musings of me

Australian Animals

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Sun, 06 Oct 2013 08:52:00 +0000

Hi everyone,
We're settling in to our new life in Australia........I have a NEW Kindergarten teaching position that I will start next year (which is in January over here)........I am soooo excited and CAN'T wait!!!!

I've created a new pack based on Australian animals.....If you're interested, check it out below {and make sure you enter the giveaway}......

In this pack, you will find 16 SIMPLE crafts and facts for the following animals:

Rainbow Lorikeet

Echidna

Bilby

Cockatoo

Possum

Emu

Wombat

Cassowary

Saltwater Crocodile

Flying Fox

Galah

Frilled Neck Lizard

Quokka

Platypus

Koala

Kangaroo

Step by step instructions, patterns, 2 sets of facts (in cloze passages) and answers are included. You will find one single copy of each pattern and a class set of each piece to make it easier to copy for you.

An easy and harder Cloze passage are included for each animal…..you choose what suits your kids the best! Do you know what a baby Koala eats for the first six weeks of life? The answers will gross you out and is included in the fun facts your kids will learn..

You can use the pack in the following ways:

1.Are you learning about a particular Aussie animal? Have the whole class make a page with the facts and display them.

2.Make a class book and have each student make a page and share what they found out!

3.Have each student make their own book with as many (or as few) pages as you want.

4.Make the craft and have the students write a story about that animal or find out their own fun facts!

All of the crafts were made by using colored construction paper.

You can check it out at TPT by clicking any of the pictures above BUT if you want to win one, all you have to do is follow my new blog {go to it HERE} and leave me a message over there :-) I will randomly choose a winner in 48 hours!

Just Popping In

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:27:00 +0000

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to let you all know that we've settled (for now) in Australia :)-) The kiddos are getting big and I've gone back to full time teaching (it wasn't really in the plan for this year but it was perfect timing for us). You can read about it all in my NEW BLOG!!!!!
Yep, I started a new blog that focuses on teaching. I'll have weekly ideas and freebies so come on over and check it out :-)
Thanks for those of you who have emailed to check in with me..........its been a crazy few months :-)
Here's the link to my new blog....they'll be a give away when I reach 100 followers!

Love to Learn Centers Winners

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 21:06:00 +0000

Thanks to everyone that entered my give away! I loved reading all of your favorite Valentines books and suggestions for future packs. I’m currently working on a St. Patrick’s Day pack and then a Spring pack.

Sorry that it’s been a few days since the give away ended. My intention was to post the winners on Tuesday night HOWEVER on Tuesday afternoon we received Hadley’s Aussie citizenship in the mail (we’ve been waiting for it every day) so we decided to pack up and go to Washington DC to get her Aussie Passport. In the end, we raced down there, stayed the night and thought we had everything filled out correctly but yesterday we got a call saying that we had completed something incorrectly. Yesterday was spent racing around trying to get it fixed! Hopefully we’ll have her passport by the end of next week. We’re looking at booking tickets this weekend and it looks like we’ll be touching down on Aussie shores before the end of February. I haven’t been “home” in 5 years so I’m pretty excited to see everyone.

It’s certainly going to be a whirlwind trying to find jobs and getting settled but it should be a great adventure!

Here are the winners – you’ll be hearing from me soon.

Have a great weekend!

Valentines Freebie

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:38:00 +0000

As promised, here is a Valentine freebie for you to add to your February centers.

Students pick a card, write the number in the heart (on the recording paper) and then draw the correct number of tally marks. The download includes numbers 11-30 and also 2 pages for the recording sheet (so you can photocopy front and back). You can nab this freebie by clicking on any of the pictures above. Hurry though because TPT has now put a limit on freebies and so I’ll have to take it down soon to add another.

While you’re there, check out my new pack:

You can win it FREEE (but today is your last chance to enter) by clicking HERE

Love To Learn (New Centers) and Meet My New Love!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:15:00 +0000

Wow, life has certainly changed in the last 7 weeks! Here’s what I’ve been working on in my “free time”.

You’ll find all the things listed below in ONE pack (and for ONE price).

13 Literacy Centers:
All Mixed Up (Sight word Scramble)
Flipping For Love (Flip Book)
Happy Hearts Ordering (Alphabetical Ordering)
Hearts Full 'O Blends
Love Letters (Before and After Letters)
Love Notes (Making Words With Word Families at, at, it, in and ig)
Love Splat (Vowel Sounds)
Happy Hearts (Short Vowel Sounds)
The Love Bug (Sight Word Game)
Beginnings and Endings (First and Last Sound)
Cookie Love (Word Family Sort (at, an, og, eg)

Math Centers:
Base It On Love (Base 10)
Comparing Hearts (Comparing Numbers)
Count The Room (Tally Marks)
Counting On Love (Counting On)
I Love Counting (Number, Word and 10 Frame)
It All Adds Up (Addition)
Love Makes "Cents" (Money)
Melt My Heart (Subtraction)
Missing You, Numbers (Before and After Numbers)
Patterns Of Love (Patterns)

If You’re interested , you can click on any of the pictures above to find it in my TPT store. I would also LOVE to give 3 away…….read to the end of this post to find out how you can enter!

Meet Hadley …….she is my new love She was born Dec 3rd and was 8lb 13oz.

And here she is more recently. She is SUCH a good baby! I am totally blessed that she is so easy going with all the change that has happened since her birth.

Yep, it’s all gone (well actually, it’s all on a boat somewhere headed to Sydney). Next Monday is our official “termination” date from our job (as we violate the 2 child policy). Thankfully the school has moved us to a furnished apartment where we can stay until our flights to Australia. As of today, we’re not quite sure when that will be………we just need to get Hadley’s Australian citizenship papers and her Aussie passport and then we’ll be off (we’re thinking mid February). The only thing left to do is sell our Durango! The boys have done very well with everything…they ADORE their sister and really like the little apartment we’re staying in too. they’ll be more on everything that’s going on in a later post.

Let’s get to the giveaway

Here’s how you can enter:

1. Follow my TPT store and leave me a comment below with an email address to tell me that you do.

2. Leave me a comment with an email address telling me what packs you’d like to see me create.

3. Leave a comment with your email address telling me your favorite Valentine book.

EASY! This giveaway will be open until Tuesday (22nd, 2013) at 6pm (EST).

Make sure you stop by tomorrow for a Valentine freebie!

A Day of Silence

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 17:52:00 +0000

10 Christmas Books (Day 8)

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:28:00 +0000

I went down to the basement last week (where most things are packed and ready for the movers) and came across another box of Christmas books :-)

1. The Story Of Christmas by Jane Ray

2. The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett

3. The Pine Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs

4. The Christmas Star by Paloma Wensell

5. Christmas With You by Julia Hubery

6. Franklin’s Christmas Gift by Paulette Bourgeois

7. Christmas Wishes by Tony Mitton

8. The Berenstain Bears and the Nutcracker by Stan and Jan Berenstain

9. We Believe in Christmas by Karen Kingsbury

10. One Snowy Night by M. Christina Butler

You can check all of these books out at Amazon by clicking on the book pictures above – these are NOT affiliate links – just links to some great books!

You can check out our other Christmas books here:

10 Christmas Books (Day 1)

10 Christmas Books (Day 2)

10 Christmas Books (Day 3)

10 Christmas Books (Day 4)

10 Christmas Books (Day 5)

10 Christmas Books (Day 6)

10 Christmas Books (Day 7)

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 01:41:00 +0000

Wow!! I really didn’t realize how many Christmas books I’ve collected! It’s been great though going through them….way too hard to just pick 25 though – I think every book I have are keepers :-)

1. Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry

2. Merry Christmas, Curious George by Margret and H.A Rey

3. Angel Pig and the Hidden Christmas by Jan waldron

4. Willy and May – A Christmas Story by Judy Schachner

5. The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola

6. The Legend of the Christmas Kiss by Barbie Jenkins

7. The Christmas Lizard ( A MUST have!) by Cory Edwards

8. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

9. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

10/. It’s Christmas, David by David Shannon (my boys LOVE this one)

If you want to check these books out, click on any of the book pictures above and it will take you to amazon. These are not affiliate links, just links to great books!

If you missed the other days in my Christmas book collection, you can view them here:

10 Christmas Books (Day 1)

10 Christmas Books (Day 2)

10 Christmas Books (Day 3)

10 Christmas Books (Day 4)

10 Christmas Books (Day 5)

10 Christmas Books (Day 6)

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 23:11:00 +0000

Here are 10 more books from our Christmas collection:

1. Tiny Baby Jesus by Dandi Daley Mackall

2. The King’s Christmas List by Eldon Johnson

3. The Light Of Christmas by Dandi Daley Mackall

4. Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson

5. The Nutcracker by Alison Jay

6. Olivia Helps With Christmas by Ian Falconer

7. The Jolly Christmas Postman by Allan Ahlberg

8. A Magical Christmas by Claire Freedman

9. Olive, The Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh

10. Song Of The Stars by Sally Lloyd- Jones

You can check any of the above books out by clicking on the book picture. It will take you to Amazon where you can read a description (this is NOT an affiliate link – just links to good books!).

If you missed the other books in our collection, you can find them here:

10 Christmas Books (Day 1)

10 Christmas Books (Day 2)

10 Christmas Books (Day 3)

10 Christmas Books (Day 4)

10 Christmas Books (Day 5)

Winter Fun (A New Kindergarten Unit)

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 20:44:00 +0000

I had BIG plans of posting a Christmas unit this year and a winter unit BEFORE the baby gets here but I was a bit too ambitious!!! I’ll save the Christmas one for next year but I DID manage to get my winter unit done!

I had so much fun doing this unit…..I kept wanting to add to it and add to it………I had to stop though as my file was getting too large. There will probably be an add-on “Winter Fun” next year as I still have a lot of ideas. Here’s what you’ll find in the unit:

13 Language Arts Centers:
A Snowy Mystery ( ABC Order)
Find and Write (Write the Room)
Frosty Beginnings and Endings (Beginning and Ending Sounds)
Missing Letters
Mitten Match Up (Rhyming Words)
See, Make and Write
Skating for Vowel Sounds
Snow or Slush (CVC Words)
Snowmen Love Letters (ABC Order)
Snowy Syllable Sort
Winter Sentence Scramble (Ordering and Writing Sentences)
Winter Syllables
Wintery Words (Unscramble Fry/Sight Words)

18 Math Centers:
Chilly Numbers (Counting On)
Cocoa Addition
Count and Tally
Freezing Addition and Subtraction
Frosty Friends Dice Game
Frosty Ordinal Numbers
Missing Hat Mystery (Ordinal Numbers)
It's Snow Time (Time to the Hour and 1/2 Hour)
Mitten Number Ordering (1-20, counting by 5's and 10's)
Patterns on Ice
Penguin Frames (10 Frames)
Roll and Cover (6 games)
Roll and Color (6 games)
Snow Fight (Comparing Numbers)
Snowboarding With Numbers (Numbers 1-20)
Snowflake Sort (Odd and Even Numbers)
Snowy Numbers (Number Ordering)
Winter Fun Place Value

Once again, I’m selling it for only $5 – you can check it out by clicking on any of the pictures above.

I have used lots of clip art which is all copyright and credit goes to:

Dianne J. Hook
http://www.djinkers.com
Commercial license # 0912168966

Lettering Delights
http://www.letteringdelights.com

Erin Bradley Designs
http://www.mygraphico.com

Clementine Designs
http://www.mygrafico.com

I am offering a give away of my new unit for my Facebook followers…..head on over here to check it out!

Please pray for me tomorrow morning – I’m scheduled for my c-section at 7am….. I can’t WAIT to meet my little girl!!!!

10 Christmas Books (Day 5)

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 21:44:00 +0000

Only 2 more days until our sweet baby girl arrives – I’m too excited to sleep! I hope you’re enjoying browsing our Christmas book list – my aim in doing this is for you to find some new ones that Your families can love and treasure too!

1. Alabaster’s Song (always brings a tear to my eye!) by Max Lucado

2. There Was and Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell by Lucille Colandro

3. The Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher (one of my ultimate favorites) by Robert Kraus

4. Drummer Boy by Loren Long

5. The Happy Elf by Harry Connick Jr.

6. Once There Was a Christmas Tree by Jerry Smath (I LOVE this one)

7. Gingerbread Mouse by Katy Bratun

8. The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup

9. Humphrey’s First Christmas by Carol Heyer

10. Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner

You can check any of these books out at Amazon by clicking on the picture of the books above (it’s NOT and affiliate link – just links to some great books).

If you missed the other days (and books), you can find them here:

10 Christmas Books (Day 1)

10 Christmas Books (Day 2)

10 Christmas Books (Day 3)

10 Christmas Books (Day 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 21:09:00 +0000

Here are another 10 great Christmas books from our collection:

1. The Scrawny Little Tree – A Christmas Story by Ed Mehler

2. The Donkey’s Christmas Song by Nancy Tafuri

3. Dear Santa Claus by Alan Durant

4. Christmas Parade by Sandra Boynton

5. The Attic Christmas by B.G Hennessy

6. Turkey Claus by Wendi Silvano

7. The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck

8. Christmas Tree Farm by Ann Purmell

9. Minerva Louise on Christmas Eve by Janet Morgan Stoeke

10. Merry Christmas, Old Armadillo by Larry Dane Brimner

You can click on any of the books above to check them out at Amazon and read a description of them.

You can check out our other Christmas books here:

10 Christmas Books (Day 1)

10 Christmas Books (Day 2)

10 Christmas Books (Day 3 )

10 Christmas Books (Day 3)

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 12:54:00 +0000

All of the books on today’s list are new to our collection this year. I can’t WAIT to read them to my little guys and explore them together – I know that some of them will be treasure favorites!

1. Reindeer Christmas by Mark Kimball Moulton

2. Suzy Goose and the Christmas Star by Petr Horacek

3. Santa’s New Suit by Laura Rader

4. The Last Straw by Fredrick H. Thury

5. You Are My Miracle by Maryann Cusimano Love

6. The Little Red Elf by Barbara Barbieri McGrath

7. The Longest Christmas List Ever by Gregg and Evan Spiridellis

8. The Berenstain Bears Save Christmas by Stan and Jan Berenstain

9. Russell’s Christmas Magic by Rob Scotton

10. Counting To Christmas by Nancy Tafuri

You can check any of these books out on Amazon by clicking on the book picture – this is not an affiliate link – just a link to some great books!

You can check out the other books in our collection here:

10 Christmas Books (Day 1)

10 Christmas Books (Day 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 20:38:00 +0000

Here are 10 more Christmas books in our collection – I hope you’ll find some new ones to love in this list too.

1. The Dinosaurs Night Before Christmas by Anne Muecke

2. The Christmas Humbugs by Colleen Monroe

3. Jingle Bells by Iza Trapani

4. Christmas Wombat by Jackie French

5. Oh, What A Christmas! by Michael Garland

6. Shall I Knit You A Hat? A Christmas Yarn by Kate Klise

7. Olivia and the Christmas Present adapted by Farrah McDoogle

8. The Christmas Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood

9. A Pirates Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates

10. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore (Illustrated by Mary Engelbreit)

I’ll be back with more tomorrow – I’d love to hear what books you have in your Christmas collection!

You can see yesterday’s list here:

10 Day’s Christmas Books (Day 1)

10 Christmas Books (Day 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:02:00 +0000

Hi everyone,

Sorry I’ve been MIA (again)………this time next week I’ll be in the hospital delivering our baby girl!! I’ve been trying sooooo hard to get everything done but a few things have fallen by the wayside – blogging being one of them. I had wanted to get a new Christmas unit out by now but that didn’t happen either. I am halfway through my winter unit though and I DO plan to have it out before I have the baby :-)

The international movers will be here a few days after Christmas and we’ll be moving to a small apartment until the baby’s paperwork comes through and we’re ready to fly off to our next adventure (like moving to Australia). Please pray for us during this transition – especially for our kiddos……..LOTS of change coming their way and we’re not sure how they’ll do. My husband and I will also both be out of a job at the end of January so please pray for opportunities to open up once we get to Australia.

I PROMISE once things calm down a bit I’ll be back to blogging in a more permanent way!!! For now though, I’ll just fit in what I can – thanks for those of you that have stuck with me!

As in previous years, I’m planning to do LOADS of Christmas reading with our kids. I had wanted to plan lots of crafty things and a whole countdown but I came to the reality that it’s just not going to happen this year. Most things are packed and I’m pretty sure that after a c-section I may not be feeling too crafty for a while. This year, we’re just going to go with the flow……….books though – I can definitely do!!!

I’ve been adding to my collection this year and thought I’d share with you what I have…..in case you’re looking to add to your own collection or looking for some great books to borrow from the library. I have WAY more books than 25 (book collecting is an obsession of mine) so we’ll be reading a few each day. I thought I’d break it down though so the post doesn’t get too long. I’d also LOVE to hear your favorites :-)

These are in no particular order of love:

1. Night Tree by Eve Bunting

2. The Legend of the Christmas Stocking by Rick Osborne

3. Toot and Puddle: I’ll Be Home For Christmas by Holly Hobbie

4. Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O’Connor

5. Petunia’s Christmas (I have a used copy of this one) By Roger DuVoisin

6. Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by Eric Litwin

7. Christmas At The Toy Museum by David Lucas

8. Cobweb Christmas by Shirley Climo

9. Bear Stays Up For Christmas by Karma Wilson

10. The Tale of Baboushka by Elena Pasquali

You can check out all of these books on Amazon by clicking on the book picture (there is NO affiliate link – I just wanted to share my favorite books with you) and read a description. Also, my sweet friend, Dawn is having a fundraiser for Show Hope (you can read her post HERE). If you’re looking for some PreK activities to do with your little ones, consider purchasing her cute pack for only $1!!!!!

You can check it out by clicking the picture above :-)

Spider, Bats, Owls and Cats! A MASSIVE New Unit!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 03:48:00 +0000

Hi Guys,

What a weekend! We had a super fun time at the pumpkin patch yesterday – definitely some fun family memories that I’ll treasure forever :-)

I also FINALLY finished my “Spider, Bats, Owls and Cats” unit and it’s now posted in my TPT store. This thing is MASSIVE (205 pages) and took me AGES….the problem is that I kept wanting to add more!

Anyway, here are some pictures of what’s included:

Language Arts:
Web Sleuth (Beginning Sounds)
Whoo Knows Lowercase Letters? (Lowercase Letters)
Whoo Can Rhyme? (Rhyming words)
A Web Of Letters (Upper/Lowercase Letters Match. Includes 3 cut and paste worksheets).
Letters Are a Hoot (Alphabetical Order)
Spin and Write (Letter Writing)
Hanging Around Letters (Missing Letters. Includes Upper and lowercase)
Batty Beginnings, Middles and Ends (Beginning, Middle and Ending Sounds of CVC Words).
Owl Roll and Cover (Letters/Sounds - Includes Upper and Lowercase).
Colorful Creepers (Pocket Chart. Includes Worksheets and 2 Booklets)
Scat Cat! (A sight word game like "Boo")

Math:
Roll and Color (Using 2 Dice)
Creepy Crawly Patterns
Bat Patterns
Batty Numbers (Ordering 1-20)
Numbers Are a Hoot (Number Ordering)
Spin a Hoot (Counting)
What Comes After?
What Comes Before?
Cat and Mouse (10 Frames)
Cool Cats (Cut and Paste number 1-20)
Branches For Owls (Measuring)
Flies in the Web (Counting)
How Many Cats?
Making Numbers With Crazy Cat (includes booklet)
Scoop and Count Spiders
Spiders and Flies (Counting and Comparing)
Sticky Tally Marks

Emergent Readers:
Spiders, Spiders Everywhere!
Creepy Crawly Patterns
I See Spiders
Creepy Counting
Graphic Organizers
Posters and Worksheets included for:
Spiders
Bats
Owls
Cats
Science
Lifecycle of a Spider Craft
Writing
Itsy-Bitsy Poem (craft)
Eeeeek, a Spider! (original poem by me) Poster and worksheets included.
My Spider Story

Detailed instructions, common core standards and recording papers (INCLUDING many that are differentiated) are included for EVERY activity!

If you’re interested, I’m selling the pack for $5 . Click on any of the above pictures to get there.

PS – I’m doing a giveaway of the unit on my Facebook page but be quick, it’s only for the first 3 people that follow me on FB and leave a comment (with email address) under my “Yay it’s done” post :-)

Leaf Man

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 12:24:00 +0000

Far out, overnight it has turned to WINTER here……….the boys and I went on a leaf hunt yesterday around our yard (which is quite large) to find some different leaves and my nose just about froze off…….BRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! The leaves on the other hand are still turning and will probably have their peak sometime this week…….I have my camera ready and waiting for the perfect day for fall pictures of the boys :-)
When we got inside, we turned our “fireplace” on, sat all cozy in front of it and read “Leaf Man” by Lois Ehlert………one of my favorite fall books!
After looking at each picture about 20 times (the boys were quite fascinated with all the animals that were made with leaves), we made our own.

The first thing Channing wanted to make was a dinosaur. I think it turned out really cute :-)

He also wanted to make a leaf man, a cave (the upturned leaf) and 2 guards………..

Sully made lots of little leaf men :-) It’s SUCH a shame that we won’t be able to take these with us to Australia…..(there are VERY strict rules about bring plants, leaves etc. into the country) but at least I got some good pictures……..and we’ll just have to do it again when we get there….especially since it will be Autumn when we arrive :-)

I have some freebies all lined up for you….I just have to figure out how to upload them to Google Docs……….I’m also working hard at a new unit - “Spiders, Bats, Owls and Cats”.

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:38:00 +0000

The leaves are JUST starting to change around here…..have I mentioned that I LOVE fall :-) We read “Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf” by Lois Ehlert and then we made this:

We used large construction paper and ripped pieces of brown to make the trunk. Then we colored a coffee filter with food coloring (we did this a few days in advance).

We used the coffee filter to tear colored “leaves” and out on our tree :-)

Michelle

Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:43:00 +0000

I finally did it! My little blog now has a Facebook page :-)

Click here to “like” it.

Hope you guys had a wonderful weekend…..we had plans that were unfortunately cancelled………but our weekend ended up well – my lovely husband and I got to sneak away for a night to celebrate our 8th anniversary (which will be on Tuesday)! Yay……a night of non interrupted SLEEP!!!!

Fall Fun–A Kindergarten Common Core Aligned Unit

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 14:10:00 +0000

Hi everyone,

What a week! I started off with a little cold and then took a quick trip to labor and delivery last night as I was having some weird pains…….not to worry though, everything is fine :-)

I’ve been TRYING to get my new fall fun unit out and I FINALLY got there! We’ll be using these activities over the next few weeks so you’ll get to see LOTS of pictures.

This unit is MASSIVE!!!!! It is 184 pages long! So long in fact that I didn’t have the space to add my usual craft activities. I’m HOPING to come out with a “Fall Literature Fun” pack soon that will include loads of craftiness and writing activities. I’ve had LOTS of emails asking about the fall activities that were previously available on my blog….they’re all in here along with MANY others. Check out what you can find.

Language Arts:
I have, Who Has? (alphabet - upper and lowercase letters included)
Colored Leaves Pocket Chart (includes 2 response papers and 2 emergent readers)
Fall Fun Cards (matching words/pictures and ABC order - 4 response papers)
Nuts About Letters (Upper/Lowercase Letters)
Scarecrow Stampin' (upper/lowercase Letters)
Corny Beginnings (Beginning sounds)
Find and Write (Write the Room)
See it, Make it, Write it
Raking up! (Sight word game like "Boo")
Spinning for Sight Words (A Spin and Dot Activity)
Pumpkin Roll and Dot (Upper and Lowercase Letters Included)

Math:
A Nutty Sort (Odd/Even)
Counting Crows (Addition)
How Many Seeds? (Counting)
Pumpkin Pie (10 Frames)
Falling for Numbers (Counting Numbers)
Falling Leaves (Counting)
Leaf Counting
Addition Acorns (Making Numbers 1-10)
Math Write the Room (Includes 10 Frames)
Measuring Rakes (Measuring)
Pumpkin Patch (Roll and Cover)
Pumpkin Pickin' Time (Time)
What Comes Before?
What Comes After?
Leaf Patterns

Emergent Readers:
Pumpkins in a Wagon
Leaf Patterns
I See Leaves
Graphic Organizers:

Posters and Worksheets included for:
Leaves
Pumpkins
Scarecrows
Squirrels
Science
Fruit and Vegetable Sort

Detailed instructions, common core standards and recording papers (INCLUDING many that are differentiated) are included for EVERY activity!
I have used lots of clip art which is all copyright and credit goes to:
Dianne J. Hook
www.djinkers.com

Commercial license # 0912168966
Lettering Delights
http://www.letteringdelights.com

Print Candee
http://www.printcandee.com

Teaching in a Small Town
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teaching-In-A-Small-Town

If you’re interested, Click on any of the pictures above to find it at my TPT store.

I would like to offer this for FREE for the first 5 people to blog about it! You need to send me an email (musngsofme@yahoo.com) with the link to your blog post and I’ll email it to you :-) I’ll let you know when I’ve received 5 links!…..I’ve received 5!!!!! Thanks guys!!!!!

I hope you find this unit helpful – I ADORE fall and I can’t wait to use these things myself :-)

Happy Fall!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:59:00 +0000

I’ve been waiting and waiting and it’s FINALLY here……..FALL!!!!! I think I’ve mentioned before that fall is my absolute favorite season. I love everything about it….the colored leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin spice cake, pumpkin picking, apples, scarecrows……….EVERYTHING!!!! I have to also admit that I’m loving the slightly cooler weather right now :-)

To start off the season, I made some pumpkin spice playdough…. one word YUM!!!!! (The smell that is – I’m sure it’s safe to eat but it would be a little salty). It smells DELICIOUS and even LOOKS like fall!

Here’s how you can make it:

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Salt

4 tsp. Cream of Tarter

3tsp (heaped) of pumpkin pie spice

2 Cups Water

2TBS Oil

A few squirts of orange food coloring

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a saucepan (no heat yet).

2. Make a well in the middle and add the water, oil and food coloring.

3. Mix well then turn on the heat to medium.

4. Stir continuously until too thick to stir anymore (your arms will feel like they are about to drop off).

5. Dump out onto the counter (it’ll be HOT) and knead.

6. Play :-)

Michelle

Apple Tree Seasons

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 22:12:00 +0000

We’ve spent a lot of time this week reading apple themed books. “The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree” by Gail Gibbons was one of our favorites. After reading the book, we made our own little apple tree seasons book.

The book includes patterns and all the seasons and can be found in my new “Apple Pickin’” unit HERE.

Apple Pickin’ Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 00:32:00 +0000

Thanks so much to everyone that entered my give away :-)

Congrats, Cherie…….my “Apple Pickin’” pack is on it’s way to you!!

Apples!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 20:50:00 +0000

We’ve been having TONS of apple fun this week. Here’s a little peek at some of the things we’ve been up to (more to come tomorrow).

We counted apples in the basket and then recorded 2 results on our recording paper.

We used our pattern cards to make (and continue) patterns. We used paint daubers to mark them on our recording paper.

We counted the seeds in each sack and stamped our answer on the recoding paper.

We used the alphabet cards and had to find the next number. Stamping is a bit hit so we stamped the answers to this one too :-)

We used the apple cards to add seeds and write our responses.

We did some craft and learned a few poems.

We read a few books about Johnny Appleseed and completed this activity.

We read “Ten Apples Up On Top” by Dr. Seuss and made our own little counting book. These are just SOME of the activities that are in my “Apple Pickin’” Unit that you can purchase HERE. Don’t forget that you still have 24 hours to get one for FREE (see THIS post).

Michelle

Apple Pickin’ Time (A Kindergarten Unit) and a FREEBIE!

noreply@blogger.com (Mrs. Whary) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:24:00 +0000

Hi everyone,

Sorry you didn’t hear from me much last week…..this is what I was doing:

We had last week off and spent the ENTIRE week going through our basement and getting stuff ready for a HUGE yard sale. This 14 foot truck was PACKED! I’m happy to say that by the end of the weekend the floor of the truck only had a few stray boxes. What concerns me though is that we’re supposed to fit the rest of our lives into a 20 foot container………ummmmmmm….I think we still have LOADS of work to do and only 11 weeks until our baby arrives!!!!

Anyway, this week we’re studying apples (one of my favorites). Although it’s not really meant to be our week to do apples, I decided to do it anyway. Here’s the pack I created for us to work on this week.

Here’s what you can find inside:

What Comes Next (letters)
Bushels of Sounds
Candy Apples (alphabetical Order)
Find and Write
Roll and Write
Apple Bobbing (upper/lowercase letters)
Apples (adjective activity with craft)
Apple Pie (game)
Apple Colors (pocket chart with book)
Apple Basket (poem and craftivity)
Apple Tree (poem and craftivity)
How to Make Applesauce
Johnny Appleseed (facts and craft)
Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie (book review)

Apple Adding
Apple Patterns
Apples in the Basket (counting)
How Many Seeds (10 frames)
Apples On Top (counting book)
Apple Pie Counting
Apple Pickin' Time (time)
Measuring Up! (measuring)
Apple Ordering (number order)
Number Headband

Emergent Reader:
Where is the Apple?
Science:
Apple investigation
Apple Oxidation (an experiment)
Label It! (parts of an apple)
My Apple Tree Seasons (book with craftivity)

Detailed instructions, common core standards, photos and templates for crafts and recording papers (INCLUDING many that are differentiated) are included for EVERY activity!

It’s 119 pages of FUN! The whole thing is only $5!!!!!!!!!!!

You can get one for FREE!!!!

Here’s how: If you’re a blogger, do a blog post about it (and link to my store) then email me the link (musingsofme@yahoo.com) to your post.I’ll send you one for FREE. This offer is only good until September 20th, 2012 @ 6pm EST.

If you’re not a blogger, I still want to give you a chance to won one so if you follow my TPT store and leave me a comment below (with your email), you can be entered to won one too. This will also end September 20th, 2012 @ 6pm EST.

I also created this little freebie for all of you. Channing and I worked on it today. It’s a little counting book :-)

It includes number words and color words to trace. We used paint daubers to stamp the apples in the basket and added the stem and leaf when they were dry.

You can grab this for FREE here.

See you tomorrow with some of our “Apple Pickin’” activities :-)

Michelle