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DIY Metallic Magnet Letters
I use magnet letters for all kinds of activities in my classroom so they are almost always on my shelves. While I find them invaluable, I’m not so fond of the bright colors. I found a way to make my magnet letters a little more aesthetically appealing, and I can’t believe how easy it was. I have three words for you: Metallic Spray Paint. Seriously, why did I not think of this before?! All I did was spray my plastic magnet letters with three coats of chrome spray paint (I let each coat dry before spraying on another coat). The final result is stunning, and my students couldn’t wait to…
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Preschool Activities that meet Social Emotional Standards
It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for some activities aligned to a specific standard. This is the sixth week of this feature, and we’re still on social emotional standards. (The Standards that I use every day, and am most comfortable with are Ohio’s Early Learning Development Standards – you can review them here, however I’ve found that even if your State’s standards differ, many of these activities can still be aligned similarly). Let’s see what great ideas we can find today!Domain: Social Emotional DevelopmentStrand: RelationshipsTopic: Interactions with AdultsAll children should be able to make a list of adults that they trust and feel comfortable with. The key to meeting this particular standard…
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Book Talk Tuesday – Big Pumpkin
It’s Tuesday, so I’m linking up with Mrs. Jump’s Class for Book Talk Tuesday. I know it isn’t quite time for Halloween yet, but I have to share this book with you now so that you have time to track it down and share it with your class for a couple of weeks before Halloween. Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman has been my favorite Halloween book ever since I was introduced to it my first year teaching. It tells the story of a witch who planted a pumpkin seed, which grows a pumpkin so big that she can’t move it by herself. One by one Halloween creatures attempt to move…
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October Currently
Ahhh! how is it October already?! And how did I forget to do the Currently again? One of these days I’m going to shock everyone and have the Currently up on the first day of the month, but for now, this works too. Listening: Oh Real Housewives, what can I say? My life is fairly drama free, so I can’t help but be drawn to to the chaos and insanity that is Real Housewives. I think that watching their drama makes me eternally grateful for my mostly quiet existence. New Jersey is hands-down my favorite! Loving: We spent the weekend celebrating my Brother-in-law’s wedding. They had a beautiful outdoor ceremony,…
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Friday Freebie – Leaves
Yay for Friday! I’ve been looking forward to this particular Friday for months because I have the day off to attend my Brother-in-law’s wedding. I am so excited to spend the long weekend celebrating with family and great friends (and it just so happens to be taking places in one of my favorite places to visit – Ohio’s Amish Country – so bring on the baked goods!). To celebrate, I’m sharing two freebies with you today! The first is a really cute leaf silhouette match from Totschooling. This is a great activity even for the youngest children, they have to look at the colored leaf cards and see if they…
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Natural Materials for the Preschool Classroom – Autumn
It’s no secret that I love autumn, so it should come as no surprise that I like to include autumn-related natural materials in the classroom for the children to explore. In fact, we spend a lot of time outside collecting these materials to bring into the classroom. I’ve found that the children are more like to explore these things inside, when they get to be a part of finding them outside. This also gives them a frame of reference for each of these items because they can remember where they were collected. Here is a list of some of the things that you can typically find in my classroom during…
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Preschool Activities that Meet Social Emotional Standards
It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for some activities aligned to a specific standard. This is the fifth week of this feature, and we’re still on social emotional standards. (The Standards that I use every day, and am most comfortable with are Ohio’s Early Learning Development Standards – you can review them here, however I’ve found that even if your State’s standards differ, many of these activities can still be aligned similarly). Here we go!Domain: Social Emotional DevelopmentStrand: RelationshipsTopic: AttachmentAttachment is healthy, we want children to feel attachment to parental figures, and to want their parents near them. We also want young children to feel safe and comfortable at school, so that…
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Book Talk Tuesday – Leaf Man
Mrs. Jump’s Class Hi everyone! It’s Tuesday so I’m linking up with Mrs. Jump’s Class for Book Talk Tuesday. Today I’m sharing one of my favorite fall books – luckily I have enough favorites to get me through every week of autumn – but today it’s Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. All of Lois’ books are amazing, her illustrating style is unique and it really speaks to children, and encourages their own creativity. This book in particular contains illustrations that are made out of leaves. This story opens up children’s imaginations to all of the possible places that leaves can fly on the wind. There are a number of activities…
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Countdown to the NAEYC Conference
I am so excited about this year’s NAEYC Conference. I attended my first NAEYC conference in 2010 and fell in love with the whole experience. I love the sessions, I love the expo hall, I love meeting teachers from all over the country, and I love love love traveling with my favorite teachers! This year is especially important for me because I get to present. I love public speaking (I know, I’m weird), and giving teachers new ideas that makes their jobs easier is just about my favorite thing, so I am super pumped (I mentioned that I’m excited right). I got my badge in the mail this weekend and…
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Friday Freebie
Yay for Friday. This weekend is all about fall for me, high school footbal tonight and a fall bonfire party for my 4H club on Sunday, not to mention the tiny little town down the road is having their annual fall festival and flea market this weekend, so it feels like fall is officially here. This freebie would be a great addition to the crockpot applesauce recipe that I shared yesterday. The Apple Five Senses set from Kindergarten Lifestyle includes a mini poster for each of the five senses with words to help children describe apples. It also includes a black and white full page poster for each of the…
