What in the world do I do with all this Halloween Candy?

Perplexed what to do with that ridiculous amount of candy amassed from Fall Festivals and trick-or-treating?  It's Ashley from Just Reed here to let you know what I plan to do with most of our candy.   

DISCLAIMER:   I *may* be tempted to keep the Reeses! 

  I for one don't often give out candy as a classroom reward.  So putting it in the treat jar isn't really an option for me  Plus, I know lots of parents who aren't crazy about sugaring their kiddos all up! I came across something that made me SMILE!  Introducing, OPERATION GRATITUDE!

What is it

Operation Gratitude is a military care package program.  For Halloween, they partner with dentists to buy back Halloween candy and donate it to the troops in the form of care packages.

 

Guidelines for Sending Candy

 Please separate chocolate candy from all other candy and send it in separate cartons, marked “Chocolate” or “Non-Chocolate.”   Sorry, but they cannot send Pixie Stix in their care packages; please remove them before donating your candy.  

They also encourage donations of dental hygiene products such as:  
~ Commercially-sealed Lip Balm
~ Toothpaste & Toothbrushes ~ Dental Floss
~ Mouthwash (Travel-size)
  They want to keep the smiles on the troops’ faces all shiny, bright and healthy! 

 

Other Helpful Info

You're encouraged to send letters to the troops to be included in your care package. 

Please ship or deliver your candy donations by mid-November 2015 to:
Operation Gratitude/California Army National Guard Attn: Angel Cuevas / Halloween Candy 17330 Victory Boulevard Van Nuys, CA 91406
Phone: Angel Cuevas: 262-674-7281 (262-OPGRAT-1)

Additional Shipping Information can be found HERE.

You can complete the donor form found HERE to include with your shipment!  

Parent Information & Student Letter Template

I typed up a handy parent letter you can send home with your students if you choose for your class to participate in this worthwhile program!   I've also included two different letter templates--one for primary and one for elementary!  Click below to grab them!

  Be sure to pin this post or share it so other classrooms and families around the country can participate in 

OPERATION GRATITUDE!

 

Fall Favorites and Freebies--Just Reed!

Hi Guys!  It's Ashley from Just Reed!  I'm so excited to tell you about some of my Fall Favorites...and even share a few FREEBIES with you!! :)

 I am a HUGE fan of Fall.  In fact, it's my favorite season, followed by Spring! 

 A few reasons I love Fall...

1. Colorful Leaves

2.  Cooler Temps

3.  Football

4.  Pumpkins

5. Fun Curriculum Opportunities....Columbus Day, Fire Safety, Halloween, Bats, Spiders, Thanksgiving, Veterans Day and more!!

6.  Fall Clothes are the cutest!

I've just finished up a {much needed} week-long Fall break!  We went to one of my favorite Georgia destinations....Lookout Mountain, GA to see Rock City!  I remember going as a child and being mesmerized.  My daughter was the same way!  She was amazed by the beauty of nature and the fresh fall air!  It was such a special time for our little family.  Here are some pics!

 Don't let the tranquility of this picture fool you!  This was a 180 foot long SWINGING suspension bridge.  YIKES!!  That was tough to cross!!

OMGoodness...I just love the variety of pumpkins in the world.  Aren't these gorgeous?


We can NOW truly say....

And my daughter summed up her day like this {which I thought was a tremendous lesson in gratitude and optimism for all of us "big kids!"}:

Now that you've learned about a few of my Fall Favorites, let me share some Fall Freebies!

I think it's super important to teach children Halloween safety.  Most of our students will go trick or treating, and we can't assume their parents will go over safety rules with them.  I don't want any of my babies hurt on what's supposed to be a fun night!  So I put together this Halloween safety book for teachers to do the week before Halloween!   Check out the pages of the booklet HERE!  You can grab it by clicking below:

I also made a fun little FREE poem so you can give your students a glow stick and some candy before they head out to trick or treat!

 

 Grab the poem HERE!

 

Hope you enjoyed these FREEBIES! 

Be sure to follow me at Just Reed and follow The Primary Peach so you never miss anything!

 

Fall Favorites and a FREEBIE from Bryant's Brain Train

Cool breeze, colorful leaves, bare trees...it must be fall!  Happy Fall, y'all!

It's Shannon here from over at Shannon Bryant's Brain Train. I am excited to share some Fall Favorites and and a Fall Freebie with you today! :)

And have you heard about our HUGE giveaway?! You can win a $50 gift card from the peaches, so be sure to enter at the end of this post!

So what do I LOVE most about Fall? 

1. The fair...candy apples, roasted corn, quilts on display, and the midway!  A total must-do every October!

2. Fire pits...I mean, what's not to love?  That smoky smell of wood, the family snuggled around making s'mores, and stopping to enjoy the change in temperature and pace!
3.  Football...with 2 boys playing and a daughter cheering, football certainly takes center stage for our family this time of year.  Go Vikings!

4.  The holidays are approaching quickly...eeeeeeeeep!  I can't even believe I am adding that to the list, but I can't help it.  This weekend I bought my first 2 Christmas presents, and we even listened to a Christmas CD in the car.  Thanksgiving, Christmas, family, friends...even though I'm not a fan of the freezing weather and shorter days, there is nothing like the Fall to remind me of the people I love the most and the importance of faith and family!

Fall excitement is contagious around our school as well!  Between homecoming and the fall festival, everyone is buzzing about the fall fun to be had.  So here is a little fall freebie for your use in your own classroom... 

Have you visited Storyline Online?  It's a great resource for free read aloud stories, as told by famous actors and actresses.  How about one that seems perfect for this time of year?  

"I Need My Monster" written by Amanda Noll and read by Rita Moreno.

And how about a monsterific freebie to go along with this silly story?  Just click the image below to access the writing and creative thinking freebie in my TpT store.

Want even more monster fun?  Click on the image below to check out my $3 "Silly Monsters" unit.

Last but not least, don't forget about BIG Giveaway!!! :)  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For even more ideas from The Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sharing Sunday: November Resources!

It is that time again!!!!

Looking for resources and FREEBIES to get November off on the right foot?  Just check below!  We have all written blog posts to share goodies with you!

Make sure to check all the links below and get the "good stuff!" Enjoy!

An InLinkz Link-up

 

Fall Favorites and a Freebie from Collaboration Cuties

Happy Fall, Y'all!

It's Stacia and Amanda from Collaboration Cuties. We are so happy to be sharing some Fall Favorites and Freebies today! :)

And we have a HUGE giveaway! You can win a $50 gift card, so don't forget to enter at the end of the post!

So what do we LOVE about Fall? 

1. We love the cool weather- cute boots and comfy scarves are a must! Looking forward to going Fall shopping soon!

2. Homemade Goodies- Just smelling all the delicious Fall treats makes your mouth water- apple pie, pumpkin bread, sweet potatoes, yum!!! 

3. Of course Football- Go Dawgs and Jackets! :) 

4. Visiting the pumpkin patch and roaming through a corn maze with family and friends are other fall favorites too! 

And we LOVE celebrating Fall in the classroom as well! 

Here are 2 Fall Freebies for Reading and Math!

Have you read the book The Runaway Pumpkin? It's a perfect Fall read aloud! A giant pumpkin rolls out of control down the hillside in this fun and entertaining Fall favorite! These freebies will help you teach cause and effect, sequencing, amazing adjectives and vivacious verbs. Just click the image above to download it for free!

Our other freebie is a Gobble Multiplication Bingo Board- can you believe we are only a week away from November!? It's a fun game for students to practice 2 digit by 1 digit  and 2 digit multiplication, and everything you need is included (except the dice of course!) Just click the image above to download it for free!

And now the BIG Giveaway!!! Yay!  :)  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For even more ideas from The Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stacia and Amanda

Fall Freebie

Hey Y'ALL!! It's Amy from The Land of 2nd Grade here with some Fall Favorites and Freebies for ya! 

Alright, let's start with one of my favorite activities that we do during the Fall. Every year, my grade level does a big FALL FESTIVAL during school hours. The first year we started this, our principal was very adamant about making it educational. So that's just what we do every single year! 

We make fun shirts for the festival that the kids get to wear the day of. This is a big deal because our students wear uniforms to school.

We do a place value duck pond. The kids have to tell the value of the underlined digit to get a prize.

Candy Walk, students have to sit in a chair when the music stops. If their letter is called, they have to answer a fluency fact to get a prize.

Estimation jar.

And there are a few other games that aren't necessarily educational like bean bag toss, pin the face on the pumpkin, pumpkin bowling, sack race, ooey gooey touch station, find a prize in the hay stack, etc. 

I LOVE doing this fun festival every single year!

Also, here are some of my favorite fall books to read aloud...

Today I have a fun Spider Place Value Freebie for you to enjoy. Click on the picture below to go to my TPT store to download this adorable spider for FREE!!!

The kids had a BLAST making these cute little spiders.


Don't forget about our giveaways this month!!! ENTER NOW for a chance to win!!!

For even more ideas from The Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates!