In the younger grades it is fun to read “If You give A Pig A Pancake” and have pancake snacks that day, as well as other literature activities. If you are in a school, please check your policies. As when I taught, we brought the griddle in the class.

One way is to write a letter on the pan let it cook until you see bubbles. Then pour batter over letter to make a “normal” pancake.  The image is in the pancake. Have fun with this, you can make smiley faces etc.  Also, note that you will need to write the mirror image for letters like “L”  or they will be backwards!

Or, just write a large letter to be the pancake itself. A turkey baster works well, but I just used a spoon for mine.

The whole family agrees that this recipe is the best so far.   Hope you and your family or class have a yummy in the tummy pancake experience!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, stirred or sifted before measuring
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Preparation:

Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and 1 1/2 cups of milk; add to flour mixture, stirring only until smooth. Blend in melted butter. If the batter seems too thick to pour, add a little more milk. Cook on a hot, greased griddle, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbly, a little dry around the edges, and lightly browned on the bottom; turn and brown the other side. Recipe for pancakes serves 4.

Many books can be found about grandparents. A few of our favorite picture books are Grandpa’s Teeth, The Song and Dance Man, Grandpa, Grandpa and The Gifts of Being Grand.

A writing and literature activity that can be done at home or school is to read a book and then design your own story using the same theme. We read Grandpa, Grandpa in my multi-age classroom and then each child made there own page. We then put the pages together to make our own class book. At home these pages could be used as a gift for grandmas and grandpas.

Cover Design for Class Book

First Grade Writing

First Grade Illustration

Second Grade Page

Second Grade Writing

Second Grade Illustration

Organizing tip: You can tape or tie a string to the pencil and to the end of the notebook.

                          I keep two holders/cans on the counter, one for me and for the children.

                             This way my favorite pens or permanent markers will not get lost or used.

Here is our new little lizard friend!

When children retell a story they increase their reading and listening comprehension.  This activity is fun for all ages, especially non-readers.  This is also a good lesson for teaching a new language, small groups and young learners.

1. Read a story out loud. (Readers can read a story on own.)

2. Have child draw one or several pictures that will be used to retell the story.
Depending on age, children may number the sequence of the pictures to help them recall the story.

3. Have child share the pictures and retell the story.

Extension:

As the child retells the story write their words onto paper.
Make the words and the pictures into a book by cutting out pictures and words and gluing onto book (sheets of paper that have been folded and stapled together, remember to put tape over the staples to protect little fingers).

Older Children:

Pretend you are writing a letter to someone who has not read the story.  Tell them the story and what you liked or did not like about the story.

75 years later, in 1939, President Roosevelt set Thanksgiving one week earlier to lengthen the shopping period before Christmas. Finally, in 1941, Congress ruled that the fourth Thursday of November was going to be the legal federal holiday to celebrate Thanksgiving.

A few writing ideas for a classroom or family at home:

Pretend you are president. Write a proclamation for Thanksgiving Day.  When do you think it should be and how should we celebrate?

Make up your own holiday and describe what should be done on that day.

Read a book about the Mayflower’s trip to America. Write about what it would be like on the Mayflower. If you could only bring one or two items from your home, what would it be?

Keep a Thanksgiving journal. Every year, write the things you are most thankful for and let each member of the family contribute. What a neat tradition and keepsake to look at every Thanksgiving!

This ring is for beginning readers and holds the high frequency words. I add one or two each time.

Word ideas for beginning readers: High frequency words (the, is, was etc.), word families (cat, hat, mat, rat), names of friends or family, colors, numbers (one, two), compound words (pancake, sunrise) and any words from a story they may be reading.

Fluent Readers: Vocabulary or spelling words from school, states and capitals, countries, most common misspelled words (believe, definitely, restaurant) and any dates they may need to remember.

The link below will take you to a list of commonly misspelled words.

http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html

Tie string from one chair to another (or what works in your house or classroom) and have child use clothespins to hang the words in alphabetical order.

Other ways to use the Hanging Out activity:

Number Order: 1,2,3,4…

Skip Counting:5,10,15,20….

Sentence Order: Mix a sentence up and have child hang in correct order.

Place Dates from a Time Line in Order. This could be an informal assessment of history lesson.