Lifecycle of a Chicken Part 1

Are you getting ready to welcome your hatched chicks? If so, check out these ideas! Leave little clues outside the morning of their arrival! Can you imagine the kid’s faces as the bus pulls into school if these little chicks are on your school’s marquis!

Or on the entrance doors as they walk in!

Be sure to have your camera or video recorder up and running as the kids enter the classroom—getting their “mad dash” to the incubator will definitely be one of the most exciting things for them (and for you, too!).

 

  

Introducing…our first born, Carlos! 

Check back soon for more chick ideas! Click here for the 23-file Lifecycle of a Chicken Unit.

State Testing Survival Kit

Well, it's that time of year for state testing!  Where we live, it's the 3rd through 5th graders who are getting ready to show off all they know.  Their #2 pencils are sharp, their brains are full, and they are ready to rock their test!  My daughter and her class are getting ready to start their testing this week and that got me thinking...what could her and I make for her class that would motivate them to try their best and bring a smile to their face during the upcoming week?  That's when the Testing Survival Kit came to mind.

My daughter and I had so much fun crafting together!  This was also a great opportunity for me to talk with her about doing nice things for others.  Let me tell you, she is so excited to bring the Testing Survival Kit to school tomorrow! Although we put this together for the state testing, you can give any of these items to your students prior to a test or sneak them into your own child's lunch box as a little "good-luck" wish. 

Here are the encouraging goodies for each day of testing:

Day 1:  Motivational Water Bottles.  I had my own students decorate the labels found in Becky's Rock the Test file.

Click the picture for many other cute ideas from Dots-n-Spots. 

Thanks for the cute idea, Becky! 

 Day 2:  "Smart Cookie" Treats

We used a 1 7/8 inch scalloped paper punch to cut the "You're one smart cookie!" messages, added a cookie to a small baggie, closed it with a piece of ribbon, and hot glued the message to the knot.

Day 3:  Brain Boosting Vitamins

My daughter and I added the candy to a Mason Jar.  Finally, we attached a label and Dr. Hershey's Brain Boosting Prescription!

Day 4:  Smartie Pants

This idea has been done before, but it was so much fun to put them together with my own little test-taker!  She was excited to {carefully} use the paper cutter to cut 2.5 x 3.5 inch pieces of cardstock and I hot glued the candy to the bottom portion of the paper. 

Next, we cut the messages using a 2 x 2 inch round paper punch.  When using punches to cut something you've printed, put the punch upside-down so you can see the image you are cutting.

We glued the messages to the cards and added a pair of pants for some extra cuteness.  I have an old-school Sizzix machine (that's where I got the overalls), however, you could simply cut a pair of pants out of scrapbook paper.

After the brain-boosting goodies were packed up and the hot glue gun was unplugged, I finally sat down for a sweet treat with my own smart little cookies! 

Click here for a copy of the testing goodie labels to create your own testing kit!

St. Patrick's Day Gift Tags

Attach one of these cute tags to a bag of candy or a pencil!. Makes a great gift for parent volunteers, co-workers, or your child's teacher!  Click here to download the free pdf!

These flags are made by sewing felt around a pencil and hot gluing a shamrock die cut to it.  You can also make them in your school colors and add a die cut mascot or first letter of your school name to give out any time of the year!

Another idea…I picked up these socks at Target's Dollar Spot and added a gift tag for my co-workers.  A cute gift to show them that I feel lucky to work with them!

Winter Birthday

Well, my daughter is one of the lucky ones to have a winter birthday.  Not only does she never have to worry about going to school on her birthday, but she gets to celebrate in a winter-wonderlandy kind of way!  Even though we did these activities for her birthday, I was easily able to transition them to our classroom holiday party!  The kids loved the snowman theme and it helped keep things PC!  For snacks, I searched for snowman themed party online and on Pinterest (where else, right?!?!).  That's where I found idea to make these darling donuts:

You just take black gel frosting and dot the eyes and mouth and add an orange Tic-Tac to the middle for the nose!  

Then, not only did we make these as a craft for my daughter's party, but I made them with my class as a  holiday gift for their parents.  Just have your kiddos paint a small flower pot white, make a face with a paint pen, add a dab of pink chalk (spread with a Q-Tip) to the cheeks, and bottom it off with a bit of ribbon for the scarf.  I let the kids decide between the earmuff look or a hat.  The earmuffs were made using a pipe-cleaner and 2 puff balls and the hat was made by cutting some fleece (cut to the size of pot you get) and top it off with a ribbon.  

Whether it's for your classroom or for your little one's winter birthday, this snowman themed spread is sure to be a hit!

100th Day, Survivor Style!!

I know celebrating the 100th day of school is a really big deal  in kindergarten and 1st grade.  However, the older students out there can also benefit from a little 100th day celebration! 

Instead of the usual, "What would you do with $100?" or "How will you look when you're 100 years old?" that is usually done in the younger grades, I focus on an "I Survived 100 Days of School" theme that combines cooperative learning, team building, and "Survivor" type challenges to mark the big day.  

First, a parent letter is sent home encouraging students to dress in camouflage - some students go all out!!!!  I also have black face paint available so students can rub some "dirt" on their face!  They LOVE it!  I buy some greenery from The Dollar Tree and hang it from the ceiling and in the hallway:

         Check out how Mrs. Flickinger decorated her classroom!

She used REAL Tiki Torches with tissue paper flames---how cool is that?!?!  Tiki torches were found in the spring at The Dollar Tree.

And, take a look at her hallway decorations...it definitely looks like a jungle in there!!  

Her lucky students must have gone crazy when they walked in that morning!

 You could also make "flames" out of construction paper to represent each tribe and play the Survivor theme song before starting the challenges.  Click here for a link for the theme song on You Tube.

To get your day started, first break your students up into tribes.  Give each child a colored bandana to wear (bought at Hobby Lobby for approximately 60 cents each):

Then, before we started the challenges, I played the song Eye of the Tiger (by Survivor--how fitting!!).  I thought this would be a good song to pump them up.  Instead, it cracked me up!!  They started doing one-armed push ups, jumping jacks, and muscle flexes...you'd think they were in bootcamp!  Even with their face paint and camo gear they looked so sweet and innocent!!

Then the groups decide on a tribe name and create a poster for their tribal area:

Next, they work in cooperative groups to complete challenges such as 

USA Rocks:  social studies/mapping

Chain Reaction: cooperative working, critical thinking

Super Sundae:  cooperative working, math

and Marshmallow Madness:  math, cooperative working

 (100 marshmallows are hidden around the room and students have to "walk" on their knees, can only find one marshmallow at a time, and have to place it on a 100's chart)

Here are some pictures of Mrs. Flickinger's Super Second Grade Survivors doing some of their challenges.  Thanks for sharing the pictures with me!  I loved seeing your students work together!

Click here to check out this unique twist on celebrating the 100th day of school.  This 10-page file includes 4 challenges, parent note, reflection sheet, photos, and detailed directions and sells for $3.