MISC. FREE - "Pumpkin Dip Visual Recipe Free"

by Kathy Babineau
Grades All Ages

Pumpkin Dip Visual Recipe

Here's a delicious and easy to make fall recipe. No baking required. Just add all ingredients to a bowl, mix, and serve. Cooking is a fantastic way to way to address vocabulary, following directions, cooperative learning, social skills and more. A simple visual recipe allows learners of all levels to participate.

I hope you enjoy this tasty pumpkin dip! Happy fall!

Kathy Babineau

Here are some other fun fall products:

Pumpkin Patch Fun for Pre-K and Kindergarten

Fall Freebie

Thanksgiving Freebie

Halloween Social Skills

Join The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative at
http://www.thebestofteacherentrepreneursmarketingcooperative.com/2014/01/the-best-of-teacher-entrepreneurs.html
and get THOUSANDS OF PAGE VIEWS for your TpT products!

Victoria Leon's TpT Store

Go to http://www.pinterest.com/TheBestofTPT/ for even more free products!

Jolly Holly Deals Week

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

It’s that time of year again, the holidays are just around the corner, now it’s time to shop bargains.  These are the perfect holiday gifts for your colleagues, your children's teacher/teachers, and/or yourself.  Now, I love a good sale., This one will knock your boots off.  That's why I've joined up with a great bunch of Teacherpreneurs to bring you these Christastic deals.  Oh I almost forgot...The sale will last for a full week with different bargains everyday. 

A sale is great, but FREEBIES are even better. You can win a $50.00 gift certificate to Tpt  by entering our Rafflecopter!  All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  I'd really appreciate a store follow., too! Sign up and shop, till you drop! 

Please take a look at the resources that will be on sale at Socrates Lantern's Tpt Store:  Monday is Giveaway Day, enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post. Tuesday we have Dollar Deals. Type #jollygooddollardeals .  Wednesday is FREEBIE Day type #jollygoodfreebie,  Thursday is 20% OFF day type #jollygoodbundleday and Friday is 50% OFF day type #jollygoodhalfoff at Tpt.

#jollygooddollardeals

FREEBIES

#jollygoodbundlesale

#jollygoodhalfoff

Please visit Socrates Lantern's Social Media Sites

   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's BOO-Tober Time for Some Sensory Poems

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

It’s BOOtober and the perfect time to get those creative juices flowing in your 5-8 grade students. Fall is the perfect season for this. Can’t you just hear the rustling of leaves under your feet, or the howling wind as the days begin to grow colder. How about biting into that first crisp red apple of the season. I just love Macouns, my tongue waters as I think about the tart sweetness of my favorite

fruit.

Flip Book:Sensory Poems @Socrates Lantern

                    I love thesmell of maple syrup as it’s being removed from the trees? A friend of mine tapped hers one year and I remember the sweet, delicious aroma that permeated the air. I could just taste the syrup on some buckwheat pancakes, yum!

October is the perfect month for using your senses, the sights, sounds, tastes of the season are all around us. Why not take advantage of it with a poetry writing activity that I've finished in time for Halloween.

To get you started, bring in some paper cups or paper bags. Place a different object into each one. The children are to close their eyes and feel it. With Halloween in mind, use some items that work well with the holiday, for instance, a grape feels like an eyeball, yuck!  Silly putty, marshmallows, even those squishy spiders or snakes that you can purchase at a dollar store, would do the trick. A dog toy shaped like a frankfurter would feel like intestines. I know the kids will love the creepiness of this and they'll want to write about it. Other objects you could use are tiny pumpkins, sandpaper, hair, something rubbery. Pumpkin seeds, chocolate, hard candy, those weird flavored jellybeans would be great for tasting. Use your imagination and you'll come up with more.

This other activity is called Halloween Spooks, it's a great way to get those minds thinking and writing some spooky stories in collaborative groups and or individually.

Halloween Spooks Creative Writing @Socrates Lantern

***************************************************
Please visit Socrates Lantern's Social Media Sites

   

End of the Year Musings

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

I always approach the end of the school year with mixed emotions, though I’m ecstatic to be out for summer vacation, I always feel a little sad saying good-bye.  Many of my soon to be 7th graders hug me and leave with tears in their eyes, knowing that our little family will no longer be together. All the trials and tribulations, the challenges, the fun times and sad times will always be with us, but it will never be the same. 

Reflecting back to the beginning of the year, I remember how small they were when they first entered my room, some shy and nervous about their first few days, others acting cool trying to impress their peers., especially those they don’t know. The first hurdle over, they’ve opened their lockers. Simple process for some while others end up in tears because they can’t figure out how to do it. By the end of the year, they look back at this and laugh at themselves.

How strict I am the first few weeks, trying very hard not to crack a smile. This is the time to get them into shape. so that we all have a great year. They learn the rules and always test me.  Finally, after awhile, I can let my hair down and be myself. I can crack jokes, they can joke around and we can all laugh together. This is when real learning takes place, and to see their “ah ha,” moments is what teaching is all about.

I love 6th graders, the majority are so willing to learn, that it makes teaching rewarding and enjoyable.. One of my favorite things is our morning discussions. Their backgrounds are quite diverse and I learn something new almost everyday. Many are knowledgeable about a lot of things and they’re eager to share. They can talk about whatever is on their mind, and they feel safe doing so. We are now, officially a family and I’ve become their surrogate parent.

As I say good-bye, each of my kids takes a part of me with them. I feel certain that I’ve given them the support, strength and confidence to move on to seventh grade. The time has come for them to spread their wings and fly.. 

When I close the door for the final time, I take comfort in knowing that soon I’ll have another bunch of little chickadees to bring up.

Please download my free, School Memories, you can use this for the last day of school. 

Socrates Lantern's Tpt Store

Have a wonderful summer!

Deann

 **************************************************************

Something for Back to School

End of the Year Arithmetic Games

Something for the end of the year
and something for the beginning.

 **************************************************************

Please visit Socrates Lantern's Social Media Sites

    

An InLinkz Link-up

Tips for Engaging your Students Through the End of the Year

By Deann Marin of Socrates Lantern

The end of the school year is just around the corner. You’re looking forward to summer vacation and so are your students, but you still have at least 6 or more weeks left, so what do you do to keep those children tuned in to learning.  Here are some tips.

Socrates Lantern's Tpt Store

Projects, Projects, Projects. Have your students work in groups to create plays that can be shared with other classrooms. It will keep them busy and having fun while learning.  If you’ve been studying the Greek civilization, they can write plays in the early Greek style. Parents can help with costumes, and masks. I have a bundle with all the information you’ll need to do this activity with your classes.

Have a debate, use what you’ve studied during the year in social studies. Did your classes learn about Hammurabi when they studied Mesopotamia? If so, there is so much information on his laws as they were the first during that time. They were quite harsh. Your children could debate whether or not the laws are fair. Then they can write a paper summarizing their feelings about it.  You might also pick a controversial subject that they can debate. The presidential election would be a great one to use. People have so many opinions about the candidates, I’m sure your students do as well. They would have to research the candidates. As a final project they can write a paper stating their opinions. Not an election year. Brainstorm with your class about topics that may be of interest to them. Then take a vote to decide which one to use. Here are a few ideas: students should be held legally responsible for bullying, sports stars are paid too much money,  students should be allowed to skip grades, violence in the media, or computer games causes violent behavior in kids. This link has more great ideas. http://www.eastiron.org/eistaff/Uploads/1837/Potential_topics.pdf.

You could hold mock trials where students role play lawyers, prosecutors, witnesses for the defense, a judge and jury, etc. To go along with ancient history, “Who killed King Tut,” is an interesting topic to research and bring to trial. You should have your students break into groups, and locate information about who committed the crime. My 6th grade World History class really enjoyed this activity. The trial was well thought out.and quite impressive. This link will take you to a great webquest that you can use with your classes.  http://www.margietyner.net/king-tut-webquest.html

Do you enjoy teaching creative writing? One year I had my 6th graders bring in liquid bubbles. We went outside and sat around for a while and the kids had a great time making all shapes and sizes of bubbles. We had contests to see who could blow the largest one, weirdest one, etc. Then we went inside and made believe we were the bubble, or we were floating in the bubble. They used as many sensory words as they could to describe their bubble adventure. It was really a lot of fun. 

Socrates Lantern's Tpt Store

Poetry is a great end of the year project. I usually take my classes outside to enjoy the fresh air and get their creative juices flowing. I tell them to look around and notice their surroundings, to take deep breaths so they become aware of fragrances, to touch a flower, or hug a tree, to listen to the sounds of birds, insects, and the rustling of leaves in the wind. When we go back into the classroom, they write poems that have to do with nature by using their five senses. They’ve written some amazing poems. I have an interactive poetry bundle that I use with this activity.

My teaching partner taught science and as part of their final grade, his students  would work in groups on one of the following topics: electricity, wind energy, solar energy, nuclear energy, thermal energy, etc. They were to write lessons geared to the class which included experiments, explanations, visuals, evaluation sheets, etc and act as teachers for an assigned period.

I’d love to hear what you do to keep your classes engaged through the last weeks of the school year.  Thanks for stopping by... 

Deann

 Please visit Socrates Lantern's Social Media Sites

   

This is part of our May Teacher Talk. Please take a look at these other blog posts from some awesome educators

An InLinkz Link-up

Let's Go Fly a Kite

By Deann Marin of  Socrates Lantern

When I taught special needs kids, each month we would do something special for those who earned enough points. One of their favorite activities was to make and fly kites in March. Years later, I was mainstreamed to 6th grade and the children also loved  this activity.  After they flew their kites, they wrote two papers, one explaining how to make a kite and the other about their experience.

I am going to show you how to make simple kites that your class will love doing.

Materials for a garbage bag kite:  plastic bags, two sticks, string, a ribbon and a nice windy day.

Step 1:  Take two sticks, wooden dowels, or garden stakes and put them into the shape of a cross., one horizontally and one vertically. Place the horizontal stick about a third of the way down and tie them together with a string.

 Step 2: Wrap the string securely around the horizontal and vertical sticks so that they stay together.

Step 3:  Cut the bag to fit the kite frame. Secure tightly by tying the ends of the bag to the frame at the tip of each dowel or stick.

Step 4:  Tie string from one side of the horizontal stick to the other, make it loose so that it forms a triangle, see first picture in step #4. Tie a large ball of string to the bottom part of the vertical stick. Loop under the loose portion of the horizontal string and tie a knot then tie another knot where the horizontal and vertical strings meet. You’ll know you’ve done it right if you see a triangle shape. See 2nd image in step #4.

Step 5: Tie some colorful ribbons to the end of the kite to give it balance. If it seems flimsy , you can attach washers to the ribbons to add support.

Step 6: Voila, your kites are complete. All you need is a sunny and windy March day and some space for your kids to run with their kites. Have fun. By the way, you can have a contest to see which kite flies the highest or the best.

Another fun thing that I’ve done with the kids is to take them camping at the end of the school year, but that’s another story.

For more spring activities, please take a look at a few of my products. 

Parts of Speech for St Patrick's Day

Interactive Poetry Notebook for Spring

Spring into Grammar Part 1

Spring into Grammar Part 2

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Deann

Please visit Socrates Lantern’s Social Media Sites

   

Before you leave, please take a look at the rest of the blog posts that are part of our March Teacher Talk blog hop.

An InLinkz Link-up