Well, Christmas break is coming to an end soon.  Although I love working, I really appreciate both Christmas and spring break.  Especially now that two of my three children are away at college, it’s so much fun having them home.  Not only do I have both my college kiddos home, but there’s a steady stream of old friends in and out of the house.  I missed my kids, I’ve missed their friends and the flurry of activity that surround them.  I knew it would happen and I was prepared.  Upon coming home, their first priority was not to spend time with mom.  They were home a few hours and then went off with their friends.  Fortunately, they were able to squeeze in

I’ll admit it,  I love my cup of coffee in the morning.  For a month now, I’ve been looking at the blue plastic Maxwell House container thinking that there must be some way to incorporate it into an activity.  Then it hit me.  Stick a label on the container and it’d be perfect for storing clothespins for a math game. To make the “Counting Bugs” activity, you will need 10 paint sticks, 53 clothespins, and a coffee can container.  You don’t really need to paint the paint sticks, but they look so cute if you do.  I had my friends at the Home Depot make samples of green and blue paint for me.  It costs about $2.50 a container.  I used Modge Podge to adhere

It’s such an exciting time in education!  Social media has opened doors for new ways of connecting with teachers across the country.  My favorite part of blogging is networking with so many educators in various stages in their careers.  I love hearing from college students majoring in education, brand new teachers and teachers nearing retirement who have been revitalized with this new platform of collaborating.  It’s also so much fun finding new ”virtual friends” who share your views and similar passions in education.  I’d like to introduce you to my new friend, Melissa Taylor, from Imagination Soup.

Looking for some deals right before the big game? Teachers Pay Teachers is having a sale! It’s a great time to purchase those items that have been on your wish list. While you’re shopping be sure to check out these other fabulous TpT stores. There are so many awesome activities for the early elementary classroom.

Home Depot, Michael’s and the Dollar Tree are my three favorite stores when looking for ideas for creating teaching activities.  During any holiday, Michael’s Craft Store has oodles of fun items that can add a little holiday spirit into your small group activities.  While perusing the St. Patrick’s Day section, I found these adorable plastic shamrock gems, plastic gold coins and mini-leprechan hats.  Instead of using the plastic counting tiles or blocks during phoneme segmentation activities, try using one of one these items.  The gems and coins can be used instead of the tiles on the downloadable “Squaring Up” activity and students can simply move a hat for each sound in a given word. Helpful Hint:  Check out the Spring

I can hardly walk through the seasonal section of any store lately without filling my cart with fun items to make games!  My newest and greatest fun find are these cute little candy filled cupcakes I found at Walmart.     They are really meant for filling Easter baskets, but will absolutely make the best ever memory game.  There are a total of 28 little plastic cupcakes.  Simply print the page on a full size label (Avery 48165), cut out the little rhyming stickers and place them on the bottom of the cupcakes.  Your students will love this new twist on a favorite game.  Click on the following link to download your free stickers for the cupcakes.