What I'm Teaching Wednesdays

So this week we are discussing winter and snowmen. The first thing I usually do when planning out my week is hit the good ole Pintrest up for some FABULOUS ideas. Well, I found a fabulous idea that I tweaked of course. We always have a snowball fight during this week of study and usually I just write words on pieces of paper and crumble them up. WELL, this year (today) I used snowflake clip art and typed the words inside the snowflake. The kids cut them out and colored them. Then we crumbled them up. The kids always enjoy this and plus I think it helps get that extra energy out. I tried to upload a video of them having all this fun--but for some reason it won't upload. I'll try again later. :)

I am using Deanna Jumps unit called My Snowman this week too--there is a GREAT poem in there and that my kids absolutely love! It talks about wetting the bed--oh MY word. You would have thought someone came into the classroom with their underwear on. CRACKS ME UP!  Praying for snow here in Tennessee!! Please oh please just let it be! 

Theme Thursday {New Easter Unit}

Well, tomorrow, it will be April...WHAT??!?  Where did March go?  Anyway, April is one of my favorite months (probably because it is the month my precious boy was born), & I LOVE Easter!  I have such sweet memories of yummy Easter lunch at my Memaw's house, cute little Easter dresses (yes, I had a new one every year ~ Girly Girl here), egg hunts with my cousins, and special Easter church services.  


So, I wanted to introduce my new "E is for Easter" unit.  It is 32 pages of spring-y language arts and math activities.  Use it with Pre-K, K, & 1st grade!  


But first, I also wanted to share some fun Easter activities and treats I found recently...

Egg Games at Playing House

Jellybean Bark at Scissors and Spatulas

Coffee Filter Eggs at The Chocolate Muffin Tree

Peeps Cookies at The Sweet Adventures of SugarBelle

So, here's a preview of my new "E is for Easter" Unit.  

As usual, for the introductory week (until Thursday, April 7), you can receive 40% off by using the coupon code BUNNY40.  The regular price for the unit is $5.00, but with your discount, it will only be $3.00.  

Click HERE to purchase!

New "K is for Kites" Unit

Hello, Lovelies!  I wanted to tell you about my new unit for Pre-K through 1st grade perfect for using with your child or your classroom in the Spring.  It is called "K is for Kites," and it is 29 pages of fun language arts and math activities.

    

I have decided, for this time, to post my unit on Etsy because I can offer a special discount to ONLY our amazing blog readers.  The regular price for this unit is $5.00, but for ONE WEEK ONLY (until March 16), you can have it for 50% off making it $2.50 by entering the coupon code "KITE50."


Click HERE to purchase this unit, and I will email the PDF booklet to you within 24 hours.  :)

Dr. Seuss Party Ideas

Oh, the Dr. Seuss parties you'll go...

Check out these CUTE Dr. Seuss parties I found!  They may give you some ideas for your own Seuss-y celebrations! 

Dr. Seuss Baby Shower from Kara's Party Ideas

Dr. Seuss' ABC 1st Birthday Party from Nesting Instincts

Green Eggs & Ham 1st Birthday Party from Blue Eyed Bride

Dr. Seuss Extravaganza from Oopsey Daisy

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

This is one of my favorite weeks of the school year!! I enjoy getting crazy with my firsties and I'm always searching for the newest "bestest" thing out there to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday!! So, in honor of his birthday on Tuesday, I am traveling around blogland to find some Dr. Seuss activities that you can use next week. I hope you find this helpful as you are planning your upcoming week.


From What the Teacher Wants:

Click the picture for link.

Classroom Jr.

There are so many games and activities that you can use this week! 

Green eggs and ham anyone?? Thanks to Mrs. Perry over at Primary Perspective, I was able to come across these darling delicious cookies for next week. I was looking for something else to do other than the typical "green eggs." I look forward to making these---so I'm going on over to My Paper Crane to get the recipe!! (Click the picture to go to the link).

Check out this totally cute unit over at Fun in First Grade (click the picture for the link).

Take a look at this really cute Dr. Seuss take home bag over at Erica Bohrer's First Grade

Fabulous in First has some great poems and crafts---head on over to check those out!!

Mrs. Larremore over at Chalk Talk has an adorable mini unit for FREE! Thanks Mrs. Larremore!

Having trouble teaching those kids to tell left from their right?? Heaven knows I do!! Thank you to Donna Glynn over at Kinderglynn for creating this impressive unit!! 

AND skip counting!! 

AND an entire unit!! She's gone ALL SEUSS! Thank you Mrs. Glynn!

Mrs. Carroll over at The First Grade Parade created the cutest antonym activity---it doesn't surprise me because EVERYTHING she does is so STINKIN' cute!! 

I'm sure there are TONS more activities out there, but this is all I have for now- it's on to watching Grey's Anatomy with the husband!! G'Night all your Seussical teachers! 

St. Patty's Day Unit **UPDATED

Introducing...my first unit for purchase in my TpT store.  On Sunday, I uploaded my 22-page "L is for Luck" unit perfect for all your St. Patrick's Day fun!  

This unit includes activities to do with toddlers, pre-schoolers, kindergarteners, and even first graders.  Here's what you can find inside the unit...

So, as a bonus to our fabulous readers, I wanted to offer you a discount for ONE WEEK ONLY!!!  The unit price is originally $4.00, but from today until March 1st, you can get it for 50% off making it $2.00!!!  


To purchase this unit, click HERE.


***UPDATE:  This morning, I was made aware by a sweet reader that TpT has a $3.00 minimum purchase order rule, so I just now listed a fun Leprechaun Hunt activity for $1.00, so you can get two things for $3.00.  It includes 4 shamrock clue cards, 2 pages of directions, and printable gift tags (from Mr. Leprechaun himself).  

Click HERE to purchase my Leprechaun Hunt.  It is $1.00 until March 1st, when it goes up to $2.00.

Don't forget, you have two more days to enter our Porter's Polka Dots Giveaway!

Cupid's Journey: Day 1

Hello, and welcome to Day 1 of Cupid's Journey around Blog Land!  Our journey today will include three stops at some awesome 1st and K teacher's blogs!


Our first stop is with Mrs. Parker at Learning with Mrs. Parker.  Following the tutorial at First Grade Parade, she made darling "I love you" hand valentines.

Our next stop is with Mrs. McMurray at F is for First Grade.  She made adorable heart-shaped crayons for her kiddos! 

Our last stop for today is at Kinder Fun!  She did lots of fun activities with her Kinders for Valentine's Day!

Don't forget, you can join Cupid's Journey any time this week!  The more stops we have on our flight, the more fun!!!  Have a great Tuesday and thank you to our Cupid's Journey Hosts for today!!! :)

Valentine's Day Freebies

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend, friends!  Today, on my other blog, I posted about two Valentine freebies that you may need for you classroom or for your family to celebrate Valentine's Day!  The two files you can get for FREE are my 2" circle tags (for cupcake toppers) and treat bag toppers (to top sandwich baggies) from my SWEET HEART'S CAFE Collection.  

To read about how to download these files, go HERE!  


When I think about all the Valentine's Days in the classroom with my kiddos, I remember that day being CRAZY!  For some reason, this is the holiday that hyped the kids up the most.  I don't know if it's bringing their valentines to school or getting candy, but I remember being so exhausted on those days.


When I was teaching, I used to have special centers on Valentine's Day.  I could keep everything from year to year and it was so easy just to bring it back out again each year!  I had five centers...

1. Cookie Decorating: I gave the kids a plain sugar cookie, then they spread on icing with a popsicle stick and added small conversation heart candy on top.

2. Valentine's Sentence Writing: I had an old paper decoration with some Valentine phrases that I put in the middle of the table.  The kids could use that or write their own sentence about Valentine's Day and then draw a picture.  These were later made into a class book.

3. Red Hot Counting: I took the chocolates out of 4-5 heart boxes (and no, I didn't eat it...I'm not a chocolate eater, crazy I know).  Then, I labelled each spot in the box with a number and gave the kids a bunch of red hots.  They had to look at the numbers and count out that many red hots for each spot. 

4. Conversation Heart Sorting and Graphing: Each child had a bag of small conversation hearts.  They sorted them by color on their sorting mats and then colored in a graph to see how many of each they had in their bags.  Then they got to eat them! :)

5. Mail Delivery:  I made two blue "mail shirts" by putting a label that said "United States Postal Service" on blue t-shrits.  Another option would be iron-on transfers.  For my Valentines holder, I bought a shoe organizer at Dollar Tree and attached hearts with the kids' names to each pocket with paper clips.  The pockets are the perfect size for all those little valentines.  If a child brought treat bags or something larger, they could deliver them to their cubbies.  This was always a favorite center! :)

Then, I usually had a special lunch for my little lovelies that day! This particular lunch was chicken nuggets, chips, juice, and a cookie.  I found little buckets at Target Dollar Zone with heart-shaped holes. I filled them with water, added votive candles and the children had a candlelight Valentine's Day lunch, complete with special music!  I never once had anyone touch a candle or turn over a bucket.  They were just so excited to get to have candlelight, they were on their best behavior!

What do you do in your classroom for Valentine's Day?  We would LOVE to feature you...just send us your ideas and photos to frogsbeesundertheseas@gmail.com!


Have a sweet Valentine's Day!
XOXO!

FREE Calendar Download for Preschoolers

As many of you know, I taught Kindergarten for 6 years before I had my little one and now, I'm at home with him.  He will be 3 in April and I thought it was time for him to start learning about the days of the week, the months of the year, and the weather.  So, I racked my brain about how to do this with such a little one and I found some amazing Mamas out there in blogland who are way ahead of me.  So, with their inspiration, I made my own calendar board.  


I bought a pocket chart calendar from Oriental Trading that is perfect for little hands. Then, I bought a foam poster board at Walmart to put my other skills pages on that I can move down on Noah's level for him to manipulate. 

I bought the calendar here.

Here is my completed Morning Meeting board.  I'm loving it!

To download my printable calendar pages, go HERE.


You can download the weather chart from Confessions of a Homeschooler.


You can download the color of the day chart from 1+1+1=1.


To read more about how I set up my calendar & Morning Meeting area, go HERE.

Thanksgiving FREE Printable Unit

Do you teach toddlers, Pre-K, or Kindergarten?  If so, this unit is for you!  I compiled lots of ideas from around the web & from when I taught Kindergarten to bring you this 32-page Thanksgiving unit including crafts, math, books, snacks, & more!

To learn more about this unit, and download your FREE copy, click the picture below!

Enjoy!!!