Friday, December 19, 2014

Christmas Crafts!

My goal this month has been to do a fun holiday project or craft each week with my daughter. There are so many AMAZING activities on Pinterest, but many of them were too much work for my brain to think about right now.  I wanted to do things that were easy prep, low mess and fast clean up.  So what have we done?  Here’s a look:


Cereal Christmas Trees
This was really easy to prep!  Everything I needed I had in the house.  I cut out the tree shape, trunk and star from construction paper(freehand).  I used craft scissors to cut the tree to give it a little pizzazz.  Then grabbed a handful of fruit loops for Isla (my daughter, 22 months) to glue on the tree like ornaments.  I put a dab of white glue on the tree and then she put a fruit loop on the glue.  It was a quick project to complete but she had a lot of fun!


Christmas Name Train
I picked up the foam train shape and foam stickers at the dollar tree.  We started with spelling out her name.  I gave her one letter at a time for her to place on the train.  We practiced saying the names and sounds of each letter while we were at it!  (Lots of fun to be had with those foam letters.)  Then she picked out the foam shapes she wanted, I peeled off the backing and she placed them where she wanted.  Both the shapes and the letters were sticky, so no glue mess to worry about.  We have a lot of leftovers so she can do this several times over!

Christmas Coloring Book
This counts right? ;)  I got this Christmas coloring book at the dollar tree. She really enjoyed coloring a few pages and then she was over it for the day.  But it’s a good sized coloring book so we have gotten it out quite a bit this month.  A quiet, non-messy, no prep activity is always welcome in this house!   
This was right before I had to run back around the table to keep her from spilling those candies all over the floor. 
Gingerbread Houses (Ok - not so easy prep, low mess, fast clean up but full of priceless memories!)
A family tradition!  Every year my family gets together to make gingerbread houses.  This was Isla’s first time making a gingerbread house.  My sister premade the houses so that they were ready to be decorated.  Every one brought candy and went to town decorating.  I put the frosting on for Isla and she picked out the candy and stuck it on her house.  She didn’t eat as much of the candy as I thought she would have, but I think that’s only because she tried one of those red oblong candies and then decided she didn’t want to try any more candy, haha!  If you are going to make gingerbread houses be sure to check out your local 99 cent store.  They have Christmas tree and Santa shaped gummies that are perfect for this project! 

So, that’s what we’ve been up to around here.  What projects/crafts are you doing with your little ones this time of year?  I’d love to hear about it!  

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Apple Tree Craft

Last week I did this cute little apple tree art project with my daughter and I wanted to share it with you!  It's SUPER easy and fun for a wide range of age groups.


 My daughter is 19 months old, so I keep things really simple.  I pre-cut the leaves, trunk, and sun from construction paper.  My daughter (with help) used a glue stick to glue each piece.   After she put the glue on, I placed them on the blue paper and she patted down the pieces.  For the apples we used red Fruit Loops.  I put a spot of white glue on the tree and then she put the "apple" on the glue - this was her favorite part!  For the sun rays, I put white glue around the sun and she placed the rays on the glue.  Fast and simple!  It's now hanging on our refrigerator and I love looking at it every day.

Here she is with her project!


This project would be great for primary grades and would be a cute classroom display! Here are some more ideas for this project:
- use red, green and yellow "apples"
- have students write the number of apples they have on the trunk
-use two colors of apples and have students write number sentences to go with it
-add grass to the bottom with a strip of green paper cut to look like grass
-add white clouds
The possibilities are endless!

Here is a copy of the template I used for this project.  Click on the picture to download.

If you are looking for more apple projects and fun with Johnny Appleseed, you should read my post HERE.  Have fun!

 

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Are You Going to the Louisiana SDE Conference?!

Hooray for all those attending the Louisiana SDE Conference this week!  While you're there be sure to stop by the Teachers of TpT booth.  Along with displaying some great resources, the booth is giving out GOODY BAGS of fabulous teacher resources.  Supplies are limited so be sure to stop by ASAP.  Below is what you will find in the goody bag from me - a free sample and gift!


I'm also having a sale in my TpT store during the conference (Wednesday-Friday).  Now is a great time to grab my blends units.  I'm currently in the process of updating them and when finished these units will be double their current size, and the price will be adjusted accordingly.  These units are getting complete makeovers and many activities will be added!  My Triple Blends unit has already been updated so that will give you an idea of what the other three blends units will include when updated.  Click HERE to check them out!    

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

A Book for Toddlers and a Book for Mommy ~ We Love Books Linky!

Now that I have a toddler, my book interests have shifted gears.    I wanted to share some great books for those that have a toddler in their life.  My daughter who is now 16 months(sniff), is going through a stage where she is OBSESSED with books.  Sounds like every teachers dream right? Ya....that novelty wears off after reading the same book 63 times by noon - EVERY DAY.  Ok, so I actually love that she loves to read and of course I'm trying to foster that love of reading.  But I have been guilty of hiding a few books that I desperately need a break from! (There goes my mom of the year award ;)

Some books my daughter really loves right now are lift-the-flap board books by Karen Katz.  They are super cute and Isla LOVES to lift each flap.  They are pretty sturdy, but I noticed she tore one of the flaps when she was "reading" by herself.  Nothing a little tape can't fix! A great part of these books is the prepositional language - behind, under, in, etc.  Here are the books we have:

 
This was her first Karen Katz book.  The Easter Bunny gave it to her!

When I realized she loved the Easter book so much I got her this one.  She loves dogs!

I couldn't pass this one up because it was 60% off!  $3? Yes please!  Check it out on Amazon HERE.  How else did I rationalize buying a Halloween book in May?  I said to myself 'Hey, it's front loading vocabulary!' HA!

And now, a book for Mommy!
Photo: It's a 3 day weekend!!!! What book/series are you starting this weekend :-)

Today is the LOOOOOONG awaited release of Diana Gabaldon's latest book in the Outlander series, Written In My Own Heart's Blood.  I am a super fan of the series, and I can't wait to read it!  If you haven't read this series you MUST start from the beginning, trust me.  Go buy yourself a copy of Outlander, the first book in the series HERE.  Then, make sure you have the Starz channels by August because this book series is becoming a TV series!  I am SO excited to see this series come to life! Check it out!! View the series trailer on YouTube HERE.

Head over to Mrs. Jump's Linky to see more book suggestions!


Thursday, April 10, 2014

Throwback Thursday ~ Bunny Craft & Writing About the Easter Bunny

I love, love, LOVE this time of year!  With Easter fast approaching, I thought I'd share some posts I did a couple years ago.  Enjoy!
Original Post Date 3/30/12


My class was so happy that we got to hang out with our 3rd grade buddies two days in a row.  We started this project yesterday and finished today. We stuffed them with grass, jelly beans and a chocolate.  I love the way they turned out!  And all the students had so much fun making them!
*I've added this project as a FREEBIE in my TpT store, click below to grab the directions and bunny ear templates.  If you download, please leave some love! Thanks!


Original Post Date 3/28/12
This week my students can't stop talking about the Easter Bunny.  I love hearing all about it! It's so fun!!! So I'm sharing what I used today for students to write their little hearts out - all about the Easter Bunny.  Visit my Tpt store to download! Click HERE

*I recently updated this little freebie so the download will look a bit different than these samples show.*



I had students draw a picture of the Easter Bunny to put above their writing.  On the left I plan to add a picture I took of each student today.  I had them wear bunny ears while holding an Easter basket and some carrots.  The pictures are SO CUTE. :)




Looking at these pictures brings back many happy memories.  I hope these posts will help you make great memories for you and your students too!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

And the winner is.....

And the winner is.....Michelle Jaquillard! Congrats Michelle! A big thanks to everyone else who played along.  Did you miss out? Like my facebook page to get the news on all my giveaways, sneak peaks, updates and freebies!  If you head over there now, you'll see a bit of news about tomorrow.  Click on the picture below to go there now.  See you there!


Sunday, March 2, 2014

All About Leprechauns Giveaway and a FREEBIE

In my last post I told you all about the leprechaun fun I have with my students every year.  I forgot to add this little St. Patrick's Day freebie.  I encourage my students to wear green on St. Patrick's Day, so I decided to make these reminder bracelets and share them with you!  Click on the picture to download.


Graphics are from Scrappin Doodles.

Then I got to thinking, since I'm doing another St. Patrick's Day post, why not try a little giveaway?  Enter below to win my All About Leprechauns unit!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!  I will announce the winner on Saturday :)

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

All About Leprechauns

That time of year is fast approaching.  Do you love having a little leprechaun fun in your classroom? I do!!! Every March, my classroom has been visited by a leprechaun.  This is how it starts...


I read this little book that comes with this plush leprechaun.  This book is so fun because would you believe it, that leprechaun is real?! Every morning for about a week, the students discover that the leprechaun has moved to a new spot in the classroom (always somewhere out of reach).  The night before St. Patrick's Day we set a trap for the leprechaun and try to catch him.  But alas, he is always too tricky for us.  Before he leaves our classroom for good he makes a memorable exit.  On St. Patrick's Day students walk into the classroom to find posters hung upside down, chairs turned over, table baskets on the wrong tables, and all sorts of leprechaun mischief.  Yes, it's wild when the students see what's happened to the classroom but it's one of the best days of the whole year.  Here is a link to the book at Barnes and Noble.

One fun thing that students can't get over is seeing leprechaun footprints all over the classroom tables.  Unfortunately I can't find a single picture of them, but I will tell you how I make them.  
1. Clench your fist and dip the pinky side of your fist into green tempura paint.
2. Stamp your fist where you want the foot prints.
3. Dip a few of your fingers in the paint and stamp at the top of the footprint for toes.
Now you have leprechaun footprints! 

Sometimes the leprechaun will leave a note for the class and on lucky years (when I can find them) he will leave the students each a chocolate coin.  The last time I found them they were at Cost Plus World Market.

I always encourage students to wear green on St. Patrick's Day, but if they don't I'm ready to hand out green shamrock stickers

To help us get in the leprechaun spirit, we make leprechaun hats and beards.  This picture is from several years ago and doesn't do these justice.  They are adorably hilarious to see on the students and they have so much fun with them!

This year I decided to expand the leprechaun fun and put together an All About Leprechauns unit! The unit includes the directions and templates for the leprechaun hats and beards, an original book about leprechauns, leprechaun writing resources and more!  Click on the picture below to get a closer look.

Do leprechauns visit your classroom? I'd love to hear about it!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!