Favorite Halloween Stories....

It is no mystery what one of my favorite things to do with my Kindergarten cuties... reading! I have a plethora of books for every season, occasion, and topic.  I tell every class that I am a collector of words and ideas, and reading is just one way I build my collection.  Below you find some of my all time favorite Halloween books... read if you dare!!!

(Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Halloween can be a dark and spooky time of year, but nowhere is it written that witches and ghosts have to be scary. "A Very Brave Witch" twists the common perception of witches to reveal that most witches are actually afraid of people, thanks to humans' lack of green coloring, fear of flying, failure to cackle, and other perceived oddities. The brave little witch in this story is fascinated with humans and, after doing some research, decides to get a close-up look at some human children on Halloween night. What she discovers is a young human who's just as brave as she is. "A Dark, Dark Tale" follows a black cat through a dark moor and a spooky old house to find a surprise lurking in a dark corner, and "By the Light of the Halloween Moon" is a cumulative-structure poem, reminiscent of the song "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," in which a tapping toe sets off a chain reaction that involves a witch, a bat, a ghoul, and several others. "Georgie" is the story of a cute little ghost who feels unappreciated by his human family and runs away only to realize that he and the family really need one another. "The Witch in the Cherry Tree" depicts an intelligent young boy who uses his wits to outsmart a witch and protect his freshly baked cakes, and "The Three Legged Cat" is a humorous tale about a peg-legged cat whose yearning for travel and adventure gets satisfied as a result of a case of mistaken identity. In "The Three Robbers," a young orphan girl turns a band of robbers' misdeeds into something good, and in "Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain," a young boy stows away on a steamer and journeys out to sea. These eight captivating stories feature original illustrations that are either animated or filmed with simple camera pans, skillful narration, optional onscreen read-along words, and fun music. What a perfect way to celebrate the witching season without fears or tears. (Ages 3 to 7) --Tami Horiuchi)

("Looking for a soup bone on Halloween, a little old lady finds a hungry skeleton instead".)

Spookley The Square Pumpkin

This week in kindergarten we read the story of Spookley the Square Pumpkin.  We discussed the importance of looking beyond the outside appearance of something and not to judge things based only on their looks.  We loved the story of Spookley, and as an instructor have found lots of great resources out there to accompany the text.  There is one great blog post about Spookley and bullying that I recommend checking out (whether you're a teacher or parent), it even has some cute printables to use for young and older children. I especially love the video that is posted on the blog.  Click the link to visit: Poppell Farms

Happy Reading!

Kindergarten Demonstrates Learning...

We are wrapping up our learning on the Letter Dd. As a cumulative activity we decided to make a video showing a little of what we have learned about D and the /d/ sound. I was really proud of how the class came together voted and worked on picking pictures and deciding what say in the video. Check it out!

All About Dd

Digital Story Telling, Thank You Judy

One of the most useful courses I took during my graduate studies with Univ. of Saint Joseph was on how to properly and effectively incorporate technology into the classroom. I was also one of my most frustrating classes. There was so much out there and I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by all the possibilities.  My professor recently posted on her blog, which I still check in on, a beautiful slide show on Digital Storytelling that I wanted to share. Check it out... =)

Digital Storytelling from Lyn Hilt

My Little Writers

I love finding new ways to make writing fun for my students, especially at this young age.  We have been working on storytelling... take a peek at our work!

WELCOME! 

Hello to everyone, and welcome to my classroom blog =)  I hope that you will find what we are doing fun and interesting, thank you for popping in.