Sunday 30 September 2012

October Books: "Book of the Month" Blog Hop


Who doesn't love a good holiday/theme/seasonal book? For some reason, it always seems so exciting to have those books that you only pull out at a certain time of year. Well I was just thinking that I needed to find some more October/Halloween books and then I happened upon 1..2..3.. Teach With Me's blog hop for books for the month of October, how perfect? I've already found some books that I'll have to check out.

So here is my October/Halloween book list:

All images via Amazon

1. Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman - A cute little Halloween story about a big pumpkin and all the Halloween creatures you need - witches, bats, vampires, mummies, you name it.




2. Halloween Night by Marjorie Dennis Murray - This is a new purchase for me. It is set to the tune of The Night Before Christmas and thus is great for rhyming.


3. Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex - Another new purchase for me. It has a bunch of short stories/poems with a Halloween/monster theme.

4. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz - These are perfect for older students and hold a special place in my heart because I remember reading them in elementary school!

Do you have October favourites? Go link up with Tammy to list yours!

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Fonts, Freebies, and Fun Halloween

Well this post has an agenda, so here we go.

FONTS

I get the cutest scrapbooking fonts at Free Scrapbook Fonts! kevinandamanda.com/fonts

When I first started blogging/making more of my own products I would always see so many cute fonts and I had no idea where to find them so I always used old reliables (Times New Roman and Comic Sans - I would emphasize those by putting the words in the fonts I'm talking about but, well, I don't know how to do that). Then, I can't remember how it happened but I found kevinandamanda.com and between their Fonts for Peas and their Scrapbook Font, well I had found EVERYTHING I needed font-wise. They are 100% still my go-to fonts, I use them in everything I make and because there are so many fonts, I am always finding new favourites. If you have not checked out their fonts, you MUST!

Graphics From the Pond

I've also recently found that Graphics From the Pond has been giving away free fonts, just check out the Free Fonts button on the website sidebar.

Rowdy in Room 300

Finally, I recently found out about a set of free fonts provided by Rowdy in Room 300. They are so cute I have already used them in my new Halloween unit (more about that later).

FREEBIES

I recently blogged about my Mystery Number Card Freebies and after some requests I added two new sets, 2-digit and 5-, 6-, & 7-digit numbers. Check them out if you're interested.

FUN HALLOWEEN

Finally, since it's almost October all I have been thinking about is Halloween. I finally finished my Halloween unit, which contains fun printables, Halloween-themed math, and writing prompts. Click on the picture if you're interested.


I think that's all I have to say for now, didn't the teacher in you just love the alliteration in the title? Have a great week, October will be here soon!

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Here Comes Fall

Well I did not realize that after only a week back at school I would be so exhausted. I thought I was going to need a nap this afternoon!
As the nights and mornings get darker and the day gets shorter it is definitely beginning to feel like Fall and thus a question enters my mind - when can I start talking about Halloween? I always love incorporating any holidays/special times into the classroom to keep the kids (and myself) engaged, but is September too early for Halloween? Don't answer that, I already know the answer - yes (YES), it is too early (well in my opinion). I think I'll have to wait until the second week of October (or so). In the meantime I will continue working on my Halloween unit, which I hope to have up on TPT soon (well when I'm not napping).
Following the Fall theme of this post, I just saw the cutest Fall art project on Pinterest:


It kind of follows a pointillist idea, like I talked about HERE and I think it would be a good project for getting students to focus and take their time.

Is the weekend here yet?