Look!! I am early for another holiday, it is a Autumnal miracle : ) I am so excited to be linking up with a great group of teacher/blogger/creators for a fun Halloween blog hop. Hop along to all the blogs to pick up some great Halloween tips and freebies.....and then enter for a chance to win a fabulous prize.
Alright, let's get this post going : )
Tip #1
Have a Non-Halloween Mentor Text Ready
"What?" you may be saying to yourself and "this is a Halloween blog hop!!!"...yes I know that, BUT some years we have a class with a student that makes it hard or impossible to do a full on Halloween theme. So my first tip is to be prepared with books that are fun and fit the season but are not full blown Halloween books.
Here is my suggestion:
It is a fun book to make predictions, discuss mood (all the pictures are black, white, grey and orange and eerie), message of the story or big idea, story elements and so on. It is just a good all around book for shared reading.
Here are the follow up sheets we did in our class if you are interested in trying this book out. Click on the picture to pick up a free copy (pics are linked to opposite pages, sorry).

Here is a great video that you can use to show the illustration process.
Polka Dot Kinders had her students write how they would deal with creepy carrots and made their own creepy carrots.
Tip #2
Dollar Store Halloween Themed Manipulatives
First up....eyeball ping pong balls. I put numbers on them, place them around the room. Students grab two eyes and add them up (or multiply if need be). We have also done an activity where they get one eyeball and record it, then write the number that comes before or after the number. You could write larger numbers on your eyeballs and make it a 10 less, 10 more activity. I have also had them pick one eyeball and create a number bond. Simple, fun and gets them working on skills without even knowing that they are working. They love eyeball math!!
Click here for a copy of an eyeball math recording sheet.
This year our focus is spiders (non-fiction and science learning). So I have this great collection of bugs. We will be using them to write addition and subtraction sentences.
I also have a collection of Halloween erasers, perfect for continued patterning practice (as an early finisher activity or as a center on Halloween). I also have finger pointers, a Halloween must have. Lastly dollar stores have so many great Halloween containers to hold all these great goodies.
Now that you have read my tips and picked up my freebies it is time to ask yourself.....
That's right 4 gift cards!! Perfect to purchase some Halloween themed activities or get a jump start on Christmas planning!
To enter, hop through all the blog posts and collect the secret words. Then enter the secret words into the Rafflecopter. Here is my secret word:
Okay, now that you have my word, click on the picture below to head to the next blog....
When you get back here with all the words enter the Rafflecopter...
a Rafflecopter giveaway