Time to Plant, Grass Heads and a Freebie!

With our cute Mother's Day projects finished and sent home (whew!), we are ready to start a new unit on plants. Today the kids were busy crafting away these big and bold flowers that will decorate our bulletin boards until the end of our school year in June.

Our unit will include this project for labeling plant parts. You can get it at my shops.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Plant-Parts-a-Cute-Craftivity

It was really great practice for cutting, gluing and planning out how to arrange the pieces. We did this whole-group and they turned out really cute!

I started the unit with this PowerPoint for the Smartboard. I found the most beautiful images to use for this. The kids just loved it!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Life-Cycle-of-a-Flowering-Plant-A-PowerPoint-Lesson

There are also some Thinking Maps having to do with planting in my Spring Mind Maps packet.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spring-Mind-Maps

This is our cute seed-themed May attendance for the Smartboard!

Here's a cute freebie for your planting unit! Enjoy!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Planting-Seeds-Poem-Freebie

Be sure to check out my Mother's Day post to see our cute pots and planting kits!

In case you were wondering what they were, here are the grass heads:

This activity is great fun! Have students bring in a colorful sock. The colorful socks should be bright but dark like blue, red or purple or the dirt stains will show through. Fill it with dirt and grass seed. Tie the end and flip it over. Push straight pins through button holes. Set them in a small cup of water or a saucer and watch your grass heads grow! I made these with an entire grade level of students so I rested them in an aluminum tray until they sprouted.

The kids love giving them a haircut! If you don't want to use socks, the dirt can be put in a cup and students can add wiggle eyes or draw a face with sharpie marker. I can't wait to do this!

Mothers Day

As a busy teacher-mom, I just had to share this funny. It's one of my all time favorites! Whether you have kids or not, I'm sure you can relate! Enjoy your special day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXgoJ0f5EsQ

123 Teach With Me is having a Mother's Day Linky Party. Head over to her blog to check out some of the great ideas for Mother's Day! I linked up!

Teachers Notebook Sweepstakes and my Banner Contest Cuteness for Teachers Pay Teachers

Hi! Just a friendly reminder to log in to Teachers Notebook today to enter the Sweepstakes promotion! I just did. You can enter every day! Sadly, my name is not listed as a winner for days one and two. Still keeping my fingers crossed! While you're there, enter my giveaway promotion!  I'm giving away my best-selling Comprehension Cafe Companion!

So this is one of my banner entries for the contest. It didn't win, but why waste cute?

 You can use it on your blog too if you ever would like to, just link it back to me somehow! Thanks!

There are such awesome sales and freebies being offered at Teachers Pay Teachers! The sale ends soon, so get the things on your wishlist from your favorite teachers!

I've got a huge sale going on at both of my shops, so take a peek and see if there's something there you may be glad you found!

 I'm off to shop!

So Sweet Thank You Freebie

My first graders are just too sweet! One child made me a lovely plastic beaded bracelet on a pipecleaner that I wore proudly today and another spent her "hoot" tickets to buy me a ring from the prize cart instead of getting something for herself!

This time of year, and especially with Teacher Appreciation Week right around the corner, there will be many thank you's to give. Here's a little freebie!



http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thank-You-Gift-Tags-Freebie 

I'm all about keeping things simple and this is a cute and inexpensive way to thank your parent helpers, staff members, students and room parents. Just staple the tag to a snack-sized ziplock baggie and fill it with colorful candies!

Enjoy!

Barbie Shoes and Mind Map Blues

O.K. This was a bummer of a day of changing all of my MIND MAPS (that's what I originally called them, then noticed others were using the "thinking" name in front, so I figured it was O.K....lots to learn). That's the blues part of this post. Read on for the Barbie shoes!


So tomorrow is my 15 years of service recognition in my district and I'm thinking about what to wear for that. Teaching little ones is not the most glamorous job~let's face it! But we're in it for the kids! It's our passion. The manicure is often ruined with paint, we dress nicely, but practically, for a day of being on our feet and getting down to their level. I can't imagine a day in shoes like these-ha!

I found this tape dispenser and just had to have it!!! It's from Staples! They have a pink Barbie shoe too! I'm bringing a little "glam" into the classroom tomorrow!

Mother's Day Scrapbook and Gift Ideas

My Mother's Day Lunch Bag Scrapbook is officially my number one selling item to date and I am just thrilled! I've gotten such positive feedback letting me know how adorable the projects turned out! I made one for my mom too and she loved it! If you're looking for a sweet, unique gift idea, you'll have to check it out at my shops! The giveaway on Teacher's Notebook has expired but check back often because I'll have more on a monthly basis!

We are busy crafting away in first grade. The children are painting 4 inch terra cotta pots with their choice of a variety of beautiful, spring-colored acrylic paints. I have decorated pots with my students in every way shape and form over the years and think I have finally come up with the simplest, nicest design of all-plain old white polka dots on a colored pot! I found the perfect supplies for painting at Joanne's. They make disposable rollers with handles! These are great for little hands and cheap too! I also purchased some dot painting sticks. They have a felt tip rather than a sponge. They are the perfect size and won't splat paint when used.

Rather than planting the traditional flower in the pot, I am sending home the gift as a planting kit. I am putting the soil in a ziplock baggie. I purchased large seeds and put them in one of those plastic ziplock earring bags also at Joanne's. I made colored copies of the seed pack and reduced the size of the image to place one in each tiny bag with the seeds. I found colorful shovels and kids garden tools in the dollar aisle at Target. I attached the seed bag to the stake with a ribbon and little cardstock card that read:

Mom, my love for you grows and grows! 

The kit was adorable and I did not have to worry about the plant getting crushed or broken on the way home or dirt spilling inside the bag and making a mess of our pretty pots! Depending on your budget, you could add a pair of garden gloves to your kit. That would be super-cute!

New Earth Day Items and Making Recycled Paper

As a former elementary science specialist teacher, this week's Earth Day theme is one of my favorites to teach! I've posted some new Earth Day Items at my shop!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Earth-DayA-Powerpoint-Lesson

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Earth-Day-Thinking-Maps

Here's a cute freebie Poem!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Earth-Day-Poem-The-Earth-is-my-Mother

Making recycled paper is one of my favorite Earth Day activities! Here are the directions for making your own paper:

Materials Needed To Make Recycled Paper

• Newspaper
• A blender
• Water
• 2 tablespoons of white glue
• A large plastic dish tub 
• One square foot of fiberglass screen (available at Home Depot)

Optional

• A sponge and blotting paper
• Rolling pin
• Colored construction paper
• Colored threads
• Glitter
• Small leaves
• Flower petals
• Food coloring

Making The Slurry

Slurry is the paper pulp and water mixture. It might remind you of dirty oatmeal.

First, have students tear newspaper into very small pieces. Place one cup of the torn newspaper into the blender with two cups of water and two tablespoons of glue. Use this ratio for each child. Put the lid on the blender and turn it on high. Let the blender run until all of the paper disappears and it appears as if you have a purple-grey, pulpy mixture. ( I try to blend several at once to save time and do this ahead of time, modeling once so the children can see the process. The slurry is ready for straining the following day. I save it all in a bucket).

When you are ready to strain and press the paper, place about four inches of water into a large plastic dish tub.  Add the slurry mixture to the water in the container.

Making The Paper

If possible-do this outside!

Mix up the slurry and water mixture in the container really well. Have the kids use their hands.You will need to mix the slurry each time you make a new piece of paper.

Hold the screen with both hands and scoop it down towards the bottom of the container at a slight angle. Slowly lift the screen out of the water allowing the water to drain out (back into the container) for about a minute. You should have a thin layer of paper fibers settling on the surface of the fiberglass screen.  NOTE: You do not want to have it too thick (more than 1/4 inch) or too thin (you can see the screen in patches) on the screen or the paper will be difficult to work with. Shape the pulp mixture into a square the size that you would like it to be.

Carefully lift the fiberglass screen with the paper on it and move it to a flat piece of newspaper. You can press a piece of newspaper over the paper (you can use a rolling pin to press if you desire), or press a piece of blotting paper over the paper and use a sponge to eliminate some of the extra water. I found square boards to place over the screen and used them to press out most of the water.

You do not want to dry the paper too much while it is still on the fiberglass screen or between newspaper or blotting paper as it will stick.

Gently peel the paper off the screen and place it on a piece of newspaper to dry.

For a more decorative look, add a cupful of colored construction paper to the slurry. You can also add colored threads, glitter, small leaves, etc. to the slurry to make the paper more interesting. Just before it dries, press in a few flower petals. You can also add food coloring to the mix to dye the paper.

In the past, I have attached a Mother's Day poem and placed it inside a frame for students to present as a gift.

Making your own paper can be fun, and it's a great way to teach the concept of recycling!

Let's make every day Earth Day!