Family Fun......

Don't you love this fabulous button created by Erika at Honey Bunch?!  Thanks Erika!  I just had to take a break from school stuff and post a little "family" stuff that we've been doing over this holiday weekend.  I LOVE holidays and finding all kinds of neat projects (food especially) to do with my kids.  It's become a tradition at our house, and they begin to ask for it each year. .. Just a bit of caution though.. be careful about those traditions you start...  We began a tradition a few years ago of taking our kids in a carriage ride through a park lit up with Christmas lights.  Now, my daughter insists upon this each year no matter the weather outside.
Here are just a few things we've been up too.....

 This was the first year "T" was old enough to grasp the whole dying egg thing.  Notice how cute his eggs look right now... by the end of this his eggs looked like cracked, old dinosaur eggs.  We're saving those for Daddy. (lol)  ( Don't you just love the morning hair look? I kind of think it's adorable on little boys.)

Notice "T's" eggs in the background now.  Yes, those are the same eggs from the previous picture.  I will say our egg dying activity started off a little rough for "T".  I had everything ready to go.  The tablets were in the cups with the needed vinegar, and I had just divided up the eggs for each kiddo to decorate... then I get a phone call.  It was a short one.. but in that amount of time " T" does what any two year old would do when a cup is within reach.... He took a sip.  His poor little face gets all contorted ,and  he looks at me.... I felt so bad.  I hadn't had a chance yet to tell him that those cups weren't for taking a drink.

Of course my favorite was the Bird's Nest Rice Krispie Treats.  My daughter really enjoyed making these with me.  ( She made it a point to tell me that she did NOT want her picture going on my blog. Now why did she think I might do that with the pictures I was taking?!)  These were so easy and turned out so cute.  Just follow the recipe for Rice Krispie Treats and also buy a package of chocolate malted eggs.  Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray and put the Rice Krispie Treats in there.  ( I made a double batch ,and it took 2 muffin pans).  Once the Rice Krispie treats have set, take them out and push your thumb into the middle to hollow out an area to place the eggs.  Put the malted eggs in the middle and voila  a bird's nest rice krispy treat.  Take a peek.  I had a hard time getting a really good picture of them.

Well.. gotta go. I need to create an egg hunt game for our 4-6 graders at church tomorrow.

Enjoy this time with your family and God bless!  I would love to hear about one of your family traditions.

Spring Linky Party, Freebie, and a Giveaway

I have had so much fun blog stalking y'all these past couple of days. What awesome ideas I have found!  Krista at The Second Grade Superkids is having a spring linky party.  Link up with a spring activity you are doing in your classroom.  I can't wait to see all the great ideas.

Click HERE to link up.

Check out my spring linky activity.   Each spring my students participate in  "The Great Egg Hunt".  It's a fun way to review things we have learned throughout the year, and gives the older elementary students a fun way to celebrate spring.  I got this idea from a fabulous fourth grade teacher in my building.   For " The Great Egg Hunt", I stuff slips with review items we have had throughout the year in math, English, social studies, and science in plastic eggs.  I try to make sure that there are enough eggs for each student to find five.  Then I hide them outside, or if rainy in the classroom.  Students are given paper bags and told to only find 5.  When finished, students take the eggs back to their desk.  In each egg, is a review question from the year.  Students must glue these strips to a piece of paper and then answer the question. When finished, they bring them up to me to check and receive a special treat.   It's a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate spring.  Take a peek at this activity:

 You can find it for free at my TPT store by clicking HERE.  If you download this item, let me know what you think on my TPT feedback.  I appreciate all the comments!

Okay, okay.. I know I've said this before, but THANK YOU for participating in my 100 Followers Giveaway.  I'm having so much fun with this.  I am trying to respond to each person who has left a comment.  I so appreciate your sweet words.  I have also added your buttons to my blog roll for being so kind to add my new button to your blog.    If you haven't entered the Giveaway for either a $25 gift card to Amazon and 2 items from my TPT store ( your choice) or a $5 Scrappin Doodles gift card and 2 items from my TPT store (your choice) please check it out HERE to enter.  It ends Saturday, March 24 at midnight. Winners will be announced on Sunday.

I'm getting that huge "to do" list "ta done".  Spring break is going by way too fast.  The weather has been absolutely wonderful so we've had lots of time to play outside and have afternoon picnics... such fun.  Tomorrow the family is off to an indoor water park.  Our kiddos can't wait!  ( I wish it were the beach... but none to be found in  our part of Illinois).

I'm hoping to get my "Lil Ladybug" Math Centers completed before we leave.  It's a great way to review at the end of the year.   It is 40 pages right now, but I still need to add a money game and a time game.  So far the math centers include: multiplication mix up, ditto division matching, all about addition file folder game, and a subtraction game.  Take a peek:

Have a fabulous evening!  Thank you so much for stopping by!  I would love to hear about your spring activities.  Don't forget to link up with Krista at The Second Grade SuperKids.