Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

 Library Update

Wow! I looked back and haven't posted in over 2 weeks. I can't believe all I have missed, telling all my blog viewers and friends.  I have been sick and not just a little cough and sneeze but a miserable sort of upper respiratory infection. I actually missed a few days of school last week and that is always hard for me to do. I have been on the mend ever since. It has been a slow process.

I love this time of year and look forward to many of the simple pleasures of fall both personally and professionally. I am trying to soak it all in, I can't believe Halloween is already upon us.  Enjoying the fall soccer games with my grandson and friends from school, all the pumpkin assorted treats, and most of all the time outdoors before the cold strikes. I love the changing of seasons and the beautiful fall colors.

Which is exactly what I did when my husband brought me this delicious treat.

 My yorkie, Hermione is 8 years old, she is my fur baby. We were all out doing yard work and she had to come out to help.

 I tried a few new recipes this fall which I love to do. Unfortunately, not as many as I would have liked to make.  Here is a recipe for Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts with Maple glaze. I will continue to post some of the new recipes I try out.

 Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts with Maple glaze

 Storytime

This week in the library was kind of a celebration of Halloween books. I actually love this week of sharing my favorite Halloween read a loud books with my friends. With one set of lights out and our pumpkins all a glow.


Kindergarten friends listened to Minerva Louise on Halloween,  The Hallo-wiener and Space Case.
Books with characters we have met before or will meet again and authors we will continue to learn about.

 With First Graders, we read my 2 most favorite Halloween stories...I love to see some of them jump when I read The Perfect Pumpkin Pie by Denys Cazet and we also read Boo! By Robert Munsch.

All in all we had a lot of fun preparing for Halloween 2014'.  We all shared what we might dress up as and enjoyed visiting about what they were most excited to see or do this Halloween.

Reading Challenge Update

I have had several first graders turn in their reading challenges this past week. I am so proud of them.

The first challenge turned in belongs to this awesome 1st grade reader. Way to go!

My Reading Challenge Update

I have been reading a lot of late, trying to complete my reading challenge.

  Read a book you already have at home but haven't gotten around to yet

 
Read a book that takes place in the state/province you were born (Illinois)

 
  Read a Pulitzer Prize winner or finalist for fiction.

                            Read a book set during Christmas or another winter holiday

 

Swap Up Dates

Chaotic Goddess Swaps

Paired me with a wonderful swap partner Niki Abel at myliferemixing.blogspot.com

I absolutely loved all the Halloween swap items. See my swap here:
 

Thanks-a-latte 2014

This was the first swap I have ever participated in with this group and I loved it.

It ran a little differently then other swaps. It was a secret swap where you didn't know your swap partner. I loved all the items I received. Thanks Nicki Glenn!

Enjoy!

I am very excited for November, we are looking forward to the upcoming holiday. We will be visiting with family and enjoying this much needed visit.

Happy Reading!
Mrs. Shamhart

Falling Into Autumn

 Welcome Autumn

Let me just say once again, I love Autumn!

 

We've been busy in the library this week. We have been working on writing and making some crafts.

We have been putting on our science jackets and investigating the life-cycle of a pumpkin. We have been learning about Johnny Appleseed and Reading about Fall with all the changes around us.

It has been fun!

 1st Graders

We worked on several writing projects this past week. We have been talking about How To Carve A Pumpkin. We Shared the story of the Bumpy Little Pumpkin By Margery Cuyler. Then we created this anchor chart as we brainstormed what our books will look like when we complete them.

Our completed books! They turned out great!

 

 We shared another book called Earl The Squirrel by Don Freeman

This is one of my favorite fall stories. The kiddo's loved it too. When we finished reading we created another anchor chart of ideas to help us in our writing.

Kindergarten

Shared the story of Johnny Appleseed by Aliki we also read 3 stories about fall

Leaves, Apples, and Pumpkins.

We then shared the story of Pumpkin Circle and created our own Pumpkin Life Cycles.

Kindergarten did a fantastic job.

Preparing My Fall Book Basket

One of my great loves in life is reading, along with books of all kinds. I also love Halloween-not the scary, ghoulish, gory kind, but the fun costumes, trick or treating, sugar cookies, and pumpkins on the porch kind. To celebrate both of these, I created a Halloween Book Countdown, a really fun way to count down the 31 days to Halloween starting with October 1st.  I found a black tub at Target in the holiday section, added some ribbon and vinyl, and our book countdown was ready! Whether you label the books and go in order like an advent calendar, pull numbers out of a hat, or just let kids choose randomly, this can be a super fun way to enjoy the holiday together. I can't wait to share these books with my grandsons Carter and Ollie, again this year.

Here is my list of 31 books: (most of these books are targeted for ages 3-8)
1. Too Many Pumpkins, Linda White

2. Pumpkin Soup, Helen Cooper

3. The Biggest Pumpkin Ever, Steven Kroll

4. Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden, George Levenson

5. How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?, Margaret McNamara

6. Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Jeanne Titherington

7. In the Haunted House, Eve Bunting

8. Room on the Broom, Julie Donaldson

9. The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything, Linda Williams

10. The Night Before Halloween, Natasha Wing

11. The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat, Stan & Jan Berenstain

12. The Big Pumpkin, Erica Silverman

13. The Vanishing Pumpkin, By Johnston 

14. Humbug Witch, Lorna Balian

15. Moonlight The Halloween Cat By Cynthia Rylant

16. Five Little Pumpkins, Iris Van Rynbach

 17. Scary, Scary, Halloween, Eve Bunting

18. Boo! By Robert Munsch

19. The Halloweiner By Dave Pilkey

 20. It’s Halloween!, Jack Prelutsky

21. Creepy Monster, Sleepy Monster By

22.  Bats in the Library By: Brian Lies

23. Where's My Mummy By: Carolyn Crimi

24. The Bumpy Little Pumpkin,By: Margery Cuyler

 25. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat By: Lucille Colandro

26. Clifford's Halloween By: Norman Bridwell

27. Mouse's First Halloween  By: Lauren Thompson

28. The Runaway Pumpkin By: Kevin Lewis

29. Skeleton Hiccups,  By:Margery Cuyler

30. The Ugly Pumpkin,  By: Dave Horowitz

31. The Perfect Pumpkin Pie By Denys Cazet

READING CHALLENGE

Kennedy Students:

3 Months

14 Books

1 Challenge

October 1-December 15



 I have started a fall book challenge: This can be for kiddo's or adults...It is supposed to be fun but also challenging. For me it will definitely be a challenge. Leave me comments or posts if you will be joining in on the fun. I would love to know what you are reading. Kiddo's can earn a special reward for completing this challenge. All they have to do is turn in the titles of the books they read or had read to them at home to qualify.

Kennedy Students:

 

1. Read a book written by an author you have never read before.

2. Read a book you already have at home but haven't gotten around to yet.

3. Read a book about a dog as the main character. (ex:Clifford's Manners)

4. Read  a book about a career you are interested in (Ex: Firefighters Fight Fires)

5. Read a book with a color word in the title. (ex: Red Are The Apples)

6. Read a book with a number word in the title.  (ex: The Three Little Pigs)

7. Read a Dr. Seuss Book

8. Read a holiday book (any holiday)

9. Read a book about the tooth fairy

10. Re-read a book you enjoy.

11. Read a book about the fall.

12. Read 3 books from three different genres (ex: Fairytale, Realistic Fiction, Informational Text)

Adult

1. Read a book written by an author you have never read before

2. Read a book you already have at home but haven't gotten around to yet:

3. Read a book written in the decade you were born

4. Read a book that takes place in the state/province you were born (Illinois)

5. Read a book titled The ____'s Daughter or The ____'s Wife

6. Read a book originally written in a language other than English

7. Read a book with a number in the title. It could be an actual digit or a number like "hundred" or "thousand." No arbitrary numbers allowed (several, few, many, ect.)

8. Read a book set during Christmas or another winter holiday

9. Read a book written by an author who shares your initials

10. Read a Pulitzer Prize winner or finalist for fiction.

11. Re-Read a book

12. Read three books from three different genres (one book for each genre)
Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

As you may have guessed it is my most favorite time of year.
I want to share a link to ABC family 13 nights  of Halloween.

ABC Family 13 Nights of Halloween

Happy Reading!

Mrs. Shamhart