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Shady spaces for your playground
Nothing can beat a really great sunscreen when it comes to protecting a child from a serious sunburn, but a great shady space is just as important! The thing about creating an inviting shady area is that the children have to WANT to spend time in it. I’ve rounded up some ideas that would have any kid happy to spend some time in the shade – these are all easy DIYs that would be perfect for the playground! Make your shady trees even more inviting – from Play-scapes.com Cover your sandbox – from Wray Sist3rs A tent for all kinds of adventures – from A Sharper Focus Some other fun…
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Playground games
I’ve been spending as much time outside as I possibly can – I think I might be addicted to vitamin D, or maybe I’m just preparing myself for next winter by soaking up the sun while I still can! This is all fairly new to me, when I was little I was not an outdoorsy kind of kid. This means that I sympathize with my students who don’t really know what they’re supposed to do when they’re on the playground. I started teaching the children the games that I did enjoy playing outside, and it surprised me that most of them had never played any version of tag before. I…
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Friday Freebie – Summer planning
Happy Friday! It’s definitely summer, the temperatures are rising and I am in a very summer mood! This week I shared some of my favorite summer posts, let you know what I hope to check off my summer bucket list, hunted down some healthy summer snacks, and let you all in on some of my favorite summer outfits for work. Today I’ve found a freebie that will help you map out the rest of your summer. This Summer Planning set is from Proud to be Primary. It includes weekly and monthly calendar pages, along with a page to track what you plan to read, write, and create, plus any fun…
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What to Wear: Summer styles for preschool teachers
I’ve shared some tips about dressing professionally (and appropriately) for preschool before, so today I want to tackle what to wear when you have to teach all summer long. I’ve always had to work year round, and I know that summer can bring some special challenges. Not only is it hot hot hot, but you want to spend a lot more time outside – which usually means getting dirtier than you might in the classroom. Here are some of my current favorites for wearing to work – I actually own all of these, and I’ve chosen them because they are professional-looking without breaking the budget. They all wash well and…
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Quick and easy summer snacks
It’s been a while since I’ve done a snack post, my go to snack during the summer are definitely a lot different than during other times of the year. My favorites are lite, quick and easy. This is the perfect time of year to introduce children to fresh produce, and you can play around with fun things like popsicles, that don’t take a lot of effort but always get great reviews. Here are some fun ideas for lite easy summer snacks that children will love as much as you do! Fruit Kabobs Frozen Banana Chocolate Chip Bites Strawberry Granola Yogurt Bark Chocolate Covered Banana Pops Fruit Salsa Cake Batter Popsicles…
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My Summer Bucket list
Every so often I like to stray from the preschool subject matter and share just a little bit of myself (although preschool is definitely a part of me) with all of you. So I thought I would share my bucket list for this summer! I have to be honest for a minute and tell you that it was hard to come up with 10 fun things that I want to do this summer – and I think that’s a little sad, so I’m making it my mission to seek out fun experiences! Go camping – Technically I can check this one off, we went camping with friends a couple of…
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Summer Fun!
It has been hot hot hot around here, and it definitely feels like summer! I wanted to share some previous posts that offer some fun ideas for summer activities that will keep you busy while you beat the heat! Water Play with Preschoolers Water Play with Infants and Toddlers Summer Activities for Preschoolers Summer fun – Activities to do at home (or school) Summer fun – Activities to do around town I hope that you will use some of these ideas to make memories that last a lifetime!
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Friday Freebie – Editable Boarding Pass
Happy Friday! My travel posts all week have me itching to go somewhere, I might have to make a day trip this weekend! Here is an incredible freebie for your travel week – this super-high quality Boarding Pass from A First for Everything can be edited to reflect the destination, the name of the traveler, and the name of the airline. How fun is that?! Make sure to download yours and have a great weekend!
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Travel-themed dramatic play props
Are you in vacation mode yet?! Me too, and since it isn’t going to happen for real, I figured I’d take a pretend trip (you can download my free travel lesson plan here!). I fully believe that children need the opportunity to explore authentic materials when engaged in dramatic play, so here is a great big list of travel-themed props that you can add to the classroom for your travel or vacation week. Suitcases Duffel bags Cosmetic or toiletry bags Empty travel bottles (Shampoo, conditioner, etc.) Tote bags Luggage tags Travel pillows Boarding passes Passports Travel magazines and brochures Cameras Binoculars Postcards Clothing Flip flops Maps Hotel room keys Sunglasses…
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Preschool books about vacation
Yesterday I shared a lesson plan for a vacation themed week (go check it out)! This is the perfect theme to introduce non-fiction texts, I’m a huge fan of the materials available from AAA. If you aren’t a AAA member, see if any of your colleagues or parents are, they might be able to pick up some travel guides for you. Many local tourism organizations are also more than willing to send you free information, you can often request info through their websites. These are both very cost-effective ways to gather non-fiction texts (that are usually full of beautiful photos) for your classroom library. Even with all of those great…
