Terrific Tuesday Linkies with Spiders in My Hair!

I have found quite a few fabulous linkies for Tuesday and am super excited about ALL of them. So without further delay, let's get started!!!

Tasty Treat Tuesday with Mr. Greg @ Smedley's Smorgsboard of Kindergarten

We all love tasty treats, right? Well I have a super easy and super yummy one for you!!!!

Dairy Free Fruit Smoothie

1 cup Coconut Milk (you can use any type of milk you like but I like the sweetness the coconut adds.)
2 cups frozen fruit - any kind, any mix
2 packets of Truvia (or any kind/amount of sweetener you like)
Blend until smooth!!!

What is your favorite treat? Leave a comment and link up with Smedley's Smorgsboard to share!

Book Talk Tuesday with Deanna Jump @ Mrs. Jump's Class

Now on to my FAVORITE topic, BOOKS!!!! have you been following along with Mrs. Jump's class? I just completed an Amazon order for all the fabulous books I have discovered thanks to all of all the fabulous teachers that have linked up!

Lets talk about the Spiders in my hair! I have been trying to narrow down which book to share with you and let me tell you, it is hard. Inspiration struck the other night when I was brushing out my hair. My hair had been in a messy bun on top of my head all and and was full of knots. Those painful stubborn buggers reminded me of my favorite local author, Sheila Booth-Alberstadt, and her lovable character, Maggie McNair!!!!

In  Sheila Booth-Alberstadt's first book, Maggie McNair refuses to brush her hair and so in move the spiders and hilarity ensues!! What is so great about the Maggie books is that they are written based on  Sheila Booth-Alberstadt's own struggles with her little girl not wanting to brush her hair!
This book is amazing and will delight you and your kiddos! 

Above pictures from SBA Books

My kids and I are so lucky that Sheila Booth-Alberstadt is a local author and LOVE when she comes to school to read her books. Not only is she a brilliant author, she is an amazing woman! She started SBA Books for authors to have a publishing platform for books that focus on helping children and teens deal with daily life and more. I strongly recommend that you check her and her books out!

Click books below to get more info from Amazon!

I am still reading my last Jinx Schwartz book but have also started re-reading PBL in the Elementary Grades. If you are interested in implementing project based learning in your class, this book is a must read. I have read it once while going through my county's Digital Leadership Academy but next year our school is starting collaborative planning and we will be teaching project based lessons. This is a big change for us!! (Prayers appreciated, we are a group of 9 strong and amazing teachers!)

(Click book to check it out on Amazon - sorry it is so fuzzy??!!)

Do you have a favorite local author? Are you reading a great book right now? Share in the comments and then head over to Mrs. Jump's Class to learn about more great books and share yours!

July Currently

It is the first of the month and time to link up with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade!

Two for Tuesday with The Teaching Tribune

This is my first Tuesday linking up with The Teaching Tribune for Two for Tuesday. Today I am sharing two of my "FROG-tastic" Teachers Pay Teachers products for 50% off.

First up is my new "Where Are We" cards that I featured on yesterdays post {here}.

Click on the picture to take you to my store!

Next is my updated Frog themed Space Writing Unit. Writing graphic organizers and class rubric based on the book The Common Core Writing Book, K-5. (Five for Friday post {here} about our Space Unit.)

Click on the picture to take you to my store!

Book Talk Tuesday

Happy Book Talk Tuesday!  Have you visited BookBub and signed up for your emails with free and low cost books? Isn't it great?! It's like a new gift everyday!
Unfortunately I have not had a lot of time for reading this week. I have been on bed rest and meds that keep making me sleep. But I missed posting last week and really wanted to be able to post this week!

One of my favorite children's books authors is Jim Arnosky. He and his books are amazing. I use quite a few of his books during the year. When introducing my weather unit, I read Rabbits and Raindrops. When introducing nocturnal animals, I read Raccoons in Ripe Corn. In our reading series we read Armadillo's Orange. All three of these books are wonderful. 

This year on Discovery Education, I found a Reading Rainbow episode (Did you hear they have a Kickstarter to try and make more episodes??) about Raccoons in Ripe Corn I was blown away with how amazon Jim Arnosky is as a person and writer!!! I wish I had my books here at home so that I could share with you the amazing stories and illustrations in these books. Trust me, you need to check these out!

Right now I am reading another Hetta Coffey mystery by Jinx Schwartz, Troubled Seas. I don't want to say too much about this book because there is no way I could and not reveal spoilers! I have not been able to read a lot of this book since I started it the night before my surgery but so far so good!
Click the pic to purchase from Amazon.

So now you know I am a Potter Head and LOVE Mary Higgans Clark but that is just a small part of my book/reading addiction. I am also in love with Southern writers and Southern characters. One of my favorite Southern writers is Dorthea Benton Frank. Her "Low Country Tales" are amazing. The books are set in South Carolina with wonderful characters. I have added just a few of my favorites to the slide show below. There are many more, in fact I have a new in my pile to read this summer!

What are you reading or have read that you would recommend? Leave a comment below and then link up with Mrs. Jump's Class!

Witchy & Wild Things Wednesday!

Happy Halloween Eve!!

I just wanted to stop by and give you an update on how my Wild Things project was going.

Monday we read the book Where the Wild Things Are and made our very own wild things. We have been talking about adjectives so we made a list of adjectives to describe our wild things.



Tuesday we started talking about opinions. The kiddos were full of them but were stumped when I asked them why they liked what they liked. That took a little longer. When I asked if they liked the book or not, I was afraid that everyone would say they liked it. Luckily I had one person say they did not like it. This worked out perfect. Her reason for not liking the book (it was about monsters) ended up being a few of the kiddos reason for liking it. We had a great discussion about how our opinions are never wrong but we can always change them. After watching the video on Discovery Education we had a chance to discuss more reasons whey the kids liked/disliked the book and who liked the book or video best.

Today we read and watched different book reviews. Two for Where the Wild Things Are and two on two different books. We discussed the different parts in the reviews. The kiddos are getting really excited about writing their own reviews. Today, we also wrote about when we feel wild. I am so impressed with their writing, it keeps getting better and better!

Tomorrow we will write two different book reviews. First we will review Where the Wild Things Are. We have been orally reviewing the book all week so it should be the easiest way (fingers crossed) to teach them the format. (Here is my form!)

Today we also made pattern witches. They turned out too cute!!!! I found the idea on Pinterest. I will say that considering the picture on Pinterest is work by 5th graders, my kiddos did AWESOME! Next year I will have them all turn their paper "tall ways" and only give them half a sheet of black paper to make a skirt. That way they have more room to actually make a pattern with the legs. For the shoes, I folded a piece of black paper in fourths and just drew a shoe and cut it out. I love the different placement of the feet and the different directions they turned them.

I am headed to the kitchen to make some mummies in a blanket for our Pumpkin Party tomorrow! What fun treats do you guys have planned for Halloween with your kids?

Melissa

**Cooking Update**

I used two cans of crescent rolls and a large package of beef smokies. I unrolled the roll, patted the rolls into a sheet of dough. I looked for the uncut roll of dough but I didn't see it this time at my store. I used my pizza cutter and cut small thin slices of dough (see above). I wrapped the strip of dough around the smoke and left a gap near the top. I will put small dots of mustard on them tomorrow for eyes. I also made a few regular piggies in a blanket for the grown ups and just some blankets for anyone that doesn't eat meat. (see below)

 Toasted Mummies!