This is one of the newsletter templates I use in May. My kids always get so excited to see the little cap and gown graduation clip art.
They think they are big stuff getting to ‘Graduate’ into Kindergarten.
They are so cute!!!!
Sign Language Letter Posters
April 21, 2013 by
My preschoolers have been really into signing letters. Recently my daughter came home excited that she had learned so many letters in sign language as well. However, she kept forgetting several of the letters she used a lot and was always stoping to ask me what different letters were.
I decided to make her some simple little reference cards so that she could continue to learn even if I wasn’t around. I thought they would be fun in my classroom as well, so I decided to theme them to go along with my classroom theme of Hollywood.
Each of the 26 lettered posters contain one large hand outline of the letter sign as well as an upper and lowercase of the letter the picture is showing. All posters are currently in block print. If you need them in D’Nealian please send me an email and I’ll get them made up for you.
These posters are available at both my TeachersPayTeachers Store as well as my TeachersNotebook Shop.
X is for X-Ray FREE Give Away
April 20, 2013 by
Would you like to have a FREE copy of my X is for X-Ray Lesson Plans?
I know X can be a hard letter to find activities on so I have compiled a whole weeks worth of X Lesson Plans….
…and…
I’m giving away 3 copies of the entire theme for FREE!
Head over to my TeachersNotebook Shop to enter to win.
Three winners will be chosen at random on April 25th.
Good Luck!
Tooth Brushing!
April 17, 2013 by
As part of our X is for X-Ray we are also doing a lot with Dental Health. Today’s activity is for Dental Health, whenever it is that you teach it.
Did you know you can make your own plaster teeth?
DIY Plaster Teeth
Aren’t those cute?
What you need:
Plastic Pop Bottle
Egg Carton
Plaster of Paris
Cheap Toothbrushes
ShavingCream
Here’s what you do:
- Cut the bottom off of a 2 litter pop bottle so that there is only about 3 inches or so left.
- Mix up your Plaster of Paris.
- Pour 2-3 inches of Plaster into the bottom of your pop bottles.
- Pour Plaster of Paris into your Egg Carton (about 2/3 full).
- Allow them all to dry completely.
- When you pop them out you will get giant molars from the pop bottle and smaller teeth from the egg cartons.
- Set our several cheap toothbrushes with shaving cream on them (for the toothpaste).
- Let your kiddos brush away!
Brushing our DIY Plaster Teeth
To clean them just run them under water until the shaving cream has rinsed off. Don’t let them sit in the water for very long or they will start to dissolve.
Be sure to make a point to teach your students about brushing all the way around the tooth.
This is my little son helping out after class. Isn’t he cute?
I put the teeth in a center and the kids played with them every day! They love these.
PS… It can get pretty messy, but that’s how you know they are having fun… right?
X Marks the Spot
April 16, 2013 by
Today’s activity was simple but they had an absolute blast!
Today I cut out a bunch of X’s from red construction paper and gave them a pile of large newsprint paper. Then I let them be as creative as they wanted with their treasure maps. They came up with some super cute maps! I was so impressed with them.
X Marks the Spot Treasure Maps
What kid doesn’t like treasure maps?
At recess they all took their maps outside and did a ‘treasure hunt’ with them. They had a blast.
If you are looking for something easy that your kids will love this would be a great thing to try.
DIY X-Rays
April 15, 2013 by
You can’t do a theme called “X is for X-Ray” with out some X-Rays, right?
I started looking online for some fun and child friendly X-Rays to buy for my class. I found several great sets, but they were so expensive! I’m talking expensive enough I could break my own arm, bring in my own X-Ray and come out cheaper (well, maybe not quite).
I was just about to give up and not have any when it hit me… An X-Ray is just a film with a black and white picture on it. Surely I could make that!
About 15 minutes later I had these super cute X-Rays that cost me next to nothing to make.
Here is how to make your own ‘X-Rays’…
Pay close attention to detail… This is pretty hard…
- Go to Google. (I told you this was hard)
- Type in “X-Ray”
- Click “Images”
- Browse through the hundreds of X-Ray Pictures that show up
- Pick your favorites
- Cut and Paste them to a document
- Now copy them onto a blank transparency (You remember these right? Those clear things you use to put on that ridiculously bright light they called an overhead. Dig around. You still have some… Teachers don’t throw anything away.)
- Place your X-Rays on a light table or a clear plastic box with Christmas lights in it.
- Enjoy!
Your kids are going to love this!!!!
Don’t forget to search out different animal X-Rays! The kids love these!
FREE Kite Festival
April 15, 2013 by
Saturday, April 20, 2013 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MCC-Longview 500 SW Longview Rd. Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Picture from http://www.mccflightsoffancy.org
Professional displays by the Kansas City Kite Club
- Mega kites
- Stunt kites
- Power kites
- Candy drop for kids
- Kite making
- Face painting
- Balloon artists
- Kite bol races
- Bring lawn chairs and blankets, and prepare for an unforgettable experience.
My family will be there…Bring your own kites and fly with us!
Dental Health Early Emergent Reader
April 12, 2013 by
The Very Lonely Firefly Art (Eric Carle)
April 11, 2013 by
After reading Eric Carle’s book The Very Lonely Firefly we made these little fireflies that really glow in the dark!
Firefly art to go with the book The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle
What you need:
- Black and Brown Construction Paper
- Neon Bandaids
- White Crayons
- Googly Eyes (or Googly Eye Stickers as shown)
- Glow in the Dark Paint (in the craft section)
What to do:
- Before the kids arrive, cut out the firefly body and draw on the stripes at the bottom where his light will be. I also drew on a bunch of stars on the black paper for my kids.
- Have your students choose 2 neon bandaids and stick them to the black paper in an X shape. Let them open the bandaids themselves… it’s great fine motor practice.
- Then have them glue the firefly body over the bandaid X.
- Add googly eyes (I’ve become a fan of the much cheaper googly eye stickers)
- Draw the antenna on with a white crayon.
- Then paint the glow in the dark paint on his tail. We also made some light ‘shine’ off of him this year.
If you like this, don’t forget to check out my I is for Insects themed lesson plans available in my TeachersPayTeachers Store as well as my TeachersNotebook Shop.
Bumble Bee Art
April 10, 2013 by
My kids really enjoyed making these cute little bumble bees and bee hives today. These are super easy to do!
Bumble Bee Art from edlah.com
What you need:
Brown Construction Paper
Yellow Paint
White Tissue Paper
Black Sharpie/Marker
Glue
What to do:
- I cut out all of the hives for the kids to save time.
- Yesterday I had them stamp their thumbs on the bee hives. They dried over night.
- Today I gave them small ovals cut out of tissue paper (which I cut ahead of time) and had them fold them in half for the wings.
- Then they used black markers to draw they eyes, antenna, stripes and singers.
Close up of the bees. Notice how the wings stick out.
These cute little bee hives worked out great for my shape this week which happens to be an oval/ellipse!!! The bees and the wings are both ovals/ellipses which the kids noticed all by themselves!
For more great ideas, crafts and activities be sure to check out my I is for Insects Themed Lesson Plans. The Themed Lesson Plans are available in both my TeachersPayTeachers Store and my TeachersNotebook Shop.
