Videos, Groundhog Day, and a Freebie

Sorry I missed all of you guys yesterday.  I have been spending so much time blogging that I needed some time to create.  I also woke up extremely sore yesterday.  For the first couple of hours I thought, "Am I getting the flu?  What is wrong with me?"  Well, around 2:00 it occurs to me that I was throwing the football with my kids on Friday.  It was the first day we were able to go outside in almost two weeks.  The rain was endless.  So, I decided I would throw with them.  By the way, not bragging, but my Dad taught me how to throw a football, so I can definitely THROW a football.  The only thing is I am not 10, 25, or even 30 anymore.  I am 32 (almost 33) and that seems to have made a difference in the amount of pain I feel the following day.

Alright, before I get to what I created, I spent a little time on Pinterest yesterday and you guys have been pinning some AMAZING stuff.  My favorite pins were the YouTube videos that go along with several of the holidays coming up.  That led me to go dig around on YouTube and see what else I could find.

The first one I like is "Martin's Big Words".  The link to it the one to the right of this paragraph.  It is based on the book by Doreen Rappaport.  I got this video off of YouTube, but if you have a United Streaming account, I'm pretty certain that it is also on there.

The second video that I liked was one I found today called "I Celebrate MLK".  It's a video by Harry Kindergarten.  It's cute, has a beat, and if your kids are like mine, they LOVE Harry Kindergarten videos.  If you haven't discovered them yet, he has them for everything - days of the week, months of the year, counting, money, etc.  They are amazing!

The third video I liked was "The President!" video by Harry Kindergarten.   It's a little short song about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.   I'm telling you, Harry Kindergarten is awesome!  

Make sure you watch them before to make sure that they will be okay to use with your students.  I went through and watched and I thought they were okay, but I don't want to make the decision for you.  For example, there's a Groundhog video that's been going around Pinterest.  Well, I watched it today and it was funny, but I know I am not going to show it to my kids.  I think it's pushing the envelope a little too much for them.

Also, if you watch straight from YouTube, I would suggest making sure that before you show it on a screen, you get the video ready.  This way, your kids don't accidentally see an ad that may be inappropriate.

Now, for my creations.  I finished my Groundhog Day Printable Packet.  It is loaded with lots of worksheets that cover our language arts standards.  I made a point of mixing Groundhog Day vocabulary and groundhog facts into my packet, so you can teach about Groundhog Day and still teach your standards.  In most cases, I also created at least two sheets for that specific standard.  That way you can practice it more than once.  As always, you guys get to see the full preview.  Don't forget there's also a dictionary skills freebie on my site from a week ago from this packet.  Check out the pages below and if you like it, CLICK HERE to go to my TPT page to get it.  

Now, since you read this far, I also made you guys a freebie called Roll and Bump Addition Dice Game.  The instructions are on the bottom of the game so that you only have to keep up with one page.  My kids LOVE these games and they are good fillers for Fridays or for a quick center activity.  CLICK HERE to download my Roll and Bump Addition Dice Game.  

Hope you guys enjoy and have a great day MLK Jr. Day tomorrow!