Ode to Mom....... Join the Mother's Day Linky Party

I cannot believe that May is just around the corner.... and all of you know what that means.... time to break out those Mother's Day ideas.   Take a look at some of the Pinterest inspired ideas I found.   Loving these!!!    Also check out April at  Wolflicious' Mother's Day Linky Party.  Click HERE to join in.

1. Bouquet of flowers using handprints..... CUTE!   You can find this idea HERE at The Trendy Tree House.  You also have to check out this blog.  Lots of great ideas for home and family.

2. Fabulous books to read your students before beginning their Mother's Day activities.  Here's one of my favorite books:

You can find a list of other books and some fabulous Mother's Day activities to do with your class HERE at First Grade Best.

3. A basket of flowers...... before creating read " I Love You Stinky Face" by Lisa McCourt to your students.

 You can find the directions to this basket of flowers and 39 other fabulous Mother's Day Ideas HERE at Kiboomu.   Take some time to look at this site.  It has terrific crafts and projects for kids.

4. A great activity for older students... ( I think this will be one of the things my students will be doing this year).  Newspaper Activity for the World's Best Mom!  Click HERE for directions and the free printable of the newspaper form.  It's from Martha Stewart. 

5.  The Card..... You have to have a Mother's Day Card.  Check out this cute idea using a cupcake paper and picture of your student.  Too cute!

I want to give credit to the blog this idea came from.  Check it out HERE.

6.  I LOVE this idea too..... a bouquet of roses with coupons.

You can find out about this project at First Grade a la carte by clicking HERE.  Oh by the way, this is another awesome blog.  Check out the fabulous ideas.

These are just a few of the adorable ideas I found... Now how do I narrow it down to just a couple to do with my class?!!!

Don't forget to check out the Mother's Day Linky Party for more great ideas and to simply link up.

Friday, Freebie, and Giveaway!

FRIDAYS......one of my favorite days of the week!!  I have to begin by saying thanks so much for following me!  You are all so awesome!  I appreciate your kind words and comments.  I am so grateful!


In honor of Friday, I have a "Jumping Jellybeans and Spring Candy Math Activity" Freebie to share with you.  Take a look!

This includes 2 math activities centered around spring candy.  The first activity uses Starburst jellybeans.  Students have different math concepts to complete using the jellybeans. Students must compare, add, subtract, multiply, and make a graph.  The second activity students complete a tally chart of the class' favorite spring candy.  There are three choices... Peeps, Jellybeans, Chocolate Bunnies.  Then students create a graph of these results.  You can find this freebie HERE at my TPT store.


Don't forget to check out Krista's Dazzling Double Giveaway at Second Grade Super Kids.  It looks fabulous. Check it out HERE.  Hurry the Giveaway ends Saturday night!!

Oh yeah... one last thing.... I'm having a sale at both my TPT store and TN shop right now. 


Enjoy your Friday and the Weekend!    

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.

Everything's Coming Up Butterflies and a GIVEAWAY

First things first... Thank you all so much for entering my 100 followers Giveaway!!!  I appreciate all the kind words!   It's still not too late to enter.  If you want to participate in my Giveaway... Check it out HERE.  I added one more way to win by following/like my blog on Facebook. You can click on the link on the right hand side of the page or click HERE to find my facebook page. The Giveaway ends Saturday, March 24.  First prize gets a $25.00 gift card to Amazon and your pick of two items from my TPT store.  Runner-up wins a $5.00 Scrappin Doodles Gift Card and your pick of two items from my TPT store.

I promised my husband I wouldn't be a workaholic over spring break... but I just had one more idea I wanted to have ready for my students when they come back from spring break.... BUTTERFLIES!

I found some great resources while perusing the internet for ideas about butterflies.  Please check out the book that I have on order from Amazon.  This book is called Chipo's Gift by Deb Troehler.  Here is the book review from Amazon: "Chipo, an inquisitive mopani worm from South Africa, takes a chance and follows her dreams. As her curiosity leads her down an unexpected path, the lesson Chipo learns will speak to children of all ages. This read-aloud tale encourages children to see the world through a different pair of eyes and to acquire a unique view of Chipo’s life. The name Chipo (meaning gift) originates from Zimbabwe. While many children think of a gift as merely a present, when they read this book, they will learn that a gift can be so much more. A portion of the proceeds from each book sale will be donated to Beautiful Gate Ministries in Lesotho, South Africa."

I also found this weblink that has a free butterfly unit using this book.  The unit is geared to students in K-2.  I did find some great things to use with my third graders.  Here is the link: http://www.kidsbutterfly.org/education/chipo

I also created a Butterfly Writing Craftivity for my students.  Included in this project are the patterns for the butterfly, writing ideas, a graphic organizer with website information for creating a butterfly report, a creative writing butterfly story graphic organizer, and additional website links and resources.
Take a peek!  You can find it at either my TPT store by clicking HERE, or at my TN store by clicking HERE.  It's $2.00, but I have  a 20% off sale going on now at TN until Saturday. Take a peek...

I know that many of you already do this with your kiddos... but check out these "live" butterfly kits.  You can find them at http://www.butterfy-gifts.com/live-butterfly-kits.html.

Have a fabulous evening!  Thanks for stopping by!  I would love to hear about your ideas/suggestions on units you have done on butterflies.  If you haven't entered my Giveaway yet, check it out in the link above and enter.