Happy Saturday! It’s my last Saturday of my 2 week fall break so I decided to do a project that I found on Pinterest. I was in bed doing what all great teachers do at 1 a.m. on Friday night during fall break…I was pinning like crazy! And I saw a pin for Halloween word bottles. You know, like popcorn sight word bottles or rice letter bottles. But this went a step further and filled the bottles with fun Halloween stuff! Well…I just had to do it! The pin led me to No Time For Flash Cards. They get all of the credit for inspiring this amazing idea!
You will need some jars. I got mine at Wal-Mart for $2. They’re plastic with screw on lids (so we can make other themed jars later!) and won’t shatter if dropped.
Black beans (or other fun Halloween themed filler), creepy and fun Halloween toys, and words!
I made my words on paint chips. I cut the paint chips into 3 squares and wrote some Halloween words on the cards. I repeated some of the words just for fun!
I put the beans in first. Note to self…with larger jars, you need more beans. My 1 bag per jar isn’t nearly enough!
Then I added the toys. I poked and pushed them into the beans.
Next I added my 12 word cards. I did the same thing with the cards. I pushed and poked them into the beans!
I screwed the lid on as tight as I could (so little hands can’t unscrew it…and maybe even I won’t be able to later!) and our Wicked Word Bottles are finished!
This will be a super fun and engaging word work center for the next two weeks. I made two bottles and two different recording sheets. The recording sheets allow for differentiation. The words are the same in each bottle.
Students shake and turn the bottle to hunt for the words. When they find a word, they can write it or color the ghost with the word depending on which recording sheet they are using.
click the picture to download your free recording sheets!
And now the winners of the give away from yesterday!
Congrats to Heather VanKuiken! Random.org picked your comment as the winner! You win my new Scotty Scarecrow pack and Fallin For Fall centers from The Fabulous First Grade! Congrats! Stay tuned…I’m hard at work on another Common Core creation so that means another give away!
Now I want to answer another frequently answered questions! Where do you get your ink, lamination pouches and card stock?!
The ink is from Staples. I use them because each month you can turn in 10 empty cartridges and get $2 per cartridge. That’s $20 a month towards ink! And I usually have a $20 off coupon so I buy two combo packs of ink…save $20…use my $20 in rewards and spend about $60 a month on ink!
My card stock and lamination come from Amazon!
I use these laminating pouches. These are about $10 for 100. They’re strong and hold up great. I order them 2 boxes at a time. When I empty a box, I place another order! Don’t wanna run out!
This card stock runs about $11 for 250 sheets. It’s one of the best deals I’ve found so I order 2 of these at a time! For colored card stock, I always stock up when Michael’s has it on sale for 4 for $10.
If you want to check these out, just click on the pictures to order through my link at Amazon (you can always order through my link on Amazon! Just click on the Amazon button on the side of the blog!)
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9 comments
I buy my laminating pouches from Amazon too, but I get the Scotch brand with 100 in a box. I found card stock to be pretty cheap at Sam's but I can't remember the exact price, but it is cheaper than Staples.
Katrina
Lesson Plans and Lollipops
I'm in love with your word jars! I feel like my word work center has gotten a little blah lately. This is just what I need to SPICE it up! =)
-Amanda
Teacher At The Wheel
Love the idea! Thanks for sharing! xoxo
Becca
Love the word jar idea! Thanks for sharing and making the recording sheets.
Oh my gosh- LOVE these! What fun! Yeah- I was pinning at 3 AM this morning because I couldn't sleep. WHAT is that about?!
Thanks for sharing!
Carolyn
Kindergarten: Holding Hands and Sticking Together
Such a great idea to jazz up word work! How fitting that I found you through pinterest! Definitely addicted! haha
Samantha
Tales of a #teachernerd
Fun! I just pinned the word bottles!
Megan
Mrs. Wheeler’s First Grade
Mrs. Wheeler TpT
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