Ring in the New Year!

Christmas is over and New Year's Day is right around the corner.

If you're doing a little planning for school, here is an idea you might enjoy doing with your students on the day you return to school.

Have a class discussion about the definition of a New Year's Resolution.  Ask your students to think about what kind of resolutions they would like to make for the New Year. If you need some resolution ideas here is a link to the top ten New Year's Resolutions for kids.  Please click on the picture below.

Now your students are ready to do some writing.  Have your students choose one New Year's Resolution they resolve (promise) to do or not do. 

Have them write it on a practice paper.  Edit it. Then have them rewrite it on their Ring in the New Year! bell.  These are great to hang up on a bulletin board for January.  

During the month of January have your students review what they wrote and check to see if they are following their resolutions.

Please click on the pictures below for your FREE copies.

Enjoy this lovely poem by William Arthur Ward

"Another fresh new year is here . . . 

Another year to live!

To banish worry, doubt, and fear, 

To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me

To live each day with zest . . .

To daily grow and try to be

My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity

Once more to right some wrongs,

To pray for peace, to plant a tree,

And sing more joyful songs!"

Have a wonderful week!

Kathy

Pizza on Earth - Turkey Claus

If you loved the book Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano then you will love the sequel
Turkey Claus by Wendi Silvano.

Turkey survived Thanksgiving but finds trouble again by becoming Christmas dinner!

Turkey overheard Farmer Jake and his wife discussing Christmas dinner and how nice it would be to have a turkey dinner.

Oh, no! Turkey decides he needs help. So he sets out to find Santa and ask for help.  But Santa is too busy.

Turkey uses his clever disguises to get to Santa. He dresses up as a Christmas tree, reindeer, candy cane, and even Mrs. Claus.

Finally Turkey gets to see Santa. Santa gives Turkey the perfect disguise and some good advice.

Turkey dresses up like Santa and delivers pizza, Gobblers Pizza. The Farmer and his wife agree, pizza is the best.

The story ends with "Pizza on Earth."

FREE - Extending the Reading the Experience

After reading this story to your class compare this story to the first book, Turkey Trouble.

How are the stories alike?

How are the stories different. Use a Venn diagram.

Then make copies of the writing paper below and have your students draw their own Gobblers Pizza. Next, have your students write and describe the toppings they would choose to put on their pizza.

After your students have finished their writing and colored their paper, allow your students to share their work with the class.

Please click on the picture below to print a copy. It will link you to teachers pay teachers where you can download a free copy from Picture Book Reviews With Writing Connections.
There are two types of writing lines provided.

Mmmm, yum.  It's time to go get a pizza!

Kathy

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

Our hearts are heavy and broken for all of those affected by this tragedy.
Teacher bloggers around the world are joining in a day of silence and prayer.

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

Free Holiday E-Book

Just in case you might have missed it I wanted to reminded you of the Free Holiday E-books from Teachers Pay Teachers.  Each book features thirty different sellers and contains free products from all subject areas.  It's a wonderful resource filled with holiday teaching tips, treats, crafts, and even a recipe.

Mrs. Miner's Monkey Business at Teachers Pay Teachers is where you will find the two primary books, one for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten and the other one for first and second grades.  She did a fabulous job organizing the two books.  A big THANK YOU to her.

It's FREE to join and open an account at Teachers Pay Teachers.
Please click below and download some wonderful FREE ideas! Enjoy!

PreK & K Edition

Grades 1 & 2 Edition

Merry Christmas!

Kathy

Holiday Lights!

I love the holiday lights!  Lights on trees, in stores, and especially on houses!  Take a moment and enjoy some Christmas cheer with these You Tube videos.  The kids love them and so do I.
Please click below and get ready to smile.

This one has a bit more traditional music.

Take Care,
Kathy

Santa Mouse

An oldie but a goodie. Santa Mouse was originally printed in 1966 but since then it has been reprinted many times. It is still available for purchase on many sites as a used book.

Santa Mouse by Michael Brown is so cute!

This rhyming story begins with a mouse who lives in a great big house. This mouse has no name and lives all alone in the great big house.

Throughout the year the mouse has saved one piece of delicious, special cheese.

On Christmas Eve mouse gets ready for bed and begins to think about Santa. Suddenly he remembers that no one ever gives Santa Claus a present. So being a very good mouse, he decides to give Santa his special cheese.

The mouse carefully wraps the cheese in a gum wrapper and ties it with a piece of string and leaves it for Santa.

Santa is so thankful that he decides to name the mouse, Santa Mouse. Santa tells Santa Mouse that he would like him to be his helper on Christmas Eve.

Santa Mouse gets his own Santa clothes and directions on what needs to be done. Then off they go over rooftops and on a journey with no end.

So this Christmas, "Why don't you leave a piece of cheese? You know who'll thank you?"

FREE Extending the Reading Experience Activity

After reading the story to your class have a class discussion about the book.

1.  Retell the story. What happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the story?

2.  What did you learn from this story?

3.  If you were the mouse would you have given your special cheese to Santa Claus?

4.  What was the most important thing that happened in this story?

Then make copies of the writing paper below and have your students write about what they would leave for Santa Mouse instead of cheese?

After the students have finished their writing and colored the paper, allow your students to share their work with the class. It's fun to hear what kids would leave for Santa Mouse.

Please click on the picture below to print a copy. It will link you to teachers pay teachers where you can download a free copy from Picture Book Reviews With Writing Connections.
There are two types of writing lines provided.

If you get a chance, please take a moment to visit my TPT store and have a look at my Count Down the Day to Christmas, December calendars.  They are so much fun to make!  Please click on the picture below.

Happy Holidays!

Kathy

P.S. For more great book ideas please click on the picture below.

Everybody's Talking About It!

Everybody is talking about it, SALE, SALE, SALE!  Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Holiday Sales!
You Gotta Love it!

So I am definitely into this sale thing.
Teachers Pay Teachers is having a Cyber Monday and Tuesday Sale, November 26 and 27.  If you use PROMO CODE CMT12 during check out you get an additional 10% off on everything you buy!

So here's how it works.
Go to Teachers pay Teachers and fill your cart with all the wonderful teaching resources that you can't wait to use in your classroom.  Your students will love you!  You will be so excited about using your new ideas that you won't be able to wait to go back to school.

Don't forget to stop by my TPT store and have a look.  I have added some new products.  As a matter of fact I am so into this sale thing that I am throwing a 20% off sale on almost everything in my store.  Wow!  How fun!  Please click on the picture below to begin your shopping adventure.

Now go and have a wonderful week!
But don't forget to come back on Monday and Tuesday for some Cyber Shopping Fun!
Kathy

Yum! Eat This Turkey!

I am a cookie lover, especially chocolate cookies.  Well, not really.  I am a chocolate lover who will eat anything that has chocolate and nuts in it.

Anyway, these turkey cookies are so easy to make.  They make a great fun cooking center at school or with your own kids at home.  Kids love making them and of course eating them.
Please click on the picture and it will take you to the website that has the recipe.  Yum!  Yum!
Here is the link just in case the picture isn't working.
http://www.food.com/recipe/thanksgiving-turkeys-cookies-146112

I have a new TPT product called Turkey Gobble Math Spin & Writing Prompts.  It makes a wonderful center for practicing addition and subtraction.  And the writing prompts encourage creative writing!  Please click on the pictures below to have a look.  Thank you.

 

Enjoy your day!

Kathy

Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear!

Wow, the stores are overflowing with Christmas bling, bling! I love the lights and the beautiful colors illuminating the stores. It's a cheery and uplifting feeling to slowly walk through the stores and soak it all in.

I haven't forgotten about Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for my faith, family, friends, and our country. I look forward to celebrating life and the holidays with a positive outlook and finding the good in all things.

I thought I would share one of my favorite Christmas books that I enjoy reading to my students. It's called, Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear! By Don and Audrey Wood.

Little Mouse is getting ready for Christmas. He has a ton of presents under his tree and they are all for him!

But what about the the big, hungry bear that lives at the top of the hill. He loves presents and would do anything to get them.

Mouse quickly thinks of all the ways to protect his presents. But then he learns that Bear does not get any presents, not even from Santa Claus.

Mouse decides he is going to be brave and give some of his presents to Bear while bear is sleeping.

What a wonderful surprise when Mouse discovers that Bear has left Mouse a big, beautiful present.

As you read the last page you realize that Mouse does not open his present, but goes to bed. The reader is left wondering what is in the present that Mouse got from bear.

This makes a wonderful Extending the Reading Experience Activity for students.

After I read this story to my students I hand out a practice paper to each of them and ask them to write what they think is in the present. What do they think the bear gave to the mouse and why? I ask them not to talk about it with each other and use lots of good adjectives in their writing.

I edit their writing and then give them the writing sheet below to copy their edited writing onto. I have them color the present and then cut it out. I glue it onto construction paper and cut around it for a border. Then I hang them up in the room.

We gather together on the carpet and share and talk about what each student thought was in the present and why. We do this after our writing and not before so that we can enjoy the different guesses and thoughts of each student.

Please click on the picture below to print out a FREE copy. It will link you to teachers pay teachers where you can download a free copy from Picture Book Reviews With Writing Connections.
There are two types of writing lines provided.

Sample:

P.S.  I also updated and added my product "Holiday Treasured Thoughts for December" to my TPT store.  It's a fun writing project, with poems, and hugs to give to family and friends.  Please click on the picture below to have a look.  Thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kathy

The Colors of Us

Fall is filled with beautiful colors we see on trees, bushes, grass, and even in the sky.


Fall is also a great time of the year to remind us that people come in the most beautiful colors. And that we should love the skin we're in.

The book, The Colors of Us by Karen Katz, illustrates this so beautifully.

The story begins with Lena, who is seven, she is the color of cinnamon. Her mom is the color of French toast. Lena's mom is an artist and teaches Lena about colors and how delicious they are.

Lena's friend Sonia is light yellow brown, like peanut butter. Jo-Jin is the color of honey and Kyle is reddish brown, like the leaves in fall.

All the people in Lena's life have special beautiful colors.  Colors that sound so delicious and look so lovely.

Lena decides to paint pictures of everyone. She happily calls the pictures, "The colors of us!"

FREE - Extending the Reading Experience

This book is a fabulous story about celebrating diversity. Children enjoy listening to the vivid, wonderful adjectives that describe Lena's family and friends.

The illustrations are great. This book opens a terrific discussion about finding the beauty in all people.

After I have read the story to my students, and we have a classroom discussion, then we complete the response to literature page, I am thankful for my friend.

I remind the students that we are all friends in the classroom and we appreciate each one of us. We put everyones' names into a container and then each student picks one name. It is then their responsibility to talk to that person and find the answers to the statements about their friend and complete their paper. This is a great way for students to get to know each other.

Then the students color the palette. We share everyone's work and hang it up in the classroom. You can have your students cut out the palette before you hang it up. Make sure they write their name somewhere on the palette. I have my students write their name in the hole in the center. I have them leave it white so their name can be seen.

Please click on the picture below to print a FREE copy. It will link you to teachers pay teachers where you can download a free copy from Picture Book Reviews With Writing Connections.

Take Care and Enjoy Life!

Kathy

For more great book ideas please click on the picture below!

Need a Boost?

Assessments, tests, report cards, and parent conferences!  Anyone need a hug?  How about a boost or a pick-me-up and a chance to win some fabulous stuff?

Well here it is!  Please click on the pictures below to have a chance for a little fun, a little luck, and lots of great ideas!

Corinna at O "Fish" all a First Grade is having a fantastic 58 products giveaway! Please have a look.

Let's double the fun and head on over to Tales From Room 112.  Erin is also having a terrific 50 plus products giveaway.

Good luck to everyone! Hugs to you all!

Kathy

Counting the Days

Have you started counting the days until holiday vacation?  The holidays will be here before we know it.  The stores already have Christmas decorations on display!  What fun!  Both the students as well as the teachers are feeling the excitement.

Every month my students make a calendar to take home and help them keep track of what is happening during that month.  They write down the number of days in the month and color the art at the top.

Then we talk about what is happening during that month.  I'll use October as an example.  We color all the non school days with a yellow crayon.  If there are student birthdays we color those days pink.  Field trip days are colored green.  Holidays are colored with a color that is associated with that holiday. October is orange.  Special school assemblies, movies, rallies, etc, are colored light blue.  Then I tell the students that they will need to make an X at the end of each day to keep track of the days as they pass.

Once we have discussed and colored the important days in October the students take home the calendar and hang it up.  This really helps them keep track of events.
Here is a sample.

We also keep track of how many school days there are in each month.  We tally the days and count the tally marks daily and keep a running total.  This is part of our daily calendar routine.  If you are interested in a copy.  I have posted a copy in my TPT store.  Please click on the picture below to have a look.  Thank you.

Loving the Cooler Weather!

Kathy

Not Afraid of Anything

"I'm not afraid of you," said the little old lady bravely.  "You can't scare me!"
Sometimes during the month of October we need to put on a brave face.  There are lots of ghosts, goblins, witches, skeletons, and monsters that pop out at us.  It's called Halloween fun!

During October I like to read the book, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, by Linda Williams, to my students.  It reinforces the idea of being brave in a scary situation.  Plus the story is filled with refrains and lots of action.

The little old lady leaves her cottage to go for a walk.  It begins to get dark.  Only a sliver of the moon is shining through the night.

Suddenly she stops and sees two big shoes on the path, clomp, clomp.  She says, "Get out of my way, you two big shoes! I'm not afraid of you."  Bravely she continues on, but the shoes follow her.

Then she stumbles onto a pair of pants that go wiggle, wiggle, a shirt that goes shake, shake, gloves that go clap, clap.  But she is still not afraid.

Next, comes a tall black hat that goes nod, nod and a very scary pumpkin head that shouts boo, boo!

The little old lady runs home and locks her door. 

Then she hears a knock on the door.  Should she answer it?  Of course, she's not afraid of anything!

She opens the door and sees the shoes, pants, shirt, gloves, hat, and pumpkin head that have come to scare her.

Again, she tells them she is not afraid of anything. "What's to become of us?" asks the sad pumpkin head.

The little old lady has a brilliant idea.  The pumpkin head, hat, gloves, shirt, pants, and shoes join together to make a scarecrow that scares the crows away from the garden.

Extending the Reading Experience

Initial Reading:  Read the story to your students with lots of expression.

Second Reading:  Involve your students with body movements.

When you read: the shoes go clomp, clomp, at the same time stomp your feet, one, two.  (If I am sitting in a chair I will pat my thighs, one, two.)  Encourage your students to follow along in the same way.

The pants go wiggle, wiggle.  At the same time wiggle your whole body.

The shirt goes shake, shake.  At the same time shake out both your arms. 

The gloves go clap, clap.  Clap your hands two times.

The hat goes nod, nod.  Nod your head two times.

The head went boo, boo!  Say it loudly and make a scary face.

YOUR STUDENTS WILL LOVE TAKING PART IN THIS STORY.

After you have had fun with this story please click on over to my FREE scarecrow art product and have your students make a scarecrow art picture.

Happy Harvest!

Kathy

Please click on the picture below to join Tammy at 123 Teach With Me for more great book ideas!

and 

Click on over to Teaching Blog Addict for more great stuff!

FREE Scarecrow Art

Fall is in the air and there are scarecrows everywhere.  Scarecrows are a fun symbol of the harvest season.  Children enjoy seeing all the different kinds of scarecrows; silly, scary, funny, and even cute.

I just uploaded my FREE Scarecrow Art project.  This project gives your kids the opportunity to show their creativity and have fun creating a scarecrow picture.  Their delightful pictures can be displayed in your classroom.

Please click on the picture below and enjoy a free copy.

Happy Harvest!

Kathy

Just linked up with Christine at Crazy Pre-K Classroom.  Click below for more free fall ideas!

2 Fantastic Giveaways

Two of my blogging friends are have an incredible giveaway to celebrate their followers.  You don't want to miss this!  Please click on over to Primary possibilities and join the fun.

Then click on over to Fun in First Grade for more jaw dropping fun!

Good luck to all of you!

Kathy

We Share Everything!

Picture books are the greatest.  They say so much in just a few words.  The illustrations are marvelous.

My all time favorite children's author is Robert Munsch.  His books are so funny.  He has such a good sense of humor.  Teachers and students of all ages can appreciate and enjoy his books.
Here is one of my favorites.

We Share Everything!
By Robert Munsch
It's the first day of school for Amanda and Jeremiah. (They go to kindergarten, but you can read this book to any age group.)  They don't know what to do. And they don't know how to share.

They don't know how to share a book.
So Jeremiah screams and Amanda sticks a book in his mouth.

Jeremiah builds a tower and Amanda kicks it down.
They have a paint fight.

Each time there is a problem the teacher angelically flies over to say, "We share everything."

Finally Amanda and Jeremiah decide to share, but what should they share?
They hilariously decide to share their clothes!

The teacher can't believe her eyes.  "Who told you to do this?" she yells.
Cleverly they reply, "We share everything!" (Just like she told them to do.)

FREE - Extending the Reading Experience

After reading this book to your class or your students can read it independently, use the book discussion questions to check student listening/reading comprehension. Then follow-up and brainstorm with your class or make a class chart:
What kinds of things can we share in our classroom?

If you would like a FREE copy please click on the picture below to link to teachers pay teachers where you can download a free copy from Picture Book Reviews With Writing Connections.

Happy Reading,

Kathy

WOW! 12 Prize Giveaway!

Don't miss out on this fantastic Fall Theme giveaway.  Hop on over to Jenna's blog, Diving Into Learning.  Jenna is having an amazing 12 prize giveaway.  There are lots of wonderful prizes to win!

If you scroll down to prize #12 you could have a chance to win my 

Sparkling Pumpkin Art & Writing product. 

 Please click on the picture below to view the item.

Good luck to everyone!  Please click on the picture below to visit Jenna's blog Diving Into Learning

and sign up for all of the great Fall Theme prizes.

Best Wishes,

Kathy

Love Purple! - The Author with the Fancy Purple Pen

Anyone who knows me, knows I love the color purple. It's such a happy color!
I wear purple clothes, I've painted rooms in my house purple, I have purple jewelry, and I love to write using purple pens.

So one of my teacher friends found this little reader and gave it to me.
The Author with the Fancy Purple Pen
By Rozanne Lanczak Williams

This book is written in rhyme.

Miss Lucy (the teacher) has a student, Jenny, who does not want to write. So Miss Lucy calls the principal, a teacher friend, and the author with the fancy purple pen to help. The principal, teacher friend, and author (with the fancy purple pen) encourage Jenny to write. Jenny ends up writing in her journal every day!

FREE - Extending the Reading Experience
After reading this book to my class I thought it would be fun to make a purple writing center/station. We first had a class discussion about pages 15 & 16 in the book, things to write about.  We made a chart with the title: Things I Care About and Know About. Then the students brainstormed things they would like to write about using a purple pen. It could be about something purple or any topic of their choice.

I bought purple pens and purple feathers. The pens are from amazon and the feathers from a craft store. (Click on the pen/feather picture to get to amazon.com)
I taped the feathers to the pens. So they sort of looked like the ones in the book. I made copies of the writing paper below. There are two choices of lines and also color copies.

During centers, the students at the purple center first practiced reading the book. Then before writing I told them to carefully think about what they were going to write because pens do not erase. If they made a mistake, draw a line through it and keep on writing.
After they were finished with their writing then they could draw a picture to match. Some students wanted to color their picture using only purple crayons while others chose to use all colors.
Each student got a chance to share their purple writing in front of the class.

Please click on the pages below to link to teachers pay teachers and download your free copy from Picture Book Reviews With Writing Connections.

Have a wonderful purple day!

Kathy