Awesome October Leads to Awesome Autumn!

Hello there!  Thanks for visiting today!  Although I'm happy to say good-bye to weather in the 80 and 90 degree range, I'm sad to let go of summer and have to put away my "Endless Summer" pillow.  In the meantime, it's time to share my weekly news and link up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for:

Updated on TPT:  Massachusetts, Our Home!

Finally, I got around to updating an old product on TPT.  I redid the whole slide deck making it more interactive and hopefully, more engaging.  It goes along with the textbook, Our Home, Massachusetts (this link takes you to the Internet Archive Library where you can borrow the book for free) by Smith Gibbs Publisher.  

The good news is that you don't need to textbook to use the new slide deck which covers the first chapter of the book:  An Introduction to Massachusetts.  

Pumpkin Poem!

I LOVED using poetry in my Morning Messages.  After we read the poem, I have the kids identify the verbs!

Fire Safety House

My students loved to visit The Fire Safety House and hear the firefighters talk about fire safety:

I learned something important.  First, we now have fire alarms that "talk" rather than beep.  In addition, these talking alarms are more likely to awaken a sleeping child.  You can read more here.  Talking fire alarms are much more effective for waking up sleeping children.

Baby Pictures Display!

Back when I taught, I used to put all of my students' baby pictures in the hallway.  The kids loved looking at these pictures all year!

  

Happy Autumn!  Thank you for checking in today!

Awesome August and Sensational Summer News

Hello there!  It's amazing how fast summer flies by, isn't it?  Well, they do say, "Time flies when you're having fun!"  Today I am linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for their weekly Friday Favorites Link-Up!

Check out what's happening around here!

My son, Derek, is a published author!

He has a short story, The Senior Interview, published in an online magazine called Little Fruits.

Click here or on the above picture to read his story!



Picture Book to Check Out!

Here's a great non-fiction book to inspire personal narrative or just to learn about different customs around the world!


Back in my working days, I read the book:  Throw Your Tooth on the Roof:  Traditions from Around the World by Selby B. Beeler.  On the rug, the kids were so inspired that they started sharing stories about a memorable time when they lost a tooth.  

 

This book is very informative - I know that I learned quite a lot about different tooth traditions.  In some countries, people bury their teeth, use their teeth to make jewelry, and yes, some people actually do throw their teeth on their roof.  Here are some student work samples:

 Click on the picture or this link to get this free writing activity.



Chapter Book to Check Out!

  I started reading a new chapter book - The New Kid by Mavis Jukes - while the kids eat snack.  One of the extra projects the teacher in the book assigns is to make a list of 75 onomatopoeia words and put the words in alphabetical order.  As a reward, the student can earn a homework pass.  Consequently, I offered to do the same because I honestly thought that the assignment would be much too challenging.  Well, I stand corrected - several of my students are compiling a list of these words, and I will very gladly award them a homework pass for their hard work.

If you're looking for more blogs to read, click here or on the picture:

Here's to a wonderful weekend filled with sunny weather!  Thanks for visiting the blog today!

Friday Favorites: Books; NYT Games; Children's Book Recommendation

Hello there!  Happy July and welcome to Friday Favorites with Erika from A Little Bit of Everything and Andrea from

 Momfessionals:

FRIDAY FAVORITES!

Enjoying:  Books I'm Reading!

What's not to enjoy about the summer?   We are on our 2nd heat dome of the year.  I am in awe of people who have weather in the 90's with humidity for more than 3 to 5 consecutive days.  

In addition, I get to go in my above-ground pool and do my water aerobics.  Plus, I get to read a lot!  I just finished this book:

I loved this author's book:  Where'd You Go Bernadette, and was excited to read her new book.  However, I had a hard time getting into this new book about a woman, Adora, who is a stoic philosopher and lives in New York City.  I almost decided not to finish, but I'm glad I stuck with it because the end is the best part.

Right now I'm reading:

YES!  You definitely would love this book.  It's about a young mother, April, who's on the brink of getting a divorce when her house burns down.  On top of that, her father is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease.   I'm always excited to open this book to see what happens next.  If you do read this book, I have also read another book by Sarah Damoff:  The Bright Years which is another engaging book.

NYT Daily Games

I continue to renew my games subscription to the New York Times for $50 a year.  Every morning I do the Wordle, Connections and Spelling Bee (until I get to great).  After lunch, I finish the Spelling Bee (I try to get to Amazing every day); the Mini; Pips; Tiles; Strands and Letter Boxed. 

I'm amazingly loving the Tiles Game in which you need to keep matching at least one element of each tile to another.  I do wish that they'd add some more variety to this game.

This is an example.  I hope my eyesight improves from doing these!

Hoping

I am hoping that author Ewa Erdman who visited our school in June, can sell lots of copies of her book:

The author adopted a three legged pitbull who became a therapy dog for amputees and other rehab patients.  In addition, Ewa donates all proceeds to animal shelters!

Here is a picture of Ewa and me when she visited our school:

As always, I appreciate that you visited my blog today!  Please let me know if you have any book recommendations.