classroom rules, and does so in a humorous way for students.

So there are my 3 Back to School book picks, what are yours? Link up with Blog Hoppin' and you could win $50 from The Clever School Teacher (which ,if you do not know, is a fabulous online store where you can buy booksets to coincide with author studies, comprehension strategies, writing traits etc.).

Here's to the last few days of summer!

A Little Freebie

Well it feels like just yesterday I was counting down the days until Summer and now here I am, one of the lucky few, counting down the days until school starts once again. The weather is still quite nice here, so it doesn't quite feel like school should be starting in just over a week. I don't know how much work I would ever get done if I worked in a warmer climate!

I was working on some new units the other day and suddenly I had a new idea pop into my head. I had to stop what I was doing right then and made up this freebie to share. I love the idea of making basic skills (such as place value) fun in any way possible and for some reason, I always think adding the idea of mystery makes things a little more fun. So here are my "Place Value Mystery Number Cards." These can be used in an independent math center, or as a quick assessment. I am always for any kind of formative assessment and these can be used as just that. Give each student a card and an assessment ticket, and get a quick idea of which students need some help with the concept of place value.

Click here to go check out this freebie.
Hope everyone is having a great start to the year!

Huge Sale!

Thanks to Amy for making the graphic

That's right, I'm having a sale! I will be joining in with a gazillion other TPT sellers for the "Back to School" Sale. Everything in my store will be 20% off. Make sure to use the Promo Code: BTS12 to get an additional 10% off your purchases. Some to the Back to School items you will find in my store include the following:

Back to School Daily Math for Third and Fourth Grade:

  

Back to School Units for Primary and Intermediate:

Make sure to head over to Blog Hoppin' to check out other sellers who are joining the sale!

Productivity and a Giveaway

Well it feels like ages since I have written a blog post. I wish I had a legitimate excuse, but I don't. I will say that the weather has finally gotten warm for me (for all of 3 days) and I was slightly more productive over this past week then I have been over the rest of the summer combined. I did complete a few units, including these two back to school units (click on the pictures to go check them out):

I have never done a giveaway, nor have I entered one, but I would love to give away these two units. If you'd like to enter just leave a comment with your email address and the unit you would like. I will give the primary one away to the first primary commenter and the intermediate one away to the first intermediate commenter (hope that makes sense, I feel like I was rambling a bit).

Hope everyone is having a great summer, and if you're already heading back to school - Good Luck! I have never had to go back to school in August, so I would like to hear if anyone does have to do that. Is it hard to go back when the weather is so nice and warm outside?

I know I should have more to say, so hopefully I'll be back within another week!