It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Fall

   Can you believe that November is on Friday??? I know I have said that the last couple of posts, but holy smokes I feel like the autumn season is flying by. Thank goodness for the gorgeous Colorado scenery and weather the last couple of weeks. I have taken time to enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of autumn with my own kiddos over the last week. We went to the pumpkin patch with my family. The hubby was working, but was with us in text-message and picture spirit! We were so excited that he took the day off yesterday to go to "Boo at the Zoo" with us.

 My two kiddos with my Family

 Caden & Ashton

 Searching for the perfect pumpkin. The boys wanted orange, green, and white pumpkins. 

 Taking all of our pumpkin patch finds and decorating our home. Yes, we still have very green grass. My hubby is crazy about his yard!!!

Caden has decided he is a little too "old" to dress-up so Ashton was the only one in a costume. BOO!!! My babies are growing up. 

Ashton at "Boo at the Zoo" dressed as Hedwick, the snowy owl, from Harry Potter. 

   

   This past week was such a success for my classroom kiddos. We began our Daily 5 Math rotations independently. I was so proud of the ability of my kiddos to complete all of their rotations by themselves. Here is a peek at some of the pictures of my kiddos working on their own...

   In writing my kiddos took all the facts we have learned the last two weeks about bats and put it into an expository writing. We were introduced to explaining sentences last week so now we can write an 8 sentence paragraph. Most of my kiddos did a great job keep their details and explaining sentences on topic and matching. Because we do not have art as a special this year we are incorporating the art standards into our classroom crafts. Our kiddos go to choose to watercolor with "warm" or "cool" colors to make their background. And then in the foreground we painted our hands to make black or brown bats, added goggle eyes, and teeth. Here are a couple of finished pieces...

 Our writing pages lift up at the top to read the rest of the story on the back

   In Walk to Read my kiddos were finally introduced to Listen to Reading. I introduced them to all of the Leapfrog Tags I have on our shelves, the Nook, and the iPads. They were so quiet and listening as if no one was around them. I do not know how they were listening so intently because I felt as if I was going crazy listening to eight different voices and stories on the Tag pens, the screeching of bats on the iPad, and the Monster Truck vrooming on the Nook. I am thinking headphones are the next item to put on my Donor's Choose account!

   

   This week we will have our highly anticipated Mega Bat Party and Fall Festival. NO sweets on Halloween...only fruit and dip. The whole day of Halloween will be dedicated to BATS! We will also be working on inferring skills. Here is a peak at our anchor chart...