Spook-tacular Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels

Dipped in melted chocolate chips and decorated with a variety of spookalicious candies, these festive treats are a frightfully fun way to celebrate the haunting night ahead.

Wax paper
1 1/3 to 2 cups NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, melted according to package directions in 8- or 9-inch microwave-safe dish
1 bag (10 ounces) pretzel rods
A few NESTLÉ CRUNCH and BUTTERFINGER Fun Size Candy Bars, chopped
WONKA Halloween Candies such as Spooky NERDS, NERDS Giant Chewy Bumpy Warts and SweeTARTS Skulls n' Bones *
Line baking sheet with wax paper. Place each candy on separate sheets of wax paper.
Dip pretzel rods halfway into chocolate; shake off excess. Roll rods in candies (one candy type per pretzel rod); place on prepared baking sheet.
Place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to harden. Once hardened, remove from baking sheets and store, covered, in cool place with wax paper between layers.
Makes 30 pretzels.

Estimated Times
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooling Time: 30 mins refrigerating

*found in bags of WONKA Halloween Assorted Candies.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/30 of recipe): Calories: 130 Calories from Fat: 35 Total Fat: 4 g Saturated Fat: 2 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 130 mg Carbohydrates: 23 g Dietary Fiber: 1 g Sugars: 14 g Protein: 2 g

(Recipe and photograph are the property of Nestlé® and Meals.com, used with permission. Recipe found HERE. )


*I have also seen a variation to this idea. Same concept, but dip the pretzel rods in green Wiltons candy melts (or white and add green food coloring) and add a almond slice to the tip of the pretzel. This makes a great witch finger! Or you can view HERE at allrecipes for a cookie recipe with the same concept.

Change up the color of the chocolate and add candy/sprinkles according to the season and these work for every holiday!

**Wilton's candy melts can be found at JoAnn Crafts, Wal-Mart, Robert's Crafts, Michaels, online, and I am sure many other places. These are just the places that I have found them before.

Math Halloween Games

Here are a few more Halloween games, focused on math. These would probably work best for older kids (2nd grade and up).

PUMPKIN WEIGHT – Purchase a 6-7 pound pumpkin, weigh it on your bathroom scale, and record the weight. Ask the children to pick up the pumpkin, guess the weight, and write down their estimates. The child who comes the closest to guessing the actual weight can take home the pumpkin or a mini pumpkin as a prize. (You may want to have a few favors on hand in case more than one child makes a close guess.)
PUMPKIN CIRCUMFERENCE - Modify the above guessing game by having the children guess the circumference of the pumpkin using pieces of string. (You'll need a ball of string and scissors to do this.) One at a time, ask each child to cut a length of string that they believe is the distance around the pumpkin. After everyone has cut a piece of string from the ball, wrap a length of string around the pumpkin and cut it to get the exact circumference. Ask each child to measure his or her string against the string representing the actual circumference, and determine the winner(s).
HALLOWEEN GUESSING JAR - Fill small jar(s) (mayo jar, baby food jar, etc.) with candy corn, plastic spider rings, or other Halloween items. Ask the children to write down the number of pieces they believe to be in the jar. As a group, count the pieces of candy corn in the jar. The child who's guess is closest to the actual number gets to take home the jar of candy.

Candy Corn Dessert

...without the candy corn taste. I'm not sure how you feel about candy corn. It seems it's one of those treats that people either love or hate. My sister LOVES it and can't wait for fall every year so she can stock up. I, on the other hand, could live without the stuff. I found this cute candy corn recipe that layers butterscotch pudding, banana cream pudding and whipped cream to give that candy corn look. What a cute and yummy looking treat!

Halloween Games

Here are a few Halloween games you can try out at your Halloween party this year. These ideas can be used for a class party, birthday party or a Halloween bash.

WITCH'S BREW – Cut about ten pieces of paper in Halloween related shapes, such as ghosts, bats, pumpkins, or spiders. The shapes need to be about the size of a Ritz™ cracker. Place the shapes in a pile beside a small bowl or witch's cauldron. Have straws available for each player, along with a stopwatch, or a watch with a second hand. Using the straw as a vacuum, have each child try to pick up the shapes and drop them into the cauldron. The player with the fastest time wins. (Ages 6-12)

PIN THE WART ON THE WITCH – Instead of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, try Pin the Wart on the Witch (or Pin the nose on the Jack-o-lantern). Draw a witch's face on a piece of poster board. Use little balls of green Play-Doh ™ or paper cutouts as the warts. Blindfold each child as his/her turn arrives, spin, point in the right direction, and watch your wicked witch become even more wartful! (All ages)

EYEBALL RELAY – Before the party, buy about 12 Ping-Pong balls. Using permanent markers, draw irises, pupils, and bloodshot veins on the balls. Divide your group into two teams and give one spoon to each team. The kids are to try to carry the "eyeball" from one side of the room to the other without dropping it. If they drop the "eyeball", they should return to the starting point and try again. (Ages 7 & up)

HALLOWEEN BINGO - You might be able to find Halloween Bingo games at stores during this time of the year. (Try Wal-Mart but I think I got mine at A Teacher's Closet). If you don't want to buy the game, you can make it or download/make a blank template and have the kids write in their own Halloween words. Use Smarties candy or other candy pieces as the markers.

There are other great Halloween games at Family Fun. Check it out!

Salt Dough Ghosts

The other day my daughter came home from a friend's house with a plate full of ghosts. They were all labeled on the back with the names of our family members and they have made a cute addition to our Halloween decor (minus the plate of course ;). Check out Family Fun for the directions and materials needed.

Halloween Spider

I have made these spiders for several 3rd grade class parties, but I am sure they would work for a variety of ages. The kids enjoy the activity and they turn out pretty cute. Once they are made, treats can be put inside the pocket and sent home with the kids.

Items Needed:
black spray paint
paper plates (1/child)
pipe cleaners (about 4"/leg)
puffy paint (mouth)
scrap paper (eyes and teeth)

Spray paint the bottom side of the paper plates(not where you would put food). When the plates are dry, cut them in half. Put 2 halves together (paint side facing out) and staple. Make sure that you staple the pipe cleaners in too! Yes, I know that spiders have 8 legs, so you might want to change yours a little from mine! :) Have items ready to decorate the spider and let the kids be creative.

Halloween Ideas...First of Many

Holy cow! A whole month has past since I have done anything with this blog. So sorry...life has been hectic with me returning to work and with the time devoted to recently running my first marathon. Anyway, I have noticed all of the Halloween decorations starting to come out and thought that I should suggest some Halloween ideas to anyone in search, so here it goes...
Festive Halloween Sugar Cookies from Good Housekeeping:

Glittered Pumpkins from Martha Stewart:

All kinds of ideas from Tip Junkie...too many to mention just one. If you click on the link, it will take you to all the Halloween ideas she has!

These darling candy corn cookies from Tidy Mom:

A caramel apple kit for anyone looking to give a gift. Thanks Mish Mash!

Skip To My Lou has plenty of great ideas too, including her paper witch shoe. Think of how fun this would be to give as a party favor!

I am excited that fall is here! Time to get ready for all the upcoming holidays. I will have more Halloween ideas to come...

Back-to-School Ideas

School started last week for my kids as I am sure it has for most of your kids too, or it soon will be. Today I was playing catch up on my Tivo-ed Studio 5 shows and saw some back to school ideas that might help someone out there.
The 1st idea is to throw a Back-to-School Bash for your kid(s). Several ideas were given and for a range of ages too.
There are five ways to prepare your child for a new school year. Find out what they are...
And finally, check out these clever Back-to-School Survival Kits. I am sure any child would feel special finding one in his/her lunchbox.
Oh and count on Bakerella to have a fun idea with cake pops...Candy Apples. Oh so totally irresistible.


I am sure it is no surprise that Tip Junkie has plenty of wonderful ideas. Have I mentioned before that I love that site?!?

I can't believe summer is over! It went by way too fast, but I am happy to get back into a routine. Do you have any back to school traditions you want to share?

A Gift Made From Crayons

Do you have left over crayons and pieces of crayons? I know at the end of the school year when the kids clean out their desks I always do, but the crayons go in the garbage. Well here's a cute idea I came across for a teacher gift, and I thought I would bookmark so it isn't forgotten. I found the idea over at testosteronetimesthree. Thanks for the creative thought!

Back to School Bulletin Boards & Themes

Back when I taught 3rd grade, my classroom had a bee theme. I will have to dig up some pictures so that you can get the feel for the way it looked, but it was simple and very cute. With the bee theme, I ended up making quite a bit of my items displayed in my room, but if you are looking to save money, that might be a way to go. My bulletin board outside my classroom read, "Welcome to Mrs. Smith's 3rd Grade Hive." This was written on 2 separate bee hives that I had blown up using an overhead transparency and tracing onto yellow poster boards. I then wrote each of my students' names on a small die-cut bee and stapled it around the hives. Like I said, I will get some pictures of my classroom out so if you like the bee theme, you can get ideas.
(This wasn't my door, just a picture I found and thought could help.)

As for now, I thought that maybe someone out there could benefit from getting some classroom decorating ideas. Here is what I have come across.
* AtoZ Teacher Stuff had a lot of GREAT ideas!!
* Look Who GREW in Kinder "garden". (This might be better for the end of the year, to compare how much each child grew, but still cute.)

* Here are some thoughts for decorating older classrooms.
* I found some more ideas HERE, but you have to scroll nearly all the way down the page to find the ideas. If you have a chance to look through this site, there are also management ideas listed. Anyway, to give you a sneak...here were some ideas they gave:
** Put up a palm tree and the words Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom look Who Is In My Room! I then have brown circles (coconuts) on the tree. The first day I take pictures of them and then cut them to fit on the coconuts. If you don’t want the picture idea just put their names on the coconuts. (Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a popular children's book used for teaching the alphabet.)
** Hang a "fishnet" from a party store and put fish shapes with each child's name and picture with the title "What a Great Catch!"

Some other themes I have seen used for elementary classrooms, include M&M's , Snoopy, hot air balloons, safari, under the sea, bears, apples, animals, Harry Potter and cars. A theme doesn't need to be used, but I thought it made my classroom come together easier. It's also is a good idea if you can find something from the curriculum you will be teaching. (ie: If you teach about animal habitats, decorate with animals.) Do what works best for you and be creative! I am sure there are plenty more ideas out there (the ideas are truly endless), but I don't want to give an overload. Hopefully this can give someone the help they need to get the school year started.

Father's Day Finds

Yeah, Yeah I know. Theses ideas are coming about a month and a half too late, but I thought better late than never right? Besides, these ideas I will link on the side of my blog and be there for years to come. Next year I hope to be more on top of ideas, but for now life has been VERY BUSY!!!
Here's a $2 project found from Dollar Store Crafts. I think dads would enjoy the sentimental value behind this craft idea.

Cute ideas can be found at Studio 5.

I can't remember where I found this cute picture idea, but I really think it's super cute. Of course you could always change "grandpa" to "father".

Something edible perhaps? Try these golf cupcakes from Martha Stewart.

Or even these corn-on-the -cob cupcakes from Martha.
If your man just likes a card, here is a cute card idea you can make to look like a tie. Super cute (and it includes a template), but for some reason the picture won't load, so just check it out from Little Birdie Secrets.

Cheap, Yet Cute and Thoughtful Gift Ideas

Since it seems as though most people are on a budget now-a-days, or at least trying to watch their spending, I thought it might be fun to show case some ideas that are both cute and cheap. First of all, how stinkin' cute are these Scrabble Tile Pendants? I want to make some for my daughters and myself. Next time I head to town, I plan to check the thrift store.

Wool Felted Soap. I know it has nothing to do with anything, but hey I thought it might make for a fun summer project or maybe even a teacher gift?? I know don't...just thought the idea looks cute and fun. The tutorial is found on Little Birdie Secrets.

This super cute, homemade charm bracelet from Studio 5. It's made from Shrinky Dinks (remember those as a kid?) Check out the link to see how to do it.

These cute washer necklaces. There is a video tutorial you can watch here.


The Very Hungry Caterpillar from A Wednesday Afternoon. This project seems perfect for a preschool or kindergarten teacher.

There are more ideas to come, but I am too tired to try listing any more tonight. For now...happy crafting!

Some Summer Ideas Before Summer Ends!

Like I mentioned before, I have kind of put this blog on hold for the summer and I am sorry about the lack of ideas lately. I totally skipped over ideas for Father's Day and the 4th of July, but I know that all of you crafty people out there have provided plenty of ideas. Anyway...summer isn't over yet, so I am going to feature some ideas I have come across lately.
Check out these adorable Petite Watermelons from Chocolate on my Cranium. Yummy and oh-so cute!

From Make and Takes, comes a watermelon Pie made from sherbet:

And while we are on the subject of watermelons, why not use a cookie cutter and punch out a shape and stick it on a Popsicle stick? Such a quick and yummy summer treat idea. (The star would be super cute for the 4th of July!)

Make some sidewalk chalk for the kiddos like it's done over at Skip to My Lou.

Homemade moonsand you can make with your kids. Also from Skip to My Lou.

Or check out Kinderinfo for a recipe for homemade finger paint.

Not sure what this has to do with anything, but I want it! I honestly want to make one of these handy "take along race track and toy car holder". The problem is that I think I would love it more than my son...he's more the animals kind of guy.

Try 50 summer crafts for kids over at the long thread.

I'm Honored!

I am honored...my first award. (And to think that I earned it while I was being a blog-slacker.) Hopefully I will get better at keeping up with this blog, especially during these summer months.
Thanks girls at Sisters Stuff for nominating me for this award!!

The Rules to this award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.

7 Things about me:

1. My graduating high school class had only 97 kids.
2. I like watching reality TV shows; The Biggest Loser, The Bachelorette, and American Idol (to name a few)
3. I was raised in Saudi Arabia until I was 14 years old.
4. I have a horrible sense of direction. Give me a compass and I will probably still get lost!
5. I have an obsession with peanut butter. Seriously. I put it in ice cream, on pancakes and anything else that sounds like it could be good. Any suggestions?
6. I am signed up to run my first marathon in October...that's what I get for eating all that peanut butter!
7. I don't like to watch scary movies.

I nominate:

Lesson Plans Plus
No Time For Flashcards
SMMART Ideas
Cute Valentines - Only good for Valentines, but definitely worth the look in February.
Little Hands Big Work
Let's Play Math!
Nap Time Journal

Some of these blogs I have only recently discovered, but I can't wait to follow up on them. There are so many talented people out there, I wish I could name you all!!

Math Games with a Deck of Cards

I must apologize. First of all, as promised, with summer here I have done very little with this blog. My kids are out of school, which means my mind is also off from school thoughts. (Along with the fact that I feel I haven't been near a computer as often as I am use to!)
Yesterday I decided to check out my blog when I discovered that I was given my first award. I am totally flattered and excited about such a nomination. The best part was that the girls (Sisters Stuff) who gave me the award left a comment so that I could check out their never-seen-by-me blog. It is such a fun blog with terrific ideas. Yeah for blogging!
Anyway...the reason for rambling is to point out their super great math ideas using a deck of cards. Included are ideas for addition, fractions, greater than/less than, etc. Check it out! I also came across Let's Play Math with even more ideas for a deck of cards.
A few years ago I went to a math & literacy training and was given a stack of great ideas. I will be sharing those games/ideas, as soon as I can find which box they are in. (After moving last year, I still haven't unpacked my teaching things.)
More to come soon!...hopefully. If not, it's SUMMER and you have been warned.