Pig Pancakes and Pudding

If you give a pig a pancake, 

he’s going to want to make some himself... 

Check out the Melissa & Doug Pancake set here.

and read books about pigs, especially doing the same things the pigs do. 

If You Give a Pig a Pancake book

.     

Babe, the Sheep Pig: Oops, Pig! book                         Oh, What a Mess! book

We played piano, 

Grab the hilarious Potty Piano here.

put money in the piggy bank, 

put stamps on postcards for Mommy’s students, 

played with pigs on the farm, 

did a virtual farm trip, 

and watched Charlotte’s Web. 

We tried to make pig mud with finger paint (my kid hates to get dirty) and then ate chocolate "pig" pudding for dessert.

Watch “Alley Oh” - the pirate version of The Three Little Pigs (my son loves it)

If You Give a Pig a Pancake video

Jim Gaffigan “Bacon” - my kid laughs so hard!

Snag this P is for Pig Do-a-Dot printable.

Been There, Read and Scene That!

Thanks for visiting today to share in our special news! Our DonorsChoose.org project titled "Been There, Read and Scene That!" was fully funded! At first, the books and bags were paired in Ziplock bags and put on the bulletin board.

After this project, we had too many to fit in that space, so I bought these cool bags and organizer from Really Good Stuff.

Materials from the new project have arrived and have been scanned into Booksource so students can check them out and see their reading levels. Students couldn't wait to use their Reading-Rewards RR miles to borrow books and movies to take home!

  

 Learn more about Reading-Rewards and Booksource here.

Some students are waiting to borrow a book and a movie until Thanksgiving break, when they will have more free time. Here are just a few of the combos we got.

If you'd like a list of books and movies that we received, go to the Donors Choose project list here and click "Where Your Donation Goes". Also check out some movie/book combos I purchased earlier on this older post.

If you're inspired to donate to a current project on DonorsChoose, here's the link for our class!

Producing Readers and Writers - with Movies!

Trying to keep the kids busy on a rainy or even hot summer day? We all know that many books, such as the Twilight series, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games have recently been made into wildly popular movies. Keeping that in mind, I have decided that I may try to team up with other teachers in my school, especially our basic skills teacher, to create a book club aimed at reluctant readers. If they read the book, they get to watch the movie.

I just have to figure out exactly how it would work. I'm thinking we would start a chapter of the book together, either before school or after, and have the kids finish the chapter at home... I just have to figure out a time frame that will allow for the most kids to be able to participate and the logistics of the kids getting the books, plus activities we'd use to show comprehension (other than your typical t-chart or Venn diagram graphic organizers). I'm also thinking about writing a grant to be able to purchase multiple copies of the books.

I have these movie and book combos:

Madeline
(I still have the book my first grade teacher gave me!)

Matilda 

Pippi Longstocking

Annie

Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer

Willy Wonka / Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Nancy Drew, Girl Detective

Ramona and Beezus / Beezus and Ramona

The Lorax

The Cat in the Hat

Books only:

Harry Potter

Chronicles of Narnia

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Charlotte's Web

The Babysitter's Club

Fudge-a-Mania

Movie only:

How to Eat Fried Worms

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Others to consider:

James and the Giant Peach

Diary of A Wimpy Kid

Eloise at the Plaza

I know there are tons more that could be added (especially Dr. Seuss books), but these are probably the most appropriate for my students' age group. I myself will probably steer clear of the Dr. Seuss books as well as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Harry Potter, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory because most kids have seen the movie or read the books.

Here's a list of movies based on books: 

Ages 3-6

Ages 6-12

Tweens and Teens

I know there are tons more! Many of the movies have two different versions also. Which are your favorites?

Check out this newer post to see some more great movie / book combos.