The month of November is such a gift! There are so many beautiful things to weave into your teaching this month that will enrich and excite your students. In fact, I usually don’t have time for all the things I wish I could teach in this bounteous month!
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This year is flying by! My class just reached the 50th day of school, and we celebrated with some 50s fun to mark the half-way point to the 100th day. My students loved the opportunity to roll up pant-legs, throw on poodle skirts, slick back the hair, and pop some bubble gum!
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My favorite season is here! It’s Fall again! Time for pumpkin spice, sweaters, hot apple cider, scarecrows, and spooky spiders! My students always love learning about fascinating creepy crawlies, and learning about academic skills through fun spider themed games.
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Want to have some scarecrow fun in your classroom? Celebrating scarecrows is a great holiday-free fall theme. In the fall time of the year, scarecrows are everywhere, and face it — everyone loves scarecrows!
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A farm theme is a great example of how starting with a general idea can mushroom into many smaller themes. Actually every facet of a farm could lend itself to thematic instruction. After I present the broad theme of the farm, I let my student’s interests guide the way to the facets that most interest them.
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I love to celebrate Earth Day when Spring is awakening the beauties of the earth. Whether you celebrate our planet for a week or a day, take note of this special day.
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Who doesn’t love adorable ducks! I love bringing the excitement of these friendly fowls into the classroom. If you have a farm store in your community (you can even find them in larger cities), it is easy to find baby ducks waiting for you right in the store. If I have a family ready to adopt the ducklings, I will purchase them, but I find the farm stores are generally more than happy to let the ducks visit your classroom for an extended visit, to only return back to the store to find their permanent home.
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Two of my favorite thematic units are the Jungle and the Zoo. These two units are such great companions! I begin with the study of the jungle and then move into study of zoo animals.
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My mom told me that she wanted to name me Kathy, but she went with Kathleen because I was due on St. Patrick’s day. I also took a DNA test that told me I’m 4.9% Irish, so I guess there is nothing to do but embrace this lighthearted holiday, which is based on a patron Saint in Ireland that died in 461. Wow! That is a long time for a celebration to survive. The community where I currently live has a giant St. Patrick’s Day parade, started by a an Irish settler in the community four decades ago. His goal was to give opportunity for everyone to act like a kid again, which is something I do every day!
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I love bringing fairy and folk tales into my classroom, I could focus on these tales all year long and still not run out of fun, rigorous, and purposeful material for my students!
These great tales are a fabulous way to study positive and negative character traits, other cultures, learn effective decision making, how to handle conflict, and natural consequences. It’s no wonder that these tales have been told for centuries!
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Looking for a special project to try before your Christmas or Winter break begins? Consider decorating graham cracker “gingerbread” houses!
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Whether your 100th Day is long past or yet to come, counting to 100 has relevance in your classroom. According to the Math Common Core Standards, kindergartners should be able to count to 100 by ones and by tens. While a few students begin the year counting to 100, most kindergarten kids need to count and count and count some more to achieve that goal.
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One of my favorite thematic units is Ocean; after all the ocean is amazing! Did you know there are over 1 million different types of species that live in the sea, and the ocean covers more that 70% of our planet earth?
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One of my favorite activities to do during January is Arctic Animals. The science content is great, the books are great, and face it, the animals are adorable!
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I have loved reading this Russian tale to children since I held my own babies on my lap 30 years ago. This story is timeless! The many versions of this story make it a great book to compare and contrast, look for key details, do close readings, and even make a class play!
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Is there anything more magical than the North Pole? I love to bring a little of the North Pole magic into my classroom using this great thematic unit featuring Santa and his Reindeers!
Kids love having Reindeer Day, Elf Day, Jingle Bell Day, Santa Day, and of course North Pole Day (Polar Express Day).
Everything you need to bring in the magic is included in our North Pole Thematic Unit. (Enhanced by it's companion Polar Express Unit). And even better, with all of our thematic units the academic learning is not put on hold for the holidays, rather academics are enhanced with holiday fun!
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Kids love to talk about their families; of course they do! Families are the most important thing in our lives. A family is the community in which all of us grow and thrive. I like to begin this unit with some great books about families. Here are some of my favorites, with my affiliate link
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"EXPERTS IN LITERACY AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT HAVE DISCOVERED THAT IF CHILDREN KNOW EIGHT NURSERY RHYMES BY HEART..., THEY'RE USUALLY AMONG THE BEST READERS BY THE TIME THEY'RE EIGHT."
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