Jack Hartmann

Today I was looking through some blogs and stumbled across a fabulous children's musician who write songs specifically for learning! Most of us have heard of Dr. Jean , and she is AWESOME, BUT Jack Hartmann is definitely someone new for me! I checked out his webpage and even though his songs are a little silly, I am thinking that my kids will LOVE him.  He's got moves and the songs are pretty catchy. Check out his webpage to check out the clips. I'm thinking you will enjoy them too!

{New In the Shop}: Five Little Pumpkins

I'm sure you all have heard at least one version of the rhyme, "Five Little Pumpkins."  I used to do that rhyme as an activity with my Kindergartners every year!  


This year, I taught the rhyme to my 2-year-old & he LOVES it!   I had a magnetic cookie sheet waiting to be used, so I decided to make some printables to go with the rhyme.  So, available in our shop today is the "Five Little Pumpkins Printable Activity."  It includes a spooky moonlit background page with a gate, a page with 5 numbered pumpkins, and the rhyme printed on cute Halloween scrapbook paper {courtesy of Paint it Sew Thrifty.}

This year, I taught the rhyme to my 2-year-old & he LOVES it!   I had a magnetic cookie sheet waiting to be used, so I decided to make some printables to go with the rhyme.  So, available in our shop today is the "Five Little Pumpkins Printable Activity."  It includes a spooky moonlit background page with a gate, a page with 5 numbered pumpkins, and the rhyme printed on cute Halloween scrapbook paper.  


What I did was print out each page & laminate them for durability.  Then, I simply taped the background image onto my cookie sheet (because I want to be able to use it for other activities).  I cut out the pumpkins and then added adhesive magnetic tape to the back of each one.  Then, your Little Pumpkins can move the pumpkins around as you act out the rhyme together.   You could also cut out the pieces and add to a file folder.

This activity reinforces (1) number sequence  (2) number identification  (3) rhyming,  & (4) fine motor skills.  You can purchase your printable activity HERE!      

"Boo"tify Your School

Want a fun Halloween idea for your school this year?  Get all the teachers & staff excited about this spooky season by having a Secret Boo-ing!


Brand new to the shop today is our "BOO-TIFY YOUR SCHOOL" printable file.  It includes a "I've Been Booed" Sign and an Instruction Page.

{This is what you do...}
1.  Purchase our listing here.
2.  Print out the files.
3. Make or buy a Halloween treat.
4. Secretly deliver the sign, instructions, and goodie to a fellow teacher.
5. S/he puts the "I've Been Booed" sign on/near his/her classroom door and then "Boos" another teacher.
6.  The fun continues until your school is officially "boo"tiful!


**Hint:  If you purchase this item, you can make several copies and put them in a central location in your building (workroom, office, etc), then teachers can just take one when it's their turn to do the boo-ing!

We've done this before at our school, and it really is a lot of fun!!!  Happy Haunting!!! :}

Letter Block Shop

One evening I was looking around on Etsy and discovered the cutest site and I just had to share it with you! It’s called Countryside Sayings and the owner, Lara is FANTASTIC to work with! I ordered my name in blocks for my desk and it could not have come out any cuter! Lara was so helpful and patient as I changed my mind on the font-many times! I am including a picture because I am so amazed at her work! Thank you again Lara! Check her out for all of your seasonal, baby, wedding and birthday needs! Letterblockshop /  or Countryside Sayings -her etsy shop.

Open House Scavenger Hunt

If your school is anything like ours in Tennessee, you’re probably getting ready to have Open House. If you’ve already had it this is something you can write down and make sure you do for next year. The year I student taught I was fortunate enough to meet both of my best friends, Daphne and Heather! Along with meeting both of them also came with lots of ideas! I had no idea what to do at open house my 1^st year teaching and I imagine many other teachers feel the same way. So, I went to my friends who always seemed to have the answers. Daphne had always done a scavenger hunt- having the children guide their family around the classroom showing them every inch! This makes it SO super simple for you! Most parents want to talk about academic or social progress during this time, but the key is to keep them busy! If you send them around to every inch of your classroom I assure you that they will not have time to “talk your ear off!” So sit down and start at the door and have the children go to various special spots in the room. Tell them if they find all of them you will have a special treat for them waiting at the end! This could be anything that you want! I usually do something that is tied into my classrooms ocean theme. Here is a picture of what I gave my students at our open house! 

I called this “Fish on the Beach” the recipe was vanilla pudding on the bottom then on one side I sprinkled blue sugared sprinkles (ocean water) and on the other side I used vanilla wafers that were crushed up (sand) and to top it off I put 3-4 Nemo themed gummies. The kids loved it! 

Our First FBU Party

Last week, our own Jennifer celebrated her birthday on the same day as her husband, Stephen.  So, we decided to have a little dinner party at our house to celebrate!  I wanted to design the party around a tv show, so I asked Jennifer what show she & Stephen both liked, and she said The Bachelor.  So, since The Bachelor Pad is on right now, we decided to have the shindig on a Monday night, enjoy dinner, and then watch the show together. 

 I was at a slight disadvantage because I had only seen The Bachelor one time, but with Heather's help, we pulled it off without a hitch!  We ordered Chinese (Jennifer's fave) for dinner & I made "Secret Kisses" (peanut butter Hershey's kiss cookies) and "Love Bites" (cheesecake bites) for dessert.  

We also wanted to prove that a chic soiree can be achieved without spending an incredible amount of money!  I made all of the paper goods, the BACHELOR PAD Party Collection, which is now available in our shop!  Take a look at the photos.

The Door Sign

I hung our door sign on the front door & tied red and black balloons on the porch sconces.  We also had a red candle burning in a black wrought iron holder next to the door (sorry, I forgot to take photos of that part).

The Tablescape

I found black tulle on sale at Jo-Ann's (1 3/4 yards was perfect to make a table runner).  We used Heather's china (for the 1st time), and we added votives down the center of the tulle.  I bought 2 black taper candles at Michaels ($1.99 for both) & anchored them in my crystal candle holders.  The table looked stunning with the lights dimmed!

The Place Setting

At each place setting, we had a black place mat (scrapbook paper from Jo-Ann's - $1.99 each), a red napkin wrapped with our BACHELOR PAD napkin ring, Heather's China plate, my Ikea glass, our BACHELOR PAD menu card, and the guest's name attached to a red rose as a place card.

The Appetizer

While we waited on the Chinese, Heather made an appetizer called "Mingle & Mix."  Click the picture to enlarge & read about the ingredients in our mix.

The Dessert Table

I finally got to use my new buffet table from Ikea (i love it)!  I found black sparkly beaded fabric on sale at Jo-Ann's & I used it as a backdrop for my table.  With the leftover fabric, I draped two boxes to make stands for my two desserts.  In the center, I put my black wrought iron chandelier with red candles.  I made a pennant banner with scrapbook paper and added our tent fancy labels for the food names.

Picture Frames

We, of course, had to have pictures of our guests of honor just like on the show.  We used red glittered scrapbook paper as mats. 

The Birthday Couple - Jennifer and Stephen

Heather and Matt

Me and Sam

So, if you're planning a Girl's Night, Bachelorette Party, Birthday Party with The Bachelor Pad theme, we have the collection for you!  It includes 9 printable PDF files listed below.

Order yours today & have it ready in time for the finale of the show ~ a perfect party time!!!

To celebrate the introduction of our collection, it will be on sale for one week only! {until Sept. 15}.  Regular price is $25, but during our Introduction Sale, it can be yours for only $15.  

Click here to purchase!!!  

{Featured Party} Pink Lemonade 1st Birthday

As summer draws to a close, we leave you with one last party that's perfect for the summertime...Pink Lemonade!  It comes to us from Pam, of The Burrus Family blog.  Pam decided to have this absolutely adorable party for her little girl, Anna Claire's 1st Birthday!  She decided on a "Pink Lemonade" theme because that is what she craved during her entire pregnancy {how sweet}!  I so heart the color combo of pink & yellow & Pam's amazing touches fill the party with so much cuteness!  See for yourself, then go check out Pam's family blog for more details & many more pics!

Have you ever seen such a cute lemonade stand? {DIY by Mom, Pam}

I also love the door decor!

   

the food table looks so inviting!

the drink station, adorned with Anna Claire's sweet outfit she wore home from the hospital

the awesome cake with fondant lemons :)

Pam decorated the mantle with pictures from Anna Claire's year & an easy-to-make banner.

the favors 

What an adorable family! :)

P.S. Jennifer, our own FBU Girl, just celebrated her birthday last week & we just HAD to throw her a party!  Jennifer happens to have the same birthday as her husband, so it was a double birthday party with a theme close to their hearts - "The Bachelor."  Party photos coming next week ~ you don't want to miss it!  Until then, here's a sneak peek!

This is the sign we framed to place next to our appetizer, Mingle & Mix.  Cute, huh?

Theme Thursday

It is theme Thursday on Friday!  As we concluded our unit of study on colors, I thought I would share with you a really cool color mixing experiment to do with your kids.  The lesson was set using the story, Mouse Paint.  In the story, the mice find different colors of paint and paint their white bodies.  They drop puddles of paint behind them, and notice when they step in the puddles and dance around they make new colors. Mixing colors is lots of fun no matter how you do it, but this one is finger licking good!  Here is what you need-
1. You need plain vanilla cake frosting.
2. You need food coloring-red, yellow, and blue.
3. Bathroom Dixie Cups (3 for each child)
4. Popsicle sticks (3 for each child)
5. Vanilla Wafer Cookies (3 for each child)
6. Paper plate (1 for each child)
Now here is what to do-
1. Prepare materials before
           separate icing into three bowls and add food coloring (one bowl red, one bowl yellow, and one bowl blue)
           Spoon icing into Dixie cups (each child will have 3 cups of icing-red, yellow, and blue)
           Stick a Popsicle stick in each cup.
           Put the three cups onto a plate with 3 vanilla wafer cookies
READY TO MIX
        After reading the story, talk to students about mixing colors together to make other colors.  Then pass out materials and give students directions.  Have them mix red and yellow together.  They will use their sticks to put some of each of the icings on the plate.  Then they will mix them together.  Have students tell you what color they made (orange).  Then let them scoop up the icing with the stick and put it on top of one of their cookies.  Then have students find a clean spot on their plate and mix together blue and yellow.  Once they make green, they can put it on one of the cookies.  The last colors to mix are red and blue.  Have students mix them on a clean spot on their plate.  Once they get purple, they can decorate their last cookie.  Talk about the colors and gobble up the cookie!  SO MUCH FUN!