A Pinch of This and a Dash of That

Hello, Teaching Friends!

A pinch of this and a dash of that leads us, of course, to the Sunday Smorgasbord! {Sigh... I seem to keep creating posts for weekly linkies that are no longer there.. always one step ahead of the fashion curve, eh?)

Let's start this buffet with an appetizer, or three!


Have you seen these cuties?

They're lightweight wood, and they're at Michael's. While these masks may be screaming "Halloween costumes" to some people, to me they're calling out, "READERS' THEATER!"  There were a few other kinds (kid-style Frankenstein-ish ones, but I think these are so much more cute and versatile). They're a dollar each (less coupons, less teacher discount...), so you can pick up a bunch at a reasonable price! If nothing else, I'd be painting up a few to keep on hand for kiddos who don't bring a costume on Halloween.

But back to the readers' theater idea...

All:  We're three little kittens.
         We've lost our mittens.

Kitten 1:  We don't know where to find them.

Kitten 2:  Leave us alone.

Kitten 3:  We'll come back home.

All: We'll bring our tails behind us.

Voila! Instant readers' theater production ( and retelling, and fluency practice, and ...)

Now a really creative teacher might hand her kiddos some of that old fake fruit to use as props (thrift stores sometimes still have it!) or even just construction paper, markers, and scissors to make their own. Then all they'll need is a copy of our friend Pete's book, and a cat mask, and they'll be busy as bees  cats in a room full of mice, writing their own script. Is this time well spent? Goodness gracious, YES!



On to the next stop on this Sunday Smorgasbord!

You may recall a while back that I wrote a post about The Busy Educator's Newsletter. Well, my friend Marjan Glavac has a new back-to-school edition out, filled with lots of practical news-to-use as you begin a new year. Click on the image to see it!



 

You'll find a post of mine linked there, about how much we can learn by carefully observing our students' "mistakes" in writing. Marjan has so many tips to share that there are two more editions coming in the next weeks, all geared to smoothing your back-to-school transition. Be sure to follow him at The Busy Educator so you won't miss them!


And now for dessert!


How about some tasty savings?

Over at my Teachers Notebook shop, the Back to School event has begun. Everything in my shop is 20% off, from now through next Sunday, August 18th. Click the logo below or the sidebar ad to go directly there.

A new feature of the TN sale this year is product bundles. Sets of products by different teacher/authors have been bundled together in grade level packs. They're a great way to sample the work of lots of different sellers at a tremendous savings: 80%, to be exact!  As an example, a 1,200 page pack which would normally total $100 would now sell for $20!!  I'd love it if you'd take a moment to check out Bundle #7 for K-2 (one of 15 K-2 bundles - how crazy is that???), which includes my "Who Has Less?" math resource.

Speaking of smorgasbords, I'm cooking up something new and exciting, so be sure to stop back later this week!

Happy Teaching!