Deep in the Heart of Texas Blog Hop

Welcome to the "Deep in the Heart of Texas" blog hop!  Over 40 Texas teacher bloggers have joined together to share what we love about our state as well as ideas and freebies that we love.  You will also have the opportunity to enter to win TpT products and TpT gift certificates by entering using the rafflecopters included in each post.  Down at the bottom, you will see all of the blogs participating in the hop.  Just click and you will be taken to their posts.  We hope you love what you find.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Howdy! I am Mom2punkerdoo, but my friends all call me Kim.  I am a 40-something wife, mother, native Californian turned Texan, wannabe photographer, occasional scrapbooker, teacher turned homeschool parent, Facebook addict, Disney fan, pet lover, TPT seller and an aspiring runner who loves to throw a good party! Almost 8 years ago we made our way to McKinney, Texas and we haven't looked back!  

I will start by saying that the friends I have found since moving to Texas have made living here a true blessing above and beyond all the other things I love about McKinney, Texas,  It was truly hard to pick just a few things to share with y'all, but I managed to narrow it down to two for now.

#1 Singer/Songwriter Night at Cadillac Pizza Pub 

There is a lot to love about downtown McKinney, but Tuesday nights at Cadillac Pizza Pub is definitely a highlight.  The food and drinks are great.  I am a fan of  the Tony's Ranch House Salad and my boys love sharing a Smoky Pie, but what we really love is the live music.  We are partial to the singer/songwriter that performs on the first Tuesday of the month, Zane Williams.

If you are a fan of Texas country music or just good music that tells a great story then you really need to listen to Zane.  We found him a few years ago on a Tuesday night playing at Cadillac and fell in love with his music.  We were homeschooling back then so going out on Tuesday nights was doable and his show is family friendly, as are almost all of his songs.  As a matter of fact, many of his songs contain messages, values and morals I want my son to listen to...can't say that about a lot of today's artists. Needless to say we have been huge fans every since.  

So if you are making plans for a trip to downtown McKinney I highly recommend a stop by Cadillac Pizza Pub and if you can make on the first Tuesday of the month you will be in for a real treat.  Just be sure to get there early as it fills up fast!

#2 Our Trails

A few years ago McKinney started expanding their trails throughout town.  About that same time I started putting more time and effort back into running.  The timing was perfect.  You can now find me here at least once a week. I often meet with my running partners in one the school parking lots nearby and we do our long runs on these trails, away from cars and noise surrounded by a bit of nature. There is a small creek we cross over a few times, we loop around near a new city dog park , and we have occasionally seen an armadillo or two. You will find runners, walkers, and bikers on these trails and they are plenty wide enough for all of us.  If you find yourself in McKinney and it's not July or August you might want to make your way to Bonnie Wenk Park and from their you can check out our fabulous trails for yourself. 

Much like picking one thing I love about my town was hard, this also took some time to narrow down. It being Valentine's Day and all I decided to go with my favorite book about love, The Veleveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.  Can you believe I never recall having read this book as a child?  I do recall the first time I read it though. My now husband gave it to me as a gift when we were dating many year ago. Pretty sweet for a college boy isn't it?  

This is the version my now husband gave me many years ago.

A few years later, when I landed my first teaching job The Velveteen Rabbit happened to be one of the 3rd grade literature units I need to teach.  Luckily, I had the two very best teaching partners on the planet. They shared ideas, plans, projects, and most important of all what remains my all time favorite culminating activity ever....The Velveteen Rabbit Tea Party (click to read more).

Needless to say I fell in love with the book, the message is shares, and the fun I have had making it come to life.  Did you know you can get this book for FREE?  It is in the public domain as it was written 1922.  This makes it perfect for using in the classroom without having to purchase a lot of books.  You can find it online several places, but this link also includes the original illustrations too!

Freebie Time! This is one of the first freebies I made for TPT, but I updated it this month to share the new and improved version with you today!

It includes simple editing and revising checklists to help your students self and peer edit their writing. These checklists remind students to check for proper punctuation, use of adjectives, word variation and staying on topic. There are two different styles of checklists included.

With the update I  added a 6 point writing rubric and time order/transitional words reference chart for your growing writers! 

Click to Download!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my hometown and some of the things I love!  Now keep scrolling to get to the giveaways!

Check it out y'all!  Lots of great giveaways with the hop around Texas! Be sure to enter and then hop on over to read more about what we love about our hometowns in Texas. Who knows, you might find yourself inspired to plan a trip through the Lone Star State!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Click on the buttons below to visit some other awesome Texas bloggers!

An InLinkz Link-up

Thematic Thursday: Penguins

I am linking up with Carla from Comprehension Connection again for another great Thematic Thursday.  This week it's all about Penguins. Ork!  One of my favorite classroom themes!  So many great books and so much fun to be had with these adorable little creatures.

Way back in my early years of teaching I was lucky enough to take a job teaching 2nd grade where they read the novel Mr. Popper's Penguins.  Oh, did I have a blast planning that unit! Nowadays with Pinterest at our fingertips the plethora of penguin ideas for classroom fun with these adorable black & white friends is endless. You can follow my Penguins Pinterest Board to see all the additional great ideas I don't have room to include here today.

Follow Mom2punkerdoo's board Penguins on Pinterest.  

We all know that penguins are fantastically adorable, but they also allow classroom teachers to easily integrate science and language arts, making them a very popular classroom theme.  There are so many great fiction and non-fiction books starring penguins that it is easy to get students excited about both.  You will see some of my favorites linked in the graphic below.

Click to open document with clickable links for each book and idea!

I've also linked  a small sampling of some of my favorite penguin activities.  There are two art activities, including this very simple directed draw from Drawing Lessons for the Young Artists Blog. Simply sketch and then use pastels to color and you will have a some wonderful works of art.

I found an adorable photo writing prompt on Pinterest that reminds me so much of how always imagined Mr. Popper! It would be great to use for writing captions. I wish I was able to find the source of this clever capture.

Caption This!

The last activity is a matching game to help students learn basic facts about the many different species of penguins. It is a part of my larger unit on Mr. Popper's Penguins that was recently updated to include QR codes for students to self check.  Don't forget to check out the links at the bottom of the PDF for some great research resources to compliment your study of penguins.

Click the cover below to preview this Unit that includes:

      •Chapter Notes: prediction, inference, alliteration, simile, metaphor, foreshadowing, onomatopoeia & idioms by chapter
•56 Comprehension Questions
•53 Vocabulary Words for word walls & flashcard activities with quizzes included
•Integrated science and math activities
•Graphic Organizers
•Bonus Bookmarks for the 15 most popular species of penguins that include an illustrations and basic facts about the species.
•And More

Click to preview

And guess what? You can win this thematic unit along with several other fantastic penguin themed products this week!  Woot! Be sure to hop on over to the Comprehension Connection to enter the giveaways and to check out more fun penguin themed ideas!

Click to enter to win!

Click to enter to win!

Winter Break Activities

The most wonderful time of the year is almost here!  For some I know it doesn't always feel wonderful, and that break from school you were so anxiously waiting for has days that can drag on just a little too long.  This is especially true if the weather where you live is keeping you and your family indoors for too long!

Pinterest to the rescue!  Yes, really.  I know Pinterest can at times be an overwhelming plethora of DIY projects that can have you wanting to chuck your craft supply stash in frustration because your projects just never look as good.  But wait!  It is also filled with some simple, often free and not too complicated projects that can help keep your house bound kiddos happy when the two week break starts to feel a few days too long.

Here a few of my favorite finds that don't require a ton of prep work, or help from an adult, and may not leave too much of a mess...

Doodle Art Alley:
I found this site just before Thanksgiving and wrote about my love for doodling and how excited I was about this site.  Turns out I had barely scratched the surface of all the cool things available! In addition, to the fabulous doodle art that one could spend hours having fun with, there are also free e-books that include activity pages with word searches, mazes and more!  These would be perfect for those long car rides over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house.

Click to Visit Doodle Alley

Art Projects For Kids: 
Wow!  I would have loved this site as a kid.  Especially the How To Draw section.  Who I am kidding I love this site now! There are  many great ideas for all kinds of fantastic projects, but the simple, clear step by step instructions for drawing are a perfect afternoon activity for your kiddos who that are starting to get bored. Just have them pick one, print it and let them see what they can do!

Click to Visit Art Projects For Kids

We Give Books: 
If you aren't familiar with We Give Books please go read more about this great site.  In short, you can read books online for free and by doing so you are helping children in need get books.  How perfect is that?  And right now they are in the middle of their first Season's Readings Campaign challenging everyone to read 5,000 books a week every week until January 4th and for every book you read they will give two away.  This is a perfect activity for kids to not only enjoy some good reading, but to help others at the same time.  Please check it out!

Click to Visit We Give Books

My Christmas Fun! Pinterest Board has a collection of more fun holiday activities to enjoy over the break.  Some require more parent involvement than others, but it's filled with many great activities.

Follow Mom2punkerdoo's board Christmas Fun! on Pinterest.

Hope you have a relaxing fun filled Winter Break! 

The Velveteen Rabbit Tea Party

This has got to be my all time favorite culminating activity.  Seriously. The B.E.S.T.

One of my very first classroom tea parties.

Way back in the 90's my two fantastic teaching mentors shared with me that it was traditional for our grade level to culminate our Velveteen Rabbit unit with a formal tea party...with REAL china tea cups!  Needless to say I thought they were INSANE!

Their sanity may still be in question, but not as a result of this idea.  My Velveteen Rabbit Tea Parties have become the most cherished of classroom memories.  So much so that when we started our homeschool journey I knew I wanted to include this tradition.  For four years we held an annual Christmas tea party with my son's dearest friends and their mothers.  I had to change the theme up after the first year, but we managed to find a way to connect it to our learning and give a special gift to our friends at Christmas.  Just thinking about it makes me nostalgic...sigh.

Anyhow, for this post I will focus on The Velveteen Rabbit Tea and maybe another time I'll share the details of our Colonial Tea, Mr. Willowby's Tea and our Hot Chocolate Buffet!

Very long story short, after completing our study of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams we would transform our classroom with table cloths, china tea cups, platters of scones, finger sandwiches, flower vases, place cards and well mannered children.  It was magical...and a I won't lie a LOT of work. Did I mention I did this for the first time as a brand new teacher?

As a part of the tea party I decided to incorporate a retelling of the story of The Velveteen Rabbit.  I went through the book and took out quotes from the entire thing that created a summary from beginning to end.  I gave each student two quotes to commit to memory over the course of our study. By the day of the tea all of the students had them down perfectly...no joke.  Every year I would start my tea with the parents sitting at elegantly set tables, and the students standing in their Sunday best reciting their quotes to share this touching story with their families.  Are you starting to see why this is my favorite event?

I could go on and on about my love for these tea parties and how they evolved over the years, but I suspect y'all would be bored to death.  Instead I have created a Pinterest board with some of my favorite recipes and ideas to help you plan your own Velveteen Rabbit Tea Party. You can check it out at the bottom of this post.

And Guess what? This week you can also win a copy of my Velveteen Rabbit Unit.  The Pioneer Teacher is having a special giveaway in celebration of hitting a big TPT milestone.  Just head on over to the Thankful for Twenty Thousand Giveaway to enter to win her 2nd-3rd grade prize pack. The quotes I mentioned are all included as bookmarks in the unit!

Click to Enter

You can also preview the entire unit by clicking below.

Click to Preview

Follow Mom2punkerdoo's board The Velveteen Rabbit. Follow Mom2punkerdoo's board The Velveteen Rabbit on Pinterest.

Nightly Reading Freebie

Do you have some students who need some extra reinforcement at home with reading?  Or do you have parents who just need a little guidance in what to do to help their struggling readers? Sometimes what seems natural to those of us who have taught reading for years is completely foreign to parents who know their child needs some extra practice, but just aren't sure what that should look like.

Here is a simple handout that provides basic directions for students and parents to get some additional reinforcement at home.  This can be used with any book, whether it is leveled book you send home with your student or a book they choose from their own personal library.  The daily assignments for practice reading aloud, as well as, the vocabulary, re-telling and making connections activities will help provide meaningful reading homework.

Click to Download Freebie

Too Many Pumpkins!

Have you read about Rebecca Estelle and her cat Esmerelda?  If not, you are missing out.  These two are a delight, as is this fun fall story.  I do not want to spoil the plot for you, but I will tell you this, the book lends itself well to enriching vocabulary, practicing past tense, making predictions, sorting verbs and adjectives, not to mention that it is just plain fun!

Too Many Pumpkins, by Linda White is not a book about Halloween. There are no scary parts, no trick-or-treat or costumes.  It is mostly a story about too many pumpkins with a few Jack-o-lanterns, a couple of laughs, some problem solving, and a very feel good ending!

The first time I read this book was years ago while volunteering in my son's 2nd grade class.  I wasn't familiar with the story, but I loved it so much I rushed out to add to my collection.   If it's one you haven't read I suggest you check it out ASAP.   If you already know how wonderful it is be sure to check out the literature activities I have designed to compliment the book for use in your classroom. I do hope you love it as much as I do!

Click to Preview

Link to Amazon

What if Everybody Did That?

This summer I stumbled across a book I hadn't seen before and the title immediately caught my eye.  It is called What if Everybody Did That?  As I flipped through the pages I couldn't help but laugh at many of the comical illustrations.  More importantly though, I also couldn't help noticing how this book so perfectly illustrates that actions and choices have consequences.  In a very simple and fun way this book shows children the effects of their actions and why certain behaviors aren't acceptable. The oh so simple question, " What if everybody did that?" along with the clever illustrations by Colleen M. Madden drive home the point so beautifully.

This book is perfect for the beginning of the year as you are establishing your classroom rules and procedures, or  later in the Spring, as it lends itself perfectly to Earth Day.  I love finding ways to use literature to support other subjects like social studies and science and this works perfectly for topics that revolve around helping others and the planet too! It's like Character Education and Science Mashup of sorts!

Have y'all watched many of the Kid President videos yet?  If not, you are missing out! Not only is he adorably funny,  his messages are fantastic!  Here is a great one to share with your students after reading What if Everybody Did That?   Part of what I love about this book is how it ends.  I won't completely spoil it for you, but just know that the end of the book and Kid President can encourage your students to think about the ways and the power they have to shape the future.  How awesome is that?





If you'd like to do some extension lessons based on the book I've  put together a few simple activity pages. They include:

• Cause & Effect Graphic Organizers
• Templates to make your own What if Everybody Did That? class books.
• Vocabulary Activities (choice, responsible, consequence, cause, effect, actions)
• Reflection Writing Activities

Click to Preview Product

Building Classroom Community With The Name Jar

I always love it when I can find a fantastic book that ties to exactly what I want to teach!  The picture book, The Name Jar, by Yangsook Choi is a new favorite of mine.

This particular book has many wonderful lessons. It lends itself so well to the back to school focus on building classroom community.  The teacher, Mr. Cocotos, has clearly established a supportive and comfortable classroom community before the main character Unhei arrives as a new student from Korea.

One way to jump off this book is to have fun with the jar theme. It so simple too! First, create a large chart with an empty jar on it.   Give students sticky notes and ask them to name things that help make a positive classroom community like the one in the story.  Use this to start a discussion on what your classroom agreements will be for the school year and how your goal is to create an environment like the one Mr. Cocotos established that helped Unhei feel welcome in both her new school and her new country.

The unit includes a graphic organizer for students to record class ideas.

Another fun way to extend the jar theme and to help your students get to know each other the first few weeks of school is to give them a blank jar and have them fill it with words or pictures that symbolize their identity.  To make it extra fun, make sure they don't include their names anywhere on the front.  Then, have the classmates try to guess which jar belongs to which student!   This could be a fun display for parents to try and guess which jar belong to their child at back to school night too!

Option: Make this a technology training lesson. Have students add clip art into the jar!

These are just a few ways to use The Name Jar to help build your positive classroom community at the start of a  new school year.  If you are interested in the seeing additional activities I have designed to go with  this book please click the image below to see a preview of the unit in my TPT store.

Click to see more of this unit.