December is my favorite month in the classroom. Yes, I admit it can be a bit chaotic with the holiday parties and overall excitement but it is a lot of fun and there are so many fun themes that we do each year. Each year, I start with our gingerbread theme. Below are my favorite gingerbread activity ideas from my special education classroom.    ELA Ideas Read The Gingerbread Man. I always use the version retold by Mary Sandel from the Fountas and Pinnell intervention collection.  Practice positional words using a gingerbread doll , cookie , or cutout and a cookie jar  (I like this plastic cookie jar because it is not breakable!).  Use the stem "(Name) ran away from the ______." during predictable chart writing and then use my class book template to create a book students can read again and again!  Math Ideas Practice subtraction activities using gingerbread manipulatives, or for some added fun use cookies and let students eat them as they subtract!  Co......

I love October!! It is my favorite month. Fall is here 🍂, decorations are up🎃, and it's my birthday month 🎂!  October is also a fun time in the classroom. Each year we take a field trip to a farm for a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, and hayride! It is a great way to kick off the month.  It is one of my favorite months for our thematic units too. We finish our Apples Unit from September, then go into Fall & Leaves, and end the month with Halloween of course!  Click to find this unit in my TPT store! Click to find this unit in my TPT store! My favorite books for Halloween are Big Pumpkin and The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. One year on our hayride at the farm they did a "spooky storytime" and did the Little Old Lady with props. It was SO MUCH FUN! And was a great way to get the kids engaged.  Click to find this book unit in my TPT store! Click to find this book unit in my TPT store! Some fun Halloween crafts we have done was a group pumpkin pinat......