October
October is an exciting month. I’ve tried to list some main events for the month below.
Fire Safety Week
The week of October 9th is Fire Prevention Week.
This is an initiative by the National Fire Prevention Association.
See Kid friendly info at www.Sparky.org
This is a great time to read and learn about firefighters. Our local newspaper usually has a Kids page in the Education section this week. Our school counselor usually schedules a visit from the Fire Department this week. They passed out this Fire Safety Activity book last year. If you are teaching with this Fire Safety theme, your students will think you organized it all. I recommend this book Fly Guy Presents: Firefighters AR Reading Level 3.5
NO PREP Fire Safety Reading
This one page reading selection with 5 multiple choice questions is unique. It includes a presentation mode that allows you to project it to the class. I will even read it out loud to your class.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great resource to teach younger grades fire safety! – Janice S.
Red Ribbon Week
Red Ribbon week takes place every year on October 23-31. www.RedRibbon.org
Spiders
Learning about Spiders and Bats in October can get your room decorated to look just a little bit SPOOKY. Google Nat Geo Spiders to see a few kid friendly spider videos.
Here’s a quick Spider Craft video on YouTube
Bat Week
Bat Week is an annual celebration about the role of bats in nature that takes place on October 24-31. The website below has some neat bat videos.
www.BatWeek.org
Here are a few of my favorite bat read alouds. Find them in your local library or get them on Amazon Prime.
National Geographic Kids Bats
Fly Guy Presents: Bats
Stellaluna
Easy Bat Book Display
I used a few Mainstays Tabletop Easels from Walmart to display these books.
Read Across America
March 2nd is celebrated as Read Across America Day to promote reading!
Book Displays
I love the book displays. Checking out NEW books from the our school library and/or public library can add excitement.
NO PREP Activities
Save time with activities that are ready to go!
Just print in black and white and students can color their own headband, certificates, complete a word search, and practice editing and writing. Students can even create an easy class made book.
Author Study
Use with ANY Author!
Maybe you would like to celebrate Reading Across the World by learning about one of your favorite authors. A NO PREP Author Study is a great way to do just that!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was a great wrap-up activity during Read Across America week. – Katherine J.
100th Day of School
I thought I would share some great ways to celebrate the 100th Day of School!
100th Day Necklace
Math Treat – Make a necklace with 100 treats. Use Fruit Loops and a piece of yarn. This is easier if you use a piece of tape to make the end of the yarn pointy like a shoelace. It’s also fun to sort a group of ten by color. Kiddos can use a hundreds chart to prep their treats.
Collection – Have students fill a ziploc bag with 100 of the same item.
Dress Up – Have students dress like they are 100 years old. They can wear:
- Gray Hair
- Facial Hair
- Hair Rollers
- Glasses
- Canes
- Necklaces
- Cardigans
- Shawls
They can be creative and have fun dressing up!
Writing Prompts
Write about what you would do if you had $100 dollars.
This one is funny because kids think $100 has a lot buying power.
Write about what you want to do before you are 100 years old.
100 Words Anchor Chart
Have students come up to write in words they know or type them in distance learning. This is a great time to review sight words, cvc words, and word families.
NO PREP 100th Day of School Activities
- Kiddos will make a 100th Day Crown and color a 100th Day Ribbon.
- Color a Certificate
- Word Search
- if I had $100 …
- Combine 1 page from each student into a class made book.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Super fun activity for the 100th day of school!!!! – Alyssa M.
End of Year Tips
This time of the year can be tough. There’s so much to get done, on top of being an amazing teacher. Having a plan to get through it goes a long way. Try these 3 strategies.
1. Maintain Classroom Routines
When routines change, student behavior will too. Classroom routines reduce disruptive behavior in students. Routines help students know what is expected of them at certain times of the day. Be as consistent as possible. Maintain activities you’ve practiced the entire year like a read-aloud, getting ready for lunch, and center time.
2. Try Grandma’s Law
Premack’s principle is a psychology theory and strategy, commonly used with children with autism. It is named after the work of Professor David Premack. The principle states that “more probable behaviors will reinforce less probable behaviors”.
Parents use this strategy when telling their children to FIRST eat their dinner (a low probability behavior), THEN eat dessert (a high probability behavior). We experience Premack’s principle when we first work, then get paid.
As the principle states “a less desired behavior can be reinforced by the opportunity to engage in a more desirable behavior.”
It is also known as First, Then. Premack’s Principle is also called the relativity theory of reinforcement.
You can learn more about Premack’s Principle at
http://www.autismadventures.com/premack-principle/
3. Use FUN Learning Games and Print and Go Pages
I love learning games because you prepare them once and use them over and over again. Some of my favorite learning games are ABC Bingo and CVC Bingo. Kids feel like they’re playing and having fun, but they’re really getting a spiral review.
I often give FREE prizes like five minutes of computer time or playtime. You could also use an inexpensive reward like a sticker. The best thing about these learning games is they’ll be ready to go for next year, too.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My students beg me to play this BINGO game. They were blending the sounds and saying all the CVC words! – Meredith H.
Gather some of your favorite NO PREP worksheets to create an End of the Year packet!
Or try these ready made CVC FUN pages that are simple enough for children to complete independently and feel like a fun reward.
CVC FUN! Just print and go.
Students will trace words, color, write, draw, and do word searches.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My kids loved this! It was great for a center activity as well as a sub activity. – Danielle Klein
You are 🍎 amazing! It’s ok to start a countdown and look forward to summer.
You make a difference in children’s lives every day. 🤗
Thanks for the support, have a happy day! 😄
– Martha | MrsGalvan
Ten Frames Math Activities
Make math hands on and engaging for little learners using leftover egg cartons. They make easy to use ten frames that are better than printed ten frame mats. I love that you can change out what students are counting with different seasons or themes.
You’ll just love these winter themed PENGUINS and SNOWBALLS, I bet little ones will love them too and there’s so many possibilities for different themes.
Supplies
Save your one dozen egg cartons. Foam is very easy to cut, but you could also use recycled cardboard containers. You’ll also need scissors and some “counters”. In the example below I used cotton balls, but you could use anything from counting bears to mini erasers. I think spider rings would make a spooky math center.
Trim and Add Counters
Ten Frames Boom Cards
Continue the math practice with these easy to use Boom Cards. Teachers and students love that they’re self-checking, interactive, and have audio support.
Ten Frames Boom Cards work on computers, tablets, and mobile devices.
Preview these boom cards here and click the blue Full Size Preview button.
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