​What a great time of the year to be thankful for all the great things in our lives. This week, we want to say THANK YOU for all you do for students every day! In honor of you, we have teamed up to give some lucky educators a chance to win THREE $50 Gift Cards. Entry is easy, and you can increase your chances of winning by gaining entry points.

How to enter this giveaway is explained at the end of this resource roundup post which highlights some educational resources that you may be interested in using in your classroom or home school. 

It's no secret that lots of practice makes perfect, but sometimes repetition can become boring. That's why games are such an awesome way to make learning fun. Whenever my kids are engaged, they learn so much more, as opposed to being forced to do that plain black and white drill to s-'kill' worksheet. Apart from creating resources, I am also constantly sourcing out other educational activities that are readily available and easily accessible on the Internet. There is an abundance of educational games that are free to play, ready to click and go. However, sometimes in the rush of the crazy teacher life, sourcing games of such educational value can be a stretch when time and stress levels reach high points. That's why, this week, I'm sharing with you a fun collection of free to play multiplication games that you can bookmark and have ready at your fingertips to assign to a student or your class. I'm pretty picky at the games I choose, there's lots of free stuff on the web, but I've weeded through them to share with you some of the best!

Here's a Mystery Cauldron Halloween center activity idea that can be easily differentiated from toddler to elementary school student! It may also be a fun theme to add to your classroom's calming corner if you have one.

This post will first outline the set up, and then list some adaptation suggestions to suit kids from toddler to fifth-grader!

 

​Whether it's the excitement around Halloween, a full moon, or everyone is already hyped up on sugar, the classroom can become a little crazy.  Getting kids to focus on their learning during the week of Halloween can be a challenge. If you are not prepared with engaging and relevant activities, then chances are the week may turn into a nightmare for you! 

A strong strategy to conquer this craze filled week is to have a bunch of spooky themed education activities ready to go! By keeping learning fun, managing the craziness will be a lot less stressful in the classroom. Engaged students usually reduces the typical types of behavioral issues. If you don't know where to start, this guide will help you find some fun and easy to prep activities. Some resources listed are free, others cost around a cup of coffee, either way, I hope that these resources save you time and keep learning fun for everyone.

This year I thought it was time to update my favorite Halloween Brain Break collection to share with you. Since my last Halloween Brain Break post, which was about 2 years ago, I've discovered some new and fun ideas to implement in the classroom and home. Some of these brain breaks work well for younger students, others for older, and some both. Either way, if you are looking for some fresh and 'spooky' themed ideas for brain breaks in your classroom this year, keep on reading. 

Suddenly, the cat was very concerned!

Use this mystery prompt to see what ideas your students come up with about 'what could have happened?' This particular prompt will make for a great writing center activity during the Halloween season.

Prep: Print and laminate the image below into a card to use as an early finisher task or writing center activity.
OR
​Display on the board for a whole class writing activity. 

There are plenty of ways you may wish to use this prompt. If you would like some ideas, keep on reading.