Halloween Hundreds Chart Mystery Pictures

I'm not a fan of Halloween. The ghosts, witches, scariness...I just don't like it! We still let our kids dress up in costumes, but we go to our church's Fall Festival for games and treats instead of trick-or-treating. Anyway....I wanted to do some more hundreds chart pictures that were themed for the upcoming holidays, so I came up with some for the month of October that could go with a Halloween theme, but aren't scary.  The pictures are a pumpkin, bat, candy corn, owl, and spider.

 

These are great for grades K-2 to practice number recognition and place value! Click here to get them!

Less Blogging More Insta!



 



I've been noticing a trend with not only myself, but also a lot of my other blogging buddies (teachers and others!) Now it seems that blogging just takes a little too much effort and time, and people are more likely to use Instagram and Twitter for updates! I haven't yet jumped on the Twitter bandwagon, but I do love my Instagram! So, I decided to start a teaching account.

With it I hope to post pictures of what we're doing in homeschool, new products I'm making, and anything else teacher-ish that strikes my fancy! We'll see how it goes. With all the craziness of life, and now having 4 little kids at home, it will be a quick and easy way to share! I will still be blogging, but now maybe I won't feel guilty when I let 2 weeks pass without writing anything! :-)

Anyway, my new Instagram name is mrsthompsonstreasures.

I'd love you to follow me and I would love to follow you! Leave a comment with your Instagram username!

-Lauren

Baby & Pumpkins

First things first....I've been away for a week because I had my baby girl!! We named her Cayla, and she is wonderful. You can see pictures here on my family blog.

Second, as I was sweating myself into a puddle during my son's soccer game today at noon in the 100* heat, I was thinking about how ready I am for fall...and pumpkins! I just love pumpkins! So to hopefully usher in some fall-ish weather soon, I'm going to share this Pumpkin Mystery Picture Graph for free the rest of the weekend! These are so fun for the kids (best for grades 3 and up) and great practice using graphs, coordinates, and following directions! Have fun....and if you are having some cooler weather, send a little my way!

 

~Lauren

Bundle Up!

I just recently discovered the idea of "bundling" on TpT. This is where teachers will put several similar products together and {usually} sell them for a discounted price. Maybe everyone already knew that....where have I been? :)

Anyway, I think it's a great idea! So I recently made several bundles available in my store! The first is some Math Journal Daily Prompts - geared at 1st or 2nd grade.

The second one is a bundle of Reading Comprehension Cards - for grades 2-4!

 

 

Link up below with a great bundle from your store....and browse around at some other great deals!!
(You can put the name of the product instead of Your Name if you'd like!)

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Computer Time!

I started my first day of school today. No....not as the teacher....as the student! My husband and I are doing a training school this fall so that we can go back overseas next year. What this means however, is that I have to leave my sweet kiddos at home with a sitter four mornings a week while we are in class! Since we are homeschooling, this creates a challenge for our schedule! So, what we've been doing is having the kids have computer time in the morning (not the whole time of course, an hour for the oldest and half hour for the preschooler) and then when I get home at 12:30, we do a little bit of work before they have rest time. It seems to be working pretty good so far. I am amazed at all the great websites out there for the kids to learn! Not all are free, but a lot of them are! I wanted to share the websites that I have found fun and useful for my kids!



ABCya.com - This is a completely FREE site with tons of educational games divided up by subjects and grade levels (K-5).



Starfall.com - This has some great free games and activities, but also has a paid version where you get access to more. I decided to pay for a year's subscription ($35) since I don't have as much time as I'd like this fall to plan stuff for the kids. There are so many great things on the website, not only reading, but various math skills as well. I feel that it is very much worth it!



Istation - This is a program that many schools use (I think it's just a Texas thing), but I found out I could use it as home for free by setting up a home account. It is great for helping my son practice his reading and comprehension skills, and it gives great reports on his progress!

I know there are so many other great websites out there, these are just the 3 that we have fallen in love with!

What websites have you discovered that work well at your school or home?

Wednesday Freebies #9

Here are some great freebies for you this week!

1. Back to School Roll and Cover Activity Pack 

By: Preslar's Place

 

 

2. First Week of School: Puzzle Activity to Teach Classroom Rules

By: ReflectiveThinker

 

3. Fun Math animation based activity for Multiplication and Problem Solving

By: PrepToon - Common Core Math Animations

 

 

4. Number Posters 0-5

By: Tabitha Savage

 

 

 

Have a great week everyone!!

-Lauren 

 

What Can You Do...

with number cards??

I just created these Apple Number Line Cards with number 1-100 that can be used to put up a number line in a classroom. But they are so versatile and can be used for many other things!

 

 

Some other ways I can think of to use them are:

• Flashcards
• Games (Around the World, or Concentration if you print 2 copies)
• Skip Counting Practice

I'd love to hear your ideas ! Leave a comment with a fun/creative way you use number cards in the classroom or at home with your kids!!

 

Thanks for sharing!

-Lauren

 

Linky Party - Wishlists!!

I don't know about you, but I'm hoping a lot of people who have wishlisted my items decide that the Back to School Sale is the right time to buy! Go ahead and link up with your most wishlisted item, and also if you want, one that is on your wishlist to buy!!

My most wishlisted item is my Hundreds Chart Mystery Pictures - a set of 24 mystery pictures using the 100s chart, great for K-2!

 

Something on my own wishlist to buy is this Daily Calendar Book. I'd love to use it with my kids at home!

 



 

What's on your wishlist??

(Put the name of the item instead of your name!) 

 

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Back to School Sale is Coming to TpT!

Yes, the back to school sale is finally here! Visit my store August 18-19 and everything will be 28% off!! Just use the promo code BTS13 when you check out! Go ahead and browse around, load up that cart and get ready to save!

P.S. If you are a seller, you are welcome to use this banner and button to promote your sale as well! They are available for FREE here!

Thanks!

-Lauren

Keep Calm and...

 

Unless you have been hiding under a big rock lately, you've no doubt noticed that there are now "Keep Calm" posters for just about anything you can imagine!! Personally, I think it's getting slightly annoying, but that's beside the point. :-)

 

My point is that a few weeks ago when starting preschool with my 3 year old, I had to keep reminding myself to "keep calm and teach on." You see, when I started preschool with my son, who is now 5, it was a breeze. He is one of those kids who just "got it." I did all the normal mommy stuff with him, reading lots of books, talking about colors, letters, and numbers, and by the time he was 4 he could read and do math problems in his head!

 

Before starting with my daughter, I told myself that my son was an exception, not the rule, and it probably wasn't going to be that easy for my other kids. I didn't want to compare them. But....wow, easier said than done! After 4 weeks now of practicing letters with my daughter, I can see a little progress for sure, but then I'll show her a picture of "B" and ask what sound it makes and she'll say, "aaa, like aaaapple!" Oy! It's a little frustrating. I know she's only 3, and I'm NOT pushing her, she loves to do school and always asks to do more. I just have to remember to keep calm and .... teach on!