Where's My Mummy?

Here's a fun Halloween book and writing/art activity to go along.  This idea comes from The First Grade Parade.  I love doing an activity to go along with a story and this will be perfect for my 1st graders this year!  The art is made by using a paper plate, a black strip of construction paper and 2 orange circles for the eyes.  Have the kids rip pieces of white paper to create the mummy effect.  The kids then write about what their "mummy" does for them when they get scared. 

Using the same story and idea, here is a variation of the paper plate mummy from Deanna Jump.

What fun Halloween ideas!  Thanks ladies for sharing these ideas.  I'm thinking how cute this would be for a bulletin board display!

Me? A Versatile Blogger?

First of all, if you are a teacher using the Treasures Reading program in your school, and have not yet checked out Just 4 Teachers, you are missing out!  Last year was my school's first year taking on Treasures, and if you have been there before, you know any new change can be a major adjustment.  This year I have been using Debi's poems and ideas to create my own poetry journal for my students and they LOVE it as much as I do!  So there you have it, my HUGE shout out and thanks a TON to Debi for making poetry so much fun.  Recently, she left a comment letting me know that she was awarding me this:

Here are the rules of the award:

*Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
*Share 7 things about yourself.
*Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs.

Well, here goes.... Seven Things About Me!
1.  I am married and have 4 wonderful children ranging in ages 4 - 12.
2.  Only 1 out of my 4 kids were planned!  LOL
3.  I spent 9 1/2  of my childhood years growing up in Saudi Arabia.
4.  I was originally thinking of pursuing a degree in International Business with a minor in Russian.  Boy, am I glad I went in the direction I chose instead!!  I love teaching!
5.  I love everything about FALL! The leaves changing colors, cooler weather, sweaters, football and holidays on their way!

6.  Everything is better with peanut butter!  I seriously add it to my icecream and on top of my pancakes.  Crazy for the stuff!
7.  I have been snorkeling in the Red Sea and floating in the Dead Sea...2 of the coolest places! 
If you think you still need to know more about me...click here.

I am not passing this award on to 15 recently discovered blogs, for the main fact that I still can't seem to leave comments on half the blogs out there that I read...so frustrating.  So even if I were to award 15 people, there would be no way of letting them know.  Darn!  If you are reading this though, consider yourself one of the ones I would have chosen. :)

Pete the Cat

Earlier this year I won the book Pete the Cat from Mrs. Parker.  At that time, I had never heard of the then new children's book, but now it seems it is everywhere.  If you have ever listened to the song that goes along with the story, you would know why.  It is so cute and so catchy!
To begin, I think the most popular thing out there is this Pete the Cat unit from Deanna Jump. 

Can you see why?  You can purchase this entire 70 page download on Mrs. Jump's TpT for just $6.00!

After reading the story to your class, you will need to create a classbook to go along with it, so try this download from Finally in First.

Or from Made For 1st Grade, this classbook:

Mrs. Parker created these darling Pete the Cat puppets using blue paper sacks found at Target.

and her bulletin board idea using Pete the Cat...oh my!

Making Learning Fun has TONS of great printables for the book, including a dot to dot, coloring pages, reader book, math activities and more...

Kindergarten Crayons has SO MANY Pete the Cat printables/downloads, including this great little printable book...

This cut and glue in the right order sentence and draw your own picture page...wow and I call myself a  teacher?  {Nice sentence!  LOL}

(Kindergarten Crayons)

I love this idea of using shapes to create a Pete the Cat.

I also love this pocket chart center idea.  Click HERE to get your own for FREE!

The following ideas were found on Pinterest, so I am not sure where they originate from since the link takes you straight to Scribd.  If you know, please let me know so that I may give credit where it's due.  Anyway...this Pete the Cat school tour idea would be so fun if you used this at the beginning of the year to familiarize your students with the school.  Also, a great color book HERE...I can see it's from Kinderpond, but couldn't find the original post to link to.

Want to have a Pete the Cat classroom mascot?  Head over to Erika Bohrer's First Grade to see how.

From Cecelia Magro, here is a FREE 1st grade math journal download from TpT.

If you are a primary elementary teacher, or a mother of a young child, then this Pete the Cat idea is for you!  Peace, Love and Learning created this FREE unit which motivates your child to want to learn how to tie their shoes so they can join "Pete's Shoe Tying Club".  You have to check it out!

OK and finally, if you are into totally ridiculous birthday parties for your children, you have to read about this Pete the Cat birthday, where "Mr. Eric" (the author himself) was a guest!  You can read more about that at Made During Nap Time.

Hattie and the Fox

Hattie and the Fox is a younger aged children's book, written by Mem Fox.  Hattie tries warning her animal friends that she sees something in the bushes, but nobody pays attention to her, until they realize that what she is saying is true.  Here are a few activities to accompany the story...
I love this tear art project from Bloesem Kids.

Use the animal printables from Hubbards Cupboard to create the masks needed for a reader's theatre.

Discount on School Pictures!

Today was school picture day for me and you know what that means....one hectic morning with my own kids!  Anyway, I thought I would share a tip with all you teachers/school employees reading this post.  Did you know that if you write "faculty" on your {own child's} picture envelope, you only have to pay HALF of the picture price for their picture package?!?  Not all photographers may offer that deal, but asking never hurts!  I love a good deal!

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Although I am now about a month into the new school year, I know that for many {primary} teachers Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a favorite for beginning the school year.  If it's not too late...check out these great finds!
From I Heart Crafty Things, start off with this cookie sheet/magnet board of ABC's

 and finish things off with this coconut treat snack.  OH MY!

From Peace, Love and Learning, a FREE counting game download!

The Crafting Chicks shows you how to create your own mini coconut trees using toilet paper rolls, a leaf pattern and foam letters.

oh...and another idea for a snack to follow the book.

Read Together Create Together has this idea for an art project.

Kinder By Kim has the following idea, which I could see using as part of a call book or bulletin board.  What a fun name and letter idea!

This bulletin board idea from Mrs. Jump's Kindergarten Class

Mama Dani's Musings came up with this lapbook for the book.

Along with this art project using an arm for the trunk of the tree, hand prints for the palm leaves, thumb prints for the coconuts and stamps for the letters.

Mama Dani's Musings recently added some ideas for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom 123.

Check out this writing area...using the coconut tree and letter recognition.  I love the lights, unfortunately I don't think I would be allowed to do something like that at my school though.  This picture was sent to me from a reader {Monica}, a pre-k teacher.  Love it!

Tattle Tell

Tomorrow marks the end to my first 2 1/2 weeks of school.  Already I am thinking about how I can address the tattle telling issue.  This summer my kids picked out a book at our public library called Don't Squeal Unless It's A Big Deal. 

This book does a really good job of explaining to the kids the difference between tattling and informing an adult in an emergency!

Another tattling book I came across was A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue...although I must admit that I have never read it.  Looks and sounds cute though!

I totally want/need to make one of these posters and basket. 

If you would prefer a tattling moster over the tattling turtle, here ya go from Giggles Galore...

First, make a monster from an empty Kleenex box.

Then print out one of these signs and Wa-La!  A simple solution!

Grow Up Learning uses the same idea of the Tattling Turtle, but uses a tiger instead.  Super cute!!

Also...Really Roper has a GREAT tattling song on her blog.  Check it out!!

Any other ideas out there I have missed?  I would love to know what all you are doing to address the issue of tattling...either in your classroom or at home with your own children. :)