Being a teacher on/around a holiday can be fun… or not. Here are two FUN ways to bring Halloween into your classroom:
Cool Halloween-themed science experiments!
Source: Lemon Lime Adventures
Fingerprint Bat Silhouette Craft
Source: Crafty Morning
And just because I enjoyed this joke (from The Berry):
Hello everyone! I’ve finally figured out a way to add candy corn to a worksheet! (I do love me some candy corn in October!) Anyway, here’s a simple adjectives activity for your students. Have them come up with two adjectives about each Halloween noun, and then color the candy corn (built-in “fast finisher” for your speedy students). Have a great Halloween!
Click here for the free PDF: Halloween Adjectives
Kids love telling stories about fun memories. Especially when it’s something they’re proud of (like a Halloween costume)! So here’s my opportunity to let my students tell me about a fun Halloween memory they have. They must write their story first, and then they get to walk around and read their story to 2 friends. Their friends must sign the back indicating they shared their writing. I made 2 versions of this worksheet, so you can choose whether or not you’d like to let your class draw a picture with their writing. Click the links below to see the free worksheets (PDF):
Halloween Memories – draw own picture
Halloween Memories – with picture
It’s finally “Halloween season!” Bust out the spooky decor and let’s get scaring! Ok, fine… maybe you can’t do as much fun Halloween themed stuff as you could years ago, but here are some productive Halloween ideas for you. I found them on Pinterest. (Oooh! Follow me on Pinterest!)…
I think this paper chain ghost (source) could be a fun class craft… or adapted into a management tool!! It might work to build the ghost out of paper chains, and then tell the class if they can get rid of the ghost, they earn a prize (extra recess, no homework for a night, etc.). When the class does well, remove a paper loop and throw it away. The kids can see the ghost disappearing, so they can see their progress towards a prize. Or you could be really ambitious and do this in reverse, by earning paper chain links to build the ghost and earn the prize.
I’m musically challenged. It’s ironic, because my husband is very musically gifted (I guess opposites really do attract). Anyway, whenever I have a chance to bring a music activity that SOMEONE ELSE PLANNED into my classroom, I jump on it. Especially when it’s about a holiday (killing two birds with one stone)! Here’s a clever Halloween song and rhythm game. It’s not too difficult, and it involves some physical actions, so I’m all for it.
Click here for the directions and printable game cards.
If you know me, you’ll probably know that I love to use games in my classroom! I think playing games is the best way to create a fun learning experience. I usually have some blank game boards (like these) handy in my classroom to use with one of my favorite review games. I decided to make some new ones for fall, since I didn’t have very many. So here’s my first one: I call it “Fall is fabulous!”
Click here for the printable PDF: Fall is Fabulous Game board
I know we’re not anywhere near Mother’s Day, but I wanted to share it with you while I had some time. I love those pages where kids write about their parents! They’re so sweet (and often hysterical!). I researched questions often found on these forms and made one with my favorite questions. Here you go:
Click here to download the free printable: All About Mom
Giveaway coming later this week!
With summertime fun and sugary snacks providing so many distractions, can your children actually learn anything over the summer? Yes, they can, if you sneak in some science with fun activities like candy experiments.
Our family created candy experiments when my oldest daughter was four, and wanted to put Nerds in water. Since her first experiment, we have destroyed candy in dozens of ways and learned about chemistry, physics, and nutrition along the way. Here are a few of our favorites.
Melting: If summertime heat makes your kids complain that they’re going to melt, try melting candy to see what’s inside. If you microwave Starbursts, you’ll see shiny spots of oil that separate out from the candy. If you microwave chocolate, you might start the blooming process, in which unstable chocolate crystals start to move and separate, causing white cocoa butter “bloom” to form on the outside of the bar.
Cotton Candy Experiments: Some candy experiments use cotton candy, a summertime staple. To make cotton candy vanish, dip a puff of cotton candy in water. As capillary action carries water up the network of tiny candy strands, the water dissolves the candy from the bottom up. You can also weigh cotton candy to see how much sugar it really contains–you might be surprised to see that cotton candy is mostly air!
Find Hidden Candy: You’ll find hidden sugar in all sorts of summer snacks, from popsicles and ice cream bars to “healthy” power bars and sports drinks. To help your kids see how much “hidden candy” they’re eating, read the snack’s nutrition label to see how much sugar it contains. Then weigh candy on a kitchen scale until it matches the weight of the sugar on the label. Eating the snack would be like eating that amount of candy.
You’ll find more summer learning experiments in our book, Candy Experiments, or at www.candyexperiments.com. Enjoy summer learning!
Loralee Leavitt is the author of Candy Experiments, Road Tripping, and Candy Experiments 2 (coming in January 2015). Follow her candy adventures at www.candyexperiments.com
Here’s a friendly letter template I put together recently. It would be perfect to use for Grandparents Day, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. This could be nice final copy paper for your students’ letters. Or it could be for any letter… a thank you letter, a pen pal letter, you name it. It’s pretty basic. Enjoy!
Click here for the free PDF:
Letter to Grandparents 1
Letter to Grandparents 2
Squarehead Teachers 