Classroom items...

Hello! I thought I'd share a couple of "new" items I purchased for my classroom. It's always fun to start the new year with some new stuff, isn't it?? : ) The first picture is a pair of window valences I got for just 75 cents! Can you believe it??? I am going to use these on a shelf. I will post a picture when I put them up in my room.

This second picture is a large fabric map of the world. It was 1.00. I will use it on a bulletin board. I got the "Landmarks" flash cards at the Target Dollar Spot. I am going to post them around the map to enhance my Social Studies curriculum. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Show and Tell!

Hello! I am participating in ABC and 123's July Show and Tell event. What fun! I've been working on a few things and this is a great chance to share ideas and see everyone's creativity. I have another "pocket" idea to share with you today. In my previous post, I shared an idea using The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Today, I made an activity to go along with Dr. Jean's song, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a One...This song is on her Sing and Read Along cd and there is a black line master in the book for the children to color and cut out. They can glue the pieces to a zip lock baggie and put the numbers in the bag as they sing the song. I thought I'd take this a step further and make a fabric pocket for the children to use during center time. I used the black line from the book to make the face, hands, and feet. I colored, cut them out, and laminated them, then glued them to the fabric pocket. I cut the numbers out of colored paper using my cricut. I think it turned out really cute! The arms and legs are made out of felt.


Here is a close up picture of the pocket:




Thanks for looking and have a super day!

Very Hungry Caterpillar Story Props

Hello! It's been quite a while since I've post on this blog! I've got a cute idea to share with you for The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Where to begin....I've never actually done a tutorial post,
but I took some pictures while I was making this, so hopefully it will help!

Here's a picture of the finished product. It is a caterpillar, with a pocket on the front so the children can put in the items the caterpillar ate. First, I printed out the sequencing pictures here. You could make each item out of felt, but that takes a lot of time...and this way, if something gets lost, it's easy to print out another one. I laminated the pictures for durability.



I cut 2 pieces; the larger one is for the back. I topstitched along the front to give the impression of the segments of the caterpillar's body. (You wouldn't have to do this, I just thought it looked nice.) Then I put the top and back together and stitched all around the edges. You could use fabric glue for this if you don't sew. I used a shiny, silver metallic thread. It gave my sewing machine a few problems, but I liked the way it looked, so I kept on going! I also topstitched around the face.


I cut some wings out of pink felt and just glued a variety of colored circles on them. I think I'll add a strip of velcro to the wings so the children can attach them to caterpillar's body. I decided to stitch around the edges of the wings, too. I glue the head to the body, added the antennae and face. I like the wiggly eyes; gives it some character!!



Here is a better picture of the finished project, along with the sequencing cards. I think this turned out pretty cute! I want to sew (I just love to sew!) a cute fabric bag to keep everything in, along with a copy of the book. Thanks for looking!

A Couple of Fall Ideas...

Hello! I have a couple of fall ideas to share with you today. I have an "October Fun" bucket of activities for the children to use when they are done with their work. Items include: October tic tac toe, ABC file folder games, and color word matching activities.




The next idea I found here. It is a pocket chart color word matching activity. I took the picture after a couple of the children matched the words, so they are not in perfect order, but you get the idea. : )

MORE homework bags!!!

The "I Spy" Bag
Hello! I have a couple more homework bags to share with you. One of them is the "I Spy" bag. It has some "I Spy" books to read, a magnifying glass, and an "I Spy" bottle activity. I filled a bottle with colored sand and several small objects. I took a digital photo of all the objects and made a chart with photos of the individual objects. The children can use a dry erase marker to 'x' off the items as they find them. This is a fun homework bag!



The Science Bag

The next couple of photos are of my "Science Bag." This is based on Dr. Jean's Scientist of the Week idea. The bag has several books with ideas for experiments. I have a journal for the children to record their experiment and results. I do not have them do the experiment for the class, we just read about what each person did as they return the bag. I also have a white men's shirt to use as a lab coat and goggles in the bag.

More homework bags!

School is keeping me busy....how about you? September can be a tiring month for students and teachers! I wanted to share a couple more of my homework/literacy bags with you. This is my "Feed the dog a bone" bag. The objective of the bag is to practice sight words. Each sight word is written on a dog bone. The children spread out the words on the floor. If a child can read the word, he/she moves it into the dog dish. Pretty simple, but a fun way for children to practice sight words. I got the cute dog dish at the dollar store! If you'd like to download the parent letter, click on the image below and save it to your computer. (I have updated this...so you can save the image vs. downloading it from google drive...for some reason, it just wasn't working well that way!!)

The next photos are of the "Sports Bag." The photo on the left shows the bag's contents: reading buddy, directions, class book (children write about their favorite sport), Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and opposites matching game. You can see the game in the close up on the right. The bag is sewn out of soccer ball fabric. Love it! I really enjoy putting everything together to make these bags! And the children love to check them out as "homework."

Birthday Bag

Every child has the chance to take home the "Birthday Bag."
The bag includes these items:
*Birthday Reading Buddy: Isn't this thing cute!! When you push the button on its hand it sings "Happy Birthday."




*Birthday books to read and share at home
*Class book--each child adds his/her name to the correct month. (For example, if my birthday is in September, I write my name on the Sept. page.)



*Class book: Each child draws/writes about how he/she celebrated his/her birthday

The bag is sewn out of red fabric and measures about 15 x 16 inches.