Cute Teacher's gift

While subbing, I saw this adorable lamp that the teacher's students made for her one year.  And I thought this would be a great end of the year or teacher appreciation day gift!  On the lamp shade it says, "Mrs. Phillips You Brighten Our Day".  And then all of the children signed their names with sharpie.  So simple and cute for any classroom!  I am definitely going to keep this in mind for the future! :)

Scholastic Warehouse Book Fair

I always look forward for this day when there is a Scholastic Warehouse book fair!  I love how when you become an adult, people are still crazy about the scholastic book fairs.  I just went to the one in Delaware, Ohio and got TONS of books! I definitely spent a little over my budget but THANK the LORD that last Friday was pay day!  The sales are between 25% to 80% off! The majority of the books are 50% (What a great deal!)

Click here to print out your coupons! Ohio has I think 7 locations.  And all of the US states are having their book fairs this and next week! Don't miss out on this awesome event!

Here are some of my favorite books I picked up today:

     

        

Teacher Toolbox

AHH! I wish I wasn't so busy with work around the holidays because I've been wanting to post more on this blog!  I just started writing my first grant and didn't realized how much time and effort it takes to finish!! (I'm about half way done with it :(  )  Anyone have any good tips/advice about grant writing?  I wish my education courses talked more about them.

Anyways, I made this awesome teacher toolbox about a month ago and forgot to blog about it and thank the creator!! I found this great storage idea on Pinterest.  (Best site ever!)  The creator of this awesome toolbox is Mrs. Rojas and you definitely need to check out her blog! She has a lot of neat classroom ideas and freebies on there!  Here is a Link on how to buy the toolbox and create the labels!

By the way, I am obsessed with mine and basically use it almost every day!! Hopefully I can bring this into my future classroom and tell more people about this awesome storage unit!

Free online children's books website

So I was on Pinterest (I'm obsessed with this site!) and found a nifty website that would be perfect for classrooms, homes, and babysitting.  It's a website that has free books to read online and they have TONS of picture books.  The website is called We Give Books.  They even tell you the age level and a little summary.  Also they categorize books by topic.  Wish I knew this website excited when I was in school...haha.  The purpose of this website is to help spread literacy around the world.  So after you read a book you can choose a literacy campaign, there are 5, to show your support for literacy.  You have to sign up to support the campaigns and the membership is FREE!! (Who doesn't like free things?)

Right now I'm reading Two Bad Pilgrims by Kathryn Lasky.

Tell me what you think about this awesome website!

Thanksgiving Read-Aloud Books

Tamara set up a TBA Linky party of teacher's favorite Thanksgiving book.  Thanksgiving Rules is a fun story told in rhyme of his 10 simple rules for his Thanksgiving feast with his family.  I found this book this year at the local Barnes and Noble.  I can't wait to share it with my kids this week!

Chinese Fans

This quarter in my after school program, the kids are learning about different cultures.  Last week, I had them make Chinese fans.  It's super easy to prepare and make.  Also, the kids loved using the tissue paper.  This craft is perfect when teaching about the Chinese culture or Chinese New Year.



Here's what you will need:
~paper plates
~popsicle sticks (2 per person)
~elmer's glue
~Q-tips
~tissue paper (all sorts of colors)
~markers or crayons
~cups

Prep: You should take a damp paper towel or sponge and wet the whole paper plate, so it will flatten.  Let it dry for a couple minutes (I waited like 2-3).  As you wait, cut up tissue paper into small squares (1in x 1in).  Then prepare the glue the kids will be using.  Pour elmer's glue and a little water into each cup, so you have dilated glue.

Let the kids use the Q-tips as a glue brush to stick the tissue paper where they want it.  The tissue paper represents those beautiful flowers you see on Chinese fans.  After they are done attaching their tissue paper, let the kids decorated the rest of the fan with leaves, flowers, birds, etc.  Glue the 2 popsicle sticks to the fan.  I also used invisible tape to secure them.

The best part of this art craft is that this fan really works!
Here is a picture of some the kids and their fans!

Spider Marble Art Craft

So I was subbing in a preschool classroom last week and the little ones made the cutest spider craft at one of their centers! I wanted to incorporate this with my kiddos at my after-school program, and also I added more stuff to the craft.  The kids loved using the marble paint technique to make the spider webs!


This is what the finished product should look like:

Materials:

• Black construction paper
• White Cardstock paper
• White and/or color crayons
• Black and Grey paint
• A cup
• A cardboard box top
• Marbles (about 10)
• Googly eyes
• Scissors
• Elmer's glue

First take the black construction paper (sorry the above picture is 'white', I ran out of black paper...) and fold it in half.  On one side of the paper draw the spider's body (I did this for all my kiddos ahead of time).  Then cut the paper in half along the folded line.  Decorate the spider's body with crayons, add the goggly eyes, and cut the body out.

With the other half "black paper" fold it hamburger style like a fan.   

Next have students cut the fan into 8 strips for the spider's legs.  If your students are in the younger grades, have them draw 7 lines with a pencil before they start cutting.  Then glue on the legs to the spider's body.


Now here's the fun part!! I had 8 kids doing this craft and only one box.  The kids took turns doing the spider web part so while the kids were waiting, I had them do another worksheet about costumes.  You can download this freebie here!  I believe I got this worksheet from my student teacher last spring.  Sorry if the quality isn't that great! 

In the cup add all the marbles, a couple drops of paint, and shake it until all the marbles are covered in paint. Then drop the marbles into the box.  Have the students shake the box until their paper is completed covered.  

The paint dries quickly in a couple of minutes.  So the students can glue their spider onto their cool looking spider webs!  This was a quick an easy spider craft perfect right before halloween or during a bug study!

Super Student Tickets

As a sub I love using this classroom management strategy and the kids always try to be on their best behavior to earn their tickets!  I got this idea last spring during my student teaching.  The substitute teacher that subbed for my host teacher always did this.  This is an easy classroom management strategy for guest teachers!

Materials:

Print Super Student tickets on construction paper

Small basket/box/bucket

Optional- stickers, pencils, small rewards, etc.

During morning meeting/calendar/morning work, let the students know that through out the day you will be passing out super student tickets when you see students modeling good behavior, following directions, etc.  Remind them to write their names fold the ticket and put it in the basket.

Tell them you will be pulling 5 names out of the basket at the end of the day and they will receive a prize.  

**Check to see if the teacher has a prize box or what other types of reward system she uses.**  Some reward systems I've seen are good student stickers, fake money, and bucket fillers.  If the teacher doesn't have any, it is always good to bring your own like stickers and pencils as a back up plan.  Let them know the more tickets they get, the more likely they will receive a prize at the end of the day.

First Post!

After spending endless hours on the internet reading other people's blogs for teaching ideas and tips, I figured I wanted to give it a try.  I'm still in the early stages and would love all the helpful comments and hints I could get! I'm hoping to use this blog when I go into my first year of teaching *crossed fingers*.