Fall Crafts That Tie In With Literature

October 2, 2020 teachersbrain Reading, Teacher's Pay Teachers

Fall is such a wonderful time of the year- especially in the classroom. It’s right after we start the new year and our students are focused and excited. I love bringing the elements of the fall season into our day to day activities and lessons. With all of the colors and activities available, there are so many ways to use fall themes in your lesson plans.

One of my favorite ways to do that is to look for books with fall or Halloween themes. Finding a good book to read to your class and then doing a corresponding activity is a great way to explore the story more in depth with your students and make a text to self connection. Text to self connections teach your students valuable skills they will need in school and in life. Your students will learn to make the connection between what they are reading and themselves and explore empathy.

My Where’s My Mummy Craft is a fantastic option if you are looking for a Halloween themed activity that is both engaging and fun.

Included in this activity you will get:

Mummy craft printable
Text to self connection printable
“I Want My Mummy” bulletin board display

Start by reading the book “Where’s My Mummy” by Carolyn Crimi to your class. Have your students use the Mummy Craft printable to glue on toilet paper and googly eyes to make their own adorable little mummy.

This activity focuses on making a text to self connection. Here are questions you can ask your students to get the conversation going:

How do you think the mummy felt in the story?
How would you feel if you couldn’t find your parent?
How would you feel when you did find them?

A huge bonus when you do this craft is that it makes great Halloween classroom decor!

Want more fun Halloween activities for your class? Check out my Halloween Bats Escape Room here!

Johnny Appleseed Activities for Kids

September 21, 2020 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers

Hi Teacher Brains!
Can you believe tomorrow is the first day of fall???? In some ways this year is going by fast. In other ways it is dragging on forever. Education is happening and teachers are heroes for so many students and families who need some kind of normalcy for them to keep the faith that we will get through these difficult times. I hope you and your family are well!

September 26th is Johnny Appleseed’s Birthday. This was my favorite time to teach about apples and make homemade applesauce. The easiest recipe is to use a crockpot, add your peeled and cubed apples with a 1/2 cup of cinnamon red hots! (Yes, the candy!) It adds the sugar and cinnamon.

Interesting FACT about Johnny Appleseed

Did you know that the part we leave out when we teach about his life to young children is that the apples were not ones for eating. They were bitter, so we used them to make hard apple cider.

I want to make your workload lighter, so let me share some Johnny Appleseed resources that can help!

APPLES Activities

Johnny Appleseed E scape Room (see video example below)

Apple Math Activities
Apples Glasses
Johnny Appleseed UNIT (30+ Pages)

FREEBIE ALERT ——->>>>>> Halloween Sticker Story AND Reading Comprehension Passages

Follow my TpT Store to always be first to know about 1/2 off items and sales! CLICK HERE

Check out my other blog post with more Apple Activities!

Remember, the more you KNOW, the more you GROW!

All my best,

Cindy

FREE TEACHING RESOURCES FOR BACK TO SCHOOL

September 13, 2020 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers

Are you looking for some free resources to help you get your year started? You need to check out these free resources below for back to school. Before you get all your freebies, let’s talk about how important it is this year for you to take care of YOU!

Have you heard of that quote, “You can’t pour from an empty cup?” Well, it is true! This year especially is difficult working when the entire world seems to be on edge, many teachers are left having to figure things out for themselves and students have a lot going on in their lives also.

Try not to get overwhelmed with all the things you have to do. Unplug for a weekend from technology. If you have access to a pool, use it. Eat off the fancy china. After that, take a bubble bath. It’s really important for us to be able to say NO to people who ask too much of us. Last, don’t feel guilty for taking time for yourself. I know this was a huge problem for me when I first started teaching. When I learned about the power of saying no, it was life changing.

Tree Trunk, Tree, Just Say No, Etched, Engraved

FREE RESOURCES

I’m so grateful to have teamed up with some amazing teacher-authors to provide you some excellent FREE resources for back to school.

I want to thank The Owl Teacher, Teaching Second Grade, Simply STEAM, Lisa Taylor Teaching the Stars, and Where the Teacher Things Are for supporting these Friday FREEBIES and advocating for teachers.

These back to school resources are FREE in our stores as of September 11, 2020, but the price may change at any time. Please click the links below to get your FREE back to school resource today!

$FREE Multiplication and Division Unit Sampler for Math Workshop$

$Math Centers Kindergarten | FREE Math CENTERS$

Also Check Out:

50th Day Of School Activities

September 4, 2020 teachersbrain education, Teacher's Pay Teachers

In the classroom, I love any chance to have a themed party! It is such a fun way to take a break from the ordinary school routine, shake things up, and have a little fun with my students. It also gives them something to look forward to! You have all the usual holidays like Christmas and Halloween, but we also like to celebrate the 50th day of school!

This is an exciting way to celebrate the number 50 on our 50th day of school together. So what kind of things do you do to celebrate the number 50? Celebrate 1950’s style!

Here are some fun ways to have 1950’s style celebration in your classroom

Have a dress up day. Bring on the poodle skirts and leather jackets!
Have a good old fashioned sock hop with lots of dancing
Play some 50’s music in your classroom (from a jukebox if you have one!)
Make some root beer floats
Do themed activities in your lessons
Have a photo booth (with props from the resource below!)

I created some fun 50th Day Of School Celebration activities for you to use in your classroom!

In this resource you’ll get fun ideas and printables to engage your kindergarten or 1st grade students in meaningful ways with the number 50 on the 50th day of school or during a full week of centers! It incorporates literacy, math, and science activities. Each activity is about 20 to 40 minutes long.

Here’s what’s included in the 50th Day Of School bundle

20 IDEAS

50 Days Smarter Activity

Write 50 Words

Block Building with 50

50 Gumballs

10 Ten Frames for Counting Items

100 Chart

50 Chart

50 Tasty Treat Chart

If I had $50 Writing

Tootsie Roll Pop Experiment (predict and use tally marks)

Science Inquiry 50 Drops of Water In A Jar

50th Day Fun Fitness Activities Log

I can count to 50 Mat

50th Day Celebration Hat with Dots

Two types of Lined Paper for Prompts

Two types of Lined Paper for “If I had 50 Gifts” Prompt

I’m 50 Years Old Drawing and Writing Papers

50 Rocking Days of School

Root Beer Float (goes with Fifties Themed Day)

Root Beer Float Writing with Transition Words

50 Days of School Letter To Parents To Dress Fifties

Photo Booth Props

Do you celebrate the 50th day of school? Tell me about it in the comments below!

Want some ideas for the 100th day of school? Check out my post here!