My Favorite Halloween Books

What are your favorite Halloween books?  I'm linking up with Chrissy at First Grade Found Me for her Halloween Books Linky Party.
I have so many favorite Halloween books!  Many of my favorites have already been posted, so I decided to do a few that you may not be as familiar with.
By the Light of the Halloween Moon is a great book with fun repetition about a little girl who is dangling her feet in the water while all kinds of Halloween creatures lurk beneath. I love the illustrations!
This Ed Emberley how-to book is such a fun way for students to learn to draw Halloween pictures.  I use it in my writing workstation during October.  Students draw a picture and write a Halloween story about it.
Nothing is better than a Gail Gibbons non-fiction book.  My students love them!!  This books teaches students about the Halloween holiday.
And last but not least, Pumpkin Moonshine.  Sylvie Ann and her dog, Wiggy, go to pick her pumpkin at the top of the hill.  The excitement begins when the pumpkin rolls down the steep hill.  Such a cute story!
Make sure you go and Linky up with Chrissy so we can read all about your favorite Halloween books!!

Getting Ready for Fall

The temperature in Indiana is in the 60's today.  It feels like Fall!!  I love this time of year!  Of course as soon as the weather turns, my students always begin talking about Halloween.  Our Halloween Parade is probably one of my favorite days of the school year (maybe that's because it's always the Wednesday before Fall Break).  This year I decided to add a new Prompt Jar to my writing station.  My 3rd graders are loving my regular Prompt Jar so much that I made a Halloween Prompt Jar.  The jar includes 25 topic strips from which to choose.  I have included many different types of writing genres (poetry, how-to, lists, memoir, realistic fiction, etc.).  Feel free to check out my Halloween Prompt Jar at my TpT or TN stores.

I'm linking up with Jennifer at Rowdy in First Grade!  What a great idea for a linky party, tell one good thing that is happening at school and one good thing that is happening at home.
At school...
This is my first year (after 18 years of teaching) to teach 3rd grade.  I love it!!!  I loved teaching my little first graders but was ready for a change.  Third grade is wonderful!  My students are so independent and eager to learn.  We have great conversations about learning.  They are a very curious group, want to read all the time and had no problem learning classroom procedures.  Yay!
At home...
It has been a busy back to school with my marathon training in full force!  Today was my last looonnnggg run (22 miles) and now the tapering begins!  I love running but I'm also looking forward to  having more time on my hands.

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Word Jar... My newest product!!

It's been quite some time since I've had a chance to make a new product.  I have so many things on my to do list but can only find a few minutes here and there to work on them!  You all know that I love using "Workstation Jars" in my classroom.  They are portable, easy to store and just plain fun!!  My latest creation is a Word Jar with Frye's 1,000 high frequency words.  There are soooo many activities that you can do with this jar.  Students can work on fluency, play buddy games, put words in alphabetical order, practice spelling, and so on.  Here is a preview of my Word Jar Workstation.  Feel free to check it out in my TpT or TN store.

My Favorite Freebie Linky Party

I'm linking up with Cynthia at 2nd Grade Pad for her My Favorite Freebie Linky Party.
What a great idea for a Linky Party!  Who doesn't love a freebie??  My favorite freebie that I have (of course I only have two) is my Fluency Workstation Voice Jar.

Students can practice using expression while reading by choosing a "voice" from the jar.  They read their book, poem, etc. using this voice.  This freebie is part of my Workstation Jars.  I love these workstations because students can take it to their seat (or comfy spot) and do it without any assistance.  The jars don't take up much space either!!  I like the $1.00 jars at The Dollor Tree.  They come in two different sizes!!

Feel free to download my Voice Jar and let me know what you think!!

My addiction

My name is Aimee and I am addicted to scrapbook paper pretty paper (as I like to call it)!

It all started when I was planning the tree for the bulletin board outside my classroom:
I really liked the different patterns I used to make my tree that I thought it would be fun to use in my room as well.  So... almost everything in my room now has a pretty paper background!
And in case you are wondering how I cut such perfect circles...
I love my circle cutter almost as much as I love pretty paper!!

Currently and Made It Monday

I'm excited to be linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy It's Fourth Grade for September Currently and Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for Made It Monday.
Here's my September Currently:
My 43rd birthday is on Wednesday.  I have been wanting a Silhouette Cameo all summer!  Oh, the wonderful things that I would be able to make with one!!  But... I've also wanted a pair of Tory Burch Reva flats FOREVER!!  After much contemplation, fashion won out in the end.  I can always get a Silhouette for Christmas.
Only 34 days until the Chicago Marathon!  I'm feeling well prepared this time!  The long run this weekend was 20 miles.  I like to reward myself after surviving the run, thus the need for a Blizzard!!  All of my favorite things this month have to do with running as well (probably because running is consuming all of my time outside of school).  I love running in Injinji toe socks.  They are very comfortable and prevent blisters on the bottom of my toes!  My last four pairs of running shoes have been Brooks Adrenaline.  I love these shoes!  They give me enough support but don't weigh too much.  My final favorite running thing is from Clif.  Their Shot Blocks come in lots of flavors.  I usually will go through two packs on a long run (18+ miles).  Most runners use the gels but I can't stand them!
Now on to my Made It Monday...
I've seen lots of bunting flags on blogs recently.  I thought one would be a great addition to the cork strips along my chalk board.  I can't sew a stitch, so I was thrilled to see that Stitch Witchery works as well as sewing!  Here is my final result:

I also made the a "first day" frame to take a picture of my students on the first day of school.  I planned on painting the frame but ran out of time!!  My plan is to change the words to "Last day of 3rd Grade" on the last day and mail them to my students after school's out.

Sorry about the scary face blur!
Enjoy what's left of your Labor Day!!