Life Between Summers

Elementary Teaching Blog

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Best Selling Books

Our Class is a Family

Our Class is a Family

The ultimate read aloud to help build class community.

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A Letter From Your Teacher: On the First Day of School

A Letter From Your Teacher: On the First Day of School

A picture book to warmly welcome students on the first day of school.

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A Letter From Your Teacher: On the Last Day of School

A Letter From Your Teacher: On the Last Day of School

A picture book to bid students a special farewell on the last day of school.

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Virtual Author Visits

Virtual Author Visits

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Best Selling Resources

Book Companions

Extension activities for “Our Class is a Family” and “A Letter from Your Teacher.”

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Jenga Games

Math and Literacy Games for the Classroom

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Guess Who Games

Math Games for the Classroom

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Seasonal Resources

Shades of Meaning Fall Writing Craft and Synonym Word Sort

Shades of Meaning Fall Writing Craft and Synonym Word Sort

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Multiple Meaning Words: Fall Activities, Task Cards, Bats Informational Text

Multiple Meaning Words: Fall Activities, Task Cards, Bats Informational Text

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Halloween & Fall Activities for Repeated Addition and Multiplication Arrays

Halloween & Fall Activities for Repeated Addition and Multiplication Arrays

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Halloween & Thanksgiving Fall Photo Booth Props

Halloween & Thanksgiving Fall Photo Booth Props

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Life Between Summers

4 weeks ago

Life Between Summers
SURPRISE!!! 🎉 Sandie Sonke Illustration & I just finished up the cover for our 4th book together, coming in 2023! 📙🥳In the past, I haven’t shared new book titles/covers until closer to the release date, but this time around I’d like to try and share more with you throughout the actual book-creating journey (sketches, sneak peeks, etc.) so here ya have it! 💞As you probably guessed by the title, this new one will be a follow up to Our Class is a Family! 🥰The premise:Kids have their immediate family that they live with, but extended relatives (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) make up a special part of a family too! You can see where this is going- it’s similar at school! Students have their teacher & each other within their classroom walls, but they also have an extended family there to support them ❤️Specifically, all of the amazing people who are a big piece of the heart of a school:Librarians, speech pathologists, school counselors, administrators, custodians, school secretaries, reading specialists, cafeteria workers, and parent volunteers, just to name a few 🏫 And you’ll find them all represented in this new book! 🙌🏼 My hope for “Our School is a Family” is that it will help students feel extra safe, loved, & supported, and encourage kids to form positive relationships with (and show appreciation toward) the helpers at their school!I am so excited to share more about this book with you in the months to come!! 📖 P.S. Speaking of “months,” my very warmest congrats to Sandie, who is Society of Children's Book Writers & IllustratorsIllustrator of the Month! So very well-deserved!!! 🥂💗#ourschoolisafamily #ourclassisafamily #aletterfromyourteacher #shannonolsen #shannonolsenauthor #backtoschoolbooks #teacherreadaloud #schoollibrarian #schoolcounselor #speechpathologist #schoolcommunity ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers

5 months ago

Life Between Summers
New book companion to go with Our Class is a Family! Class Family Memory Books for the end of the school year 📖💕This is a nice & simple writing activity for students to work on during those final weeks/days leading up to summer break 👌🏼 It’s a meaningful way to reflect on all their memories from the year, and they can take it home as a special keepsake on the last day of school! If you’re thinking you might want these memory books for your students, the timing couldn’t be better because they’re 25% off today & tomorrow (along with all other resources in my TPT store!) with the code THANKYOU22 💛 This comes available on its own, or in a discounted bundle with more extension activities for all 3 of my books 📚 I will share the link in the comments! 💕 ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers with Lakeshore Learning.

1 years ago

Life Between Summers
Check out these top 5 favorites from Lakeshore Learning! They are having their biggest sale of the year for back to school. Use the coupon code 6392 for 20% off any non-sale item! bit.ly/2Usm24T Coupon valid ‪through 8/31/2021 for one-time use in stores or online. Limit one coupon per customer. Not valid on items with shipping restrictions. Other exclusions may apply. Visit bit.ly/3bbUXIj for details. #LearnwithLakeshore #ad #sponsored ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers

1 years ago

Life Between Summers
Standard Form, Expanded Form, Word Form. Maybe not the most exciting math concept to teach, but definitely an important one…so why not make it fun and engaging?? 😄Guess Who math games encourage higher level thinking/reasoning and using math vocabulary verbally. They’re an instant favorite for math centers and early finishers!Find this game and others at bit.ly/guesswhomathgames ... See MoreSee Less

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  • Are you looking for a classroom activity that your elementary students can use to learn about their family history? This blog is all about a fun family history project that I call “family treasures”. This social studies project has students put items into a box that represent different pieces of their families culture and traditions. Your students can have fun learning about their family origins, while practicing vocabulary, writing, and even speaking skills to present in front of the class.
  • Are you looking for new ways to teach your students about building arrays? Today, I am sharing a bunch of holiday games you can play during math workshop, math centers and morning work that help students practice repeated addition. These building arrays mats help students learn the foundation skills for multiplication. You will find tons of multiplication games and building array work mats here!
  • Looking for winter math and literacy centers? Today, I am sharing my favorite literacy center activities and math center activities for winter. You will find grammar activities including compound sentence activities as well as math activities including making arrays & adding and subtracting. You will also find adjective activities and grammar Jenga. Use these hands-on winter activities for morning work or for early finishers as well.
  • During the beginning of the school year, it’s important to set foundations. A great place to start with your elementary students is with sentence structures. Read this blog for a fun puzzle activity to work on subject and predicate. In your literacy centers, your 2nd graders can match together puzzle pieces to complete a sentence, or complete a sentence by starting with a subject and finishing the predicate. See how you can use this ELA activity in your classroom to teach sentence structure.
  • Are you looking for fun and engaging multiple meaning words activities? Today, I am sharing 5 grammar activities that will help your elementary students learn all about multiple meaning words. I share multiple meaning words worksheets along with multiple meaning words games including my classroom game using Jenga. Find a multiple meaning words anchor chart activity as well. You can use these grammar games and activities at grammar centers, for morning work or for early finishers.
  • You and your students will have a blast with these winter-themed props for a fun photo booth! Great for your holiday classroom party. These winter photo booth props are also great for school-wide events as well. Use these in your elementary classroom, homeschool classroom, or for a fun winter themed sleepover. Just print and assemble. These easy winter props will be a hit with your elementary students at your next winter classroom party.
  • Are you looking for new ways to teach your students about building arrays? Today, I am sharing a bunch of holiday games you can play during math workshop, math centers and morning work that help students practice repeated addition. These building arrays mats help students learn the foundation skills for multiplication. You will find tons of multiplication games and building array work mats here!
  • Are you looking for new ways to teach shades of meaning? In this post, I am sharing 5 ideas for teaching shades of meaning. These shades of meaning activities are fun and interactive for your elementary students. Students will love learning about synonyms with these language arts activities. You can incorporate them into your language arts block, grammar, or readers workshop. I include both literacy games and crafts you can use for bulletin boards throughout the year.