Halloween Games for the Classroom

Look!

Can you guess what I am going to be for Halloween?  My husband, and two of our friends are running a 5K on Halloween and it's a costume run, so we are going to be minions!  We made these shirts this weekend, and I love how they turned out!  There may or may not be a blue tutu to go with it :)  I'm NOT crafty at all, so this was a win.

I love these teacher ideas for Halloween costumes, so in case you haven't decided yet, you may find a fun idea here!

Speaking of Halloween, don't miss out on the "Trick-or-Treat" blog hop going on now until the 31st. Learn some "tricks" of the trade, grab freebie "treats" and enter in giveaways at almost 50 blogs! There is some amazing stuff out there!

So, let's talk Halloween in the classroom.  Chaotic, right?  It doesn't have to be.  You can do some really fun activities AND keep pluggin' away at those common core skills and learning targets.

First, to get you started, you'll want to download my free "Halloween in a SNAP" Planning Guide. It's loaded with clickable links to resources, games, activities, snack ideas, and more to cover every content area.

Next, grab the following FREE game resources that are available exclusively here on the blog to help spice up your instruction this week.  Some of these resources are also included in the planning guide, but I wanted to highlight a couple that are available exclusively here on the blog.

All you have to do is create words that you want your students to figure out using the alphabet key.  You can do Halloween themed words, regular vocabulary words, or a word that might help introduce a lesson.

Grab your "Spooky Alphabet" here.

Another blog exclusive freebie, is this SCOOT game for comparing and ordering numbers:

I loved this idea from Kindergarten and Mooneyisms:

So I created a Halloween version:

Snag it for free exclusively on the blog here.

Finally, here are two freebies available at my TpT store:

 And here are two that are available for only $3.00 each.

Happy planning!

Trick-or-Treat! {A Fun Blog Hop!}

One week from today is Halloween!  Thank GOODNESS Halloween is on a Saturday, Amen?  Hopefully by Monday when the kids return to class, the sugar will be out of their system....maybe.  Probably not though.

I am SUPER excited to be hosting this fabulous "Trick or Treat" blog hop!  Myself, along with over 50 other bloggers have been hard at work behind the scenes putting together some Tricks and Treats for your classroom!  The "Tricks" we will share will be those tricks of the trade that we have learned over the years that have kept our classroom running smoothly.  The "Treats" will be freebies for you to snag and giveaways for you enter for a chance to win something amazing from each blogger.

If this is your first time "trick-or-treating" to the Classroom Game Nook Blog, then, Welcome!  I'm so glad you're here and hope you will take some time to find other tricks and treats throughout my blog by searching through the navigation bar at the top of the blog.  There are lots of goodies to be found!

Let's get started, shall we!

I don't know about you, but storing classroom games can get a little...err...messy, to say the least. Everything looks beautiful on the first day of school before your kiddos get their grummy little hands on all your stuff.  But by Christmas, forget it.  You have dice, playing cards, and moving pieces (and who knows what else!) all collecting dust behind the cabinets and in dark corners.  Things just have a way of falling out of place.  One of the things that I really tried to focus on when I was teaching was having a place for everything....and then teaching the students to learn where that place was :)

So, here are some easy "tricks" for helping you organize those classroom games, and keeping corners and backs of cabinets free of dust collectors :)  Of course, some these ideas are ones that I've learned from other fabulous educators!

Oh boy do I have some TREATS for you!  First off, a giveaway that is stuffed with goodies!  

From now until about mid-January, we have FOUR holidays!  Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and MLK day!  That's a LOT of planning.  That's why I've decided to give away a Holiday Mega Pack that includes resources and games to help you plan your holiday activities in a snap!  The activities include skills from all content areas in a variety of formats.  One lucky winner will receive ALL of the following (over $20 value!): 

(click on the pics to learn more about each one)

 

Consider your holiday planning...DONE.  Enter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The next TREAT for you is the fun individual center or whole-class game freebie:

There are a total of 36 cards (plus a page of blank ones for you to create your own).  You can use the cards as an individual center where students complete each card and write the correct orders on their recording sheet.  OR, use the cards to play a whole-class game of "SCOOT."  If you don't have a class set of iPads or (other devices) that can scan QR codes, simply project each page of the PDF on your SMARTBoard or White board and scan together as a whole class to check answers after playing a game of SCOOT.

I can't believe I've gone this long without using QR codes!  Holy moly!

You can snag this game for FREE, but only for a limited time.  After the hop is complete (On Oct. 31), this game will become a paid item in my TpT store!  So do not delay, download it now by clicking here.

{THIS FREEBIE OFFER HAS EXPIRED}

That's it my friends!  Thanks for stopping by to "trick-or-treat" here at the Classroom Game Nook Blog! 

But WAIT - there's more!  Keep right on trick-or-treating to the next blog for more tricks and treats to stuff in your "goodie bag."

4 Games to Help Kids Think Critically About Vocabulary {Guest Post!}

Happy Thursday, everyone!  I'm excited to announce that I was asked to guest post on the Education to the Core Blog!  I wrote a fun post on 4 games that you can use in your classroom to help students to critically think about vocabulary.  I'd love for you to go check it out!  There may be a freebie (or two) involved :)  Just saying...

See you over there!

Mark Your Calendars! Something Fun is Coming Saturday!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  I know teachers always look forward to the weekend, but THIS weekend, you REALLY have something to look forward to!  I'm super excited to be hosting a huge blog hop with 50 other bloggers!  It's our Trick-or-Treat Blog Hop extravaganza where you will have the chance to snag freebies from every blogger AND enter in to win some amazing prizes!  So, beginning at 9am (EST) put on your best costume (aka your coziest PJs) and grab a cup of coffee and get ready to stuff your trick-or-treat "pillow cases" (do kids even trick-or-treat with pillow cases anymore?) with TONS of goodies!

In addition to the fun going on in blog-land.  I'll be doing flash freebies on my social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) all day long, so make sure you follow me on those sites!

I'm on the edge of my seat!  Can't wait - I've already got my tutu on.  Can you guess what I'm going to be for Halloween?

Are You Ready For Some Football {Games}?

Well,  football has officially taken over the TV!  Turn to any channel and it's either college for NFL teams playing.  I'm more of a "come for the chips and stay for the dip" kinda of football party watcher, but I never pass up an chance to use cute clip art to make a game with a football theme if the opportunity presents itself.  I've featured these games before, so here's a recap in case you missed it.

I've made 2 freebie games in the past that I will share with you today.   I am working on a NEW one that will be part of the CGN Newsletter that will be going out the first of November!  (Not a CGN newsletter subscriber yet?  No worries, sign up here - and get free game just for signing up!)

Here are two that you can snag today!

The first is a file-folder game for identifying nouns, verbs, and adjectives.  The words are football themed.  Click any pic below to snag your own copy!

(the game actually comes in color - I only have a black and white printer, womp-womp...)

The next game helps to tackle - pun completely intended :)- a problem that a lot kids struggle with:  choosing the correct operation.

On this math game, students work their moving piece down the football field by correctly answering the math cards.  When the player makes a "touchdown," he or she collects a football coin.

You can download either game for free by clicking any of the pics.  Let me know if you give them a try!