What gets us out of bed every morning as teachers besides knowing that it’s our job? If you find yourself drearily drudging to school, your kids will notice and you will be miserable. Maybe it’s a good solid work ethic or because “it’s just what you do”, but I know that if I have a little excitement or motivation to greet the day in my classroom, I look forward to everything so much more.

What’s a better feeling, looking forward to your day or dreading it? I choose the former. All I have to do is think of something fun—but rigorous—to do with my students. In the fall, it’s not hard.

I’ve always loved fall with the pumpkin and spice scents, the coming of Halloween, and Thanksgiving or Christmas just around the corner. What better way to celebrate the season than teaching these themes in small groups?

Here’s my plan to keep me motivated for the next several weeks:  to incorporate fall into as much of my classroom as possible in math, reading, and science.

Reading. I love teaching small group this time of year. I teach theme through fall poetry, use “Halloween” or creepy close reads with zombie insects, King Tut, or the Loch Ness Monster.

Math. For those of you who subscribe and get Sunday Soul Soup, you’ll know I’ve recently began teaching all subjects again. Math has been a challenge but I’m beginning to enjoy it. I recently discovered some great resources too! Check out this fall dividing and multiplying by exponents and other Halloween themed math.

Science. Right now, I’m going to focus on animal adaptation to pair with my close reads with zombie insects. My kiddos love when there are connections between subjects—who doesn’t? Making those connections also help them build those neural connections to apply their knowledge later.

While we have a wonderful new science curriculum and materials, I supplement with my own science quick-writes about adaptation. They’re especially helpful for my strugglers to fully grok the concepts.

Having fun things to teach makes teaching fun again. While we teach rigorous skills, why not make it a little fun for all of us?