Fall ACROSTIC Poetry and Scarecrows

Fall Books We have Read This Fall! :

Fall is Here by Pamela Jane

When Autumn Comes by Robert Maas

It’s Pumpkin Time by Zoe Hall

The Little Scarecrow Boy

by Margaret Wise Brown

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

Nuts to You! By Lois Ehlert

A Season for All Trees by Robin Bernard

Apple and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell

The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons

Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White

Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr.

We did this door knocker as a fast finisher….

I like to take a few days and talk and write about the seasons….just before they are going to change… So last week we made these GINORMOUS Scarecrows! And we did some AUTUMN Acrostic Poems. This week we are just about seeing the end of fall and the beginning of the winter season.

Poem on the back of our scarecrow art….

 Here are some books, and poems that I share with my class.  And we sing a few of the songs too.

We read lots of books about fall….

 

 Here are my students getting into their scarecrows! 

We made 3 foot tall scarecrows!  

Giant Scarecrows were lots of fun….

We put extra rafia on the back of the arms and legs of our Scarecrows

“Five Black Crows”
(“Five Green and Speckled Frogs” tune)

Five crows all shiny black,
Sat on a scarecrow’s back
Eating some most delicious corn.
Yum, yum!
Scarecrow winked and shouted, “Boo!”
Scared a crow and away he flew
Now there are four black shiny crows.
Caw, caw!

*Repeat verse until no crows are left.

We wrote some cute Acrostic Poems about Autumn
 And here are a few of our AUTUMN ACROSTIC POEMS. 
Sloppy copy on the right….final copy on the left….
 We always start with a sloppy copy, then they get edited by me, then they rewrite onto some nice paper…then last is color the illustrations. 
It’s been a fun FALL! 
Fall Acrostic Poetry…

Scarecrow, Scarecrow 

(“Twinkle,Twinkle, Little Star” tune)

Scarecrow, scarecrow turn around.
Scarecrow, scarecrow touch the ground.
Stand up tall and blink your eyes.
Raise your hands up to the sky.
Clap your hands, then tap your knees.
Turn around and tap your feet.

Scarecrow, scarecrow touch your toes.
Scarecrow, scarecrow tap your nose.
Swing your arms so very slow,
Now real fast to scare the crows!
Tough your head, jump up and down.
Now sit down without a sound.

It is hard for me to see my favorite season go by the wayside. I love FALL so much. And I am not ever ready for a Utah winter. But alas, the seasons change. So I guess I will welcome winter anyway!  And I’ll look forward to skiing on my new skis!  Woo Hoo!  

 

Native Americans

Last week just before the Thanksgiving Break we finished our Native Americans. We had studied about the Woampanoag Indians and Squanto and Samoset, who helped the Pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower assimilate into the New World.

2nd Graders wrote about Squanto and the Woampanog Indians
Writing about Fall
All about Fall
Native American Art Project 

We learned about what the Indian men and women wore, and what their homes were like, and what kind of work each did. Then we learned about the pilgrim children’s chores and the indian children’s chores and how different they were.

We love many things about Fall! 
Lots of kids loved Thanksgiving and the other Fall Holiday. 
They wrote as if they were a Native American Boy or Girl, Man or Woman…..

They decorated their “Buffalo Skins” 
We added feathers and a headdress to the Indian designs….made from cardstock mosaic pieces….

We decided we probably didn’t want to be a pilgrim OR an indian child. They worked too hard!!!

They turned out neat….

I made some indian type designs on the board and they used those to make their “leather” outfits. The students were pretty proud of how they turned out….

And I think they learned a lot! 

Here are our Native American people. We wrote little introductions telling about ourselves as if we were living as an Indian during the time of the First Thanksgiving.

What do you think? 
Native American Bulletin Board….and Fall Writing….
Maybe they needed some arms and legs?  hmmmm? 
Squanto…he helped and lived with the Pilgrims for many years….
Have you ever seen a green eyed Indian….well here is one! 
Native Americans and Pilgrims….and the First Thanksgiving…

We also read Pilgrim Play about Squanto and some Weekly Readers and Scholastic News stories about the First Thanksgiving.  Now we are winding down November and looking forward to December! I can’t believe how this year has flown by already!

Turkey Craft and Thanksgiving Writing

Our Thanksgiving Turkey Craft  and Thanksgiving bulletin boards…..

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!!! HERE ARE SOME THING 2ND GRADERS ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR THIS HOLIDAY SEASON…..

The kids brainstormed things they were thankful for…

Then we did sloppy copies….

Then I edited them for spelling and punctuation….

Then we made this CUTE Thanksgiving Turkey Craft

We made EASY turkey feathers from strips of butcher paper in 9 colors..

And then we wrote them on cute “Let’s Give Thanks” paper…

I added a sparkly sticker to them…

We are thankful for lots of things…

pets, teachers, family, video games…home, school…

Giving Thanks Bulletin Board….Happy Thanksgiving! 

Hey, I’M EVEN IN THERE!  COOL! 

Lots were thankful for turkey dinner…snicker….

My friend Jan’s bulletin board…one of the most colorful and cute I’ve ever seen! 

Thanks to Ty’s mom for putting up our Thanksgiving bulletin board….she did a great job! 

Thanksgiving Bulletin Board….so cute! 

Well, it will be very nice to spend a few days off with my family and my kids and grandkids. Happy Thanksgiving BREAK! I’ll be busy making pies and homemade rolls. Check out my Thanksgiving recipes at my other blog Weekday Chef! In the meantime, enjoy those Take Home Reading Backpacks!

Veterans Day Activities

Veterans Day Bulletin Board on 11-11-11

This week is Veterans Day. We will celebrate the day by honoring soldiers who have died in the line of duty, protecting Americans in the U.S.A.  I will teach the kids all 5 branches of the military; Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, Marines. We will also share that they all have their own song (with lyrics) and their own cool uniforms. We listened to them and watched them march out with the flag on utube.

Click to play this Smilebox scrapbook
Create your own scrapbook - Powered by Smilebox
This free digital scrapbook created with Smilebox

Then we wrote  about what Veterans Day is For. We wrote about soldiers who are always protecting America around the world. I want the students to really remember how each branch of the military protects us in different ways; the Air Force with planes and helicopters, the Navy with ships and aircraft carriers and submarines, the Coast Guard with boats and divers,  and the Army and Marines on the front lines of battle. We will talk about the elite Navy Seals and Special Forces and how tough and brave they are.

A cute ABC Book with a Military Theme I bought and read with the class is H is for Honor

After writing, as a fast finisher, kids will do a Veterans Day crossword puzzle.  We will discuss some of the vocabulary in the puzzle too.  The link is at homeschooling for Veterans Day Crossword.

Veterans Day Crossword 

Then I found a few neat handprint art projects I wanted  to try. Both look very patriotic! Also I found a fun wordsearch for fast finishers I will put on the back of the crossword puzzle. It is HERE at Family Fun Shop.   

I
Veterans Day Art Project – we decided to do a variation of the American Eagle below…saving the flag for Memorial Day!!! 

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/holidays/ss/veteranprint_3.htm   I also found a neat way to make free WRITING stationery.  I put an eagle and stars on the borders to make a cute page for our writing project.  Make your own stationery is found here at DLTK Kids. Just look on the left side for Veterans Day.

We did a mural of all of the 5 branches of the military for Veterans Day after the kids were done with their writing. I read and edit every “sloppy copy” and then they rewrite on the cute paper. It is time consuming but I can help them correct their individual mistakes that way. 
Our Veterans Day Writing and American Eagle Handprint Art Projects….and our mural. 

And to honor the memory of all our departed soldiers in the military we will be doing an art project using  the American Eagle …..symbol of the U.S.A.  I like the colorful tail feathers on the bottom of the American Eagle, so I would change those white ones to red, white and blue  just for a more colorful bird. Then of course some red, gold and blue glitter on those tail feathers will add a lot. The tutorial for Painting an American Eagle is HERE. handprint-patriotic-eagle-craft-kit This kit for a Handprint Eagle is HERE at Oriental Trading. We didn’t do this one, but it’s really cute too.

Lastly I will show the kids a video song from Tim McGraw honoring fallen soldiers in the line of duty called “If You’re Reading This”.  It shows my students the sad part of the job of protecting people, and how some give the ultimate sacrifice, their lives in defense of America. That’s why we honor them at Veteran’s Day.

We brainstormed all we knew about what Veterans in the Military do….

 After watching the Utube videos we talked about what a Veteran is. We talked about how they protect the president, bridges, dams, airports and tall buildings as well as doing Toys for Tots at Christmas, marching in parades, flying on helicopters, jets, and manning boats, aircraft carriers and submarines. Most of the kids had gone to air shows and seen the military tanks, weapons and men there. We talked about places where there is war in the world and how our military helps protect us overseas.

Here is our finished bulletin board on Veterans Day 11-11-11
We made American Eagle Handprints…

While the kids started their writing I helped 2 at a time handprint paint. First we painted our left hand brown with a blue thumb. Then we painted our right hand brown with a red thumb, washing hands in between these steps. The prints overlap in the middle a bit. Then we painted our pointer finger white and did the middle tail feather. While they washed hands, I glittered with red, then blue glitter, then the white feather with gold glitter. Then the kids painted a head and beak after I lightly traced the shape with pencil on each bird. Lastly we added a wiggly eye with glue and 2 stars. They turned out great.

I told the kids about my dad, Mr. Russell, who was a marine in 2 wars. He is burried in a military cemetery in Southern California. He was a great soldier and marine for the U.S.A. I’m very proud of him.

We wrote about Veterans we know….

 I told the kids about my kids’ other grandpa, Mr. Moss’s dad, and how he was a flying navigator in the U.S. Air Force. He flew bombing missions in several wars.  He is still alive and retired. I will also share a picture of my nephew Garrett, who was in the army and shares my birthday with me.

We wrote about the Air Force, the Marines, and all the other branches of the Military for Veterans Day 11-11-11….
We wrote about being Americans….

I always send home a note asking for military memorabilia or a grandpa or dad or mom who wants to come and share with us. I was surprised how many of them had grandparents and dads in the military. They sent all kinds of things for us to share; dog tags, helmets, army blankets, aircraft jumpsuits, cloth maps for directions on the ground, photographs of men in uniform, lots of military memorabilia. It was very patriotic to me.

We are proud of our Veterans on this 11-11-11 Veterans Day
Lots of kids brought in military gear and photos for us to share! 
Some kids wrote about their grandparents…..
My kids’ grandpa was a navigator in the Air Force…Thanks Grandpa! 

 HERE at Military Coloring Pages  I found the neatest pictures of the 5 military branches’ seals in blackline master and some other cool coloring pages. I copied them, and then put 2 on a page and copied each of the 5 seals (Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines) for the kids to choose one and color as a fast finisher during our writing time.

The Bulletin Board looks great…so patriotic! 
Cool Eagle Handprint Art Project
This was a fast finisher Coast Guard Seal coloring page…we had all 5 to choose from when they were done with their writing and centers…
We wrote about Veterans Day
I did not know the Marines are part of the Navy….did you? 

 I’m very proud to be the daughter of an American Veteran. He’s gone now and I miss him. But I honor him and all who served and still sacrifice for me and my family this very special Veterans Day 11-11-11. Thanks for sharing all your military memorabilia and precious photographs of men and women in uniform. Happy Veterans Day from our class to you!

Halloween Party

Mrs. Moss…..the ladybug…..

First and Second Grade parading through our classroom

Then we paraded through the First Grade classrooms…..

Cute Nova….I think she was a lady vampire….

And Meow! Maya the cute kitty cat…

Pretty Princess Emma…we made Halloween treat bags….

And Royal Purple Allie…we had candy corn bags, witches and Dracula bags and Frankie bags…

Yo Ho, Yo Ho….I think Trace was a Pirate….

Ninja Alien Andrew

Flint loved being an army man…with REAL dog tags! 
Mario and the witches showing off their Halloween necklace making skills….

Pin the spider on the web and hot potato pumpkin….

Boo Bingo was fun! 

Ty was an indian

Zach was Harry Potter…..

Morgan and her mom were some COOL cats! Cute Dracula bag Morgan! 

Mrs. Moss and her little bugs…..

Megan and Marisa my granddaughters came to trick or treat! 

It was a fun party…..

We also had a pumpkin bean bag toss and donuts and juice from the PTA! 

Mario Matt….

Cute witch Brynlin….

and Addie was a cute version of the  Bride of Frankenstein 

Saige’s mom sewed her costume….so cute! 

And who ya gonna call? Ghostbuster Gavin! 

 We had a fun time.  Thanks to Mrs. Kenner, Mrs. Neibaur and her sister, and Mrs. Carr for helping us at our party! You ROCK! And thanks to Jamie Sandstrom and Mrs. Kim for sending some cute Halloween cookies, and to all the parents who sent bags of candy! Thanks sooooo much for supporting our party!

And if you want to see a cute utube of me and my family doing the “Thriller Park City” flash mob, check out my personal blog post from Saturday night.  It was super fun!  Click HERE.    Happy Halloween!