WHAT TO DO INSTEAD OF HALLOWEEN?

I realize that some of you are not allowed to dress up on Halloween, so here are some ideas that can be a fun substitute.

Nursery Rhyme Halloween
A substitute for Halloween for younger children might be to have a nursery rhyme party. Children could all dress up like their favorite nursery rhyme character and then take turns reciting their rhyme. You could serve hard boiled eggs (Humpty Dumpty), muffins (Do You Know the Muffin Man?), haystack cookies (Little Boy Blue), and so forth.

Book Character Party

Children dress as their favorite book character.  Encourage children to explain why they like that character.

Pajama Party

Who wouldn't like to just get out of bed and come to school?

Vocabulary Word Costume
Ginny McLay and was inspired by her love of vocabulary to help her kids love learning new words with this costume party.

After focusing on words (synonyms, antonyms, nouns, verbs, and adjectives) invite children to think of a word that they LOVE, ADORE, AND ADMIRE and create a costume for their word.

Easy steps to make a costume!
1. Think of a few words that are really interesting.
2. Choose a word that you can make into a costume.
3. The word and definition must be somewhere on the costume.
4. Practice the word and definition
My word is _____. It means:_________.

Ideas for costumes:
1. Write the word and definition on a headband.
2. Write the word and definition on a piece of paper and make a necklace out of it.
3. Write the word and definition on a t-shirt and decorate with fabric paint.
4. Write the word and definition on a brown paper bag…cut it like a vest!
5. Use a costume you already have at home and think of a great word. Write the word and definition on a sash.


Can you tell? "Mysterious" and "celebrate"?

"SCARED" OF VOCABULARY?

When teaching vocabulary to children, experts suggest using interesting words and building bridges between children’s experiences and words. What a perfect time of year to enrich children’s vocabulary with “spooktacular” and “bootiful” words.
Note! These activities can be used for Halloween words, Thanksgiving words, autumn words, or any unit of study.

Brainstorm
Brainstorm “spooky” words, Halloween words, or other seasonal words. How many words can they come up with? Write them on the board as children call them out.
*Older children could brainstorm as a small group activity.

Dramatize Words
Call out nouns or adjectives like “skeleton,” “mummy,” “spooky,” “haunted,” for the children to dramatize. Encourage them to use their faces, hands, and whole bodies.

Pantomime
Write seasonal words on index cards and put them in a sack. Children choose a word and pantomime while their friends try to guess.

Seasonal Alphabet
Write the letters of the alphabet on a sheet of paper. Can they think of a seasonal word for each letter? Example: A - apples, B – bats, C – candy, D – Dracula…

Picture Words
Challenge children to turn words into pictures they represent.



Grow a Sentence
Write a simple sentence on the board. Can children add words to the sentence to make it grow?
I see a pumpkin.
I see a big pumpkin.
I see a great big enormous pumpkin.
I see a great big orange enormous pumpkin.
I see a great big orange enormous pumpkin on the porch.
I see a great big orange enormous pumpkin on the front porch.
I see a great big orange enormous pumpkin on the front porch smiling….

Build a Pumpkin
This is similar to hangman, but you will be drawing a pumpkin, which is much happier than a noose! Put blanks on the board for the number of letters in a word. As children call out letters write them on the appropriate place on the line. If the letters are not in the word make a “bone pile.” For each letter you put in the bone pile draw part of a jack-o-lantern. Start with the pumpkin shape. Add a stem. Add a mouth, nose, eyes, etc.

 

Special Edition of Fall Jokes and Riddles for you today!

 https://bit.ly/drjeanFallJokes2023 

DICTIONARY DAY

Did you know that October 16th is Dictionary Day? It's actually Noah Webster's birthday and a perfect day to let each child make her own personal dictionary.

Materials: pocket folder, prepared pages with alphabet letters, markers

*Here’s a link where you can download the pages with letters:

http://www.drjean.org/html/monthly_act/act_2007/02_Feb/pg01.html




My Personal Dictionary
Ask students to tell you what they know about dictionaries. Brainstorm the many uses of dictionaries. Model looking up words and reading definitions. Explain that each of them will get to create their own dictionary that they can use to help them the rest of the school year. First, let the children decorate the outside of their pocket folder. Insert the alphabet pages. As you add new words to the word wall or have new spelling words, ask the children to write them in their dictionary. These would also be a meaningful way to introduce vocabulary words. Encourage students to use their dictionaries when they write independently.

Hint! You might want to go ahead and type your core sight words on the pages before running them off.

Here are some other activities you can play with their dictionaries.

*Play “mystery word” where you give clues about words.
Can you find a word that starts with /m/ and ends with /d/?
Can you find a word that is the opposite of “fast”?

*Play the “rhyme” game.
Can you find a word that rhymes with “bike”?
Can you find a word that rhymes with “log” and is a pet?

*How many one letter words can you find? How many two letter words? Three letter words?

*Ask children to clap out the syllables in words.

*Can they match up words in their dictionaries with words in the classroom?

*Sort words that refer to people, things we do, describing words, etc.

*Have children find a word that starts with each letter in their name.

*Have children make up sentences (oral or written) with the words.

*Ask children to illustrate words or find magazine pictures that match the words.

*Demonstrate how to use the dictionary on the internet. How is it like their dictionary? How is it different?

Homework Hint! Let the children take home their dictionaries one night a week and do some of the above activities with their parents.

SEASONAL DICTIONARY
Add a separate page each month with seasonal and holiday words children might want to use in their stories and journals.

DOING DOTS

Dots provide "hands-on" math practice with one-to-one matching, counting, addition, and other math skills.

Note! Dot cards can be downloaded free from several sites on the internet.

One to One
Children match up pompoms, beans, erasers, pebbles, and other small objects with dots on cards.

*Children can also clip clothespins or paper clips to the dot cards.

Dot Flash
The teacher quickly holds up a dot card and then places it face down. The children hold up that number of fingers on their chest. Ask, “How did you know it was that number?”

Copy Cat
The teacher holds up a dot card. The children try to reproduce the pattern with their own counters.

Matching
Match dot cards with dots on dice.
*Match dot cards with ten frames with the same amount.
*Make puzzle games where children match dots with numerals or words.

Partner Count
Cards are placed face down on the table. One card is turned over and the first child to say the number gets to keep the card. The partner must count the dots to verify it’s correct.

*To make the game more challenging, ask them to say one more than the quantity of dots, one less, two more, etc.

Memory
Run off two sets of dot cards. Place them face down on the floor. One child at a time turns over two cards. If the cards match they make keep them and take another turn. If the cards don’t match, they are turned back over and the next child takes a turn.

It Adds Up
Two children have a set of cards and face each other. They each turn over a card and add up the amount. The first child to correctly say the answer gets to keep the cards.

LEFT TO RIGHT

Training eyes to move from left to right and then reverse sweep is a key to beginning reading and writing. A simple, yet powerful way, that teachers can do this is through modeling. Make it a habit to sweep your hand from left to right under words or lines of print on charts, big books, white boards, and so forth.

Right & Left Song
(Tune: “Up on the Housetop”)
Here is my right hand way up high.
(Hold up right hand.)
Here is my left hand touch the sky.
(Hold up left hand.)
Right and left and roll out of sight.
(Roll hands around.)
Now I know my left and right.
(Hold up left and then right.)

Hint! Focus on the right hand because then what is “left” over will be their left.

Sticker
Put a sticker on each child’s right hand and then play “Simon Says” or the “Hokey Pokey.”

Bracelet
Let children make bracelets out of pipe cleaners and wear them on their right hand. Throughout the day call attention to their right hand…right ear…right leg…right foot, etc.
Lotion
Rub lotion or scented lip balm on each child’s right hand.

Flag
Trace around your right hand on construction paper and cut it out. Place it near the flag so children can visually match up their right hand and then place it over their hearts.



Poem
Hold up your hands and stick out thumbs and index fingers as you say:
Which is my left? Which is my right?
Sometimes it’s hard to tell.
But when I stick my thumbs out straight,
My left will make an “L.”

Left From Right(Anthony Corbo aka “Mr. Kindergarten” taught me this song.)
(Tune: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
I want to learn my left from right,
Left from right, left from right.
I want to learn my left from right,
I try with all my might.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Letter L, letter L.
The left hand makes the letter L,
Hurray, now I can tell!

Tracking Left to Right
Draw tracks on sentence strips similar to the ones shown. Children can drive cars or move animals from left to right.



Hint! Make a green dot where they are to begin and a red dot where they should end.

Top to Bottom Song (Dawna Hunter)
(Tune: “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”)
Top to bottom,
Left to right.
Top to bottom,
Left to right.
My mind knows that writing always goes
Top to bottom,
Left to right.

BODY WRITING

Why have children write with their wrists when you can motivate them with these creative movements? These techniques can be used with younger children to practice writing strokes or letters. Use them with older students to write spelling words or vocabulary.

Hint! The teacher will need to “mirror” these strokes.

Invisible Writing
Children extend the middle and index finger and write in the air as they keep their elbow stiff.

Writing Wand
Tape strips of tissue paper to a popsicle stick for air writing.




Noodle
To practice writing numerals, letters, etc. give children a 9” inch section of a swim noodle. They can use both hands to write in the air (activates both sides of the brain.) Say, “Statue of Liberty” when you want them to listen and hold their noodles in the air.

Midline Writing
Activate both sides of the brain by extending the index finger from both hands as you write in the air.

Tummy Writing
Children lay on the floor and extend one finger above their head. Children use that finger to trace shapes, letters, etc. on the floor.


Palm Pilot
Children hold up one palm and trace letters on it with the index finger from the other hand. Take it to the brain!

Back Writing
Children practice writing on each other’s backs.

Hint! Stand in a circle and face right. The teacher models how to write on the first child’s back. The first child repeats it on the second child’s back and it continues around the circle.

Body Parts
Practice making shapes, letters and numerals in the air with different body parts, such as the elbow, foot, nose, belly button, chin, etc.

Hint! Let a different child choose the body part you use each day.

Letter Claps
Hold hands in the air touching and make little claps as you make the shape of the letter and alliterate the sound.

More! Let children write letters with shaving cream on a table, in the sandbox, on the board with a wet sponge, or with chalk on the sidewalk.

TO THE POINT

I'll get right to the point with some pointers today.

WHY?
Children love anything novel and different. They can use these pointers to track from left to right, identify key details in a picture, point out letters or words in print, highlight capitalization and punctuation, touch shapes, identify parts of speech…I think you get the “point”!

WHAT?
Take a look at all these pointers I've collected. I bet you'll find at least one new idea that will capture your students' interest. 

Magic wand – dip the end of a chopstick in glue and roll in glitter

Finger nail – glue a fake fingernail to a craft stick

I Spy – glue a googly eye to a craft stick

Jewel – glue a fake jewel to a craft stick

Witches’ finger – great fun


Magnifying glass - pipe cleaner formed in a circle

Swizzle stick – buy these at a dollar store or have a drink at a bar (Just kidding!)

Pretzel stick – point and then eat

Seasonal – glue small seasonal toys or stickers to craft sticks or purchase seasonal pencils

Bugles - point, read, and eat!!!


Alien - Glue pipe cleaner antennas to the eye pointer and use for pointing and spacing between words.

Giant Pointers
Glue a toy to the end of a cardboard pants hanger or decorate a butterfly net.

Smart Center
This was one of those simple, yet clever ideas that a teacher shared years ago. She said she had a center called the "smart center" with an old pair of glasses and a hand pointer. Children wore the glasses and walked around the room and pointed to words, shapes, colors, letters, etc. to show how "smart" they were. The only rule was you had to use a whisper voice. The teacher who shared this said the kids LOVED this center. She said nobody paid any attention to them, but they thought they were smart just the same!