Handprint Art: Just Add a Handprint for Mother's Day!

Check out this easy to use printable for Mother's Day, Grandparents' Day, and Birthdays!

How to Use:

Simply use ink pads or paint to add a handprint right in the middle, between the two letter Ms. You'll have the easiest Mother's Day craft! (Handprints can be done in the color of your child's choice. The "You are my sunshine" quote would be really special with a yellow handprint to look like a sun, though!)

*I did this with my 1-year old and my 4-year old. THAT's how easy it is! Definitely most appropriate for Preschool/UPK through 2nd, but it can work for any age group!

What's Included?

There are 62 pages available (half for Mother's Day and half for Birthday). Plenty of black and white options for Mother's Day and Birthday.

11 different quotes to choose from.

- You are my sunshine.

- You mean the world to me.

- Mother’s hold their children’s hands for a short while,

but their hearts forever.

- A mother’s love will never end.

It is there from beginning to end.

- It’s not easy being a mother.

If it were easy, fathers would do it.

- If at first you don’t succeed,

Try doing it the way Mom told you to do it in the beginning.

- Thank you for not telling

my sisters that I’m your favorite.

- Thank you for not telling

my sister that I’m your favorite.

- Thank you for not telling

my brothers that I’m your favorite.

- Thank you for not telling

my brother that I’m your favorite.

Click here for the printable!

Just another reason I love magnetic tiles....

What was on today's agenda? Building a garden out of magnetic tiles. Yep. Well, actually, it started as a dance floor. Then, it became a garden. 

I use magnetic tiles at home with my kiddos because they are open-ended, foster outside the box thinking, and I am always pleasantly surprised by the creativity my kids exhibit when using them!

At school, we use magnetic tiles in a few different ways. One way is for our STEAM program. Many teachers use them for morning work bins each day. Additionally, our after school program sets them out as one of their stations. And, of course, they are a big hit at recess!

Buying Discount Books in Bulk

Okay, so you don't need to buy discount books in bulk...but I always wind up filling my cart to the brim and then having about 3 giant boxes of books arrive at my front door. I can't help it! Confession: I have boxes of books in the basement, ready to go for every upcoming holiday and birthday and just-because gift. I just love books!

My favorite discount shops are:

https://bookoutlet.com/

Anyone can buy from here. Great deals. Literally, thousands of steep discounts!

https://www.fbmarketplace.org/

You need to register. This site is for teachers in Title 1 districts. 

Both of these websites offer tons of great books, but also toys, games, puzzles, craft supplies, and more! All at a great discount price. If there is one thing I love, it is a DEAL!

Check them out!

Christmas Traditions at Home and at SCHOOL!

Starting a new Christmas tradition?

Don't forget about this gem I shared last Christmas!

We flipped our Christmas tree skirt over and started annual handprints! We date the handprints and label with the first initial of the name. Over the years, we will make our way around the reverse side of the tree skirt and have a really special keepsake.

In the classroom, you can do something similar! Not with a tree skirt, of course. (If you do celebrate holidays in your classroom, you COULD use a tree skirt and do thumbprints to save space, maybe!) A teacher I used to work with actually had kids put their handprints in the hallway outside her classroom on the wall each year. They were labeled with student first names. It didn't take up much room, despite there being many many years worth of classes' handprints outside her doorway. Kids loved coming back for Open House to find their handprints. This is a fun tradition that can easily be done in many buildings with administrative approval!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Traditions for Families AND students!

Can we talk about Christmas traditions that work in the classroom and at home?

The 12 Days of Christmas!

Which is what we call it in our house. At school, it might be the 12 Days of Winter Break! Either way, as soon as we hit that 12 day count down, 12 wrapped gifts appear with the numbers 1-12 on them. We open them in reverse order, counting down to Christmas or winter break. And each gift is a special book to add to our collection.

It's time to get kids EXCITED about books!

Reading IS fun!

If you prioritize it, and make it magical, they will buy in!

My daughter is me. She is a reader through and through. My son likes books, but not quite as obsessed. But when he opens those daily books under the tree? He will read that book over and over and over again. (In our house, Mr. Elf delivers them.) If all it takes is wrapping books up in brown paper to get a kid to engage with them, I will do that! Any day!

Elf on the Shelf Thoughts?

We have an Elf on the Shelf in our house. He is Mr. Elf. He comes after Thanksgiving to visit until Christmas Eve. When he arrives, he has some kind of family gift, like matching pajamas that we can all wear for a holiday photo op. (Yes, the kids are more likely to wear the matching jammies if they come from Mr. Elf, not Mommy.)

On December 12, Mr. Elf also delivers the twelve days of Christmas gifts. 12 presents under the tree. (Spoiler alert: they are all books. Always. Every year.)

The 12 days of Christmas serve a few purposes. We get new books! We get excited about these new books and read them A LOT!

Also, the kids get practice opening gifts. They are still little and need some practice before actual Christmas or we might be unwrapping gifts for days. So, we practice and learn some techniques.

To summarize, Mr. Elf is just a fun visitor from the North Pole. Bringing some early gifts and hiding around the house. He is not watching for Santa - he is just a friend from the North Pole who needs to go back on Christmas Eve to help Santa.

In my classroom, I had an elf one year. Again, the elf delivered some new books to the room and caused some chaos. It was fun to find him each day and naming him was a little graphing lesson. He did not become part of my classroom management system - he was just for fun. *I should add that 100% of my students that year celebrated Christmas and believed in Santa. Also, we researched holidays around the world, so we were exposed to all kinds of winter celebrations, not just Christmas.

I think the elf on the shelf is fun! It absolutely should not become a management tool you whip out to scare kids into being good around the crazy holidays. So, when you are thinking about using an elf in your classroom or home, be really mindful about HOW you are introducing it and HOW you are using it.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween with a throw back to Lucy and our pumpkins!

Now that I have two toddlers, carving pumpkins doesn't look the same. We do stickers. We do markers. We do not do knives. :)

Oh, and Halloween on a Monday? Bring me back to a weekend Halloween, please! Let's survive this week where kids and families will decide that a plastic baggie full of left over Halloween candy is a totally appropriate snack. Or breakfast. Or lunch.