Meet an Author Opinion Writing

Are you tired of the same old opinion writing prompts? Here is one my students love. They write to tell which author they'd like to meet and explain why. They also tell what learn about the author from research as well as write about what they still want to know.

Students are expected to provide reasons and evidence to support their opinions. You can also have them write an introduction paragraph persuading their audience to fundraise money to bring the author to their school.

Click here to download the document.

Check out my author study on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Here are some famous authors I've met as well as their websites for research:

Patricia Polacco - read all about her author visit!

Lauren Tarshis (I Survived series)

R.L. Stine (Goosebumps)

Kate DiCamillo (Because of Winn-Dixie, Mercy Watson series)

Laura Numeroff

Dan Gutman (My Weird School, Flashback Four series) - I met him twice and he does amazing assemblies!

Corey Rosen Schwartz (Ninja Pig and others)

Looking for other digital projects and lessons? Check these out: 

-Bitmoji Bookmark Projects

-Digital Memory Book

-Digital Escape Rooms

-Concrete Poems

-Meet an Author Opinion Writing

-Digital Escape Rooms

-ABC Research Book

-Country Research Report

Food Fun

Some people have asked how we get Austin to eat so well. 

1)) I’m no expert - it’s a *big* part luck!

2) We don’t force him to eat anything.

3) We don’t prioritize certain foods over others (like veggies over dessert) and sometimes put them all on a plate at once. 

4) You have to recognize that sometimes you’re more hungry than others and the same goes for kids. 

5) They also have preferences that may be different than ours. 

6) I do sometimes use strategies likeL

• offering choices of plates and utensils (especially offering a “big” spoon or fork when he gets tired)
• adding toppings or dressings
• playing music that does or doesn’t correspond to what he’s eating
• sometimes reading a story or looking at his ABC book when he’s eating.

7) We don’t watch TV during meals because he can’t concentrate.

8) There are definitely times when I pick my battles and sometimes feed him because my priority is for him to eat and feeding himself is secondary if he’s too tired to eat it and too hungry to fall asleep. 

Anyway, here is my food playlist. He instantly perks up about eating when the songs play!

We have a few food-related videos that are favorites. Check them out below.

The Lunch Box Song

Yes, Yes Vegetables Song

Breakfast Song

F is for Food song

Here are some products that make food time just a bit more fun:

KidsFunwares Robot Me Time Meal Set with Portion Control Divided Plate, and Fork and Spoon

Fred MRS. FOOD FACE Kids' Ceramic Dinner Plate 

Fred MR. FOOD FACE Kids' Ceramic Dinner Plate 

Check out some of these other fun food plates from the same company.

Dog Food book (they make dogs out of fruits and veggies)

As you can see, they got very creative with the photos.

You should also check out Play With Your Food.

Another book by the same authors is called Food with Moods.

If you're looking for some food related printables to help kids with communication, reading, spelling, or writing, see here.

What are your struggles and successes with getting kids to eat and try new foods?

Check out some other fun preschool activities!

Daniel Day, a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Music Mania

Moose Muffin Monday

Sesame Street Saturday

Firetruck Fun Friday

Digging Dinosaurs

Earth Day activities

Pig Pancakes and Pudding

Going on a Bear Hunt?

Frog Fun Friday

P is for Potty Printables

May the 4th Be With You

Here are some May the 4th writing prompts to use with students. 

We also did a Star Wars escape room via Zoom. We used knowledge of temperatures and energy sources to pick a planet to manufacture on, used what we knew about prefixes and shapes, deciphered a code, solved equations, used map skills, and worked together to complete the mission. Here is the mission, should you choose to accept it:

Make a copy of the Google Slides presentation or access it here.

If you've got Star Wars lovers in your class or family, check out these popular Jedi Academy books:

Digital Escape Rooms

I have compiled some digital escape rooms into one Google Slide presentation to make it easier to navigate.


The table of contents allows parents and kids to choose easier escape rooms (preK - grade 2) and harder (grades 3 and up).


Personally, I've done them with my fourth grade students through Zoom during remote learning. My two year old son also loved doing the Pete the Cat one at home.

Make a copy of the Google Slides presentation or access it here.

Have you created a digital escape room you'd like to share? Do you have any topics you'd love to see turned into a digital escape room? Drop your links and ideas in the comments below!

Music Mania

Music Mania was the choice for our little drummer boy today.

We played instruments from a kit we bought on Amazon

and made our own instruments using rubber bands and food containers, 

watched Brain Pop Jr. videos about instruments, 

played a Music Memory game, 

and sorted instruments by how they are played on BrainPop Jr. 

Daddy even got in on the fun! 

Like always, we listened to tons of music. Here is our "eating" playlist.

Ben’s Trumpet was our book of the day, 

we did Dot a Dot M to differentiate between upper and lowercase letters, 

and coloring wasn’t happening, but I did find this adorable M is for Music coloring page.

Another fun game we found is called Monster Music. Sesame Street characters explore real and created instruments.

We finished off the night with the Disney Family Singalong! It originally aired on ABC, but it's free in its entirety on Disney+ if you have it!

“Ernie Puts the Duckie Down” is a classic Sesame Street video and song. 

Look for some celebrity cameos!

“All You Need is a Song” is another favorite over here, especially with one of my favorite country bands, Sugarland. 

What are your favorite musical activities? We'd love to hear about them in the comments below.

Check out some other fun preschool activities!

Daniel Day, a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Food Fun

Moose Muffin Monday

Sesame Street Saturday

Firetruck Fun Friday

Digging Dinosaurs

Earth Day activities

Pig Pancakes and Pudding

Going on a Bear Hunt?

Frog Fun Friday

P is for Potty Printables