Fall is my favorite time of year! I love to decorate inside and out and I love our trips to the farm.  Here are my men at the farm last weekend.  Love them!

Behavior in my room is amazing this year. In addition, the noise level is never a problem and I attribute a lot of it to my Behavior Bucks.  Students who are working quietly, making great choices and doing exceptional work earn a dollar. These sit on my desk and are simple and easy for me to pass out.  Students keep their money in the money pocket of their GO Book.  When they get many dollars they often trade in for a 5 or 10 dollar bill.  They love to count their behavior bucks and spend them as well.  Besides, they can buy a classroom coupon, candy or small prizes.  I have 8 different coupons to choose from. Lastly, these coupons are easy and free.  I got the idea from my sweet friend Amy Lemons many years ago when she posted about them on her blog.  Also, you can see her post here. This is the easiest classroom management idea I’ve ever had. It’s simple and takes very little effort.  I don’t have to worry about table points, classroom tallies, etc.  Furthermore, you can grab my behavior bucks on my Facebook page.

Also, I’ve had a few questions about my vocabulary instruction.  Here are our current vocab words.  I use Isabel Beck’s Text Talk Vocabulary Instruction.  It’s the best way I’ve ever found to introduce new words to my kids.  I highly recommend you check out he book below.  Besides, you can also get many sample Text Talk lessons here.

Beginning this week we had a little frisbee word fun.  My friend Hope found a pack of 10 frisbees in the pet section of Target and I knew I had to have them.  This week we did a little word work outside. It’s way too beautiful to be stuck in a classroom all day.  Students all started with a short vowel, 3 letter word.  They then threw their frisbee to a partner and that person changed one letter in the word.  They were allowed to change the beginning, middle or end sound, as long as it made a real word.  This activity was loved by them! I can’t wait to get more use out these frisbees. In the end, the possibilities are endless!

I also wanted to celebrate my favorite season of all with a sale. So today and tomorrow my store is 20% off. Grab some of my fall centers, my newest farm unit or my focus wall!