Little Bird Feed: End of October (Apples, Non-Standard Measurement, Halloween, Monster Mash Math)

We ended up our work on the "Apples" poem close read this week with an apple cider taste test. Because we have so many English Language Learners this year I used this activity to talk a lot about the vocabulary word press (vs. push and pull). They loved making the gestures for pressing the apples! I found this cute video to provide a visual experience too!

  This was so much fun! I got the idea from Craftaholics (what a great blog!) The wood slice came from Michaels and I used my 40% off one item coupon, so it was a $4 and change project!

 We worked on non-standard measurement this week, we used linking cubes to measure our shoes,
hands, arms, etc., and compared them to each other. The candy corn measuring was fun too! Who says you can't do math with candy? You can grab that little Freebie right here!

 We had a BLAST doing the our Monster Mash Math! There are two ways to play... either working
on quantity (number recognition and number sense) or greater and lesser than. I had totally planned on doing greater /less than with the pretzel sticks, but since my littles were SO hopped up on Halloween I opted for just quantity. They had a ball! We played as a whole class, and when you draw the "Monster Mash" card you stand up and do the monster mash! Here's the link: Groovy Ghoolies Monster Mash Wish I could show you the video! Too many faces, but they were soooo cute!  Since Monsters aren't just for Halloween anymore we will do the greater than/less than lesson soon, but with marshmallows for the monster teeth! Can't wait!!

                                      Monster Mash Math

                   Pumpkin Life Cycle Common Core Galore   

We did our Pumpkin Investigation this week too. It's always so much fun and there are just so many skills to pack into this one activity. As I finished cutting the lid I asked "What they thought I should do to get it off?" Press, push or pull (gesturing too). They conversed with their partners and we gestured together to discuss the best method. I love it when vocabulary and context collide in an unplanned way!

 We had "Super Hero" day at school on Friday! A fun way to celebrate and encourage good behavior,
GREAT participation. I was a humble, much older, girly version of Captain America! :o)

There's nothing better than Halloween landing on Friday night! We sat out and handed out candy
to the cutest little trick-or-treaters! There were decked out strollers and wagons with lights and everything! This flat bed hay ride always goes around the neighborhood at Christmas time to see the lights, but they decked out for Halloween too this year! So much fun and such a nice end to a busy week!