POP-ular Cookies

These have to be some of the cutest cookies I have ever seen! Check out Bake at 350 to see how to create your own.

Teacher Appreciation Card

Looking for a cute and free teacher appreciate card? Check out Cut and Create to download your own.

Some Bulletin Board Ideas

Here are a few pictures on bulletin boards I have taken recently.
For this, the students wrote a story and glued it inside a flower. They then illustrated a part of their story and glued that on a piece of white paper to the front of the flower.

A March bulletin board:

This was done for a Kindergarten class:

*Don't forget...next week is Teacher Appreciation Week. If you have any great ideas you want to share, let me know so I can feature you!

Earth Day Ideas

I recently got an e-mail from someone asking for some Earth Day ideas.  For those of you that don't know, Earth Day is April 22.  How do I remember you ask?  It happens to also be my hubby's birthday! :)  Here are some ideas I have come across...

Letter of the Week - Earth Day (E) from No Time For Flash Cards

Earth Day Muffins from No Time for Flash Cards

Earth Day poems from Classroom Jr.

Butterfly Feet

Construction paper
paint (any color)
black pen

Paint the bottom of the child's feet. Make imprints of each foot with the big toe facing outward and the outer edge of the feet touching each other. You will notice the results looks like a butterfly. It helps to clean one foot before you paint the other. 

Ocean Cups With A Twist

blue jello mix
gummy fish
crushed graham crackers
Teddy Grahams
gummy Lifesavers
Sea creature crackers
paper umbrellas
clear plastic cups

This is the blue jello ocean cups with a little twist. Mix the jello according to the package. Pour the jello in clear plastic cups and add in gummy fish (you may want to wait until the jello starts to firm up a little so the fish don't all sink to the bottom). Let the jello set in your refrigerator. Once set, take finely crushed graham crackers and sprinkle along one side (on the top) of the jello cup to resemble a beach. Next take a Teddy Graham and insert half way in a gummy lifesavers. You may want to pre-stretch the lifesaver so the bear will fit in easily. Then, stick the feet of the bear in the jello. This should look like a bear with a float around it's waist floating in the water. Then, add a bear to the sandy area with a few starfish crackers. Last, insert the umbrella at an angle in the beach area.

OR

Rice Crispie Earth
rice crispy type cereal

marshmallow cream
butter or margarine
foil
pizza pan
food coloring
water
small container
new children's paint brushes
plastic baggies

Prepare a rice crispy treat mixture by combining rice crispy cereal, butter or margarine and marshmallow cream according to the recipe on the box of the cereal. While the mixture is cooling have the children place baggies on their hands and coat the baggies with margarine. Now that the mixture is cool enough to handle have the children press the mixture onto a foiled covered pizza pan. Mix food coloring and water into a small container. One container with blue color and the other with green. Have the children "paint" the ocean blue and the land green. When the earth is complete cut and eat.

Where Have I Been?

Some of you may be wondering if I have disappeared off the face of the earth or if I am on vacation in some remote location where Internet cannot be found. The truth is, life has been crazy busy for me lately. (Not that it wasn't before!) I think that I have mentioned this before, but this is the first year I have returned to work...part-time, working at my kids' school. It's been great for me! For half of the day I have been able to be part of my older 2 kids' life at school, come home at lunch and spend the afternoon with my 2 younger kids.
About 3 weeks ago I got a call from the principal who said that one of the 1st grade teachers just found out she had a brain tumor and wanted me to fill in for the rest of the year. I agreed to the job and have loved being back in the classroom. The problem is that it hasn't left me much time to do some things I am use to...blogging...cleaning the house...etc. Thankfully I have a great family who has been helping out and forgives me when I slack!! I will continue to post on this blog, but since I am still getting into a new routine, please be patient if it isn't as often as I was able to before! Thanks!!

CVC Egg Puzzles

I had good intensions to get this posted before Easter, but since it is still spring I guess this idea could still work.  I found this CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) Egg Puzzle at My Montessori Journey.  Click on my link, and it will take you to the post where you can print yours off for FREE too!

In my picture, the eggs had not been cut apart, yet but you get the idea.  I thought this would make a great literacy center or teaching activity for a child learning to read.  Who doesn't love puzzles?