Let's Celebrate Christmas with a Hat's Craft and a Freebie!

Christmas and the Holiday season are approaching quickly.  Here are a few resources that are quick and easy to use during this busy time!

What student doesn't love to decorate a gingerbread house! Get out the glitter and sequins and let them design their very own to wear home!

Gingerbread Hats Craft
This hat craft is quick and easy. It comes in both full color and black & white for your creative students. You will also find included a set of bookmarks!

If you are looking for a hat craft that is perfect for Sunday School, at home learning or the Christian classroom you might like this Nativity craft! 

Nativity Hat Craft

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These December themed math worksheets, are geared toward Kindergarten and made with the standards in mind!

These are fun for daily math practice or review! Students love the themes, including gingerbread, and snow men!

Adding, subtracting, comparing, positions and word problems are some of the skills included!

 These are a great way to give your students some extra writing practice as they look ahead to the coming year!

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New Years Cut & Paste Emergent Reader

It's time to count down with this cut & paste emergent reader. This book talks about waiting for the new year! Students will love creating their very own books that they can read again and again. This reader is engaging practice for either before or after the holiday!

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These free New Years themed bookmarks are a perfect way to encourage reading or as a reward for a job well done!  

New Years 2025 Freebie

I hope that as you head back into the classroom that you feel refreshed and that your new year gets off to a great start!

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All Things Pumpkin - 9 Ideas for Pumpkins in the Classroom

Nothing reminds us of fall like the touch, feel, smell and sight of pumpkins! Pumpkins are a great medium to use for teaching in the fall. Here you will find 9 crafts, videos, resources, and activities to get you started on your pumpkin adventures this fall!  

1. This video is about the life cycle of a pumpkin. It really gets the students thinking about the different stages a pumpkin goes through before it is harvested. 

2. Wow, games using a pumpkin that practice sight words, spelling words, and math problems! They really give the students a chance to touch and feel the pumpkin as they roll it back and forth.

3.  Try this recipe for Pumpkin Pie play dough! Your students will love the Pumpkin smell!

4. A Pumpkin Hand print craft is a perfect way to save some fall memories. 

5. For science and sensory try out this pumpkin slime! Your students will love getting their hands oozing with a real pumpkin.

6. Grow a pumpkin in a pumpkin! What a great way to watch the sprouts grow!

7. Making an anchor chart like this one will help your students as they investigate and describe a pumpkin. For example, they can list how many seeds, how many lines, what's the inside of the pumpkin is like, and what the outside is like. So many questions and things to talk about. 

8. Create some sparkle with this pasta wheel pumpkin craft.

Positional Words Cut and Paste Emergent Reader

9. For more pumpkin themed fun, this cut and paste emergent reader works on positional words. Students love creating their own books as they cut and paste the pictures of a pumpkin!

I hope you learned some new ideas to utilize pumpkins in the classroom this fall. While putting this post together I learned some new tricks with blogging that I hope will help me create a more useful page. Keep on learning!
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Get to Know the Alphabet - 9 Fun Ways to Teach Letters

Here you will find some new or maybe old ideas for introducing your students to the letters of the alphabet. Use these for letter of the day or week or incorporate them into your theme studies! 

1. Students enjoy letter of the day crafts, they are perfect for letting them visualize what the letter looks like and to start thinking about what words start with that letter.  



2. These simple A to Z Animal Hats are a perfect addition to your letter learning. Just cut them out and add the band. On the black and white ones students can color the animal, trace the letter on the front and the side band, and then trace the name of the animal. You can use these when you are working a certain letter or incorporate them into a animal unit! Just imagine the parade you could have! 



3. Having visuals around the room is important to help students to see the letters and seeing words that start with that letter is a plus. You can get so many different Alphabet posters to go with your class theme or change them up throughout the year. 

These  flip charts are perfect for hands on learning and are a great way for students to see the letter as they practice the alphabet!


4. Touching and feeling is such an important part of learning! Tape the bag shut and then tape it to the table and it will help to keep this activity from getting messy. 



5. Sorting letters is a hands on way for students to  recognize letters as they group them together.

6. Letter spotting in big books with transparent counters is a wonderful activity that students really enjoy!



7. What Starts With A-Z?  These emergent readers practice several skills. Students love the fact that they are creating their very own book and the repetition of the text allows them to soon read on their own. 

Check out What Starts With  A? 

8. Letter matching is a favorite activity and so easy to put together. 

9. I love this snack idea. Just give students a hand full of cereal and let them decorate their snack with the alphabet!
 

I hope you learned some new ideas about teaching the alphabet for the classroom or at home. This week I learned some tips on taking pictures for blogs and social media. Keep on learning! 

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It's Time to Celebrate the 100th Day of School!

  Are you ready to celebrate the 100th day of school with your students? It is a perfect time for them to reflect on all their hard work and talk about what they have accomplished so far this year! I have put together a few resources to help you celebrate with your students!

Hats Craft & Writing Prompts

                                

What's a celebration without a party hat? Students will love decorating these hats with bright colored markers or crayons. Add some glitter for some extra bling!

The addition of writing prompts will get your students thinking about all they have learned and what the number 100 means.

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For your students that are working on reading here is a reader that offers several options. This comes in full color, black & white and a cut & paste version! Your students can create their very own books keeping the 100th day theme going!

Happy 100th Day Emergent Reader

You can even purchase both products in a bundle!

100th Day Bundle

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Free 100th Day of School Bookmarks

Bookmarks are always a good way to promote reading, reward a student or celebrate an accomplishment. Grab this freebie to begin your celebration! Hopefully these resources will spark a meaningful 100th day in your classroom!

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DIY Farm Themed Crayons Made With Old Crayons and Silicone Molds

When life gives you old and broken crayons....create something new! I love crayons and I have to admit I even have my very first box of crayons. So over the years of raising kids, old or broken crayons went into a shoe box.........just waiting for a time like this!

I needed a farm themed gift for a sweet little one who loves his farm animals! So I thought I would try melting crayons into farm shapes. I dug out my box of old crayons! I did read that the name brand crayons work best for melting, so I stuck to using those for this project.

I took a trip to the local Hobby Lobby and found this silicone mold on sale for 50% off. When looking for molds, the thicker ones are the best. 

The hardest part of this project was peeling the paper off the crayons. Some of these crayons were over 35 years old. I have heard that soaking them in water helps, but I just kept peeling. 

I broke the crayons up and filled the molds, overfilling a little in those that needed to spread. I mixed the colors in some. The chunky crayons like the barn are best for littlest hands. Be aware that small details might break off of some molded crayons.

Putting the mold on a cookie sheet really helps  keep the melted crayon from spilling.  Melt at 300 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes. Some colors take longer to melt than others. After it is melted, you can take a toothpick to both swirl and mix if you like and fill in areas that seem thinner.......like the legs on farm animals.

Let cool for about an hour before pushing out of the molds. This was very satisfying! I found a very cute box and some filler at the dollar store to complete this gift. 

I loved creating these and was thrilled with how they turned out. They were a perfect gift but would also be good for a farm theme in the classroom or at a party. Think party favors!

If you are doing a farm theme in your classroom here are a few resources that I created just for that. Here you will find math worksheets, emergent readers, cut & paste, pocket chart cards and writing activities.

Farm Themed Math & Literacy

These resources can be purchased separately or save money with a bundle. 

Farm Themed Math Worksheets

Farm Themed Rhyme and Read Emergent Reader

Grab a freebie here that includes a page from farm themed math worksheets! 

Sample Math Worksheets

I hope you enjoyed this farm themed post and learned something new!

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Solar Eclipse Craft Hat .....Includes April 8th 2024

The total solar eclipse spreading over a portion of North America on April 8th, 2024 is a perfect time to talk about this event with your students. For younger students, your conversations might be quite simple and adding a craft is an easy and safe way to help you explain this wonder.

Solar Eclipse Hat Craft

This hat craft comes with and without the date. Students will love coloring the black/white option. Laminate the bookmarks to make a nice memento to remember this special day.

                       Solar Eclipse Hat Craft

The next total eclipse will not cross the United States until 2044. I hope you enjoy teaching about this rare event with your students! 

                        

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Save Money As You Bundle Up For The New Year!

 

Personally I love January.....I love the fresh start with a new year! I love the hopes, dreams and prayers that are connected to that fresh start. It is time to regroup, plan ahead and prepare for all that is to come. As I prepare during January I try to think ahead on ways to save money. I look for deals and purchases for the future if there is a discounted price. Purchasing bundles on TPT is one way for teachers to save money!

Take a peek at these discounted bundled resources.

New Year Bundle

This New Years Bundle gives you several resources to be used in the first three weeks back to school. This is updated with the new date each year so it can be used again.

Winter Reader Bundle

Students love this bundle of emergent readers that includes cut & paste options and also one reader that is a sequence & draw. Perfect for the winter months. 

Looking for more? This bundle has themes that will take you through the whole year! There are 20 different readers! Purchasing this many in advance is also the biggest savings. 

                                   Positional Words Bundle

Nursery Rhyme Hats Bundle

If you are working on nursery rhymes this year, why not  have your students choose a crown that matches their favorite! 

Groundhog Day Bundle

     

Let your students vote for spring or winter with this Groundhog Day Bundle!

Winter Themed Math Bundle

The winter themes of these math worksheets will get you through the colder months! 

Monthly Math Worksheet Bundle

But if you are planning beyond the winter and want to save even more money take a look at the biggest bundle of monthly math worksheets!

Themed Math Worksheets

For more math fun that will also go with yearly themes this math worksheet bundle hits the mark! These are all made with the standards in mind. 

I hope that you were able to find a bundle that not only fills your needs but saves you some money. 
Happy planning!
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