Monday Made It: Fishing Poles!

This Monday I am bringing you a cheap, quick, and fun project that is perfect for back to school. Fishing poles! 

We all have magnetic letters in our classroom and have a huge focus on learning letters at the beginning of the year. So, here is a fun way to engage your students in the process!

You will need a package of dowel rods, string, and circular magnetic stickers. I already had plenty of lacing string, so that is what I used. You can get the materials to make a set of these fishing poles for less than $5!

Here are what mine look like. Nothing fancy, but it works. Tie one end of the string to the end of the dowel rod. On the other end of the string, place two of the circular magnetic stickers back to back.

This is the fun part! Fishing for letters!

I had fun doing this as an adult, so I know the students will love it as well. Have the students stand over a bowl or bucket of letter magnets and go fishing. They have to identify the letter and sound of whichever letter they catch!

BONUS Monday Made It!

I also made these tactile number and counting cards from burlap stickers I got at the Target dollar spot. They will be great for students to trace with their finger to practice number formation and one to one correspondence. 

 

I hope these ideas give you some ideas for your classroom! Happy Monday!

Back to School Dollar Centers

I am so excited about all of the Dollar Tree finds I have grabbed this summer! They are going to be awesome to use during centers this year with my kinders.

Here is a look at my stash and how I plan to use them.

Chalkboards and Chalk

These chalkboards come with two pieces of chalk and an eraser. I got the  purple sandwich holder from the Dollar Tree to hold everything. I love using the sandwich holders to store just about anything! I grabbed a whole stash of them. I also grabbed some colored chalk from Michael's for a dollar to add some fun. I plan on having students use this center to practice writing letters, sight words, or write the room.

Double-sided Hero and Princess Crayons

I think my kiddos are going to love these! They are perfect for little hands and add just enough novelty to make rainbow writing super fun.

You can grab a Rainbow Write FREEBIE I made specifically for use with this center over at the Grow and Enjoy TPT store. It includes a recording page for super heroes and princesses.

Shape Storage Containers

These awesome storage containers come in one set, so you get all four for just a dollar! I immediately thought of a shape sorting center when I saw them. The pattern blocks shown are already in my classroom.

Small Plastic Containers

These small plastic containers come in a set of 10. I used six of them to hold dice and keep them off the floor, in mouths, etc. Last year I used plastic Gerber food containers and they did not hold up very well. Hopefully, these will work better! One easy way to use these is to have students roll the dice and practice writing the number it lands on. You can also have them roll and graph the numbers. I have a ton of roll and write activities that the kinders always love.

Coordinating Paper Die Cuts

I have to give Mr. Greg over at Kindergarten Smorgasboard for this awesome idea. The Dollar Tree has all kinds of different die cuts you can use for matching games. I did capital and lowercase letters with the milk and cookies and will probably do math facts on the lock and key die cuts.

Foam Counting Blocks

I don't actually have a specific use for these yet, but I can imagine lots of possibilities using them as dice, letter blocks, etc. If you have a good idea for using these, please share!

I hope you can find some of these products at your local Dollar Tree! I have also done some previous blog posts about Dollar Tree centers. Click on "dollar tree center" in the label cloud to the right for more ideas.

Basic Peanut Butter Smoothie

Last summer I started making different smoothie recipes to sip by the pool. Being stuck at home with the weather, I decided to mix one up today and channel warmer weather.

The peanut butter smoothie is my favorite!

What I really love about smoothies is that they are so versatile and easy to make. You can really mix in anything you want. I generally try to stay on the healthy side though. Also, you don't have to be too specific on measuring out ingredients. It is up to you and your taste preference.

This recipe is for one serving.

Put the following ingredients in a blender. Blend until you reach your desired smoothness.

1 cup almond milk

1 banana

1 large spoon of peanut butter

1 small spoon of chocolate chips

4 ice cubes

Like I said, you don't have to be too precise. I just eye the amount of peanut butter and chocolate chips I want. You can also substitute the chocolate chips for chocolate syrup.

After you are done blending, pour it into a cup and enjoy! This was my lunch today.

 

Hello March!

Wow! I can't believe it is already March! I was up at the school yesterday getting our March Madness door ready. I had to go with a Wildcats theme. The white paper says, "We're WILD about Kindergarten!"

Go Cats! Can't wait for all of our basketball themed lessons later in the month.

This week we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss's Birthday. Each day will be a different theme (crazy hair, crazy socks, etc.)

Check out my March and April Pinterest page to get a sneak peak of what my kiddos will be working on this month. 

 

DIY Sugar Scrub

I have officially been snowed in all week! I've been trying to come up with things to keep me occupied, so I had a little at home spa day. After a face mask, I whipped up this super easy and natural sugar scrub.

I typically use a sugar scrub from Ulta, but I am currently out and can't make it to the store in this storm. This DIY version is made out of things you probably already have at home. Plus, you can make a small batch in just 5 minutes.

Directions: Mix together 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and 1 tsp. honey.

That's it! Quick, easy, and natural.

This sugar scrub is gentle so its perfect for everyday use. And it smells great! If you are stuck inside like me, make this scrub for a little at home spa treatment.

DIY Valentine's Box

I wanted to share this quick project I made tonight using Carta Bella paper, my Silhouette Portrait, and a Sonic drink carrier.

I have been saving this drink carrier and knew it would be perfect for Valentine's Day. It was easy to decorate and just the right size for holding all my treats.

Here is a look at the front and side. The papers you see are from the Carta Bella Devoted collection. I found those on clearance a while back. My name, the heart stamp, and the hearts on the side were cut from card stock using my Silhouette.

This is what the back looks like. I used an adhesive tape runner to glue everything onto the cardboard. 

This project would be great for kids' last minute boxes this week! 

Dollar Tree Center

I am always searching for easy center ideas that will keep my kinders engaged. I have seen several games on Pinterest where students "feed" some kind of animal made from recycled detergent containers, tupperware, etc. When I found this little trash can at the Dollar Tree, I knew he would be perfect! I added some googly eyes, wrote some sight words on index cards, and instantly had a new center.

  

We call it "Feed the Monster".  I had the little monster sitting out and the students were immediately interested when they entered the classroom. The students take turns drawing a card and reading the sight word on it. If they read they word correctly, they get to feed the card to the monster. We will add more sight words to the pile as the year progresses.

Not only do I like this center because it reinforces sight words, the kinders really got a kick out of feeding the monster. I love hearing, "Ms. Harlan, I like this game!" when we are learning. 

Winter Decorating

School started back this week so I have been busy getting my kinders back into the routine. However, during the break I had some extra time for crafting. My mom had been wanting me to make something with these empty wine bottles and I love how they turned out! 

To clean them, I peeled the labels off and soaked the bottles in warm water for a couple of minutes. The sticky residue then came off easily. I just peeled it off and wiped the bottles down with a towel.

The letters and snowflakes are cut from white vinyl using my amazing Silhouette Portrait. Look for a tutorial on that in the near future! 

I added some $3 glittery branches from Walmart and set the bottles out as a table centerpiece. Overall, the whole project only took about 30 minutes. Plus, they would work for Christmas or Winter decorations. 

The snowflakes are definitely appropriate for our 12 degree high today! You can use this easy project to beat cabin fever and being a little glitter into your house this winter. 

Favorite Five Friday: Decorating Pumkins

There are so many ways to decorate a pumpkin if you don't want to go through the hassle of getting out all the guts! I wanted to share the top five ways that I have found to decorate pumpkins without carving. I tried to pick ideas that not only looked great, but also would not be a huge time commitment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Ribbon

This is probably one of the easiest ways to decorate your pumpkin. Chose different types of ribbon and hot glue them on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Rhinestones

Once again, a glue gun can do wonders!

 Rhinestones also come in adhesive strips that would make this technique super easy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Chalkboard Paint

Paint your whole pumpkin or just a section of it for the option to change the decoration every day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Duct Tape

This is simple and duct tape comes in so many different patterns now! Mix and match your favorite colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Googly Eyes

This is probably my favorite! These pumpkins are adorable when coverd with a bunch of googly eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you are having a happy fall!

 

Image Credits:

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com

http://www.squidoo.com/no-carve-pumpkin-decorating-ideas?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebuster

http://blog.lulus.com/general/diy-pumpkin-decorating-without-carving/

http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/holidays/halloween/pumpkin-decorating-00100000065686/page4.html

http://www.allyou.com/budget-home/crafts/halloween-craft-ideas-00411000069414/page5.html

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/duck-tape?before=1349480890

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Fundraising Raffle Baskets

My apartment is currently being taken over by raffle baskets! I am in an organization called Norse Leadership Society and this week we are selling raffle tickets to raise money for care packages for our military.

Everyone got donations and I put them together into baskets. We are selling tickets for $1 or 6 tickets for $5. People can buy tickets for three days and then we are having the drawing at our trivia night event. This is a great way to fund raise for your organization or philanthropy.

Here are some basket ideas that we are using:

 

Men's Basket: Bottle opener, body wash, shampoo, movie, shooter set, coozies, croakies, golf balls, and snacks

 

Women's Basket: hair products, scent set, movie, manicure set, lotion, id holder, loofah, picture frame, journal, notecards, picture album, make-up bag, etc.

 

Dorm Basket: Blanket, dish rags and towels, school supplies, bathroom set, air freshener, snacks

 

Chocolate and Coffee Lovers: Variety of chocolates including Esther Price box, Lindt truffles, and Godiva, coffee mug, Starbuck's instant coffee, coffee creamer, Starbuck's gift card

 

School Spirit Starter Kit: banner, pom-poms, car decal, lanyard, Tervis tumbler, traveling mug, folder

 

We also have a carpet cleaning gift certificate and a  "Night Out" basket with zoo tickets and gift certificates to the movies and various restaurants.

To make the baskets look really nice I got cellophane and ribbon from the dollar store to dress them up.

Hope you enjoy these ideas!

 

 

 

 





Sorority Little Gifts

Last night was our Big/Little Reveal and I got my perfect Little :) I will share more about our actual reveal later, but first I wanted to share the gifts I made throughout the week. I know people are always looking for gift ideas for their sisters.

We do three days where the Littles get a small gift and a clue. On reveal night we give them the rest of their gifts.

Here are some of the crafts and gifts that I gave my Little.

 

 

If some of you Delta Gamma's are confused about the giraffe stuff, that is unique to our DG chapter. Before our chapter officially became Delta Gamma they formed and chose the giraffe as their symbol.

 

Here are all of our gifts together on Day 1 and 3.

 





Handmade Cards

I love sending and receiving mail! Especially while I am away at college. It's nice to know that someone back home is thinking of you. I personally love homemade cards and think they show a little extra love.

 

 

You can buy everything you need to make a few cards at Walmart or a craft and hobby store. I usually just use extra scrapbooking supplies that I have on hand.

Here are a few simple designs that you can adapt and use.

 

 

These are a little more time consuming because of the shape.