Keep 'Em Buzzy Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Welcome to the "Keep 'Em Buzzy" Blog Hop!  Several blogger friends and I got together to offer you some ideas that will KEEP YOUR KIDS BUSY this summer!  I don't know about you, but with 3 ACTIVE little ones under 6 running around, I could certainly use some great ideas!  

My idea combines some READING and a FUN CRAFT . . .

As my daughter and I were reading "Princess Posey and the Next Door Dog," she discovered a CRAFT page at the back of the book. (BTW, this is great beginning chapter book.)  I don't know about you, but whenever my students find these pages, they beg and beg to make the craft!  (I have this snowflake book with a "how to cut a snowflake" craft at the end.  Right after we read it, I just plan on making snowflakes.)  My daughter was the same way!  After we finished the book, I promised her that we would make the craft.  And that's what we did!  

Click to find this and other Posey books on Amazon.com  

I used to LOVE making paper beads as a kid.  If you would like to make some at home, here are the steps:

1.  First, cut the paper into long triangles.  We used wrapping paper, but thicker paper would make better, more "rounded" beads. 

2.  Second, turn one of the paper triangles upside down.  Place some glue on the tip of the triangle.  Roll the paper around a pencil, starting at the base of the triangle.  Make sure it's tight--but not TOO tight--so you can slide the paper bead off of the pencil.  

3.  Third, string your beads on something until the glue dries.  We used kabob skewers and stuck them in play dough (just found lying around at our house!).  

4.  Last, just wait for the beads to dry, then string them on BRACELET cord.  We used elastic cord that you can purchase in the bead section at any craft store.  My daughter was very pleased with our results.  The bracelet was very pretty.  

Now, you have a chance to get a copy of this book, too!  Just enter the Rafflecopter GIVEAWAY below for a chance to win the $25 Amazon.com gift card!  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hop on over to "Teaching Momster"

for more great ideas to keep your kids busy this summer!  

Just click on the button below. 

  

Summer Stock Up! Classroom Decorations and 2 FREEBIES!

Are you already thinking about how to decorate your classroom this fall?   If so, you'll LOVE my latest revision of an old item:  Calendar Numbers for All Year!  I needed some different calendar numbers with better graphics and a nice variety of patterns (AB, AAB, ABB, etc.) for my little ones.  So, I made a COMPLETELY NEW set!  

This product includes 15 sets of calendar numbers.  It has numbers for each season, as well as many holidays and common primary themes.  CLICK HERE OR ON THE PICTURE ABOVE TO TAKE A LOOK!  

This set includes the following themes and patterns:  

Leaves for fall, ABC pattern

Halloween, ABC pattern
Thanksgiving, AAB pattern
Christmas, ABC pattern
Gingerbread, ABB pattern
Snowmen, ABC pattern
St. Patrick’s Day, AB pattern
Valentine’s Day, AABB pattern
Flowers, AB pattern
Butterflies, AABB pattern
Jungle, ABB pattern
Owls, AAB pattern
Ocean, AB pattern
Pirate, ABC pattern
Farm, ABC pattern

AND . . . I also have 2 freebies that go with this set.  First, grab 2 additional sets of calendar numbers for FREE from my TPT store!  The free set includes a snowflake numbers for winter (with no pattern) and back to school numbers with an AB pattern.  CLICK ON THE PICTURE below to download your FREEBIE!  

Then, grab a set of FREE editable labels from my Facebook page.  Look for the small app picture that matches the one below.  Click on the picture below to visit my Facebook page and get this second FREEBIE!   Sorry, but this freebie was only offered for a limited time.  Visit my TN and TPT stores for more freebies!  

As always, thanks for reading!

Thank you, Teachers Notebook!

My colleague, Joy, with her new iPad!  

Do you remember the Teachers Appreciation week iPad/gift certificate sweepstakes from Teachers Notebook?  (If not, here's the link to my post about it on May 4th.)  I won an iPad!!!  

I was so thrilled!  But, since I already have an iPad, I gave this one to my friend and colleague, Joy!  Now, both of us are thrilled!   We are so excited to have another iPad to use at our school.  I know that she has already wasted  invested a lot of time lately checking out cool educational apps!  

On behalf of Joy and myself, I want to extend a very heart-felt "Thank You" to Teachers Notebook.  Now, more of our students will have access to this innovative, engaging 

way to practice reading, math, science, and more.  We really appreciate it and will definitely be putting the technology to good use!  

 

A Little Summer Peace! Purchased from the Dollar Tree

My daughter paints a little elephant bank purchased from the Dollar Tree.

Are you looking for activities to keep your children busy this summer?  I am, too!  So, here's what we did today . . .

It was rainy today in Chicago, so my 3 were restless and bored with their usual indoor activities.  My daughter (who likes shopping a little too much and KNOWS how much I love buying teacher stuff at this store), came up with the idea of going shopping at Dollar Tree.  At first, I said no.  The vision I have of "shopping" with 3 kids is not a good one.  Yet, after a little thought, I realized that the trip would get us out of the house AND that some guidance regarding their purchases might be to my advantage.  

My son colors a cardboard and velvet 3D car from the Dollar Tree.

And so it was!  First, we walked every toy and craft aisle in the store.  Walking around, looking at everything, and deciding on their purchases took a good 45 minutes.  Then, once we got home, everyone went to work.  My daughter painted, my older son colored and glued, while my 3-year-old played with his new toy and puzzle.  Everyone was content and focused for almost an hour!  

My older children made little animals from the clay I purchased at the Dollar Tree.  

Needless to say, my attitude toward shopping with them is much improved.  As if a great trip and some quiet time weren't enough, after dinner, they asked for the clay.  I found a great set of clay with 8 or 9 colors that I also knew would come in handy on a rainy day.  They played with the clay for another 45 minutes!  

So, if you're looking for a pleasant, rainy day, time-consuming activity, look no further than the Dollar Tree!  I thought that the time spent doing meaningful, quiet activities was well worth the $5 I spent on their fun!  

Summer Math and Literacy FREEBIE!

I recently added another 10-page freebie to my stores!  This one addresses several MATH AND LITERACY standards for K-2.  It includes the following activities:

* 1 “Ice Cream Bump” addition game    My students LOVE this game, so I have several versions.

* 1 addition “color by sum” game  This is a really fun way for students to practice addition facts.  

   CLICK HERE to see my "Color by Sum COMBO PACK."

* 1 subtraction dice game  My daughter could use some subtraction practice, so I created this page with her in mind!  

* 1 emergent reader for summer   This book focuses on first and second grade sight words, as well as vowel teams.  

* 2 pages of cut-and-glue math   This is a great way for students to work on their fine motor skills AND math.  CLICK HERE and scroll down to see several of my cut-and-glue math resources.

* 2 pages of cut-and-glue literacy  One of these pages focuses on "silent e" words.  The other page has students reading and sorting words with the suffixes ed & ing.  

* 1 summer-themed writing page   This page is similar to those found in my Summer Writing Journal.  CLICK HERE to take a look!  

Click on the picture below to see this summer-themed freebie on Teachers Notebook.  Click on HERE to find it on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Your feedback on this item is always appreciated!

I hope your students enjoy the activities!  Thanks for reading!