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Summer Must Haves 2026
I’m so looking forward to summer! Part of that means stocking up on the things that we use over and over all summer long. Here are all of my must-haves for summer 2026! All links are affiliates. Elastic strap swim goggles – My daughter will only wear these goggles. She loves that they cover her nose and that they have the soft elastic strap that doesn’t pull her hair. Handheld digital microscope – This is the best for exploring outside! Children can watch insects, look closely at flowers, tree bark, and blades of grass, and just generally get a better understanding of the world around them. Sand toys with mesh…
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Summer Plans for a 9 Year Old
As my daughter has gotten older our summer plans have gotten more personalized. After kindergarten and first grade my goal was to keep her busy and mitigate the summer slide. After second grade she was old enough for more camps, so we added those in and focused on her favorite places to visit during the summer. Now that she is finishing third grade, summer is going to look a little different. This year she has a sleep away camp scheduled and 4H projects to complete. Those will take up the beginning of our summer, so I have the days planned out to ensure that we fit all of those tasks…
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Summer Planning
The end of the school year is right around the corner (we’ve got less than a month left here), and that means it’s crunch time when it comes to planning what the summer will look like. Every year has looked a little bit different for us. As my daughter gets older and her interests change, so do our summer plans. Here are some of the ways that I’ve planned our summers over the last few years. Click on the images for more information.
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Gift Cards Every Teacher will Love
The key to giving the perfect gift card is to know your recipient. When it comes to giving a gift card to your child’s teacher it can feel like you’re taking a shot in the dark. There are some options that are sure to be a hit every single time. Here are my favorite gift cards to give teachers.
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Easy Teacher Gift Idea
Sometimes you just need a gift that’s super easy and super quick. No worries, I’ve got you covered! These notecards can be downloaded, personalized, printed, and cut in less than 20 minutes. They’re a perfect gift for teacher appreciation day, administrative professionals day, thank you gifts, welcome gifts, and end of the year co-worker gifts. You can get your copy here and use them over and over again!
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Teacher Appreciation Gift Ideas
Teacher Appreciation Week always sneaks up on me! Luckily, I’ve got Amazon Prime and a huge list of great ideas. If you’re looking to treat the teachers in your life, here are all of the ideas I’ve shared over the years. Click on the image for more information.
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Teacher Supplies for Assessment and Conferences
When it comes to completing assessments and holding parent teacher conferences, there are definitely certain supplies that I make sure to have on hand. Here are my favorite assessment supplies, all links are affiliates. HP Sprocket Photo Printer – It could not be easier to print photos off of your phone with this little printer. I love to be able to hand parents a really cute photo of their child to start a conference off on the right foot. Heavy Duty Three Hole Punch – I didn’t realize how much difference a great hole punch made until I used one, and I will never go back. Punch through 40 pages…
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Collecting Assessment Evidence
So much is done digitally now, but there is something to be said for collecting the actual work that children are creating. Here are two tools that I use to help me manage all of this assessment evidence. Assessment Evidence Collection System – Infant Toddler Preschool Use these labels and instructions to put together evidence collection binders for each student so you can keep track of the evidence you have collected and quickly see what you still need to gather. This set includes step by step instructions for creating the binder, as well as cover labels, domain cover sheets which list each standard, and domain checklists so that you can…
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Assessments for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
I originally started my TPT store back in 2014 so that I could share the early childhood assessments I put together to use in my own program. Over the years those have become part of a full curriculum and other tools and supports have been added too. I’ve been working on updating all of my assessment materials, and they’re finally ready! The structure of each piece has stayed the same, but they have a more current look. They also fit more seamlessly with all of the other Preschool Ponderings materials. I’m definitely the person who NEEDS everything to match, so this has been a long time coming! If you’ve already…
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Color Your Own Spring Flower Cards
It’s been a bit since I’ve shared a new freebie, and this felt like the perfect little printable for the season. When you print the page you’ll get both card designs. Cut them apart and fold them, that’s it! These are perfect for any spring holiday. You can color them, or students can color them. Download your copy, and make sure to check out all of my other freebies!
