Baby Face or Beard??? {Unit Preview}

Have you ever thought about what Santa would look like with a beard...or a mustache? Let your students decide which look will best fit such a jolly dude! This unit will have your kiddos graphing and writing their way into the holiday season. Of course, their must be a cute craft to boot! 

Here is a look at what is included in this unit!

You can head on over to TPT and pick this up whenever you'd like! 

Have a great night, y'all! 

A Late Gobble & South Carolina History

It is going to be short and sweet for me tonight! I *may* have stayed up super late last night to finish up a grad school paper {procrastinate much???} and I am feeling it right...about...now! But I had to share these sweet little guys before November becomes a thing of the past! December...already? 

I know that Thanksgiving has already passed us by, but I just had to share our cute turkeys that we made to go along with our fall writings. We finished these up before the break, but since I had to leave early for Indiana, my student teacher had to complete the project with the kiddos! 

How cute are these little fellas??

We will be having our feast on Friday! Well, it is not really a Thanksgiving feast, more like a South Carolina History feast...but it is all the same! I just couldn't miss out on the fun, so I had to postpone! It is still November...right?!? I am super excited about this feast. We have been trucking along in our South Carolina History unit, so for our feast, we will be making settlers and Native American pizzas based on the foods that each group contributed to our state! My kids are counting down the days! 

Before the break, we also finished up a few projects about early SC and have already started moving our way through the Revolutionary War! If you are a SC teacher...can I get a PTL?!? Here are a few of the activities that we completed during our Settlers/Native American Unit.

 We made these ships to help us understand how the first English settlement began. During this lesson, students were also selected as Lord Proprietors and were able to make the decisions in our room for an entire day. We discussed the trip to Barbados and how slavery made it's way to our state. 

On the inside, we added our notes about the French Huguenots, European Jews, Germans, and Scotch-Irish. 

We also spent time learning about the different Native American tribes living in South Carolina long before the settlers. The students worked on maps to identify their location and the types of homes in which they lived. 

I have really enjoyed learning all of this information right along with my kiddos. Seriously, I have to study...all the time! {I am no history buff...it was never really my thing!}

Well, that is all I have for tonight! I hope you are all having a great week! Should we begin a countdown to Christmas?!? :) 

Holiday Extravaganza...Coming Soon!

I know that most of you are out shopping, but I am super excited about the holidays...SUPER excited! We are finishing up our Native American studies this week in our social studies unit, and next week...it becomes all things Christmas! My heart sings at the thought! Ha!

I have had to dig deep...extra, extra deep to create new activities to bring the holidays into our classroom this year. For my newbies here at Shenanigans, this is my third year with my little lovelies! That means that this is year three of holiday celebrations, and I am pretty sure that we did 1,000 projects in first grade and at least 500 in second...so of course, this year has to be brand new! I will be sharing three new units {almost complete} with you by this weekend! Hopefully these will spread a little joy into your classroom this year! 

Here is a sneak peek at a few of my holiday plans! 

This year, we will be writing to Santa...as always! {Yes...even the non-believers!} However, this letter will be a little different. Some may feel that Santa needs a little makeover. 

During our science unit about animal adaptations, we will be creating these little cuties as we study animals adapting and surviving in the North Pole! This unit will also have lots of Polar Express goodies! 

And finally, we will get into all things gingerbread! I am super excited about this new unit to add to my holiday goodies! 

Be on the lookout for these new holiday units this weekend! I know that you will love them as much as I do! 

Now...go and shop 'til you drop! You can check out some of my other holiday units {HERE} or check out my TPT shop by clicking on the image below! 

Hope your first Monday back wasn't too painful! :) 

Reader's Workshop & a BLOWOUT Sale!

I just have to take a second and say...PTL!!!!! I *finally* finished my Reader's Workshop Unit! This is something that I have been working on all month and am very excited to have all of my resources in one place. Reader's Workshop is definitely my favorite part of the day! I would never, ever teach reading any other way! I have found it to be so successful with each and every student in my classroom and now, there is no looking back! 

This 230 page unit includes everything you need to completely implement Reader's Workshop and independent reading in the classroom. 

It includes 10 minilessons that establish expectations for authentic reading practices during independent reading time, as well as resources to create Reader's Workshop Notebooks.

And of course, what is Reader's Workshop without a classroom library? This unit includes everything you need to establish a classroom library that provides choice...within reason {and reading levels}. 

Anytime is the perfect time to implement Reader's Workshop! I promise, you will never look back! So, go grab this unit at TPT!

Now...for the sale part! 

Did you know that TPT is throwing a gigantic Cyber Monday {and Tuesday} sale?! Check out some of my items below and snatch them while they're hot! Click on the picture below to check out my shop! 

Thanks to Ashley Hughes for the super cute button!

Here are a few other units that you may want to check out for the holiday season: 

A reindeer unit that includes all things academic...reading, writing, & math! Plus a little reindeer buffet incentive to boost! 

Ho! Ho! Ho! Holiday Math Centers: 

For the Winter Months...

Click {HERE} to check out the other resources in my shop! Happy Shopping! 

Multiplication Madness {FREEBIE}, Fall Centers Sale, & RWS Update!

I know, I know...you are NOT even thinking about school. Either you are already out, or you're in pure survival mode for the next two days! We are still in school until Wednesday. When I say we, I mean my kids and my sweet student teacher! I am off to Indiana to spend some much needed time with my family and to celebrate the life of my precious grandmother! Since I am sitting here in the airport waiting for my connecting flight {for the next FIVE hours}, I figured that this would be a great time to catch up with my blogging buddies! (We missed our flight in Washington, D.C. by two minutes! I love it when I am forced to get things done!) 

Ok, onto school things! We have been working like mad men {and women} in third grade! Seriously...third grade is something fierce! I may say that every time I post, but honestly, y'all...it blows my mind...all of the time! I am trying to keep it fresh and spunky, but sometimes I feel like I teach a million miles a minute and there is still not time to cover everything I need to cover. I am just so sure I have had about a million amens by now! I know that we all feel the crunch at some point in the year. My crunch just tends to come every day! MAKE. IT. GO. AWAY! Ha! 

So, this past week, we began our multiplication unit. I covered some multiplication in second grade, so the kiddos caught on pretty quickly. We have been skip counting between every transition time. Honestly...if you teach third grade...this is a MUST! This has made all of the difference in the world. A sweet teacher friend of mine made up songs for skip counting 2's -12's and we literally sing the chants ten times a day. It takes about two minutes to get through all of the songs, so it is perfect for those transitions {You know, the ones where the kiddos think it is time to talk and jabber on about anything and everything.} 

Along with skip counting, we have been getting our hands all into multiplication. Here are a few of our favorite activities! 

Marshiplication: 

During this activity, the students use marshmallows and fruit loops to create a visual of a multiplication problem. Then, they write a repeated addition sentence, and skip count to find their answer. A class favorite for sure! 

If you want to grab our recording sheet for this activity, click {HERE}! 

Four Square Multiplication: 

Next, I wanted to make sure that the students understood all of the different ways that they may see multiplication. We completed a sample four square multiplication problem together, and then, I passed out a specific set of unifix cubes, and the students had to create their own four square. 

 This group blew my socks off! 

We ended the week practicing our second strategy! The kiddos loved using different objects to make arrays! 

This activity was perfect to introduce the inverse property of multiplication. Once they finished their first array, many of them figured out that they could flip the array and have the same answer. I think it is safe to say that they are all about multiplication! 

Last week, we were also able to review some of our ELA skills using my Fall into Literacy Centers. Here are a few of their favorite activities that they worked on during our enrichment time. 

If you need some extra activities to get you through the next two days, both of my fall center sets will be on sale for $5.00. Click on the pictures below to pick them up at TPT!

Now for a little Reader's Workshop Update! 

I just wanted to keep those of you that have been sending emails a little update! I am *almost* finished with my first RWS unit. This unit will provide all of the resources necessary to completely launch Reader's Workshop in the classroom. I swear this pack may be about 300 pages...literally, but will include a large amount of resources. I am hoping to have it up and ready for you all by this weekend! Here is a sneak peek: 

If you have made it this far, bless your heart! Maybe if I could find time to blog a little more often, I wouldn't have to squeeze it all in to one post! Hope you all had a super fabulous weekend!