By. Meredith Biesinger
Congratulations! You’ve made it halfway through October! It doesn’t matter what grade you teach, how many students are in your classroom, or how long you’ve been teaching….October is challenging for every teacher. Fun? Absolutely. Difficult? Yes. Exhausting? Nap, please.
October has this way of cramming as many things as possible into a schedule with little to no wiggle room; from the classroom to community activities, it’s a busy month.
Remove some of that October stress with these tips and ticks:
For the Classroom
A Pumpkin Book Report
This can be done at any age, really! Have your students pick a book (grade level appropriate) and write a report about their book. Have them identify the author, illustrator, setting, and characters. Then, have your students explain the beginning, middle (problem), and end (solution) of the book they selected.
For older students, the format can be modified to a more in-depth report of the book, such as identifying a theme.
Now for the fun part! Have your students decorate a pumpkin to look like the main character from that book. Pro tip: Smaller pumpkins work best!
Other FUN Ideas:
Halloween Sensory Bin– Gather items from your home, treasure box, a dollar store, or the Target dollar section. Materials: Dried black beans, black and orange straws cut up, pom-poms, mini erasers, mini pumpkin and cauldron buckets, spider rings, and skeleton arm scoopers.
Watercolor Spiderwebs—Draw webs using a white crayon on watercolor paper. Have kiddos paint over the webs to make them appear! They will love it! Read a story about spiders and do this activity afterward.
Free-write—Bring in a seasonal prop, something appropriately spooky for your classroom, and have your students write their own story about the item. This could be done individually, in small groups, or as a class!
Happy Teacher
October could be an entire college class for future teachers studying education, but it’s not. So, if you’re feeling tired or anxious, it’s normal. Think of everything you’ve done over the last nine weeks or so! It’s a lot, right? Give yourself time to go to the movies or relax and stream something at home. Or, enjoy a nice glass of wine while listening to your favorite playlist. Use these tips and tricks to have fun with your students, and take some time for yourself, too!
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