Supermarket Saturday Linky Party-Halloween Resources

If you are looking for an upper elementary to middle school weekly linky, you have come to the right place.  As teachers we are always looking for seasonal resources to utilize in our classrooms and they can be tricky to find-especially for time-strapped teachers.  So, be sure to stop by my blog every Saturday to find the best tools to implement right away in your language arts classroom.

I know that it has been a really busy week...you likely just finished report cards for the end of the first quarter, are exhausted due to writing the most thought-provoking comments, you have had more preparation for fall conferences, and on top of it all, you are heading into a week filled with out-of-control enthusiastic kiddos that can't wait to dress-up, and head out for a Friday night filled to the brim with candy collecting!  You get to be reminded of costumes for the entire week and candy is already coming out of students' ears!  Am I right?

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Halloween Craft...Googly-Eyed Lollipop Spider

I like to think of myself as a creative/crafty person, but I had a few moments of creative-crafty panic this weekend! 

I signed up for the class craft for my son's Halloween party a few weeks ago.  I am happy to do this as it is not one of the "top" items that parents volunteer for.  Snack, drink, decorations, paper products-gone before many even open each holiday e-vite.  Craft and game could go untaken for days...

As a teacher and mom, I am happy to unleash my creative side and provide this for the class.  The one catch is that I will not be able to attend the party, as I will be with my own students, so I have to send in all pieces/parts bagged and ready with specific directions.  No problem, right?!

So we are headed to pick up our Halloween candy and a few other items we really didn't need this weekend from Walmart, and I remind my son, Brennan that before we head home, we have to stop at Joann Fabrics to grab a craft for his Halloween party on Wednesday.  Of course as my daughter overhears this, we will provide one for her as well.

To Joann's we go...how wonderful it was to walk into Joann's Christmas wonderland with not a Halloween decoration to be found.  Same story at Hobby Lobby!  My son actually looked at me and said, "I really love Christmas, but I would love to just enjoy Halloween before we have to see Christmas decorations."  I hear you buddy!  "Mommy would just like to find a Halloween craft, so I don't drop the ball on your Halloween party!"  All the while thinking that his class may be doing a "Winter Holiday" craft instead.

We headed home and I headed to Pinterest.  God bless this site-the class Halloween craft was found and met with great enthusiasm by my son!  After a trip to Michael's for pipe cleaners and adhesive googly-eyes then Target for lollipops, which both had foam crafts available, here is what we came up with...


Pinterest-inspired Googly-Eyed Lollipop Spider



Testing it out for himself...



Lilah packing the lollipops in the baggies-what a helper!



Ready to go!

Brennan's spider-he is ready to guide the class!

While this is the perfect craft for a 1st grade party, I think my 6th graders might get a kick out of trying it too!  I always like to test their ability to follow directions anyway!  Despite my initial panic-I think I like this better than any packaged item I may have been tempted to buy!  In addition, my quest for class crafts will begin sooner for the holiday party...lesson learned.  Or...next year, as soon as those Halloween crafts and decorations come out on Memorial Day-we are scooping them up!  Happy crafting!  Now off to tackle those report card comments!



6th Grade Team Building...Pumpkin Day 2012

Today was our 2nd Annual 6th Grade Pumpkin Day at Sharpsburg Elementary School.  It is a day that we as teachers can't wait to organize and and allow our students to participate in.

My teammates are awesome!  Mr. Ziegler takes on the task of getting all of the pumpkins, planning the math work, and preparing the "spooky" basement for complete darkness.  Mrs. Burns teaches our students cursive and how to write a check in order for students to be able to "purchase" their pumpkins and supplies from the "Sharpsburg Pumpkin Shack."  I take on any task that is needed, but mainly play store attendant of the pumpkin shack and photographer.  We are a TEAM-we do what it takes to plan, organize, and implement.

The students did an AMAZING job today and we couldn't be more proud as their teachers.  They teamed up, completed the math which involved calculating sales tax on all items needed for the carving and finding different percentages of their pumpkins based on its weight, dug the guts out of the pumpkin, decided on how to carve, made a creation, and determined who would be the proud owner of a jack o'lantern.  While math skills and organizational skills were essential, watching the students work so collaboratively was the most fun to watch as their teachers.  

Thanks to the students, staff, and my team for such a fun fall experience. I highly recommend letting your students dip their hands into pumpkin goo and seeing the joy that follows...here is a slideshow of our fun!  They don't disappoint...HAPPY FALL and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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