The Magic Pumpkin

As I was searching online to find more information about the book The Magic Pumpkin by Lucille E. Sette, I couldn't find much. Then I realized of course not- the book was written in 1984! To find this classic, you may have to search through the archives at your local library. It is well worth it, though. We especially love the ending- which I won't tell you, of course.

Here's a sneak peek of one of our favorite Halloween stories: Old Mr. Squiggs is extremely grouchy. He hates everyone, especially children and animals. He even enjoys scaring kids on Halloween. Each year he carves his pumpkin to look scary and ugly and then he waits to listen to the children scream. One year, things change when he picks a very special pumpkin from the patch- a magic pumpkin. Read to find out what happens to mean,old Mr. Squiggs!

I adore my girls smiles as we get to the end of the story. Don't you just love a good ending?

Happy Halloween Reading!

Jen

Halloween with Arthur

We've been busy reading many stories about pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and autumn, so I thought it would be fun to share a few of our favorites over the next couple of weeks before Halloween.

Recently, we enjoyed reading Arthur's Halloween by Marc Brown. Arthur is stuck taking his little sister D.W. trick or treating with his friends. Read to find out what happens when they approach a very spooky looking house. This character is also one thier favorite characters featured on the awesome television station- PBS Kids!

For more Halloween fun with Arthur, visit Arthur's website: Halloween: Arthur. Play games with your kids or print out Halloween coloring pages and Masks.

After reading,check out your local video store and rent your favorite Arthur episode. Maybe you'll get lucky and be able to find the Halloween episode.


For older children, Marc Brown writes a series of Chapter Books. For this time of year, I would recommend Arthur and the Scare-Your-Pants-Off Club. For independent readers, it is listed at a 3.4 reading level. This book can also be used for a great bedtime read-a-loud.





And I say - Hey! (Hey!)
What a wonderful kind of day
If we could learn to work and play
And get along with each other.

I couldn't resist ending with part of the Arthur theme song. A good lesson for all of us. Enjoy your day!

Jen

Halloween Fun: Oldies, but Goodies!

Just a couple of fun ideas from last Halloween that the girls enjoyed!

Glitter Spider Webs













Ghostly Fun!












Have a great day!

Jen

Math fun with Candy Corn!

Each fall, the kids and I get excited when we see candy corn on the shelves. While eating a fun, sugary treat with the kids, why not incorporate a little bit of math! Here are a couple of ideas to do math with candy corn:

Estimation: Fill small, clear cups with different amounts of candy corn. Estimate the number in each cup. Count and compare guesses with actual count.

Addition and subtraction: 3 candy corn + 4 candy corn = 7 candy corn. This is great for preschoolers and kindergartners to practice beginning facts. Manipulations are great for this age group.
Older children can use a larger amount of candy corn and create their own story problems. For example: Johnny had 10 pieces of candy corn. He shared 2 with Sally and 3 with Tom. How many candy corn does he have left? Have fun solving your child's problems. My kids love to try and stump me!

Sorting for the littlest learner: Mix up regular candy corn and Indian corn and have your child sort them into 2 categories. For more than 2 categories, mix with other types of candies.

Patterns: Again, mix regular candy corn with Indian corn and have your child follow patterns. With two different candies, practice abab pattern and abba patterns. Add in another type of candy to practice abc patterns.

Measurement: How many candy corns long is the toy? the book? etc.

For more ideas, visit Candy Corn Math.


Funny that I'm posting these ideas today, because I was eating candy corn at 8:00 this morning. Weird pregnancy craving! 11 more weeks left and I'll get to meet the little guy! Wondering if he likes the candy corn- probably why he's so active this morning!

Have a great day! If you have any ideas for candy corn, please share!

Jen

Spelling Fun!

Now that my daughter is in second grade, I noticed that some of her spelling words are starting to challenge her. Being that she loves to use technology to learn, I put her on Spelling City to help her practice her weekly word list.

Just type in your child's spelling list and walla! The site will generate activities and games with your child's personal list. We were introduced to this site last year when my daughter was in Cyberschool. She was so excited to get on it again and practice her words. There is even a feature on the site that will teach the words or test your child. This has been helpful this week in evaluating the words that she needed to focus on more while studying.


Let me know if you think this site would be useful for your child or your students.

Happy Spelling!

Jen