FALLing into Autumn

Happy Fall everyone!  I can't believe tomorrow is my two month wedding anniversary!  Time has been flying, which is crazy because I haven't exactly been very busy.  Hopefully subbing will speed up soon, and I think it just might because I have 4 different dates lined up at local elementary schools.  Hooray!

Onto talking about fall / Halloween.  The past two Octobers, Sam and I have visited a corn maze at a nearby farm with some of our best friends, K & J.  Unfortunately, almost all of our weekends are booked in October this year, so we had to visit the maze a little early and went last weekend, this time going with a larger group.  As always, we had the best time, and it was still WARM out. It was gorgeous! I absolutely love visiting this corn maze at night, trying to navigate the paths in the dark underneath a starry sky.  Every now and then someone from the farm pops out from behind a corner, or the boys drift off and reappear in the cornstalks, trying to scare us.  Afterwards, the farm hosts a large bonfire and hands out free apple cider and apple cider donuts.  This may be my very favorite fall activity!

 

Our traditional "Entering the Maze" photo!

 We found an eye...

 and a foot of the salamander shaped maze!

My favorite part of the corn maze is getting lost, of course!  I'm always excited to see this sign, even though I look completely panicked in the photo.  Haha!

On another note, I created another Halloween product for TPT today, Halloween Multiplication "I Have ... Who Has?".  This version of "I Have ... Who Has?" is parfait for the month of October (duhhh), and can be used as multiplication fact and word problem practice or review during Morning Meeting, math time, or a Halloween party. 

(Pictures updated as of October 19, 2014).

As I suggest on TPT and in the Teacher Directions, depending on your students’ level of expertise with multiplication facts, you might stop after every card is read and determine the matching number sentence for each word problem as a whole class.
For example, a child reads, “There are 5 witches and each casts 3 spells. How many spells did they cast together?”, so the class determines the appropriate sentence is “5x3”. At this point, all students may use a strategy or a multiplication chart to find the correct product together. Playing the game this way, is perfect for those kiddos who are just learning the concept of multiplication number sentences, equal groups, and/or are rusty on fact fluency. 

Hop on over to the activity here. 

I've gotta run so I can continue chowing down on more candy pumpkins!  I may or may not have eaten about 2/3 of a bag since yesterday.  Until next time, friends!

XO <3, C