Six Free Thanksgiving "Roll and Cover" Games

Just want to send you all a quick note to let you know that I'm offering Six Free Thanksgiving "Roll and Cover" games.  They turned out so dang cute that I just had to share them with all my friends and followers.  Head on over to my TpT store (just click on the image below) to get your copy.

Sure hope your kiddos enjoy the games.  I would love to have you follow me on TpT.  I upload freebies frequently.   

Don't forget, head back here on Saturday for the Thanksgiving Thank You ($100.00 in gift cards give away).

Granny (Cindy)

The Unclipped Classroom

When I saw this Linky Party I just had to jump in.  I have never used behavior charts for a number of reasons.

First, I think all children REALLY try hard (most of the time) to do the best they can.  It's just a much easier task for some children as opposed to others.

Second, no matter how we slice it, the charts are visible to all.  The "good kids" get to be (and stay)  labeled as "good kids".  The children that find sitting still, raising their hands, and in general controlling the "ants in their pants" get labeled as "naughty kids".  Everyone knows... yikes!

Third, charts don't really honor improvement in a way that is lasting and reinforcing.  I think it's so important to honor effort, even when it just lasts for a moment or two.

Fourth,  For the most part, I don't think the acting-out child is even aware of his/her behavior.  I think students get too excited, frustrated, antsy, etc. to even be aware of their behavior and the effects on others. 

Over the years I found that quietly making children aware of their behavior (without the judgement) was pretty effective.

Simple statements like,

"I'm noticing that you are chatting with Sally.  I bet that's making it hard for her to do her work."

"I'm noticing that you raised your hand all morning when you wanted to talk.  I bet this is someting you are really thinking about today."

Anyway- you get the point.

I also had "I noticed"  cards that I made sure each child got at least once a month. I used the cards for positive "I noticed" statements only.   Actually, I kept a chart to be sure that I sent a positive "I noticed" card home each month for each child.  This allowed me to acknowledge each child's efforts and to share the acknowledgements with the child's parents.  It kept us all in the loop and all honoring effort. 

I have a number of card styles and a monthly tracking chart for anyone who would like them.  Just click
here to download.

Have a great week,
Granny (Cindy)

Turkey Time and Freebie

Halloween is over and here we are catapulted headlong into the holiday season. Thanksgiving is around the corner and then on to Christmas and New Years! Wow, does time fly.

In preparation for the Thanksgiving fun ahead I created this cute little Turkey Craftivity and Math and Literacy Activities.These little guys are really fun and SUPER easy to make. You can find it in my TpT store.

Here is a Thanksgiving Pie graph activity from the packet. Click here to download this freebie.

Have a great weekend and welcome to the holiday season.

Granny (Cindy)

Veterans Day Craftivity and Freebie

I think Veterans Day is important.  I hope all of our students are given the opportunity to understand the significance of the day.

I know, it doesn't have the "charm" of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.    It's still a very important learning opportunity for our little ones.  Even our younger students can learn to appreciate that we enjoy the freedoms we do, because men and women throughout the years have made big sacrifices.


Here are some age-appropriate books that help explain Veterans Day in a way that our younger students can understand. 

Veterans Day by Jacqueline Cotton
Veterans Day by Rebecca Rissman
Veterans Day by Robin Nelson
The Wall by Eve Bunting

I have created a Veterans Day packet with fun activities and a craftivity to help students support the celebration of the day. 

The packet includes:

• Simple facts about Veterans Day
• Book suggestions
• Craftivity (male and female veterans)
• Prompt: "Veterans are... "
• Read It, Write It, Draw It- activity sheet
• Can, Have , Are - activity sheet
• Can, Have, Need - activity sheet
• What ________ Knows About Veterans Day - activity sheet 
• Write a letter to a Veteran- activity 
• A, B, C Order - activity sheet 
• Four in a Row reading game 
• Label it - activity sheet 
• Move and Make Words - activity sheet
• Craftivity directions and pattern pieces

Here's an activity from the packet. Click here to download this freebie.

Have a great week.

Cindy (Granny)

Pumpkin Art and a Math Freebie

Just had to share this great little project that my daughter and grand kids worked on last week.  The idea came from That Artist Woman.

The best part of this project is that it's so versatile.  All three of my grand kids made one (ages 9, 7, and 3) and all three turned out darling.  Age doesn't seem to matter with this project.

Step 1: They used white card stock and masking tape to fill the entire
paper.  Strips could be any length.  They tried to tear the tape jagged to
add more dimension.

Step 2: Each child painted the entire paper orange and let it dry.
They used acrylic paint (didn't know how washable tempera paint
would work on the tape).

 Step 3: Each child had a small separate piece of paper with a small dot
of green acrylic paint.  They used the "fork" technique to create fun
funky lines in the stem.

Step 4: The kids drew their own pumpkins on the BACKSIDE of the paper
and cut them out.  They did the same thing with the stem and glued it to
the pumpkin.

Step 5: They used a circle paper punch for the whites of the eyes, black
buttons as well as cut out a mouth and teeth to embellish the pumpkin.

Love how they all turned out quite unique. (Original source is That Artist Woman) 

Since we're doing pumpkins this week I created these fun "Pumpkin Line Up" math sheets.  The file contains pumpkin line up (and witch line up)  for counting by 1's, 2's, 5's, 10's and 100's.  Great for differentiated learning opportunities in the classroom. Click here to down load the entire file (10 pages).

Pumpkin Line Up by 1's

Pumpkin Line Up by 5"s
(Graphics by Scrappin Doodles) 

Have a great rest of the week.
Granny (Cindy)

Word Choice: Student Word Rings

I am really excited to share this new tool that I created as a result of a great discussion with my daughter.  We were talking (actually joking) about the words we tell our students they can no longer use in their writing.  You know what I'm talking about... words like awesome.  Everything is awesome.  If you see that word in one more student story, you'll go running from the classroom!

We started talking about how great it would be if students had personal word choice cards easily at hand.  So we brainstormed 25 commonly used words in 2nd /3rd grade writing and came up with word choice cards.  Once you have copied the card sheets onto card stock and cut them into individual cards, they are ready for the students to put into A, B, C order and onto rings.

Then we got really carried away and decided to add classroom posters for each of the cards.  Twenty-five in all!  I also added blank cards and posters for any words specific to your class needs. 

The packet is available in my TpT store.      

TpT link to the packet- click here

Words on personal rings

Word cards

Classroom poster

 

The packet is 48 pages and contains:

•  Word sheets to equal 25 students words cards
•  25 synonym posters for classroom display
•  8 blank posters (for teachers to use with students in developing those synonym needs specific to each class)
• 10 blank student cards (for student individual needs) 
• A generic "working with words" activity sheet
  
• Teacher directions

I would LOVE to give away 2 of these packets in a random drawing of people who have left a comment by Friday evening. 

P.S.  If you have older students, my 4th- 6th grade packet will be available by the end of the week.

Have a great week-
Granny
(Cindy)

Apple, Pumpkin, and Scarecrow Freebies

Happy fall... even though those of us in the west (Arizona) are back to the 100 degree mark- DARN! 

I have 6 really cute Roll and Cover Games to give away this week.  The packet contains 6 games:

Apple- 1 die (numbers 1-6)
Apple 2 dice- (numbers 2-12)
Pumpkin- 1 die (numbers 1-6)
Pumpkin 2 dice- (numbers 2-12)
Scarecrow- 1 die (numbers 1-6)
Scarecrow 2 dice- (numbers 2-12)

They're cute, they're fun and they're games.  Anyone who knows me, knows how I love games!

Click here to download.

Have a great week, enjoy your fall weather, and if you are not a follower- I would love it if you started to follow!

 Granny (Cindy)

Yikes! Game- Freebie

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a really fun Friday Freebie to give to all my followers this week.

It's my "Yikes!" game and it's all about counting money and taking chances.  I'll be giving this away as a freebie from 9/13 - 9/25.

We've played this game with children from 2nd to 4th grade and they really enjoy it.  There are two levels of play, so that you can differentiate learning to meet the needs of all the students in your class.

 

 

If you are already a follower, just post a comment and leave your email address so I know where to send the game.

If you are a follower, and are not on the google friend connect list, I'd love it if you would also register there.  I'm just waiting to hit the 100 followers mark on "google friends connect" so I can sponsor a give-away.

If you are not a follower, please start following.

Oh, and don't forget, I'm having a flash sale this weekend on my fall craftivities.  They'll be on sale for only $1.00 in my TpT store!  It's time to stock up.  

Thanks!

Granny

P.S.  I'll be away from a computer from Friday morning until Sunday evening.  Please keep posting and know I'll get everyone their games by Monday morning. 

Parent Conferences and Freebie

Picture this:  I’m sitting waiting for a set of parents to come in for our first conference.  I’ve got butterflies in my stomach. I really like these parents, I really like their child… but he struggles with his behavior.  I know I have to address this with them.  I know he really WANTS to do well.  I know he cares.  How do you have this kind of conversation with parents?  What I have to say is hard for anyone to hear.

So the parents walk in and to my surprise, they seem more nervous than I am.  I try to put on that happy face and I begin.  Before I can even start, I notice tears in the mom’s eyes.  “What’s going on?”, I ask.  Mom breaks into tears and begins to talk about how hard they try to help their child with his challenges.  They sound discouraged, they are clearly worried that I will lose patience with their child, they are afraid I don’t like him.  

What these parents need is some reassurance, understanding, and support.  They need to hear how much I like their child.  They need to see his strengths through my eyes. 

 

BIG- AHA moment for me!  All parents need to hear these things. 

 

They need to know that I see their children’s strengths and gifts. They need to know I like their children.  They need to develop trust in my ability to be understanding and patient with their children.  

Wouldn’t it be a great bridge if you opened a parent conference by telling the parents a few of the traits you see and honor in their child?  It would make any ensuing conversation more comfortable.   It would help put parents at ease.  Believe it or not, many parents enter those conference doors with butterflies in their stomachs too.  But most important, it would convey acceptance and understanding of their children.

I have created a “certificate of liking” to kick off your parent conferences.  Use it with full confidence knowing that you’ll be building a communication bridge to help you partner with parents, to reassure them, and to develop trust. What more can anyone ask for from a first parent conference?  

Click here to download