goin batty.

It's bat week in science!  Here are a few funsies we'll incorporate:

{rhyming bats}

These picture cards are from a Mailbox magazine reproducible but you can use any picture cards you have.  Or instead of cutting and gluing pictures down, your kids could draw their own!

For more bat rhyming - can you tell what we're working on?! - we're going to do this cute activity from Rhonda at Classroom Fun.  Instead of using each child's name I'm going to challenge them to come up with a rhyming word for something else.  It's free on her blog!

{Stellaluna}

We're also going to read Stellaluna and compare bats with birds in a Venn diagram.  One page has the facts to cut out & glue down and the 3rd page has a place to write and illustrate a fact for each.

{click the picture to download}

{vowel bat}
Just try to show this to your kids and not sing along.

{echo-echo-echolocation}
Another great song the kids love to sing along with that will help them remember bat facts.

{going batty}
If you don't know much about bats yourself you can always leave it to the Magic School Bus to introduce the basics!

And happy Currently time!  I love how adorable this theme is...cute and fun just like Farley herself.  Be sure to link up over at Oh Boy 4th Grade.  Check out her pumpkin book characters while you're there.  Amazing!

favorite October activities.

I've been Boo'd by Special Teacher for Special Kids!  Thank you!  I love a good shout-out.  What what!!  {haha...I'm such a nerd}

Here are my favorite October activities!

{pumpkin & jack-o-lantern exploration}

Weighing the pumpkin, estimating it's grooves, pulling out the seeds, voting on how to carve it, etc.  I love all things pumpkin & jack-o-lantern at school!

{farm unit}

My farm unit takes us from September into October so that still qualifies, right?!  ;)  I have lots and lots and lots of fun farm favorites but my newest love is these adorable handprint farm animals!  I saw them on Pinterest and adapted it for school by having my students add more to the picture and writing a sentence!

{costume writing}

My kids are going crazy for this labeling activity.  They can't wait to see which costume comes next...and since there are 16 costumes to choose from, I can pass out different sheets and eliminate the temptation to copy from a neighbor!!  ;)

{Shake Dem Bones}

You must read this book in a jazzy little book.  It is just too cute!  At the end of the year when we go back and read our favorite books this one always come up.  :)

{candy corn retell}

Another book I love is The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.  I use it each October to teach retell to my kindies.  Candy corn is the perfect template for teaching beginning, middle and end thanks to it's 3 parts and the way the story is written lends itself to retell so nicely.  We read most of the story up until "and what do you think she saw?" then stop to make our project.  They retell the beginning & middle of the story, then write their prediction in the bottom third.  After they share their predictions we read the rest of the story and find out what happens!

{I've updated it to get the colors in the right order but forgot to take a new picture!}

Here are the 5 bloggers I am scaring next.  Be sure to check out their tricks & treats!

Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas {for her handprint farm idea!}

Oh Boy 4th Grade {because Farley loves a Linky party}

Confessions of a Homeschooler {for her fab freebies}

Sailing Through 1st Grade {because I repin her pins all the time}

Snippets by Sarah {for her guided reading goodness}

{click the pic for the entire Linky Party of people who have already shared their ideas over at Tori's Teacher Tips!}

Who is hiding this Halloween?

Another Halloween freebie.  Because it's just fun.  :)  {click on either picture for the free download}

Whatever you call adjectives in your classroom {descriptive words, sparkle words, detail words, adjectives...} your kids will love this activity.  Have your kids draw a picture of themselves in the middle of the bubbles.  {or for a super fun extension use a photo of them in a scary position!}  Then have them write six descriptive words {sparkle words, details, yadda yadda} to fill in the bubble map around them.

Once the writing is complete, give each student one ghost to cut out and glue over their picture.  Be sure they only glue the top part so it pops off the page like a lift the flap book...you want people coming to read your writing to be able to check their predictions!  ;)

You could also challenge your smarties by having them describe a classmate, book character or a classic Halloween spook instead!  Words from the graphic organizer can always be used to then write a sentence {or more} as well.

Super cute, right?!  This idea was totally inspired by Ms. Smith and the craftivity she created for her 3rd graders.  Since my kinds aren't quite ready to write yet, I needed something with a little more structure to support their current level of independence.  But if you want a bigger {cuter!} craft to hang, be sure to go get her unit, complete with templates for the project.