Spooktacular Sale

Ghosts, goblins, and witches, oh my! Who doesn't love Halloween? The changing of the seasons, the pumpkin carving, the candy, oh the candy! For a teacher, Halloween can sometimes be a challenge, but you are in luck. You will be able to find some tools to use to make this week a little better.

It's going to be a Spooktacular Sale!. Jennie from JD's Rockin' Readers came up with the fabulous idea to have a sale on Wednesday, October 31st...Halloween!!! She invited all those who wanted to participate to join in the fun to do so.

Drumroll please...My Teachers Pay Teachers Store will feature all items 20% off for October 31st only. So spook on over to my store on Wednesday and get the items you would like for a discounted price. Be sure to check out JD's Rockin' Readers Blog to see who else is having a sale, too!

I hope everyone has a spooktacular week! Are you looking forward to all the candy as much as I am?




Fetching Water

This has been an exciting week so far! We began a new novel called The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. It is a story about a 14-year old girl whose life has been drastically changed by the Taliban. Her family once lived in a lavish home complete with all of the modern ammenities. Now, they live in a 10 x 12 one-room apartment with a cupboard and two toshaks. Parvana, the main character, has the chore of getting the water for the family. This is no easy task. She has to take a bucket, walk down three flights of crumbling stairs, walk down the road, get water in the bucket, walk back towards her home, up the flight of stairs, and finally pour the water into the basin. She does this six times in order to fill up the basin.

In order to give a students a glimpse into Parvana's chore, we did a little activity. I got a 5-gallon bucket, put water into it (not completely full because I knew there would be mess on my hands if I filled it all the way to the top). I set up two cones, not too far apart, but far enough that the students would have to work. I lined my students in a line so all could see the person carrying the bucket. The students carried the bucket to the far cone and back to the start. This is all it took for them to realize how fortunate they are and how difficult Parvana's task must have been.

Below are some pictures of a student in my class. I gained permission from his mother to use him on my blog. I love the first picture because he is truly deciding what is going to be the best way to carry the bucket without losing any of the water.


And, of course, the students wanted me to perform the task. I willing did this because I think it is important to participate in the activities I ask my students to do. They loved it!


I hope everyone is having a fabulous week!





Like a Child on Christmas Morning!




Good morning! I went to bed last night with many things on my mind, but one that I was excited about was my new blog design. Megan has been working on getting all of my information together, and I knew that last night would be the night she would load everything. So, when I woke up this morning, I immediately turned on the computer to see it! I was like a child on Christmas morning!

I love it! It is definitely cuter and more visibly appealing than the design I had before. I would like to thank Megan from A Bird in Hand for all of your hard work!






FAB FREEBIES FRIDAY!!!


Who doesn't love finding fun, innovative freebies that you can use with your learners? I know it is an awesome feeling when I stumble upon freebies. Well, you don't have to look to hard this time! Notebooking Nook is hosting a Fab Freebie Friday where you can find fabulous products for FREE!

I am participating in this FAB FRIDAY FREEBIE. The product I have linked up for free is a mini-unit full of math and literacy activities to use with the book Llama Llama Misses Mama. Little ones love this book! I know I have probably read this one hundreds of times with my daughter. By clicking this LINK, it will direct you to my TpT store to download the mini-unit for free. If you like it, please make sure you leave positive feedback. Also, follow my store to by notified of new products that I post as soon as they are posted.

Make sure you check out all of the other fabulous freebies that are available! And if you are not already, make sure you follow Notebooking Nook's blog!

Happy Fall!

October has arrived, and with it comes the start of a wonderful holiday season. I like the changing of the season, the smell of football (yes, football) in the air, the sounds coming from the high school marching band's afternoon practices, and getting wood ready to build snuggly fires. But best of all, I like that when October arrives, Halloween comes, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a brand New Year! I love holidays!

I have several items in my TpT store that would go wonderfully with your fall activities in your classrooms. One is tailored to elementary school (called Fall Activities {Math and Literacy Mini-Unit}), one that is tailored to middle school and high school students (called Halloween Writing Prompts), and one that can go anywhere in between (called Ghostly Nouns {Common and Proper Nouns}).

If you are teaching a special unit on Christopher Columbus be sure to check out Christopher Columbus {Math, Literacy, and Writing}. There are fun activities to use in your classroom that your students are sure to love!

What is your favorite time of year?

The Science Penguin $25 Gift Card


The Science Penguin blog is hosting a $25 gift card raffle. Why? Just because it is Halloween! Visit The Science Penguin for your chance to win! Follow the instructions for your chance to win. Good luck!