• Friday Freebie – Summer Birthday

    Happy Friday! I was searching for a freebie to share and when I stumbled on this one it struck a nerve.  I love this Summer Birthday form from Khrys Greco because I was the kid with a summer birthday.  I think one year I was allowed to bring in a birthday treat on the last day of school, other than that one year I never got to celebrate my birthday at school.  I think that this is a fun way to let families know that celebrating a half birthday is an option.  Download your copy and have a great weekend!

  • What I’m Working On

    I thought I’d pop in and share what I’ve been up to lately, these more personal posts are some of my favorites! Here’s what has been keeping me busy: Making felt food for my little one – so far I’ve finished 4 donuts Editing and formatting a leadership training for work Searching for cute and easy 4th of July play activities – last night I dyed pasta red, white and blue Preparing for a HOT weekend, it’s supposed to be 110 degrees here on Saturday, so I’ve stocked up on popsicles and water toys Designing a massive bulletin board Catching up on Southern Charm whenever possible Trying to stay off…

  • Felt Food

    Years ago I made a set of felt food for my classroom. When I make something I have a tendency to go a little above and beyond, which means that this particular set of felt food was amazing, but took me FOREVER. Which is why I haven’t made any more, until now.  I’m working on a set for my own daughter to play with so I thought it would be fun to share some of my inspiration with you. Here are some of my favorite DIY play food ideas: Sliced Cheese from Pieces by Polly Pasta from Fairy Fox Sugar Cookies from Cuddle Bear Baby Breakfast from Hanging on by…

  • Friday Freebie – Cloud Hunt

    Happy Friday! I am all about being outside this week and today’s freebie is the perfect easy outdoor activity for a lazy summer afternoon.  This Cloud Hunt Bingo game from Green Grubs is the perfect way to encourage children to be creative while taking time to pay attention to the world around them.  Go download your copy and have a great weekend!

  • 50 Activities to do outside

    The weather has been beautiful and I am fully in the summer spirit. All I want to do is be outside, so I thought I’d put together a list of all the fun things that little ones could possibly do outside for those times when my “let’s go outside” is met with a chorus of “I don’t want to.” Look for bugs Follow some ants Put together wildflower bouquets Make daisy or clover necklaces Build a sandcastle Dig a deep deep hole Go to the park Pretend the playground is a pirate ship Make mud pies Start a sand bakery Find shapes in the clouds Draw your scientific observations Decorate…

  • Friday Freebie – Ultimate packing list

    Happy Friday! I am currently on vacation, so I thought I’d share something a little different this Friday.  Those of you who have followed Preschool Ponderings for some time are well aware that I have a passion for all things organization. It should come as no surprise that I am known as the master of the packing list, but I may have found a freebie that challenges even my own list – this packing list freebie is from I Should Be Mopping the Floor.  If you don’t have a love for packing like I do, then this list is going to be your best friend! Go download yours and have…

  • Personalized Puzzles

    One of my good friends started her own little tradition.  Every time she goes to a child’s first birthday party, she gets them one of these personalized name puzzles from Fat Brain Toys.  I absolutely love this idea! Each child receives a gift that is uniquely their own, and I can’t tell you how many children have learned to spell their names because they play with their puzzles so often.  The best part is that the buyer types in the child’s name, and then Fat Brain Toys creates it from that custom order – so there is no hunting down a name only to find that it doesn’t come in…

  • Getting Organized

    If you had to ask my friends and co-workers to use one word to describe me, most of them would use the word “organized.”  It’s true, I am a very organized person and because this is something that I excel at and enjoy, it’s found its way into my work.  Lately I’ve spent a ton of time helping other teachers implement systems that will keep them organized.  I wanted to take a minute to share some of my favorite products for staying organized so that you can benefit from some of my over-the-top organization. All links are affiliates. Half-inch white labels – These might be one of my all time…

  • Friday Freebie – Summer Writing Prompts

    Happy Friday! I have such a great idea for you today – I did a training last week and one of the participants was sharing that she is doing summer journals with all of her students.  She thought that this would be a good way to continue the writing and language work that they started during the school year, without really feeling like they were doing “work”.  She is planning on having them take their journals along with them on all of their fun summer trips so that they can write or draw what they learned and how they felt about the experience.  These Summer Writing Prompts from Kinder Molly,…

  • Summer Fun

    A couple of years ago (June of 2014 to be exact) I shared a series of posts about fun activities to break up summer boredom with your own children and your students.  You can find those posts HERE and HERE.  I thought it was time to refresh those lists and share some of my favorite easy summer activities. I am constantly reminding the teachers that I work with that children will always love the most simple ideas – we (the adults) are the ones who get bored with the same things over and over again, but children haven’t been doing these things for nearly as long as we have, so…