Halloween Party Ideas

WOW!  How do I ever begin to explain all that has been going on in my life for the past 3 months?!?  I was hoping to return to my blog much sooner than now, with ideas for back-to-school, fall, math and also get a jump on Halloween ideas.  Unfortunately, none of that happened before now.  Hopefully by now, if you are a room parent, you have already begun thinking of what games, crafts, snacks, activities or ideas you have in mind for your 1st classroom party of the school year...HALLOWEEN!  If you haven't yet thought of it, and you find yourself waking up in a cold sweat at night, here are a few tips and tricks to get you started.

1.  PLAN IT
Over the years, I have found the best system for younger aged kids to plan to run the party as centers or stations.  Break the students into small groups and have them rotate from one center to the next.  The smaller sized groups makes it easier for parent volunteers to manage and it helps the students by changing up the activities.  The best ideas for centers include age appropriate games, snacks, or crafts.  After rotating through the centers, it's best to end the party with a whole group game or activity or a fun book relating to the holiday.

2.  GET HELP!
Don't try to do everything yourself!  You will end up either stressed, broke, or at home at the end of the party crying into your diet Coke.  Ask for help!!!  Parents, grandparents, or close friends are all great resources.  Ask for help in a variety of ways...either by attending the party to assist or by donating goods to the party, especially for any working parents who can't attend.  Check with the teacher ahead of time to see if the school/classroom has any supplies you might need for the party.  Most likely, the teacher may be willing to donate glue, construction paper or other craft items.  Keep in mind, that you not only need to plan for craft and game supplies and snacks, but also for paper ware or any simple decorations.

3.  HAVE FUN!
 Even though you can guarantee things WILL get chaotic and loud during the party, enjoy it!  The kids should have a fun time no matter what they are doing...even if things don't go according to plan, which sometimes happens!  One thing to think of is taking pictures.  I know that I take pictures of my class during the holiday parties so that I can add them to my end of the year DVD.  If that's something a teacher doesn't do, you may want to assign a parent to be in charge of this assignment.

Classroom Party Guide from Volunteer Spot

And finally...here are a few Halloween ideas to get things rolling...

CRAFTS:

 

Halloween Mason Jar Lantern - I would think this fun craft idea would be ideal for 3rd graders or older.

 

Scary/cute spider hat from Little Buggie Tutu

 

GAMES:

 

7 Halloween party games and activity ideas from Volunteer Spot.

 

Copy and laminate this monster chart from Expressive Monkey to have students draw their own monster masterpieces.

 

Don't Eat Frank game board from My Sister's Suitcase.

 

SNACKS:

 

Skeletons made with brownies, white chocolate covered pretzels and marshmallows (drawn on with edible marker) from Wants and Wishes.

Crispy Frankenstein Treats from Grumpy's Honeybunch.

 

Candy Corn Halloween Bark from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

 

Witches hat made from frosted sugar cone, sprinkles, gummy worms and cookie or cupcake liner as suggested. 
(Source:  No Time for Flash Cards)

 

 

Teaching Place Value

These little DIY place value mats from The Teacher's Wife is on my list of things  to make this summer.

Here's a place value FREEBIE from TpT thanks to Second Grade Cup of Tea.  It is geared towards 1st and 2nd grades.

I love using books for all areas of teaching, including for math.  Here's a list of the top books to use when teaching place value thanks to Hub Pages.

A place value review; 4 ways to write a number freebie from Peterson's Pad.

Here's a FREE place value story recommended for 1st and 2nd graders from TpT (Sarah Sebesta) .  I read through this 5 page story and really like the simplicity of it, along with the pictures.  It seems like a great addition to my file!

I found this idea on Pinterest, but when I clicked on the picture to go to the link, it only opened the picture larger.  If you know where this idea came from, please let me know so that I may properly give credit. 

I am going to create the black line for this paper first (easy enough) and then use this idea at a math center/station to review place value.  Each student will need a paper, 2 dice and crayons or a pencil.  The directions from Pinterest were these:  Math center idea for tens and ones. use foam dice so they don't make any noise. Student rolls 2 dice. The 1st number is for the tens place and the 2nd one is for the ones place. If they roll a 6 and 4 they write down 64 and then they draw the picture. You can add more dice for larger numbers.  I love that students are able to write and draw the number for extra practice!!
**UPDATE:  I created a blackline for this place value game and here goes my 1st attempt to upload it to google docs.  I'm crossing my fingers it works!  Click on the picture to get your FREEBIE... (hopefully!)  :)

Lory's Page gave to 2 free downloads to use a a review or math center.
This first idea is to be used as a math center/station.  The directions can be printed along with the game board if you follow my link.  Basically, the students are to roll 2 or 3 dice (1 at a time) depending on their skill level.  The students place their dice in the column they want, trying to ultimately end up with a smaller number than their opponent.  Your students could also practice write their numbers in standard, expanded and written forms for some extra practice and review.  This is a game of strategy and fun.  I know my firsties would have a lot of fun with this activity!!

This would act more as a review page, but I know the kids would still love it!  Thanks Lory for creating and sharing!!

I can't seem to access this page, but looking at the picture I found on Pinterest, I think I can make a judgement on how to recreate this center.

First, I would make a recording sheet like the one shown above.  Next I would give each child 2-3 dice to roll to make a number.  In the column that says "number" have the child record the number they rolled.  For example, if your student rolled a 3, 6,  and 2, they would write down 362.  The last step would be to have the student glue down the correct place value.  Cheerios for the 1's, pretzel rods for the 10's and Chex cereal for the 100's.

**UPDATE:  Click here for a FREE document I made that you can use.

Oh and check out what I picked up at Walmart this weekend for only $6.97 for a 12 pack...Mr. Sketch smelly markers!! 

I am so excited to use them at my spelling center next year!

Teaching Beginning Addition

One of my favorite new discoveries is this blog called Tales of a K-1 Classroom.  If you are wondering where to get started, how math centers might look, or where to find FREE materials to get you started...look no further.  I have linked too all her FREE math ideas.  Of course she has more than just addition activities, unlike the title of this post, but I thought I would feature one of her many roll and color activities.  Most kids know about Angry Birds.  In fact these birds seem to be everywhere now-a-days...hats, shirts, pillows, toys, etc.  With them being so popular, I think my students would be super excited to know we were using them for math too. 

If you're looking for another theme, don't worry Sara has you covered there too!  There are games using dinosaurs, Flat Stanley (love that book series!), Legos, and many, many more fun ideas.  Oh and while I'm singing out my praises for her blog, can I mention that I also love her

Math Game Binder idea!!

I am strongly thinking of using the same concept with my students next year, but making a few changes.  I am still figuring out how I want to work my math program next year. 

Ok so on to some more addition games/ideas since that is the title of this post!

Great Schools has this free dice adding worksheet that could easily be added to a center for extra (unguided) practice.

For only $1.00 from First Grader At Last, this bowling for Facts game is the perfect addition to any math center (no pun intended ;))

All you need for Addition Tic-Tac-Toe is this FREE game board and 2 ten sided dice.

Source:  Swamp Frog First Graders.

Ok so you might have to use this addition game (Roll, Add and Write) around Thanksgiving because of the turkey in the corner, but what a great practice for younger kids with adding, number recognition and correct number formation!

This activity came from Heather's Heart and I am including a link to her math games because she also has a lot of neat ideas to choose from!

Money, Money, Money, Money...Money

Can you read the title post without breaking out into song?  Ok so here are a few money ideas, games and activities to incorporate into your math stations.  I have lots, so this may be broken into a few different segments.

Magic Money looks like a great resource for both home and school use.  It is a free download from TpT, thanks to Nicole.  I love that there is also a letter already typed up to send home explaining how to use this system.  Trust me, money is a hard thing for little learners to grasp, so any help tool is greatly appreciated!

Dollar and Cents snakes and ladders game FREE from Down Under Teacher.

or Money Track (coins and bills)

Tales From A K-1 Classroom has more than just FREE money printables so make sure you check out the link so you don't miss out.  Trading Up looks like a fun one to use though!

Another money game, similar to the one above, is called Money Trade.  The freebie is from Classroom Freebies Too.  The game was played with kindergartners and went up to $0.25 so it seems like a more basic/simpler game than the one above.  I'm thinking I would start with this one first and then move to the one above next.  You could also use this idea for your struggling or lower students and use the one above for the more advanced students.  Either way, everyone would be gaining a little extra practice with money!

Here is a 53 page money unit created by The Lesson Plan Diva.  I haven't bought it yet ($6.00), but it looks well worth it with all the featured ideas you could use at centers.

Literacy Help for the Summer

Some of my first graders are just beginning to grasp reading and they are doing so well!  I am so proud and excited for them, but I hate to lose them at this point in the year because I don't want their reading to regress.  As a result, I have been trying to come up with a literacy packet or ideas to send home for extra practice over the summer months.  I have to say that in order to become a successful reader, the first step is sight word recognition.  With my lowest group of readers this year, I have pushed and pushed sight word activities during our guided reading time.  After reading a book on their level we usually do some kind of practice or review depending on how much time we have left.  Their favorite game is sight word go fish, but we have also played sight word bingo, flash cards, and memory.  Here are a few more activities I plan to incorporate next year, but that I also plan to send home with some of my students over the summer. 
I recently found this I Can Speed Read packet on TpT, which focuses on racing against yourself on reading sight words.  It is $2.00, but I figure if I can get a child excited about reading and it helps them to recognize their sight words quicker, it is totally worth it!

If fluency and sight word recognition is your goal, you can try this idea called One breath boxes from Teacher Tipster.  Swamp First Graders adapted this idea to create her own one breath boxes based on the Reading Street program.  See if your child/student is able to read all the words in a box in one breath in order to build fluency.  Did I mention that both are free!?!

 These roll and read fluency practice sheets come from First Grade Brain.  They were created based on the Scott Foresman Reading Street.  My school district does not use this program, but they still look like great practice for fluency.  You can find units 2 - 5 on TpT for $2.00 each.

I have also come up with a list of book suggestions for summer, based on guided reading levels.  So many times I have parents frustrated after visiting the library because they just aren't sure what their child is capable of reading.  Hopefully this list will not only offer a few suggestions, but will also allow the parents to compare the varying levels of difficulties.  Please let me know if there are other great books or series I should include or if you disagree with anything you see.  Thank you!

F Books

Cookie’s Week

G books

The Carrot Seed

If You Give a Pig a Party

Clifford series

H Books

Shoo Fly Guy

Danny and the Dinosaur Go to Camp

A Kiss For Little Bear

I Books

A Color of His Own                                                                          

Parts by Tedd Arnold

The Kissing Hand

Froggy series

J Books

Little Critter by Mercer Mayer                                                   

 Curious George

Cowgirl Kate                                                                                        

Nate the Great                                

Henry & Mudge                                                                                                

Fox and His Friends

Little Bear

K Books

Froggy Books

Frog & Toad                                                                                         

Bedtime For Francis

Corduroy                                                                                              

Caps For Sale

Diary of a ________ series

 

L  Books

Cam Jansen                                                                                       

Berenstein Bears

Amelia Bedelia                                                                                 

Get Ready for 2^nd Grade, Amber Brown

Ready Freddy

M Books

Bailey School Kids

Junie B. Jones                                                                                     

Tikki Tikki Tembo

Freckly Juice                                                                                        

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

Horrible Harry                                                                                     

Skippyjon Jones

The Littles

Valentine Party Ideas

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, if you are currently a room parent or in charge of a party, you may be going into panic mode.  Hopefully a few of the following ideas will ease some stress.
How about a new rendition of pin the tail on the donkey?  Try "pin the lips on the teacher"!!  The Teacher's Wife has a FREE lips pattern you could even use.  Just print it out and have the students color and write their names on the lips!

Mom On Time Out shows you exactly how to create Hershey Kiss Roses.  I think these would be fun for kids to make and take home to their moms as a surprise.  You could even give a bouquet of these to your teacher, friends, etc.

Check out these super cute (Valentine) robots made from a juice box.

Source:  Gifts That Say Wow!

How about making some Love Bugs from The Decorated Cookie.

Speaking of Love Bugs...how about a Love Bug hat to go along with the {above} treat?

Source:  Glue Dots

Need a game?  Here is one from It Matters called Cupid's Arrow. 

Basically what you do is you set {heart shaped if you have them} bowls across the room and place some tape on the floor so the kids will know where to stand.    The kids then load their "arrows" (straws) with a Q-tip one at a time and blow them out, aiming for the bowl across the room.  The team or person with the most Q-tips in the bowl at the end of the time is the winner!

And finally, from Mrs. Schmelzer's First Grade, she has a fabulous post about some ideas that came from her Valentine's class party.  I'm talking a Minute to Win It game, Heart Lava, and another called Broken Heart.  If you still haven't found an idea that interests you from my above suggestions, you need to check out these party ideas.  I think not only does the name "heart lava" sound cute, but so does the game!

Reindeer Ideas (part 1)

Christmas Idea #15 - Reindeer Ideas (part 1)

I posted about a game that could be used for holiday parties called Don't Eat Pete!  Well here's the same game called Don't Eat the Reindeer by Prepared Not Scared.

Count on Martha to turn gingerbread cookies upside down to create reindeer!

From The Idea Room, think of how fun it would be to make, eat and give away these cute reindeer cookies.  For a younger grade, I'm thinking these would be fun to make for your Christmas party!  Oh and chocolate and peanut butter...have I mentioned my obsession before?!?

Reindeer cupcakes from Hoosier Homemade:

OR these reindeer cupcakes from With Sprinkles On Top.

There's a few to get you started.  Don't want to overload you all in one day, so more to follow tomorrow...

More Christmas Games for Your Party!

Christmas Idea #13 - More Christmas Games For Your Party!

White Elephant Gift Exchange.  If you have ever been part of one you know just how much fun these can be!  We recently had a white elephant gift exchange at our work Christmas party.  The invitation said "G" rated, and yet somehow I ended up taking home one of the only gag gifts...a 50DDD bra!  You'd have to know, but that is so like me to end up with the gift like that!  Before sending out the invitations for you party, you may want to include if there is a price limit (ours was $5 or less) and decide if it matters if the items being gifted should be funny, re-gift items, useful items, etc.  (Just a suggestion!)  Also, choose how you want to gifts to be passed out....Christmas With the Right Family might be just what you need to get things moving!

A new game I haven't heard of before, but sounds like a complete blast is this paper plate game.

Have everyone get a {sturdy} paper plate and place it on their head. Using a marker or pen each person is to draw what they are instructed to without looking.  Remember *NO peeking!*  Once everything has been drawn, you can reveal your masterpiece to everyone around you.  I am sure this is sure to cause a few laughs!  Add up your points based on the rubric below to determine the winner.  You may want to give the winner some kind of prize too!

Here is what to draw:

1. Draw a line for a floor.
2. Draw a Christmas Tree.  Add decorations if you feel so inclined.
3. Draw a star on top of your tree.
4. Draw a fireplace with a mantel next to the tree.
5. Draw a stocking hanging from the mantel of your fireplace.
6. Draw a present below the tree.

Rubric for the Plate Game:

1. 2 points if the tree touches the floor.
2. 2 points if your stocking is touching your mantel.
3. 1 point if your star touches your tree.
4. 1 point if your star is above your tree.
5. 1 point for every Christmas ornament ball that is ON your tree, etc.
6. 1 point if your fireplace doesn’t touch the tree (it’s a fire hazard!).
7. 1 point if you actually drew something decorative on your stocking (or something cute, like a tiny kitten peeking out).
8. 2 points if your present is under your tree.

The paper plate game and Christmas with the Right Family are from Happy Home Fairy.  Thanks for sharing!

Classroom Christmas Party

Christmas Idea #4 - Classroom Christmas Party
The Organized Classroom Blog recently wrote a great article about hosting a winter/Christmas classroom party.  For tips, ideas and games, you must head over to her blog!  Here are a few highlights...

Snow Globe Game (printable game)
Pass the Hot Chocolate (no picture to show for this idea.)
Winter Snow Bingo (printable game)

Build A Snowman Relay Race

Want some more GREAT party ideas?  Check out Mrs. Bainbridge's Class to download a FREE Christmas party idea book (8 pages) full of games, treats, activities and more!  Such a great resource to print out and keep for the future!!