Thanksgiving

Reader's Theater

• Here's a great Reader's Theater about being On The Mayflower from Houghton Mifflin
• A Reader's Theater from Scholastic about the First Thanksgiving
• A Thanksgiving Reader's Theater from Lakeshore Learning
• T'was The Night Before Thanksgiving Reader's Theater --- you're going to have to scroll down towards the bottom, it'll be under the Holidays section

Math:

• Turkey and Dressing - A free activity from AIMS
• Turkey Trappings - A free activity from AIMS

Language:

• The First Thanksgiving Mini Book - A free activity from Teacher Vision
• Pilgrim, Pilgrim Book - A free activity from Hubbards Cupboard
• Historical Letters from Pilgrim and Wampanoag children

Social Studies:

• Daily Life of both the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Tribe
• Historical Letters from Pilgrim and Wampanoag children
• Dear America

Virtual Field Trip:

• Scholastic: You can tour the pilgrim village, Plymouth plantation, and the Wampanoag homesite
• Voyage on the Mayflower

Books:

        

DIY Circle Garland

As I told you in my welcome post, you may see several post that have the "twodaisiesandanelephant" logo in them. This is one of them. I had prepared it for my previous blog, but since I decided to change everything it is now here :). 

For Em's first birthday, I did a lot of the decorations by myself. We didn't have a lot of money to spend on decorations... so, I wanted to DIY something myself. I had seen on several websites garlands using the simplest of materials.... paper and a hole punch. 

So, I grabbed several different colors of paper that correlated with the colors of Em's birthday party. Then grabbed the hole punch, some kite string and the tape. 

                       

I then just hole punched each of the papers several times. Once I felt like I had enough of each of the colors... it was about 40 each... I laid them out on my lap desk and placed the string on top. Then centered each, as each were placed semi-perfectly... I taped each and then flipped them over to make sure they would hang correctly on the wall. 

              

                                         

Once they were done, I hung the garland up around her bedroom door to add a little color over there. We also used several of the extra circles to add decoration around her Happy Birthday banner, to cover up the tape on the streamers, and to add a little pizazz to the edges of the kitchen counter where the food and what not was.

This was a simple little task that took me about 2 hours to complete from start to finish. Just another little addition that added an adorable touch to Em's birthday party.

Dictionary Day

In a week, we will be celebrating Dictionary Day in honor of Noah Webster's birthday. With that, I've put together some activities that you could do with your students.

Worksheets:

• Here are 2 FREE worksheets from Super Teacher Worksheets --- There are also other dictionary worksheets on there as well, however you must be a member to access them.
• Dictionary Parts
• Guide Words # 1
• Teachers Pay Teachers also has a great selection of dictionary worksheets in the FREE department. Here are a few that seem to be really fun plus engaging. Don't forget to check them out, there may be something you like a lot more.
• Free Dictionary Worksheets with Answer Key
• Beginners Dictionary Detective Literacy Center
• Dictionary Scavenger Hunt # 2
• Dictionary Detectives
• Some Activities from TLS Books
• Dictionary Skills Review
• Some Activities from Education.com
• Using the Dictionary
• A Variety of Worksheets Based on Grade 

On-line Games:

• Gamequarium has a variety of games that your students can play on-line   regarding their dictionary skills

Class/Individual Activities:

• For younger students they can create a picture dictionary
• Older students can create their own dictionaries to help with their writing
• You can also create a class dictionary
• Students can create Dictionary Man
• There is also a fun activity call A Ditzy Dictionary for the Younger Crowd

Free Math Activities by Hotel Translyvania

Even though the movie is already out and Halloween is over a month away, Hotel Transylvania and Scholastic have teamed up to bring to you some monster math activities. Each of these activities are free and range from on-line games, to board games, as well as a variety of worksheets.

Each of these activities also do relate to the Common Core standards and a chart is included to help you.

Just go click here to access the website and let your students have a blast!

Halloween Activities

I can't believe Halloween is just a few weeks away!! With that it even means our first baby is due (yes, she's due on Halloween). I'm so ready for some candy, some Halloween fun, and of course, our new little bundle of joy :)!

Anyways, over the course of this week, I'll be adding some new Halloween posts regarding a variety of subjects... so be on the lookout!

Below are some activities to get you started for the week, that you can use for some Halloween fun within your classroom...

Also don't forget to always check The Mailbox's website, they have some great activities as well.

Other:

• Halloween Web Hunt --- a variety of on-line activities your students can complete
• Paper Mache Pumpkin
• Halloween Word Search

Below are a variety of math activities you can use with your students...

• Max's Halloween Tooth Math Activity (patterns)
• Math Activities from Hotel Transylvania 
• Pumpkin Color By Number
• Math Crush -- Scroll down and you'll see a few Halloween activity sheets (estimating and fill in the blank) -- better suited for older kids
• Classroom Jr. -- Worksheets on adding and subtracting, number recognition, and multiplication
• Super Mom -- Spider Matching Worksheet - Numbers
• Cute Math Worksheets -- A variety of math worksheets for the younger grades
• Candy Graphing -- Candy Graphing activity
• Halloween Missing Numbers
• Ghosts
• A Web of Numbers Counting Practice -- from TeacherspayTeachers
• Have students guess how many candy corns are in a jar/cauldron 

Double, Double, Toil, and Trouble... Here are a few science activities to get your student brewing ...

• Exploration of Bats
• SLIME! 
• Oobleck

Here are some Reading and Writing activities...

• For Older Students
• All About Vampires
• All About Mummies
• All About Ghosts
• All About Werewolves
• All About Zombies
• All About Witches
• Adjectives -- found this cute little activity on Step into 2nd Grade while I was surfing websites, can't wait to try.
• Bat Poem from the Mailbox --- will open in a PDF file

Here are some activities regarding the history of Halloween...

• Where Does Halloween Come From? --- A reading comprehension worksheet regarding the origins of Halloween 
• History of Halloween
• The History of Halloween from Scholastic's Website

Columbus Day Activities

We all know the phrase "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue..." With that, Columbus Day is quickly approaching and I wanted to give you some activities that I had found.

On-line Activity:

• Webquest
• All About Christopher Columbus

Worksheets:

• Biography
• Word Search
• Maze
• Coloring Pages
• Page # 1
• Usually around Columbus Day you can find some valuable worksheets at The Mailbox. You must be a member (it's free when you sign up for the basic version) and you will receive related activities regarding your grade level.

Other Activities:

• Writing
• Students can write about if they were explorers
• Students can write about life on one of the ships
• Students can write about what it was like to sail with Christopher Columbus
• They can can also write about if they were to discover a New World what would it be like

Books:

   

Here is a cut out of Christopher Columbus that your students can put together to create him...

Christopher Columbus Cut Out PDF

Here's a mini-book from The Mailbox that your students can create. It will open in another window as a PDF file.

To make the mini-book, copy the pattern onto white paper (they suggest construction paper). Have students color each page as desired along with the ship. Once students have colored each have them put the pages together in sequential order and staple the sails. Next, have students glue the flag and the ship to a popsicle stick. Once they've glued, then glue the last sail to part of the stick. After it has been glued together have students read each of the pages.

Fall Love and the Pumpkin Patch

Fall is here!! Probably, one of the greatest things about fall besides the cooler weather is the pumpkin patch. For some reason, I still even as an adult enjoy going out to the pumpkin patch and picking out the perfect pumpkin. So in honor of Fall and pumpkin season, I gathered a few activities to go along with this theme. :)

Math:

• Pumpkin Number Cards
• Pumpkin Missing Number Worksheets

Science:

• Pumpkin Life Cycle Worksheet
• Life Cycle of a Pumpkin Mini-Book
• A few sequencing cards from Montessori

** Don't forget if you log onto The Mailbox you can also get a few free worksheets regarding fall and pumpkins

Books:

Some Fun Pumpkin Books:

Fire Safety Books

Here are a few books regarding Fire Safety for the upcoming Fire Prevention Week (10/5-10/11)...

Fire Prevention Week 10/5-10/11

Below are some great activities for Fire Safety/Prevention Week from Scholastic and Sparky the Dog...

Free Worksheets/Lessons from Scholastic

• There are a variety of activities/worksheets that your students can do from Scholastic
• Pre-K to K Lessons
• Grades 1-2 Lessons
• Grades 3-5 Lessons

Activites: The activities below are found on the website (just click on activities to access them)

• Escape Plan Grid
• Bookmarks
• Origami Dog
• Sparky's Home Safety Checklist
• Sort it Out
• How to Draw a Fire Dog

Coloring Pages:

• Thank you's to Firefighters
• Stop, Drop, and Roll
• Stop, Drop, and Roll (in Spanish)
• Remember the Steps

Other:

• All About Firetrucks
• All About Sparky
• Sparky's Website
• Games and What Not's from Scholastic

Free Activities from Creative Press

Here are several activities that you can use within the classroom. All open up in PDF form. Each are from the Creative Teaching Press website underneath their teacher resources.

Social Studies:

• Three Branches of Government
• The Presidential Election

Language Arts:

• Adjectives and Adverbs
• Contraction Fold-A-Book
• Grammar Minutes
• More Grammar Minutes
• Cooties ABC Order
• Bookmarks
• How Many Letters In Name
• Consonant Blends and Digraphs Word Wallet
• Basic Word Families --- I have, Who Has
• Long Vowel Patterns: ei, eigh, ey
• BINGO
• Word Addition
• Juggling Vowels

Math:

• Leapfrog Game
• How Many Letters in Name
• Money Count
• Algebra
• Count to 100
• Time to Half Hour
• I Have, Who Has Number Game
• Minute Game 1
• Minute Game 2
• Multiplication and Division
• Cootie Catchers -- Even and Odd, LCM, Rounding, Mean, Median, and Mode
• Number Riddles
• Number Bingo
• Word Worth

Science:

• I Have, Who Has Weather
• Cootie Catcher -- Living and Nonliving, Body Systems, Food Chains
• Gravity Experiment
• Seeing Color Experiment
• Evaporation Experiment
• The Water Cycle
• Bird Watching

Classroom Management:

• Rules Rap

Other Activities (Can be adapted to each course of study):

• Content Cubes

Reader's Theatre

Reader's Theater: Slurping Beauty

Here is a free Reader's Theater for you guys called Slurping Beauty. It's really cute and hilarious. I laughed from the beginning to the end and the kids seem to really enjoy it. Just click on the link above to access the PDF.

Here's a little clip via YouTube.

Activities for September 11

I know many of us remember 9/11/01 for some we were sitting at our desks in school, for others they were out and about, and for some they were at work. Each of us watching the horrors that unfolded right before our eyes. I know for myself I was sitting in my high school math class right at the start of my sophomore year watching everything unfold on the TV and hoping for my uncle who was at the Pentagon. It was hard then and still hard today, especially for teachers and new teachers who having to incorporate this into their curriculum.

Now 10 years later and with 9/11 just around the corner here are some activities to incorporate with classroom lessons and discussions. These are just a few, please keep in mind all are not suitable for younger elementary students --- use your discretion and use them as valuable resources.

Websites:

• 9/11 Memorial
• Pentagon Memorial
• Flight 93 by the National Park Service
• Smithsonian
• FEMA --- the picture above illustrated by a 5th grade student to talk about their hopes and feelings regarding 9/11 --- very inspiring
• Teacher Vision --- September 11th

Baby Pool Ball Pit

I decided to change over my previous blog to this blog. You can still find me over at twodaisiesandanelephant.blogspot.com. However, most of my blog posts from there will be transferred over to this one. So, at times you may see the "twodaisiesandanelephant" logo going across many of the photos. No worries, it is me. I promise.

A few weeks ago, I grabbed a baby pool on clearance at my local Walmart. I couldn't beat the price and I since I needed to take a part the pack and play for our vacation. The balls needed a place to go. 

This also gave Baby E a little more freedom while playing with them. She hated being confined. Plus, she has the opportunities to throw her balls and roll out whenever she feels like it.

A cheap and easy play toy that barely cost $5.00. 

Now, all I have to do is teach our puppies that they can't sneak into her room and steal them whenever they want. They are obsessed! 

Harry's Big Adventure by Terminex

Picture taken from Terminex Website

Terminex has a fun on-line education center for students and teachers to explore the world of insects. Students follow Harry the Chinese Praying Mantis as he introduces them to fun and interesting facts about a variety of insects. Below is a list of some of the items in Harry's World.

1. Educators Guide (PDF)
2. Lesson Plans (Grades K-8)
3. Games and more
4. Watch and Hear Bugs

You can also schedule a visit from a Terminex pro to come visit your classroom and present some information regarding insects. This is for grades K-6 only.

A Lifesaver For Us and Our Sick Baby --- The Graco Nasal Aspirator

~*~ 

Let me just start off with the fact that I am not endorsed of affiliated with this company in any way, shape, or form. I'm just a real mama sharing what's worked for us and our baby girl.

~*~

So, after we found out that we had mold in our blue hospital nasal aspirator (and yes, we cleaned them constantly); I ended up freaking out and literally crying about it. It was the whole new mama thing and hoping that my baby girl was still okay. Anyways, I looked on-line for some other options and found the Graco Bebesounds Nasal Aspirator. We chose this aspirator not only because it was electric and would give us a better suction, but it was easy to clean and it had a musical option to soothe baby. Now, we did have to buy the extra replacement tips to the longer tip. However, it was a reasonable price; under $2.00, then I got it for about nothing with some babies r us coupons I had from my purchases. 

In the end, this has been the biggest life saver for us! Right in the middle of a nasty winter storm our baby started to get worse. She sounded horribly, coughing, sneezing, congested, a low grade fever, and a runny nose light a faucet. She had already had a rough night and so that we could be at ease and know she was at ease we packed up our stuff and headed out at the height of the storm. We drove down to our pediatrician to find out they were closed so we headed out to the pediatric ER. After hours of sitting there, we found out that she had an upper respiratory infection. We told to just monitor her and suck out the snot. 

As you can see below this thing has seriously worked! This has just been the past couple times today during her diaper changes so far. A LOT OF SNOT!

Now, I usually wash them out with warm soapy water after every 2-3 diaper changes and then a full clean in the dishwasher every 2 days when we wash her bottles. 

Here are a few places that you can buy them:

Walgreens ~ $19.97 (they don't sell the replacement tips)

WalMart ~ $19.87 (I haven't seen the replacement tips there)

Target ~ $19.89 (they don't sell the replacement tips)

Amazon ~ $19.87 (the replacement tips vary from $9.39-$17.00)

CVS ~ $19.99 (the replacement tips are $2.99)

Babies R Us ~ $29.99 (the replacement tips are $1.99)

The only thing I would say that I am disappointed in is the fact that it does say that it includes 2 tips (it only includes one) and has a carrying case (which there was none in the package). Otherwise despite those two downfalls it's been an absolutely amazing product and has seriously helped us with the baby E's snot faucet. She sounds so much better after each suction :).

National Geographic Young Explorer

If you go to the National Geographic's Website for kids, you can click on the NG Explorer Magazine link at the top. This will take you to The National Geographic Young Explorer Magazine (geared towards Kindergarten and First Grade) where your students can listen and read a variety of issues that date back to September 2009. They also have a teachers section for each magazine with lesson plans, worksheets, questions, etc. There is even a section for the Whiteboard.

To go to the direct link just click here.

Holding Down the Changing Pad

I decided to change over my previous blog to this blog. You can still find me over at twodaisiesandanelephant.blogspot.com. However, most of my blog posts from there will be transferred over to this one. So, at times you may see the "twodaisiesandanelephant" logo going across many of the photos. No worries, it is me. I promise.


Every diaper change it seems like we have to fight Baby E to lay still. Since, she's figured out how to push herself up to a sitting position and the fact that she loves to crawl. We're always fighting her to just stop for one second. Just to let us change her and then she can be off on her merry little way.

Of course, any time we've fought her... the changing table decides it wants to try going flying off of the dresser. In the end we always look like a jumbled up mess. Not to mention what the dresser looks like.

With that, I had thought about getting little Command Velcro Tabs to hold down the changing pad. This way I could easily remove the changing pad to clean and what not. However, every time I go to the store I seem to forget about them. Even when I write it down. Seriously, it's kind of like I have a brain fart in the store.

Anyways, I figured why not just use the over abundance of Command strips that I already have. Some how during the move some of the holders were broken.. probably during the time period that my in-laws decided to drop every box we had on the ground. Who knows.

So, I grabbed them and placed one on each of the corners and pressed down. Then I placed one in the middle on the other side. I pressed each down once again, as a just in case.

I then removed the paper shield and carefully laid it down onto the dresser. Pressing down each side as I went. Once, it was completely down and pressed; I wiggled it around to see if it would move. It didn't. Woohoo!

It even was Baby E approved when I went to change her not to long after that. It didn't move and it was less of a mess afterwards.