Number Bonds Freebie & More!

This post is packed with exciting info...IF you like number bonds, freebies, and cute outfits :)

I'm linking up with Kacey to share a VERY random 

Today is our students' last day before the Thanksgiving break. Next week, staff reports Monday-Wednesday for professional development and parent-teacher conferences. 

This may not go over well with many readers, but I'm wondering if anyone else can relate... My students really struggle with "fun" activities at school :(

We thrive on structure and schedules. We track our progress and feel proud of our hard work! But festive holiday activities that translate to a change in our routine?

YIKES! 

I had almost blocked out the trauma of Halloween...until yesterday. Everything was going swimmingly during the morning. My students were extra gritty completing our math unit assessment and participating in Power Hour (Guided Reading). So we deserve to let loose in the afternoon with an adorable Thanksgiving math-snack-recipe and writing, right? Doesn't that sound like fun?

Just. Say. No. 

There were tears, a few swift kicks (!!),  and timeouts. 

There was also a lot of extra caffeine (for me). 

I did try to prepare everyone for the schedule change, and I tried to keep the setting as much the same as possible. I used our "first...then" language, but the holiday got the best of us :(

I'm just a tad concerned about today. I know the general educators have prepared some fantastic holiday activities...there will be pumpkin pie sampling, Thanksgiving food graphing, and we are even making butter!

As a special educator, I will be armed and ready with our social stories ("I can handle change!" "How to take a timeout" and "It's never too late to fix it!"), picture schedules, and believe it or not...math & literacy reinforcements. Since we don't easily transition from a highly structured environment to a "free-form" schedule, I have transformed some of our "tried and true" learning resources by incorporating a Thanksgiving theme. We have Thankful sentence writing, Gobble Till You Wobble (freebie!) vocabulary cards to use for writing, and our favorite...turkey number bonds (freebie!):

Here's a picture of how I set them up using colored cardstock and coordinating pom poms:

The number bond freebie is linked up with:

Fingers crossed we have a wonderful day of learning!

I'm so excited to share that the next Get Your Pretty On Challenge registration opens today! This is my 5th challenge and I have no plans to ever stop. If you've been reading for awhile (thank you!), you have seen some of the outfits ideas from previous challenges. If you're new (welcome!), you can click on the label "Fashion Snap" or right here to catch up.

To sign up for the fun, please click here!

Registration is open for only one week (ends Thanksgiving night). Next, we receive our shopping list! There's usually about 20 items and I usually already own most of them. The last challenge, I had a blast picking up 2-3 new items and adding them to my existing wardrobe for fashionable updated looks. These challenges have truly helped curb my shopping habits while expanding my wardrobe repertoire.

And to close out this long & random post...I'm so happy to joining these lovely bloggers for our Style Me series:

An InLinkz Link-up

Today is all about Winter Hats. As someone who is freezing-cold from September through April, I have my fair share of cozy hats. I live in the city, so once my car is parked after school on Friday, it's rarely moved until Monday morning. That means we're hoofing it or hailing cabs to get out and about. So my winter hats are not selected based on fashion, but instead warmth.

Here's what I have so far:

Am I missing anything? I'm off to go check out what the other Style Me Bloggers suggest!

Have a fabulous Friday!