Teacher Idea Factory

Teacher Idea Factory

SNAPSHOT OF MY WEEK + LAST MINUTE TURKEY TIME FREEBIE

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Merry Saturday my friends.  Holy November . . . this week hit me like a flock of turkeys runnin’ from a hatchet-bearing farmer.  Did y’all feel this too?  With the short week (yes, we were lucky enough to receive Monday off), new Common Core assessments, jump rope club, preppin’ for our annual Turkey Play, and all the regular school chaos I think I forgot my name somewhere around Wednesday afternoon.  Needless to say, I clawed my way through and went to bed at 8:06 on a Friday night.  I feel like a new woman today.  How’d y’all do? Did you make it in one piece too??  This time of year is pure madness.

On that wild note, I am here to present a snapshot of my week . . . Doodle Style.  I’m not going to even bring up being late to the party as it is clear that I am just more of a Saturday blogger 🙂

ONE
We completed one of my favorite art projects of the year yesterday.  These provide the PERFECT alternative to your standard turkey crafts.  I am funny about this . . . we already completed Susan Moran-Jones’ amazing Number Turkeys and I just couldn’t have another “gobbler” craft on the walls.  I am all about variety (I think this is a nice way of saying that I am a just a tad bit OCD), but I digress.  We crafted our Thankful Place Mats with our big buddies. This project is magical and it always looks so great up on the sky wire.

These just make me smile!
My babes came up with the sweetest things to be thankful for this year.

 

We will be completing two follow up writing assignments as well as a school to home activity (how to set the table) next week!  The craft and these activities are in my Plate Full of Thanks Packet . . . it’s priced to NOT break the bank 😉
a-plate-full-of-thanks-craft
TWO
We jumped into Reagan Tunstall’s amazing Making Tens Mystery Page together. It proved to be a great way to ease into missing addend!  Of course I didn’t have enough manipulatives for everyone to do it on their own **sigh**, so I had to partner them up {AGAIN}.  I am tired of the same kids buddying up when I ask them to find a partner.  SO . . . I pulled a secret partner match up tactic out of my fanny on the fly.  I made my kids stand up behind their chairs with their tool box in hand.  Then I put on a rockin’ song (some Calvin Harris ditty that is in my jump rope club mix) and asked them to dance around the room until the music stopped.  When I pushed pause they were to find the nearest seat!  Well, my little cuties head-banged, skipped in circles, giggled, and shook their bum-bums like crazy for about 30 seconds (just enough time to get their wiggles out and really mix ’em up).  Everyone ran to a chair and looked at me like, “UH . . . everyone has a chair . . . I don’t get it?”  Then I laughed and told them to shake hands with their new math partner!  BOOM!  Most everyone was with someone they have NEVER been with before.  It was a super-awesome one time trick!

THREE
We got a new “toy!”  It’s more of a puzzle/construction set, but I’m not telling them that.  I am all about learning contraptions that encourage building and this new magnet set is amazing!  They are called Magformers.  Both the boys and the girls LOVE this one and the teamwork that it inspires blows me away.  This was one of the choices this week . . . when work was completed before time was called (groups or otherwise).

 

They build some really amazing stuff with these.  And quickly found out that they could also transform into 80s rock stars!
They followed the direction book and constructed oodles of
really cool things!
Even my boys were divas!
FOUR
Our weather has been AMAZING as of late.  It’s super chilly in the morning (well, for us NorCal folks anyway).  However, it warms up a ton by lunch.  We are talking high 70s and even low 80s my friends.  With this said, we have been taking advantage of this lovely treat as rain is in next week’s forecast.
The leaves have been mind-blowing this year!
My girls love them 🙂
We played Germ Wars for PE this week – thanks for teaming up with us, Court!!
Who doesn’t love throwing things at other people?
FIVE
The writing leverage you can get out of the holidays is priceless . . . especially tied to amazing literature.  We read Who Will Carve the Turkey This Thanksgiving and completed a fun follow up write.  If you haven’t read this story, you really must.  It’s silly as all get out, but I darn near cry at the end every year – I ALWAYS choke up and have to pause for a hot minute.  Following the carpet time read, the kids brainstorm other animals that could carve the turkey and what they might do to it.  Their little imaginations run wild on this and it makes for such a great “author’s chair.”
You could hear a pin drop!
Such quality work . . . with adjectives to boot!
An UGLY mountain lion – rock on kiddo 🙂
I just knew she was going to pick a kitty 🙂

I offered this FREEBIE up last year, but I have given this a much-needed face lift.  KG fonts, Mr. Magician frames, and Melonheadz graphics make for such tidy templates . . . I couldn’t help myself.  CLICK HERE to download!

 

Alright, that’s finally it from little old me.  I am off to go grocery shopping and prep for our crazy week.  The Turkey Break countdown has officially begun in NorCal – 5 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Comments

  4. Kim says

    I love "Who Will Carve the Turkey This Thanksgiving?" and so do my first graders! Thanks for the freebie…I can't wait to see what my class comes up with!

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