Category: Halloween

We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do! {LIP SYNC MANIA}

8/30/2015

Last Monday was our B2S district institute day, and it ROCKED....literally. Of course, we talked business and discussed more serious changes and challenges facing our district in the year to come, but then...we lit up the stage with 12 schools performing live lip syncs. It was AMAZING.....and WE WON! We still can't believe it!
Sometime this year, we'll get to cash in our prize of a free catered staff lunch from Chipotle...and I think we ALL can agree that's quite a prize.

Our montage centered around a TIGER theme, since that's our mascot, and featured three songs: Welcome to the Jungle, Eye of the Tiger, and Roar.

What's even better than winning a catered staff lunch from Chipotle (...and beyond getting to dress up like Axl Rose) was what this win represented to our staff. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we only found out about the district lip sync contest a few weeks before the big event, while every other school knew since before the end of last year. However, we didn't let that stop us. In fact, if fueled us.

That's what's great about our staff. Despite setbacks and against all odds, we pulled together at the last minute, took input from everyone on songs, choreography, and funny little touches, and pulled together something incredible. With only one practice, we hustled and banded together to perform in front of over 700 district staff, administrators, and school board members....and we had an absolute blast. EVERY SINGLE STAFF MEMBER participated in some way, shape, or form.

Whether they were a mainline performer, band musician, back-up dancer, or pep rally cheerleader, this was seriously a show of how scrappy, determined, creative, and UNIFIED we are because #wearebettertogether. I'm so proud of our school, not because we won, but because of HOW we won. This is going to be a GREAT year and I'm proud to be a TIGER! #schoolrocksandsoshouldyou

See For Yourself! Watch our winning lip sync.

Did you do something awesome for your back to school inservice day(s)? If so, please share!
Need a costume for a school spirit day, district event, or upcoming Halloween class party?
Save yourself the hassle and shop for Halloween costumes online.

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Halloween at School: How I Survived & THRIVED {Part 2: Math}

11/6/2014

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If you know me even a little or follow my blog at all, it's easy to see that I LOVE all things Halloween {except for the candy...isn't that weird?!?!?}.

{{{BUT}}}

...we all know that Halloween makes the kiddos go loopy: costumes, parades, and candy, OH MY!

...Check out yesterday's post & Keep reading below
for how I KEEP IT REAL @ Halloween Time...

Yesterday I focused on my Halloween survival tips using hands-on science resources & activities. Today, I'm dishing out some AWESOME Halloween math goodies, both created by myself and other TPT FAVES that are absolute LIFESAVERS {in fact, my kiddos are STILL working on some of the resources below because they love them so much!}

// Frightful Factors //

Is teaching factors HAUNTING you? Never fear...."Frightful Factors" are here! Engage your students in hands-on craftivities, games, & practice pages to increase your students’ skills and comfort level with identifying & comparing factors...all while having fun & being CREATIVE! Click through the slideshow below for a great preview of the teacher resources and instructions included in "Frightful Factors!"

// What's Included??? //

RESOURCES INCLUDE:
-Teacher notes & instructions
-Student notes & instructions
-Annotated examples of finished products
-Student skills practice pages
-Template for creating tracers to use with construction paper or to print & color

CRAFT-IVITIES INCLUDED:
-Gone BATTY for Factors
-FRANKEN-Factors
-”Fear FACTOR Spiders
-Factor ‘Dem BONES

CRAFT-IVITIES with GAMES INCLUDED:
-I “Vant” Factor Fangs
-"Which Witch” Factor Wins?

// How Does this Work?!?! //

I hope this engaging, hands-on Halloween math craftivity & practice page set brings you & your students as much fun & learning as it did mine! In our class, based on student ability and independence levels, students engage with Frightful Factors as independent workstation activities, extensions to small group instruction, and even as 1:1 or small group lessons. It's totally up to you based on preference and student need.

For each “frightful” character, students will complete a factor activity page where they create a 2-digit {or higher} number by rolling dice, turning over playing cards, or using a number spinner. After the activity page is completed, students choose the problem with the MOST FACTOR PAIRS to illustrate via the coordinating craftivity provided. For finding & comparing LEAST common factor & GREATEST common factor, students play a simple game to accompany their activity page & craftivity.

For each craftivity, you & your students have multiple choices for how to complete the character craft. For BEST results, follow the instructions for creating TRACERS from the master copies & making the character out of construction paper. This looks most vibrant, & crayons work best on the construction paper, rather than on top of other crayon layers. However...let’s be real...often we don’t have time to do such an involved craftivity during math. When that’s the case, simply duplicate the master copy & allow students to color & cut out for the craft.

While this product was created for my 4th grade classroom & meets Common Core Standard CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.4.OA.B.4, it incorporates skills for basic multiplication facts in 3rd grade & can include products larger than 2-digits to make finding factors more applicable for older students (5th grade & older).

SAVE BIG & STOCK UP ON SPOOK-TACULAR RESOURCES FOR NEXT YEAR!

"WE SURVIVED HALLOWEEN SALE!" All Halloween products are newly
REVISED, IMPROVED, & 20% off through FRIDAY. Stock up for NEXT YEAR!

// TOP Teacher Crushes Saved the Day! //

It's no secret that I have {{{MEGA}}} teacher crushes on Kristine Nannini & Teaching with a Mountain View. I'm talking straight.up.teacher.LOVE. I'm pretty darn "choosey" when it comes to buying teacher resources, whether from TPT or elsewhere. These two ladies are TOP NOTCH.

EVERY SINGLE THING I've EVER purchased from them {and it's QUITE a lot at this point} is just of impeccable quality, and their Halloween goodies are NO exception!!! My kiddos ATE UP the two resources below and loved them so much they wouldn't let me put them away on Monday, even though Halloween is over. I caved {I mean, compromised} and said they could continue the fun through this week to finish up anything they didn't previously have a chance to work on from the resources.

// Nannini's SPOOK-tacular Math Centers //

Kristine Nannini is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE TPT sellers. From her Common Core assessments, to data tracking, to coordinate graphing...and on and on and on...her products are amazing.

My kids LOVE these centers because they are fun, festive, and provide a variety of different skills to practice, so they NEVER get bored. I love them, because they are print-and-go, review lots of skills, and are simple enough for the kids to use so that they may be independently practicing with them while I manage small guided math groups. Speaking of guided math groups....if certain students aren't quite ready to complete these activities on their own, I use the activities in the set for small guided lessons and/or practice activities in response to a lesson I've just delivered in small group.

Regardless of how I've used them, they are a HIT and are super effective! This resource has so many different spiral review skills at various levels provided, that differentiation is at your fingertips and nearly INVISIBLE, because while it may LOOK like students are working on the same tasks (for example, the color-by-answer sheets below...which the kids LOVE) they may actually be practicing sheltered to advanced levels of skills just using activity pages that look the same. This is PRICELESS and allows all students to engage in these fun, hands-on Halloween activities!

Check out the full preview and more details in Kristine's TPT shop!

// Math Project Mania //

Growing up, I really disliked math at school.....however, I always LOVED activities and projects at home that USED math {cooking with my mom & construction projects with my dad}. The key was USING the math in a real-world application. Now, math is one of my FAVORITE subjects to teach, and while we do have targeted lessons and work stations, I {{LOVE}} it most because of the applied math projects we do.

Teaching with a Mountain View (TWMV) is THE MASTER at the most amazing math projects!! Seriously, I think I have purchased nearly EVERY SINGLE math project offered in the TWMV shop. I DIE over how cool these are, and so do my kids. They will work SO HARD through our targeted mini-lessons during guided math, knowing that they need to know those skills to apply them to the math projects. It's amazing. Some TWMV projects focus specifically on one skill, like multiplication. Others, like the Mathematical Monster Mash, offer a wide variety of math skills application tasks that make the projects perpetually fun and challenging. I CANNOT GET ENOUGH OF THESE. Seriously, I want to crack open the brain of TWMV and steal it for my own {too creepy?!?!}. See a sneak peek of the Halloween project below also a glimpse at my kiddos in action with the projects.

CHECK OUT THE FULL PREVIEW AND MORE DETAILS IN the TWMV TPT SHOP!

I hope these math-mazing activities have you PUMPED about ways to survive Halloween next year! Check out these great resources & make October 2015 a Boo-reeze!

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Halloween at School: How I survived & THRIVED {Part 1: Hands-On Science}

11/4/2014

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If you know me even a little or follow my blog at all, it's easy to see that I LOVE all things Halloween {except for the candy...isn't that weird?!?!?}.

{{{BUT}}}

Keep reading for how I KEEP IT REAL @ Halloween Time...

We all know that Halloween makes the kiddos go loopy: costumes, parades, and candy, OH MY! This year, more than ever in the past, I used the excitement of Halloween and the month of October to harness and channel student focus. Also, we all know that Halloween can be a controversial subject, so as you'll see, we spent a lot of time doing research and close reading to de-bunk and/or find scientific evidence to disprove most of the spooky myths surrounding this holiday.

Let me tell you...it has been a month of AMAZING classroom activity. The students have been SO INCREDIBLY intrigued and invested, and I can't wait to share the activities I created and scrounged to help make the most of the candy-crazed month that is October!!

// SPOOKY Science Will Save your Sanity //

At the past two schools I've been at, we are allowed to have parties, but tying in some sort of academics is strongly encouraged, and I love doing so! YEARS ago {like 6 or more....I lose count now} I started doing a MAD SCIENCE LAB themed Halloween party. It was an instant hit. The kids and parents LOVED it, the party ran WITHOUT A HITCH, and students were engaged in hands-on science that covered TONS of science standards....all while having a blast & getting a little messy in the process.

HATE teaching science?!?!? You won't after this!

These are just a collection of my favorite, most tried-and-true experiments and activities used to SUPPLEMENT your core science instruction on the topics of matter and physical/chemical changes. You might want to use these as a way to pique student interest and inquiry and then expand upon that "wonder" with further, more in-depth instruction and experiments. Check out the slides below for details on the experiments jam-packed into this mad science matter mini-unit {say that 3 times fast!}.

// See MAD SCIENCE in Action //

Bat Bone Dust & Spider Venom Experiment

Create a live explosion in your classroom! With only 3 ingredients, this experiment demonstrating a chemical reaction packs a lot of BANG for its BUCK!

Bouncing Rat Droppings

Using raisins or chocolate sprinkles {both are recommended}, students watch as Alka-Seltzer & carbonated club soda make these "rat droppings" bounce & dance about!

Frog Phlegm

Have students put on their smocks and dive in hands-first to this gooey, gross experiment in changing states of physical matter! This OOZE changes from liquid to solid, and then liquid again based on student interaction with the substances!

Franken-Hair

This experiment results in a YUMMY treat for everyone as well as TONS of changing states of matter observations! Observe ingredients change from solid, to liquid, & then solid again!

Mad Scientist Goggles

Protect your eyes & look KOOKY while doing it! Students LOVE creating Mad Scientist goggles, but these double as eye protectants during experiments, too!

Record it ALL!

Pre- and post- observations, vocabulary, how-to instructions, and MORE are included as versatile recording sheets to accompany your experiments! Just PRINT & GO!!!!!

Save big & Stock up on SPOOK-tacular Resources for Next Year!

"WE SURVIVED HALLOWEEN SALE!" All Halloween products are newly
REVISED, IMPROVED, & 20% off through FRIDAY. Stock up for NEXT YEAR!

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Halloween Havoc {FUN} in the Petlak House!

11/3/2014

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// We {LOVE} Halloween! //

// WE {SUPER HEART} Halloween Decor!! //

October {might} be our favorite month of the year {next to December, of course!}. This October has been PACKED FULL of awesome happenings and SPOOKtacular seasonal activities. Between family events, Halloween havoc {which we LOVE}, new product creation for TPT, and more, I've been MIA for a bit on this little blog! Since October and Halloween are such fun, festive times for our family, I thought I'd share a peek into our family/home life! Take a peek at our Halloween home decorations that my mom {Martha Stewart's biggest challenger} helped me set up at the beginning of the month!

Over the years, I've worked to accumulate a pretty big stash of Halloween decor. Let me tell you...I got ALL of this "STUFF" totally on the CHEAP. For years, I've waited until AFTER Halloween for the super, rock-bottom, bleeding prices sales. Having that patience {which is NOT easy} means I've probably spent less than $15 on every single item you see, most of which cost LESS than $5.00!! #patiencepaysoff #bargaindecor #can'tstopbuyingfalldecor

// Fall Family Fun //

Fall brings loads of family fun, and we soaked it up over the past month. From birthday parties, to Halloween parties at friend's houses and school, to our annual family trip to the Chicago Botanic Gardens for their Hallowfest, we love these fab festivities are our faves!

Pumpkin patch fun with Grayson's school buddies!
We LOVED our trip to the pumpkin patch and petting farm to celebrate the birthday of one of Grayson's school buddies! The party took place inside their event barn, and Gray ate up every minute of petting & feeding the farm animals, pony rides, hay bale mazes & hay rides, the darling black lab {that Gray instantly be-friended}, pumpkin picking, and the vintage tractor that he couldn't stop riding! We CANNOT WAIT to go back again next year!!

Scooby Doo...where are YOU?!?!
We had SO MUCH FUN at the Botanic Gardens Hallowfest!
If you live in the Chicago-land area, you HAVE to check out the Botanic Gardens Hallowfest. This family friendly event is a BLAST with a spooky train ride, miniature train garden decked out for Halloween, crafts & activities for kids of all ages, performances & shows, and much, much more! This year we had PERFECT weather, and ended the night with some super YUMMY Scooby Snacks in the cafe'!

Are you READY for November??

Turkey time is upon us! Can you BELIEVE IT?!? Ready or not, the holiday season is HERE. Amidst all of the holiday havoc, I'm going to work hard to "keep calm & give thanks" and also to ENJOY the holidays! We are so fortunate, and these times fly by fast. Hopefully we an ALL find some balance, rest, and quiet time to be THANKFUL!
-XOXO-

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Sunday Savings: "We Survived Halloween" Super Sale!

11/2/2014

2 Comments

// "We Survived Halloween" Super Sale! //

Hooray!! We survived Halloween! To celebrate, I'm throwing a 20% off "After Halloween" sale through Monday night!! Hope you recuperated this weekend and save big through Monday on spooky items for
NEXT YEAR!!

// Mad Science Matter Experiments //

I've been doing mad science matter experiments as part of my Halloween week and/or party for 6 years! Every single time it's a HUGE hit with students & parent volunteers. Just yesterday, the parent of a former student (7 years ago) sent me a message about our mad science Halloween party! These experiments are simple, yet effective in supplementing your core instruction on changing states of matter. Very little materials are required, and experiments are simple for both students & adults. Recording sheets include vocabulary, predictions, how-to, and observations. Prep the materials, print & GO! Included are 4 experiments (including one edible experiments) & a fun craftivity. All activities are aligned to K-2 & 3-5 Next Generation Science Standards. This unit is NEWLY UPDATED & IMPROVED!

// Frightful Factors //

Is teaching factors HAUNTING you? Never FEAR, “Frightful Factors” are here! Engage your students in hands-on craftivities, games, & practice pages to increase your students’ skills and
comfort level with identifying & comparing factors...all while having fun & being CREATIVE! Students engage in rigorous practice sheets for determining factors, identifying greatest/least common factors, & comparing greatest/least common factors. After completing each activity page, students get to illustrate their knowledge by creating a SPOOKY character showing one of their completed factor problems. When they finish, these are both adorable for displays, and really show if your students know factorization. This unit is NEWLY UPDATED & IMPROVED!

COMING SOON: MONSTER MASH MULTIPLES!! I didn't get this new unit completely created and STUDENT-TESTED until Halloween. Since I don't like to put anything up for sale without testing it first in the classroom, I'll have to release Monster Mash Multiples {companion to Frightful Factors} ASAP! Once it's up, it will be on sale, too! Stay tuned.....

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<<Previous

We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do! {LIP SYNC MANIA}

See For Yourself! Watch our winning lip sync.

Halloween at School: How I Survived & THRIVED {Part 2: Math}

...Check out yesterday's post & Keep reading below for how I KEEP IT REAL @ Halloween Time...

// Frightful Factors //

// What's Included??? //

// How Does this Work?!?! //

SAVE BIG & STOCK UP ON SPOOK-TACULAR RESOURCES FOR NEXT YEAR!

// TOP Teacher Crushes Saved the Day! //

// Nannini's SPOOK-tacular Math Centers //

Check out the full preview and more details in Kristine's TPT shop!

// Math Project Mania //

I hope these math-mazing activities have you PUMPED about ways to survive Halloween next year! Check out these great resources & make October 2015 a Boo-reeze!

Halloween at School: How I survived & THRIVED {Part 1: Hands-On Science}

// SPOOKY Science Will Save your Sanity //

HATE teaching science?!?!? You won't after this!

// See MAD SCIENCE in Action //

Bat Bone Dust & Spider Venom Experiment

Bouncing Rat Droppings

Frog Phlegm

Franken-Hair

Mad Scientist Goggles

Record it ALL!

Save big & Stock up on SPOOK-tacular Resources for Next Year!

Halloween Havoc {FUN} in the Petlak House!

// We {LOVE} Halloween! //

// WE {SUPER HEART} Halloween Decor!! //

// Fall Family Fun //

Are you READY for November??

Sunday Savings: "We Survived Halloween" Super Sale!

// "We Survived Halloween" Super Sale! //

// Mad Science Matter Experiments //

// Frightful Factors //

// CONNECT //

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...Check out yesterday's post & Keep reading below
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